Customer Reviews

Night Myst (Indigo Court)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In general I like Yasmine's work, I own all of her fiction books and each series has had it's own voice. I've enjoyed watching her writing style change and grow and become what it is now. I freely admit that her Otherworld series is my favorite out of everything she's done so far, and I may be just reading into things too much when I say that Night Myst reminds me strongly of that series and comes across as a poor man's version of it. I am willing to give Night Myst another read through and look into the next in the series, Night Veil, just to see if I have that same impression or if it was just me.

Cicely Waters, a witch who can call on the wind, comes across as a combination of both Camille and her sister Delilah except that Cicely shifts into an owl, not a cat. Physically speaking, she tends to look more like Camille (dark hair, light eyes, tattoos).

Her cousin Rhiannon reminds me of Menolly just a little in looks (both have red hair) but mainly in the fact that they're both struggling with what they are. While Menolly is a vampire, Rhiannon can call on the element of fire. Both work to keep what they are under control, but while Menolly has embraced it and is working to keep her darker impulses in check, while being true to herself; Rhiannon has her powers on total lock down. She has since she was a teen and accidentally killed someone, because she was mad at her mother. The leader of her mother's coven degreed that since Rhiannon now had blood on her hands, that she wouldn't be taught how to use her magic. Since then Rhiannon has not used her powers and it's starting to bite her in the ass.

Her boyfriend Leo, reminds me of Chase in that Leo, serves as the books liaison between them and the vampires instead of being the go between for OIA and the humans.

Cicely's lover Grieve is the lover that is so wrong and so right at the same time for her, Trillian, anyone?

A war that endangers them, their loved ones and their home, hi Shadow Wing, how are you? And they have to pick a side and play by that side's rules.

Again, that all could just be me seeing things, but I don't want to read a watered down version of a series I already love, I want to read something new.

Readers will immediately be drawn into New Forest, Galenorn's fictional small town in Washington, when Cicely Waters returns home under a cloud of mystery and loss. Cicely is born into magic, and the death of New Forest's town witch, Marta, forces her to return, and face the demons of her past. She quickly becomes embroiled in the dangerous vampiric machinations of the local branch of the Vampire Nation and the mystery surrounding the disappearances of several other magic born locals. Throw a long lost, first lover; a newly risen breed of vampiric fae that use sex and fae glamours to control or kill their victims, and family members coming to terms with their own powers and personal demons into the mix, and you have the literary version of a molotov cocktail.

On the surface, Night Myst may feel very familiar to long time readers of Ms. Galenorn's work. As with her popular Otherworld Series, she has created more of her trademark spell-slinging, ass kicking alpha females; Cicely and her cousin, Rhiannon are both cut from this cloth. The responsibilities of family duty also act as motivations in this book, as is the case with the D'Artigo sisters. The "big bad," Myst, escapes from a prison thought to be permanent; and Cicely even reunites with a past love, Grieve, despite family disapproval, while discovering a new sexual chemistry with an enigmatic Asian who is more than meets the eye.

The sexuality and carnal pursuits in Night Myst are more heightened than in the Otherworld books. If very explicit sexual scenes are not to your taste, you may find yourself skimming over, or skipping, a few sections of story. However, while explicit, it is not gratuitous; the sensuality and sexuality of the vampires - both types - is integral to the story. Unlike the D'Artigo books, the Indigo Court Series is entirely from Cicely's point of view. One of the keenest differences between the old work, and this new series, is the infusion of magic into everything in this fictional town. There is not an issue of "educating" the "mundanes" (or to use terminology from the D'Artigo stories - FBHs - full blooded humans) about magic and magical creatures. The magic just IS; the vampires are out of the coffin and the werewolves howl openly. New Forest is actually home to an exclusive school for the magically inclined - the New Forest Conservatory.

The pacing is not as smooth as the last couple of releases from Ms. Galenorn. This seems to be more due to the fact that she's setting up a new world, with a very intricate mythology, and establishing several core characters, while clipping through a lot of plot. Many "first books" in a series suffer from this; but it seems to be a fair trade off in this case. Cicely and her cousin, Rhia, are both quite engaging and you find yourself rooting for them very early on in the story, not just because they're the "good guys," but because they're likable, accessible characters. The vampires are also fascinating and the political maneuvering amongst the higher echelon of the Vampire Nation, contrasting with the more brutal, elemental vampiric fae, will suck you into their world.

Overall, Night Myst proves to be a highly enjoyable read, and The Indigo Court shows the potential for becoming an even more addictive series than the Otherworld books. I look forward to seeing where Ms. Galenorn takes Cicely and her readers, next June, when Night Veil is released.

