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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting twist on vampire lore, November 29, 2011
This review is from: Acquainted With the Night (Mass Market Paperback)
Caro's life has become rather plain and simple since she stopped pursuing her Ph D. All that changes when her Uncle, the man who raised her was savagely murdered. In her journey to make the funeral arrangements she meets a man who was corresponding with her Uncle on a very tricky subject. Jude has some crazy ideas about vampires which Caro instantly writes off, but then she remembers some strange events that have happened in the past few days and realizes that he may just be right. They set off on a quest to find answers in an ancient text. But first they must follow the breadcrumb trail her uncle left for her in order to find it. In Acquainted With the Night, the vampires are a combination of both science and history, making for an interesting blend. Things really were a case of past meets present as Caro and Jude were on a quest to find answers in an ancient text, all the while being chased by a man who would use them for his own horrific science project. It would have been very easy for this story to have become jumbled and confusing, but it never did. Every new revelation was presented in a very understandable way that only added to story. I really love books that have a world behind them that is fully realized and very rich, but never overtakes the main plot. The relationship between Caro and Jude at first seemed to be incredibly rushed. Not that I am really complaining though, as they sure made for an incredibly steamy couple. However, once a shocking reveal was made all of their progress as a couple seemed to be set back to the stone age, which left me more than a little heartbroken myself. I went from be more than a little cavalier towards their relationship to feeling bereft at the sudden change. The book's ability to grab a hold of my emotions in such a way was really impressive. I always love a story that can make me become fully attached to the characters, and Acquainted With the Night sure fits that bill. Despite its length, Acquainted With the Night read very quickly, to the point where the pages seemed to fly by. In fact there was only one small section that seemed to drag, but that could also be attributed to reader fatigue as I read it straight through. It is no small feat to be able to fully hold my interest for 500+ pages in one setting, so Piper Maitland definitely deserves some major kudos. I cannot wait to see what is in store next for Caro and Jude as a whole new can of worms was opened up at the end that can only spell trouble for them in the future.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A thriller with unique mythology., December 12, 2011
This review is from: Acquainted With the Night (Mass Market Paperback)
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy: [...] Fans of both THE HISTORIAN and the Jason Bourne series will love ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT, which brings murder, intrigue, and a biological twist to vampirism. I'm a sucker for authors who meld supernatural creatures with the science of our own world, and Piper Maitland did a great job bringing a medical sensibility to this classic myth. For the first few chapters, Maitland's mythology carried my interest above all else, as the heroine flounders from sheltered ignorance into the violence of her hidden past. Caro's development owes more to old school romance than urban fantasy, as she's more focused on being accepted by the hero than on embracing her birthright. In a typical, heroine-focused urban fantasy this would be a fatal flaw for me, but ACQUAINTED BY THE NIGHT has more of a thriller feel, driven by an engine of suspense and plot. Maitland's world building made the characters' human weaknesses one more flawed, realistic detail. While I would have enjoyed this book more with a different type of heroine, readers who focus more on plot can probably tack another bat onto this review (and though satisfying as a standalone, there's plenty more plot to pick up where this book leaves off). Of all the details Maitland wove into her mythology, I particularly loved how she included the hyper-sexuality so common in Paranormal Romance as part of the physiology of vampirism. While I'm normally all about characters, those little details stole the spotlight in ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT. Though Caro and Jude aren't so memorable for me, I'll enjoy mulling over the plausible biology behind Maitland's vampires for quite some time. Sexual Content: References to rape, several sex scenes.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Breathing fresh life into a very crowded genre, January 8, 2012
This review is from: Acquainted With the Night (Mass Market Paperback)
I happened to be reading this book around the time that I made the terrible mistake of completely wasting my money on watching The Devil Inside when it premiered in theaters. So why am I bringing this up? Simple - because lately there have been a few exorcism movies coming out lately and The Devil Inside brought nothing new to the table whatsoever. Now if you look at the very crowded vampire genre that Acquainted With The Night belongs to, you can bet author Piper Maitland clearly faces an uphill challenge... ...but comes out swinging with a very distinguished novel. The characters in AWTN are full of life (well, as much as vampires can be), and you'll have no trouble relating to them. Maitland seems to have very little problems when it comes to breathing life both into the story's cast as well as they situations they face making this thick read (over 500 pages!) actually breeze by. If you're feeling hyped-out by sugary blockbusters like Twilight and could do with something fresh, I highly recommend you start here.
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