Customer Reviews

Elijah (The Nightwalkers, Book 3)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The most surprising thing about this series is the lack of conflict. It's sugary sweet for a book about Demons, Vampires and Lycos. You definitely won't lose any sleep here! The books basis is this: Among the fragile truces between the different night dwellers, they come together to fight human magic makers known as necromancers, who are slowly but surely staking out Vamps and Lycos, and entrapping Demons in pentagrams until they are no longer sane. It's a good series, the characters are all very interesting and you may not miss that bite of, well, crude language and descriptive violence that we have all come to expect in this genre, a refreshing Lore book, and go figure? Sure they get serious injuries and there are some cool battles but those aren't really the focus. The love match is 80% of this book, yes, the sex is nice and steamy, but very tender and the focus is on the intimate fears and feelings the characters are experiencing. The conflict carries from book to book, as in we don't know who the "big bad wolf" is yet, then we can't get them yet and there may be others, the series really needs to be read in order to be fully appreciated. I will definitely follow this series as I have come to know and like the characters very much. We not only revisit past characters as the series progresses, but those characters hold strong roles in every book. 5 stars because sure, it's different, but bravo for that in and of it self!

The third book in Jacquelyn Frank's Nightwalker series picks up shortly after Gideon (The Nightwalkers, Book 2), the second book in the series, ends. Jacob and Isabella's daughter has been born and Warrior Captain Elijah and empath Magdelegna have been names her Siddah (the demons who will foster her and help her hone her powers), though a naming ceremony hasn't yet taken place. Isabella is recovering from the vicious attack on her and her baby, led by former councilwoman turned traitor Ruth and the female necromancers with whom she's joined forces. The demons and other Nightwalkers have just scored a victory against this group though--at the beginning of Elijah--we learn how short lived this coup may be.

When Elijah starts, the traitorous females in question have captured the demon king's warrior captain and are using their magic to torture him. Elijah is near death when the women are frightened away by the piercing scream of a cougar in the distance, and the Lycanthrope Queen Siena comes to his aid. Siena retreats into a nearby cave with Elijah and nurses him back to health. Of course the attraction is there, but they both fight it--for very different reasons. For Elijah, it's that the rules of his race prohibit him from Imprinting (the demon version of mating) with a mate who isn't of his same species. For Siena, it's that she is the queen of a matriarchal society and has no wish to share her rule with a man who could bring ruin to her people. Elijah is the story of how these two try to overcome these obstacles and prove that love really does conquer all.

I have to say that I was indifferent to Jacob (The Nightwalkers, Book 1). I liked the fact that it was a paranormal story that wasn't just about vampires and werewolves. Also, despite the fact that I didn't like the hero and heroine of that book, I did enjoy the secondary characters, Gideon and Magdelegna and for that reason I was willing to read the next book in the series. But then I didn't really care for Gideon. It was like Jacob all over again, with so much plot rehashing I wondered why Frank even bothered to call this second book by another name. And once again the only reason I even bothered to read Elijah is that I really liked these characters (Elijah and Siena) when they were introduced in Gideon. So I've learned my lesson. I'm done with the Nightwalkers series. Half of each book is just a rehashing of what happened in the previous story. And the only good thing about each book is the attention given to the secondary characters who will be at the forefront of the next book.

If you want something a series of paranormal romances that are worthwhile and don't spend so much time focusing on what happened in previous books, check out Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series beginning with A Hunger Like No Other (The Immortals After Dark Series, Book 1). And if you're into paranormal that is a little off the beaten path like the Nightwalker series tries to be, check out Richelle Mead's urban fantasy series starting with Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid, Book 1).

I have LOVED this series from the start and this book is no different. The only problem I did have was it wasnt as tight as the other 2. The first two books, Jacob and Gideon were tight, to the point and hit the ground running. Her writing is incredible. This one was way too wordy in a few places that just werent necessary...especially in the first 30-40 pages. I found my self saying enough of the kiss description already I get its a great kiss. Other than that this is a great installment and if this villian doesnt die soon I am gonna find a spell and kill her myself!! I have never hated a villan so much as this woman!!