Cicely Waters, 26 year-old black-clad, green-eyed, tight-abbed, tattooed, street-fighting witch, has been summoned back to her Cascadian hometown so she can use her powers to help solve the mystery of a witch's murder and some strange disappearances. Soon Cicely finds that things are worse than she could have imagined when she learns that the Indigo Court, an old race of vampiric fae, are planning to take control of both their vampire and fae ancestors. Cicely and her pals will have to make an uncomfortable alliance with the Crimson Court vampires to beat this even nastier foe.

I don't normally read contemporary urban fantasy, but I wanted to try Night Myst because it's been released on audio by Tantor Audio and I love their books. As usual, their production was beautiful and perfectly cast. Cassandra Campbell narrated Night Myst and she is completely convincing with all of her roles and has a wonderful range of voices that suit both the female and male characters. Her voice for Cicely isn't whiny and her male voices are strong and masculine-sounding (two places where I've heard plenty of female readers go wrong). I definitely recommend Tantor's audio version for anyone who wants to read Night Myst.

So, how did I, who am admittedly not a fan of this subgenre, like Night Myst? The bottom line is this: Night Myst kept me entertained for 11 hours, but I probably will not read the rest of the series. I'm now realizing more and more that it's me: I just don't much like this type of novel. However, I think Night Myst will be appealing to those who do enjoy this subgenre.

The plot of this first book in the INDIGO COURT series is quick and interesting and, while it wraps up satisfactorily here (the characters accomplish much of what they set out to do), the real battle is just beginning and it promises to be intense. Cicely is a strong, likable heroine with a realistic voice and it's from her POV that we hear her story.

I hope her English teacher doesn't hear it, though, because s/he would almost certainly be dismayed at Cicely's overuse of words such as cerulean and sparkle (and all of its derivatives), tired expressions and clichés ("like a deer in the headlights") and some out-of-style slang and ugly vulgarity. I'm going to charitably forgive one ancient vampire for this bad simile and assume its construction was caused by extreme stress:

"Listen to me. If the Indigo Court rises up, then you'll sympathize with us so fast and so hard that you'll beg me to turn you! They would eat you alive, like piranha going after a deer that's stumbled in the forest."

...or perhaps he's been alive so long that he's witnessed some sort of transitional missing link that the rest of us aren't aware of...

Okay, so the language in Night Myst is uninspiring -- it's a bit charmless and mundane. Even the parts that are supposed to be beautiful -- descriptions of sparkly elementals, sparkly vampires, and sparkly snow -- all feel gaudy, as if infused with purple neon and sequins like the pony toys my daughters play with. I also had some issues with all the heritage, powers, and magical gifts that Cicely suddenly and easily acquires.

Another big issue for me (and I recognize this as my problem) is that I just don't like vampires. Vampires "freak me out" (as Cicely would say) and sex scenes with them are more horrifying than arousing to me. I've tried to get over this little phobia, but I can't seem to.

Overall, Night Myst is likely to be a good read for those who like vampires, sparkles, and a strong kick-ass heroine. The audio version is a terrific production, so I recommend this format if you plan to read Night Myst.

The concept had a ton to look forward to. When reading, it went through very fast through things you think would have more details and vise versa. The main character, Cicely, is strong and super weak at the same time. Its frustrating.. there really was no pull for me to want to turn the page other than I paid for the book. There was sexual "tension" between characters, but when you read the acts... it fell short. The author spent more time describing breakfast than making love.

This was so awful, I didn't even finish it. I found myself cringing so much after the first half that reading it actually became painful. Very cliche, and eventually it gets boring because it is so predictable. Cicely is the center of everyone's universe it seems, and nothing in this novel seems even remotely realistic. The author tries too hard to make up for her weak writing by making the sexual scenes very lurid. Again, they were no fun to read, because they were too unrealistic--EVERYTHING relates back to Cicely. I understand that that is the progagonist's role, but Cicely's flaws are too unimportant, and the things that are good about her are made cliche by her lack of any real flaws.

Now, I just want to start out by saying that I am a fan of Yasmine. That being said...this book was terrible. It started off badly, and the dialog was just un-natural. Cicily seems like she should be a STRONG character, but every time she comes up against a bad guy...she backs down to save her a**. And the Vamps are just sadistic. The whole relationship with Grieve was pretty un-interesting as well...and she never could give me a reason to actually LIKE the character. I kept hoping it would get better...but was always let down. Anytime the action would get good, the characters would do or say something dumb to mess it all up and make me want to chuck the book (Hence the 2 stars vs 1). Sad to say Yasmine...this one is going straight to Bookmans so I can get credit on a GOOD book.

This book was such a dissapointment to me! I read the back and thought it would be such an awesome book, but the author's writing skills leave something to be desired and her characters were flat and not convincing. And the crude and nasty sex scene in the vamp party was just too much for me, yuck! No attraction here. The only thing the book has going for it is the plot and the concepts, which are very good, just not competently written.

