Title: Darkness Before Dawn (DNF REVIEW)
Author: J.A London
Release Date: May 29th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 342
Edition: Paperback
Cover Judge: Eh, girl in dress paranormal romance-type cover. But i'm a sucker for a black and white cover.
Quote Choice: I actually LOVED this quote
Note: I don't usually review books I don't finish but since I had plenty to say...yup. This is of course my own 100% opinion so you don't have to listen to me and I did not finish the book. Please take all this into account when reading it.
Note: I don't usually review books I don't finish but since I had plenty to say...yup. This is of course my own 100% opinion so you don't have to listen to me and I did not finish the book. Please take all this into account when reading it.
Source: Review
Goodreads: Link
Only sunlight can save us.
We built the wall to keep them out, to keep us safe. But it also makes us prisoners, trapped in what's left of our ravaged city, fearing nightfall.
After the death of my parents, it's up to me--as the newest delegate for humanity--to bargain with our vampire overlord. I thought I was ready. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the monsters. Then again, nothing could have prepared me for Lord Valentine . . . or his son. Maybe not all vampires are killers. Maybe it's safe to let one in.
Only one thing is certain: Even the wall is not enough. A war is coming and we cannot hide forever.
So I'm on Chapter 14 of this book right now and I just...I wanted to write some stuff. Because the book is incredibly predictable and it's boring me. Dawn, our heroine, is the delegate for this dystopian Vampire society. Basically, they signed this treaty where humans have to give their blood to the Vampires and they...well, get to live. And then the leader of the Old Blood Vampires, Valentine, chooses a delegate to come to him with concerns and comments from the humans. When Dawn's parents (who were the delegates) die, Valentine chooses her instead of someone older and more experienced. It's hinted that Dawn has some supernatural thing going on in the prologue but I have no idea what it is yet. I don't not like Dawn, I just think...she's kind of boring. They're trying to make her out to be this very badass character: fighting skills, good with a stake, all this knowledge about vampires, but really all we've seen her do is give information to people who are supposed to be her enemy and not fight. But she's very nice!
Speaking of the people she's giving information to, this book has a case of the instalove problem. Victor is a vampire guys, a vampire. She knows this and she's like: he's my enemy, he could kill me in one blow, he stands for everything that sucks in the universe. But but but he makes her insides melt for some strange reason. They have a connection; she doesn't understand why she feels touched or happy he's happy. And i'm just like: WHY? Okay, it's nice, he saved you from Vampires but dude...you don't even know him. I have no problem with bad boy reform love but I honestly want to see some character development before I see the heroine melting over the bad guy. I imagine that someone's whose parents were killed by Vampires, who has been raised with all this knowledge of Vampires won't just be like: this vampire has been nice to me, so he must be good. Also: Lila may be annoying, but really, that treaty sucks. It doesn't even stop most of the Vampires since the Turned ones aren't under Valentine's control. Problems!
Also: I like Michael. I do, a lot. Michael is her current boyfriend and I can already feel he's going to get thrown to the curb because that's what usually happens. But guys, he's a Night Watchman (they protect the city from the Vampires who sneak in) and he's so sweet and funny and awesome. He's protective of Dawn but not overbearing and is the best. Her best friend Tegan is the stereotypical best friend: flirty, petite, and mostly there for some comic relief.
I'm enjoying the concept of the plot but I'm not too crazy about how it's being executed. The premise reminded me of The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (you know, vampire dystopian taking over the world but I haven't read it yet so I might be totally wrong) but I'm just not invested in the characters or the plot at all. I can't really explain why....it's just the way the book is written is not appealing to me. The writing is very simple and i'm the type of person who likes some meat in their Dystopian Fiction. I've heard that it gets really good the last 100 pages but I don't feel like I should have to dig through the first half of the book to get to the good stuff!
But Good Reviews!
Katie's Book Blog
Once Upon A Twilight
Happy Reading!
(and for those of you wondering, I have not stopped doing someecards! It'll come back after the...shift. You'll see)
