Customer Reviews

Night World: Daughters Of Darkness

5 star:		(113)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS was the first book by L. J. Smith that Iread and I was hooked after that! I loved the way L. J. Smithdescribed all the characters, especialy Ash, and gave them all completely different personalities. This is, by far, one of the best books I've ever read and I can't wait for STRANGE FATE to come out. For anyone who is looking for another good series by L. J. Smith I suggest the Vampire Diaries and Dark Visions trilogies.

This book was great and I just loved Ash. It should have 5 stars from everyone. And you have to read it. It was great. I did not like what happened to Jeremy but it was still the best book in the Night World series! It keeps you reading to the end. You will not put it down. I hope you read it for your sake. So read it!!

Jade, Kestrel, and Rowan, three vampire sisters, have left their home in secrecy. Tired of living in a society that acts as though it's stuck in the 16th century, they decided to go live with their great-aunt. Unfortunately, she's been staked, and they have no idea who did it. Things are further complicated when Ash, their brother, comes to take them back. Ash gets something of a shock, however - he finds his soulmate in the small town of Briar Creek, and she's human.

If you've read the first Night world book, you'll remember Ash. Believe it or not, he gets even better in this book. It's hilarious watching the usually confident Ash try to figure out how to deal with the reality of having a human soulmate (one who kicks him at every opportunity). This book is different from all the other Night World books, in that the soulmates here do not like each other and would like to find a way not to have that bond. I consider Ash to be one of the more complex characters in the series, and this book peels away a lot of the layers. Mary-Lynnette, his soulmate, is great, because she doesn't just let Ash walk all over her - she talks back, and, like I said, she kicks him a lot. The mystery element of the book is pretty interesting, and I liked the three sisters, although the author doesn't really go into as much depth with their characters as you might think she does from what the back of the book says. This book is less about the sisters and more about the murder, Ash, and Mary-Lynnette.

Personally, I feel this book is the best in the Night World series, because I love the character Ash. He is such a hottie, though he has many personality flaws and actions to be ashamed of. That just makes him a more realistic character. Mary-Lynette and the rest of the characters are well thought-out also, and I hope to read about them in the future. This is my favorite series of L.J. Smith's, because in incorporates all creatures of the night. I look forward to reading Huntress and Black Dawn, since I've read all the other Night World books numerous times already, to indulge my fantasy craving mind. My only disappointment is that there are no shapeshifter soulmates. They must be just as intriguing as witches and vampires. And why can't I find Volume one of the Vampire Diaries anywhere? That series must be out of print, though it isn't old

Daughters of Darkness is the second book in the Night World series and centres around three groups of people - Mark and Mary Lynette Carter, two siblings who are wannabe astronomers, Rowan, Kestral and Jade Redfern, three vampire sisters escaping the confining life their previous home the vampire conclave, and Ash Redfern, their elder brother who's come to drag them home and successfully has L.J. Smith fans swooning in the aisles.
It is an interesting premise, and things start to heat up when the girls arrive at their great-aunt Opal Burdock's house in Briar Creek only to find her staked through the heart. Panicking, they bury the body in the garden outside, but are witnessed by Mary-Lynette who's watching the stars on the hill overlooking the house. Doubtful that Mrs Burdock is really dead, Mary-Lynette and her brother nevertheless investigate, and come across the vampire sisters hunting in the wood...
However, because Mark and Jade fall pretty fast for each other a truce is made and the sisters share their fears with the two siblings - something is out there, something that's killing things, and all of them work their dectective skills to figure out who it is ... Ash? Bunny Marten, the shop attendant with the lamia name? Jeremy, the garage worker with a deep, dark secret? A vampire hunter?
And then Ash turns up, and to his and Mary-Lynette's horror, they find they are soulmates, destined to be together even though Ash is not a very nice guy.

The story is pretty interesting, and it's fun to guess whodunnit, though I admit I was a *little* disappointed as to the murderer's motives. L.J. Smith obviously had fun designing the three sisters, all with different personalities and features. For once there wasn't a contrived happy ending that is so popular in L.J. Smith's books, and the atmosphere of the book was very well done too - the desert-like Briar Creek gave a sense of being trapped in the middle of nowhere with a wild beast on the loose, and chemistry between all the characters was realistic, poignent, and sometimes funny. (Watch out for Ash giving Jeremy a hard time).

All in all, this was a much better book than the first 'Secret Vampire', which extented the Night World a bit, and mingled together characters that have been in previous books (Ash) and characters who'll appear in future ones (Quinn).

Book 2 of the Night World series, Daughters of Darkness, shifts focus to a new set of characters of the secret society. Relatives of James from the first book, we meet Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade. They are three vampire sisters who snuck away from home. Tired of the secret society, they want to try to live as humans out in Oregon. They move into a dilapidated old home, next to Mark and Mary-Lynette Carter. As Jade and Mark get closer, their brother Ash comes to town to bring his sisters back. Of course, he meets Mary-Lynette and things get interesting...