I cant wait to see how this all will play out. It was great to see Giedon and Jacob and the men all interacting. Mz Frank does a fantastic job of taking you away to another world and dropping you off full of energy ready to go again!

To begin I really love this series as a whole. While I did not hate this book, I don't believe it lives up to the same standard as those that came before or after.

The Plot:

Elijah, the Captain of the Demon warriors, falls in love with Siena, the Queen of the Lycanthrope people. More, they become Imprinted, soul mates, with no power to resist the forces pushing them together. Despite this, Siena resists, not wanting to risk her throne or her people--or allow herself to be vulnerable to Elijah.

The Best Parts:

It's hard not to love Elijah-he's funny and sexy. He is willing to do just about anything to keep Siena as his own.

The world Frank has built remains rich and enthralling. Her variety of characters both old and new, including menacing villains, keep the book from becoming overly dull.

Where It Fell Short:

In my opinion this book was not nearly as romantic as it could have been. I found Siena's resistance to be annoying, even insulting, rather than understandable and sexy. More, the compromise they come up with seemed equally unfair to Elijah.

At this stage in the series I expected something very different from the first two books. However, it is very much like the first two in plot structure and tone. That's not entirely a bad thing, but if you read them back to make you may find it boring. Damien, book four, does a better job at adding variety.

If you have begun this series and enjoyed it so far I recommend continuing, because it is well worth getting through one average read to get to the much more fulfilling ones-Damien and Noah.

The first book of this series, Jacob, left me with that "Wow!" feeling after I turned the last page. I thought it was fresh and innovative and interesting, and I enjoyed the characters immensely. Imagine my disappointment, then, when I just couldn't get through Gideon, the second book in the series. Couldn't connect with the characters at all; couldn't stay interested in the story. Still...despite my dissatisfaction with Gideon, I went ahead and bought Elijah mostly because of the still-fond feelings I had for Jacob.

Blech.

I had two main issues with Elijah. One is that I feel like Frank includes WAY too much exposition. She narrates the story to the reader, rather than writing it in such a way that immerses the reader IN the story. Also, at times there's a noticeable imbalance between the exposition and the dialogue, and that imbalance disrupts the flow and rhythm of the story. An interesting premise becomes lost in the yawn-inducing, droning info-dump. My other issue with Elijah, the character, is that I feel like Frank emasculated him. He's supposed to be a strong, virile male, but he was so mush-mouthed, so hearts-and-flowers and overly in touch with his emotions that it was difficult for me to view him as a "manly" man. I like my romance novel heros to be a bit tender, but I also still want them to be MASCULINE, and Elijah, for me, wasn't.

I was on the fence before reading Elijah, but now that I have, I've definitely fallen off that fence. I won't be continuing with this series.

This story follows very much the style and form of the previous two in the series, "Jacob" and "Gideon". It focuses on the Demons, one of the groups of Nightwalkers (various creatures that go Bump In The Night like Vampires, Lycanthropes and the Demons, powerful supernatural beings) and in this story on the chief Warrior demon, Elijah, whose history includes being the warrior who killed the King of the Lycanthropes fourteen years ago.

Unfortunately as the story starts Elijah has been cornered by his enemies and seriously wounded. Just before he's finished off by Ruth and Mary, the former Demons who have now turned evil, those attacking him are frightened away by the call of a wild cat - a Cougar. That animal is the Queen of the Lycanthropes, Siena, whose rule for the last fourteen years since the death of her father has done a great deal to build bridges of peace with the Demons and the Vampires. Siena herself, rather in the manner of Queen Elizabeth I, has decided to stay a virgin so that she doesn't have to share her throne with a man who might drag the Pride back into war. The nature of being a Lycanthrope Queen means that if she mates with anyone that mating bond is for life.

Siena hasn't realised, however, the powerful pull of attraction she will feel when taking care of an almost-dead Elijah. She takes him to safey in a cave but they are trapped there for several days and despite the fact that they are from different species and the Demon Lore forbids any relationships between Demon and Lycanthrope, rather inevitably they find themselves unable to hold back their lusts. When they separate to go back to their individual lives there is clear evidence that there was more to this 'one off' mating than either of them imagined.

