Customer Reviews

Night World No. 2: Dark Angel; The Chosen; Soulmate

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In Dark Angel, Gillian is the quiet girl no one ever really notices. She's lonely, and is suffering from her parents' crumbling relationship. It's while walking home from school one winter day that she falls into an icy river, and dies. On her way to heaven, she meets Angel, her handsome guardian angel, who insists that it's not her time yet, and makes her return to earth. But instead of going to back to her meek and quiet life, Gillian is transformed into the most popular girl in school--with Angel's help. But when Angel begins to manipulate Gillian into doing things she doesn't want to do, she must question everything she thought she knew about him and herself.

Rashel is strong, mentally and physically, and hardened against life's injustices, a result of witnessing her mother's murder at the hands of a vampire. Now she has devoted her life to tracking down her mother's killer, becoming the most feared vampire hunter among the Night Worlders. But when a chance encounter with the vampire Quinn, who has a reputation to match Rashel's, leaves the both of them confused--and very much alive--they discover a bond between the both of them that could be their undoing in The Chosen.

In Soulmate, Hannah's life is perfect: she has a great mother, a scholarship to her college of choice, and wonderful friends...except for one thing: she is going insane. Puzzling dreams and notes she's written but has no recollection of leave her miserable and frightened. But during her therapy sessions with a small town shrink, the shocking truth comes out. Hannah has been reincarnated since the dawn of Night World, following her soulmate Thierry, Lord of the Night World and immortal vampire. But as memories of past lives resurface, Hannah finds she doesn't entirely trust Thierry, and Maya, the original vampire, would very much like to rip Hannah to shreds.

Like the first volume of the Night World books, Night World Vol. 2 is a supernatural lover's dream book. Smith's stories, though they revolve around the same beings, are all very inventive and unique. Her characters are varied and all have colorful personalities, which gives the concept of the Night World such authenticity. Smith's writing also has an air of sophistication and ease that is very simple and enjoyable to read, but at the same time, deals with many complex issues. Like with the first volume, there is plenty of doomed romance and danger, but rather than coming across as cheesy, it is adventurous and polished.

Also in this volume, readers get a feel for the changes that are going on in the Night World, set in motion by the original characters from Secret Vampire (Volume 1), Poppy and James, and Smith also adds some Night World history and lore in Soulmate. These little qualities that lend credibility to a comprehensive picture of the Night World are what distinguishes Smith's paranormal realm from the many others floating around in the genre, and make for a truly enjoyable reading experience. L.J. Smith is a master at mysterious, action-filled, romantic, and suspenseful reads.

This is a combination of my individual reviews for Night World 4: Dark Angel, Night World 5: The Chosen, and Night World 6: Soulmate.

I would give this collection a 3-3.5 out of 5. Smith continues her Night World series with Gillian and a guardian angel, Rashel the vampire-hunter with a vampire soulmate, and Hannah and Thierry, the original soulmates.

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Night World #4: Dark Angel, by L. J. Smith

At first "Dark Angel" doesn't seem like a typical Night World book. Gillian Lennox is a normal teenager; someone that many teen girls could probably relate too. She's not one of the popular crowd but instead is a shy outcast. Her two goals in life are somewhat superficial: she wants to be popular, and she wants David Blackburn to love her. But then who wasn't superficial when they were a teen?

Gillian's introduction to the Night World comes when she has a near death experience. On her way home from school, she goes into the snowy woods after she thinks she hears a child crying. Instead she falls into a creek and hypothermia sets in. But she's rescued by Angel, a celestial being who guides Gillian back to the road. But Angel turns out to be more than just a lifesaver, as he starts to help Gillian fulfill her goals. He whispers the secrets of popularity in her ear, helping a shy girl transform into a vivacious butterfly. But as Gillian's status increases at school, she starts to become suspicious of her guardian angel...who is he really? And what does he want with David?

The Night World connection in this book is tenuous, but it does make sense. After all, in a world populated with werewolves, vampires, and other supernatural creatures, it's natural that spirits would exist as well. So far Gillian is probably the most identifiable of all the protagonists in the Night World books, as she's your everyday teenage girl who finds out that there's a secret world...and she's part of it. How many of us have wished for that? I know I have.

For me, "Dark Angel" is a solid chapter in the Night World series, but it doesn't really stand out, but then it isn't bad either. It's a good story of growth.

3/5.

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Night World #5: The Chosen, by L. J. Smith

When she's 5 years old, Rashel sees her mother and her friend killed by a vampire. The vampire tries to get her as well, but even at 5 she's strong enough to resist his mind control. Fast forward twelve years and Rashel is a vampire hunter, existing on the fringes of the Day and the Night worlds, keeping humans safe.

Rashel is a very strong character, comfortable in her body and determined because of her past. She's a great fighter and has a sense of honor. When she and a group of vampire hunters capture a vampire, the others want to torture him, but Rashel can't stomach torturing a defenseless being, even if he is a vampire. So she decides to let him go...and then discovers he's her soulmate. To add to the mix, the vampire is Quinn, known throughout the Night World as one of the most soulless, human-hating vampires around.

