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A review by laurenjodi
Dark Awakening by Kendra Leigh Castle
3.0
Dark Awakening
3 Stars
Tynan MacGillivray, a feline shapeshifter vampire, is tasked by his Queen to locate a Seer who can save her race from annihilation. Ty’s search leads him to Lily Quinn, a human woman with a mysterious past and immense powers, who awakens in Ty a fierce need to love, protect and belong. Yet other forces are at work against them and they will need to overcome many obstacles in order to be together ...
Interesting world building and a promising plot, but the chemistry between the leads is lacking and, therefore, results in a rather tepid romance.
The concept of various vampire dynasties each originating with a god/goddess from a different mythology is very intriguing and the idea of a caste system amongst the vampires lends a darker tone to the story. Nevertheless, the details and explanations are few and far between, which means that the atmosphere is less immersive than it could have been.
The story revolving around Ty’s search for a Seer to save the race of vampires to which he is sworn and Lily’s coming to terms with her true identity and her awesome powers is well written and exciting. Unfortunately, Ty is more of a beta than an alpha and his unquestioning loyalty to his Queen despite her obvious manipulation and prejudice against his kind puts a pall on his hero status.
The romance is the weakest element. There is no real spark to Ty and Lily’s relationship and their sex scenes are not only mechanical but unoriginal - one can read similar yet more sensual scenes in other vampire tales of this kind. The characterization is also flimsy and what little development there is comes toward the end, at which point, it is too late for the reader to truly empathize and identify with either of Ty or Lily’s past histories.
Although the secondary characters are appealing whether it be the tormented Jaden, the nefarious Damien (who doesn’t love a bad boy in need of redemption) or the enigmatic Vlad, it is not yet clear whether they have grabbed my attention enough to continue with the series. Perhaps when I’m in the mood.
3 Stars
Tynan MacGillivray, a feline shapeshifter vampire, is tasked by his Queen to locate a Seer who can save her race from annihilation. Ty’s search leads him to Lily Quinn, a human woman with a mysterious past and immense powers, who awakens in Ty a fierce need to love, protect and belong. Yet other forces are at work against them and they will need to overcome many obstacles in order to be together ...
Interesting world building and a promising plot, but the chemistry between the leads is lacking and, therefore, results in a rather tepid romance.
The concept of various vampire dynasties each originating with a god/goddess from a different mythology is very intriguing and the idea of a caste system amongst the vampires lends a darker tone to the story. Nevertheless, the details and explanations are few and far between, which means that the atmosphere is less immersive than it could have been.
The story revolving around Ty’s search for a Seer to save the race of vampires to which he is sworn and Lily’s coming to terms with her true identity and her awesome powers is well written and exciting. Unfortunately, Ty is more of a beta than an alpha and his unquestioning loyalty to his Queen despite her obvious manipulation and prejudice against his kind puts a pall on his hero status.
The romance is the weakest element. There is no real spark to Ty and Lily’s relationship and their sex scenes are not only mechanical but unoriginal - one can read similar yet more sensual scenes in other vampire tales of this kind. The characterization is also flimsy and what little development there is comes toward the end, at which point, it is too late for the reader to truly empathize and identify with either of Ty or Lily’s past histories.
Although the secondary characters are appealing whether it be the tormented Jaden, the nefarious Damien (who doesn’t love a bad boy in need of redemption) or the enigmatic Vlad, it is not yet clear whether they have grabbed my attention enough to continue with the series. Perhaps when I’m in the mood.