Their attempts to stay apart or to find a way of dissolving the Imprinting bond take their attention away from the fight against Mary and Ruth but soon all the Demons, as well as some of the other Nightwalkers, find themselves fighting for their lives.

As with the other books this is written in a lush style which is easy to read. However, also like the other books, the actual plot is rather thin and it seems that the characters spend quite a lot of time thinking or talking or faffing amongst themselves rather than doing anything (and the stuff they're doing doesn't really add to the sense of character for them, either). I was also a little disappointed that more wasn't made of the cross-cultural problem; for Elijah his mating with Siena breaks thousand year taboos (maybe like humans mating with chimps?) and for Siena to ally herself with a race that had been at war with hers for 300 years, not least that her mate is the man who killed her father, is a huge step and yet this all seems swept under the carpet remarkably easily. I had hoped for far more exploration of what this might mean to the individuals involved, the hostility they might face, and yet there was almost none.

Still this is a reasonable enough read in the genre with lots of input from the heroes and heroines of the previous novels as well as some likely new plot lines for future books. Those who enjoyed the others should like this one, others starting with this book should enjoy it but with some reservations.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book, www.curledup.com. © Helen Hancox 2007

I did not like this book. I felt exhausted when it was finally through. I did not like the Queen, who I felt did not deserve Elijah. She was annoying to say the least. It was nowhere as good as Jacob!!! I think I will take a break from this series, I read Book#1(5 stars) and Book#2(3 stars). Too bad, I was so exciting when I discovered this author after reading Jacob, what a great disappointment.

I'll admit that I had lukewarm feelings for Gideon and Legna. Their relationship left me wanting that while reading Gideon (The Nightwalkers, Book 2), I was more interested in the secondary characters and the brewing battle between the Nightwalkers and necromancers. Among those secondary characters that caught my interest were Elijah and Siena. There was something about their chemistry that really held my attention that I immediately picked up ELIJAH as soon as I finished with the second book. Let me say that I wasn't disappointed.

Surprisingly, my biggest gripe about Gideon was how the first sixty or so pages were pretty much all narrative which nearly lulled me to sleep - literally. Yet this book, while also quite descriptive, actually engaged me rather than distract me from getting involved with the characters.

I thought that Elijah and Siena were well-suited and I really couldn't picture them with another person... or should I say, creature? The chemistry as depicted in the second book is palpable and it was easy to believe how these two characters were drawn together despite their circumstances and prejudices. Both are forbidden to each other by the laws of their people, thus you know you are in for an emotional ride to see whether they will discard old scars and place their own needs over the needs of other people for once in their lives.

While the first few chapters started a tad slow, though not as slow as its predecessor, the pace quickly picks up and I found myself immersed in the lives of these interesting creatures. The suspense reaches a new high as the renegade Demons reach new powers and the discovery of an ancient library hints of untold history. This book only proves that Jacquelyn Frank still has a lot to offer her readers and I am certainly ready for more Nightwalkers.

It took me a bit of time to get interested in Jacob, I much more enjoyed Gideon's story and I finally finished Elijah. In all honesty I have become dissapointed especially after what felt like two chapters to begin Elijah which are nothing more than narration with no real action or dialog. It's just too darn wordy for lack of a better word. This is what it's like for me: there is all this emotional business going on, on top of the lengthy descriptions of the actions of the characters and then we get some (but not alot) dialog and very hard to follow fight scenes. After all that I'm worn out and not entertained. I find myself skipping ahead and not in a good way. I think her ideas are good but, I'm just bored and even though I have bought Noah and he has been my favorite Demon thus far, I'm not looking forward to reading it's 400 plus pages.
Sorry but this series has lost my attention.

Jacob is a demons executor, the must dark and lonely. Gideon is a mystical, full of knowledge and wisdom, a tormented soul, but Elijah is not only the best warrior of his race, is also a blond demon with the best instinct for battle, the feared hunter if he want a prey, and he want the lycanthropes Queen although this breaks all the rules that always have obeyed
The third book of this saga is equally intense and passionate. We discover much more about this Nightwalker world, where the demons, lycanthropes and vampires mostly cross their ways, their lives and their loves in order to survive.