Ash, the handsome blondie who we remember from the first book as being a conniving, selfish, and manipulative, experiences a bit of growth in this book. In the first book you would have never thought it would happen, but I was glad to see the character development.

What I like about the Night World books is that while you could read each book separately as a stand-alone, it's great to see prior plot lines and character weaved into the current story. It makes you feel even more connected to the story and the world.

These books are short reads, but I find them pretty satisfying because the plot moves along and it focuses on what you really want to see.

Mary-Lynnette's wants seem simple enough. She likes her quiet life, stargazes as a hobby, bases her life around becoming an astronomer, and hopes the three new girls moving in next door with the kindly, if eccentric, Mrs. Burdock will help to bring her shy brother, Mark, out of his shell.

Unfortunately, what she ends up with is a murder mystery, romance she doesn't want, and oh, yeah, those three new girls are vampires with a dangerous older brother coming to drag them back home.

There are a LOT of characters to focus on, as per usual with a murder mystery. We have Mary-Lynnette, Mark, the three sisters Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade, their brother Ash, and the local werewolf, Jeremy. And those aren't even the suspects. The endless supply of characters in such a short amount of pages is a little overwhelming, with so many aspects of so many characters not fully explored. But what really gets the reader, even the fans of over ten years, is the star-crossed attraction between Mary-Lynnette and Ash.

It's a bumpy road, to put it lightly. Mary-Lynnette is a simple, if nosy, human girl, while Ash is a dangerous, well-known vampire--and not well-known in the good sense, in Mary-Lynnette's book. Understandable; in Secret Vampire and Daughters of Darkness it's implied he's killed human girls and worse. There are very subtle hints at sexual abuse toward human females that younger readers may miss, but the words are enough to paint a picture that Ash is Very Bad.

Many fans complain at the ending, but it is the ending that keeps them so captivated with these two. Mary-Lynnette wants to finish high school. She can't see herself with Ash as he is now, knowing his past. Ash is sorry and wants to repent, by the end of the novel, but wanting isn't enough. Mary-Lynnette is dealing with a soulmate who is potentially mentally unstable, definitely cruel, and by all human means, a classified felon (if he could be traced, that is).

L.J. Smith did well in ending the story with no conclusion (which she has promised the fans would come at the end of the series for years; ten years later and still nothing). Ash needs room to grow in order to be someone Mary-Lynnette will not regret willingly falling in love with.

This is a good book, by no means the best, but excellent for the series. It was the second book I read (no, Secret Vampire was not the first) and ultimately the one that got me hooked.

Here's to hoping the Mary-Lynnette/Ash fans get closure in the near future. Publishers, don't keep faithful fans in suspense!

I, LOVE this book. It is by far the best of L.J.Smiths Night World books. I can only find one flaw. No-one, and i mean no-one would just let a hunky guy like Ash just walk away? I mean Come On! As if. OK so what he's done some bad things but hey, you'll get over it. What if something happens to him while he's away and the last thing you said was "nice line". But okay that's fine, you wanna let him go? OK. But when do we get to find out if and when he and Mary Lynette get back together? That's just mean not telling us that. But besides that downfall the book was excellent and I love the way L.J.Smith described how they all turned really beautiful after they had fed. Heeheehee.
Neways gotta go, hope you all enjoy/d the book as much as I did.
Jess

This is my favorite book in L.J. Smith's uniformly excellent Night World Series. I've read it about a million times, and it never gets tired. I love the romance between Mary Lynette and Ash. The idea of soulmates is very exciting, and the scenes between the two of them are perfect. My favorite part is when Mary Lynette quotes Pride and Prejudice and Ash responds the same way, shocking her. Sigh. If you haven't read this book, get thee to a bookstore, a library, whatever and start right away!

In Daughters of Darkness, LJ Smith outdoes herself. Three beautiful sisters hide a deadly secret that threatens to be discovered by the inhabitants of a sleepy town. Rowan, Kestrel and Jade are on the run - from their families and from the Elders. They know that their brother Ash (James' cousin from Secret Vampire) is seeking them and that he is bent on returning them to the boring life they have led.

Two siblings chance upon their secret and find themselves befriending vampires. As they learn more about the Night World, their own lives are turned upside down by a sickening deed. Who or what is it that stalks Briar Creek?

Fantastic! I enjoyed this book immensely with its portrayal of two very different and yet similar families. The obvious difference is the species but the vampire girls have never had true freedom before while Mary-Lynette and Mark have lived their lives in a small town in the country. The similarities lie in the older sisters. Both fiercely protective of their siblings, they will do anything to keep them from harm.

I loved the conflict between Ash and M'Lin, especially when they first meet. The story progressed well and unlike some stories, had a more convincing ending, rather than the sudden death of the baddie. This was one of my favourites in the series and I am still waiting anxiously for Strange Fate, which is the 10th.