Cicely, a young witch that hasn't been home in almost a decade, is asked to return and take up her duties. She's inherited a business, a business that is necessary for the towns health. But something strange is going on. The magic born are disappearing and dieing, and it looks like vampires are killing them.

Before she makes it back home, her Aunt is kidnapped. She knows she is going to need help to figure out what is going on, and that means finding Grieve, her first love. She's loved him since she was seventeen, but she'd broken his heart when she'd refused to stay with him. Could he forgive her and help fight the evil that was taking over the North Woods?

Well done! The book isn't perfect, there are certainly some inconsistencies. Small editing issues that weren't caught. For example, the author writes that 'Marta closed her business six months ago, and in the next paragraph stats that Marta mentioned a couple weeks ago that customers have been clamoring for protection charms recently. Still, the story itself is solid. It's urban fantasy, it's romance, it's mystery, it's a good read!

Witches, Fae, Werewolves, Vampires... Who can ask for more?

Yasmine Galenorn created another fabulous story and a wonderful set of characters. NIGHT MYST is the first book in the new Indigo Court series, which promises to be just as action packed and magical as her Sisters of the Moon series. Following Cicely Waters, an elemental witch as she struggles to discover herself while uncovering a dark force that has taken over her hometown, NIGHT MYST combines magic and mysticism with a fair amount of drama and adventure.

The one thing that I really love about Ms. Galenorn's books is her character development. The main plot of NIGHT MYST involves Cicely discovering the vampiric fae queen, MYST of the Indigo court. More dangerous than either vampires or fae, this deadly combination is definitely a force to be reckoned with. As we journey through the story and learn more about the dangers here, Ms. Galenorn gives us some good glimpses into Cicely and the troubled romance she has with the dark Grieve. Rather than just spouting out a quick backstory for Cicely, Ms. Galenorn weaves this into the book, allowing us to learn about Cicely just as she learns about herself. I found this method of pulling the reader into the story to be quite effective; it really helped bring the characters and story to life.

Speaking of characters - did I already mention that I love Cicely as a character? The fact that she can control the wind just makes her that much more awesome to me. Her "sidekick" is her air elemental and this added dimension to the story is like the icing on the cake.

As with her other books, Ms. Galenorn's writing style in NIGHT MYST is very clear and easy to read. She uses fairly realistic language and it is pretty easy to imagine someone sitting on the side of the road using the same dialogue that she gives her characters. Well, okay, perhaps minus the vampiric bloodsucking bit. At least I hope so anyway.

I believe that fans of the Urban Fantasy or Paranormal genres will definitely find something to love in NIGHT MYST. This is a robust story that keeps the reader guessing and anticipating from page one all the way through to the end. Also, previous fans of Ms. Galenorn's will be happy to note that this new series looks to be just as good as her others. I highly recommend it and am anxious to see where the story is going to go in future books.

Check out the original post at: Escape by Fiction - [...]
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**Spoilers**

Cicley heads back to her home town after hearing from the wind that there was trouble coming for her family. She arrives too late and her grandmother has been killed and her aunt has been taken, by the Indigo Court - a vampiric fae race.

Myst, the queen of the Indigo Court, has taken over town and magic born and muggles are disappearing left and right. Cicely makes a deal with the vampires in exchange for their help for finding her abducted friends and family.

Cicely met Grieve when she was young and wants to reconnect with him. Too bad he's part of the Indigo Court now, one of the bad guys. But there's more to their relationship than meets the eye, they're lovers form past lives destined to find each other again and they have. Is it too late?

Cicely and her scooby gang make their way into the Indigo Court to rescue the abducted people. Grieve is struck with the illness set upon the Indigo Court by the regular vampires via a poison one of the vampires planted on Cicely - knowing she'd infect Grieve with it. They leave him behind, save a girl and a Fae and kind of, but not really HEA.

Ok - lots of issues with this book. It starts off with a big deal about Cicely inheriting the gram's business, but never really goes anywhere with it besides the books that the gram owned. People in town being bigots was an issues at first, but never really went anywhere with it. The danger of the vampires in town, again - never really went anywhere with it. Is this a world where everyone knows about magic, fae, vampires and shifters - or only this town? I think if only one or two danger elements had been used, it may have flowed better.

I didn't really feel the connection between Cicely and Grieve - their sex scene was hot, but I couldn't feel the love. I liked most of the characters, but I really thought Grieve was a tool. I actually liked Lannan more. I thought it was too wordy on the descriptions and I really didn't like the tone/language of the dialect. This was a really low 3 for me, only because some of the sex scenes were saucy. I dunno right now if I'd continue with this or not...