While Rashel is one of my favorite Night World characters, I find the plot of this book a little weak. Rashel stumbles into a Night World slave trade of humans when she rescues a blonde bunny, but then Daphne, the girl she helps, is willing to risk her life to help Rashel take down the operation. The ending is very abrupt as well, without taking care of some loose ends that I would've liked to see resolved. But overall "The Chosen" fits very nicely into the Night World series, and uses the soulmate principle that ties all the books together very nicely. Rashel and Quinn are iconic of the opposites attract cliche, but it works for them and they grow over the short time period of the book. I really want to see more of them.

3/5.

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Night World 6: Soulmate, by L. J. Smith

Hannah Snow has the perfect life - she's about to graduate from high school, she already has a college scholarship, and she even knows that she wants to be a paleontologist. But her perfect life starts to collapse when she finds notes that she doesn't remember writing, warning her of a dire event - "Dead Before Seventeen."

Increasingly disturbed by the notes and bad dreams, Hannah visits a psychiatrist. On her very first appointment, a werewolf crashes into the building and tries to attack her, but a mysterious voice in her head helps her dodge each claw swipe. She's saved by the arrival of a second werewolf, who chases off the first.

Knowing that she has to get to the root of what's going on, Hannah and the psychiatrist try hypnosis, and she's plunged into a vision of a past life, where she was Hana, and a strange boy with blood around his mouth appears in her village...

Thierry is one of the oldest vampires in the world, created at the dawn of humanity. He's spent his lifetime searching for his soulmate, trying to find her before her 17th birthday so he can break a cycle of death. But when he finds her this time, she doesn't want his help...

"Soulmate" is my favorite Night World book. Coming 6th in the series, it exemplifies the soulmate principle Smith has used in each previous book, because Hannah and Thierry are the original soulmates. Hannah's past lives are a great plot device, because it allows Smith to give her lots of growth and abilities; and I really enjoy the stories of her past lives. I wish Smith had done more with that, she alludes to some interesting incarnations of Hannah but only fills in a few. Like other Night World heroines, Hannah's no wilting flower and she does take matters into her own hands when she needs to. Also in "Soulmate" Smith starts to introduce a bigger theme if classic theme, saving the world, and it'll be interesting to see where she takes it.

If you read any of the other in the Night World series, this book will also give a good update on what your favorite couples are up to, and what they are trying to do.

4/5.

I read the Night World books when I was a teenager and reallt enjoyed them, so I thought that I would reread them as an adult. I had the same feelings that I had as a child reading them as an adult. This series is like Twilight but with more than one family and set of characters. The second ominibus has my favorite stories in it, so I was very excited to buy it. Overall the stroies are well written and fun to read. If you like vampires, wearewolves and witches you are going to like these books.

I love how characters are "mentioned" in some of the other Night World stories (books actually as each was once a separate book) and then become main characters later in the Night World Series some where.
My favorite L.J. Smith "book" so far (Besides The Secret Circle Series)has to be The Chosen from Night World Book 2. I hated to see it end and would love a continuation of this "book".
Loved Soulmate too!
I can not wait for Night World 3 to be released.

So for some asinine reason I picked up this book before reading NIght World book 1, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't necessary to have read the first three Night World' books in order to understand what was going on. But, after reading this book I decided to buy the rest of the series. I really liked it!

Like the other night world books this book is composed of three independent stories. All of which were paranormal love stories, that were clean, easy to read and fun -albeit a little predictable at times.

The first story, Dark Angel, I found to be the least predictable. In this story Gillian dies, but then is brought back to life by her guardian angel who then sticks around to make all her dreams come true, only after a little why some of the request he makes of Gillian aren't very angelic and she begins to question who this guy really is. Once I started this book I could not put it down. Gillian I found a little annoying at times, but I thought she was a realistic character, the story moved fast, it was interesting, and unpredictable. Not terribly deep, but It wasn't totally shallow either, which is kind of what I look for in a book. I just want to escape somewhere and all these stories definitely do that.

The Chosen was the second story in this volume and this is my favorite. Rashel becomes a brutal vampire hunter after seeing her mother killed by one when she is a child. She hates Vampires, then she meets Quinn, one of the most heartless vampires in the Night World who just happens to be her soulmate (sorry if this gives anything away, but since it says it on the back of the book I thought it was safe to add.)
Anyhow, this story is my favorite because I love both Quinn and Rashel, they are both strong semi-complex characters and L.J. does a really good job with their chemistry. For me this story was worth buying the whole book!

Soulmate was the third book in this series and this was my least favorite, though I have read other reviews were people loved it -and I did like it, I just didn't love it. This is a story that deals with past lives -which is an interesting concept, as well as vampires -which I love, no matter how many books are written about them, and it has a nice love story, but for me it was a little too predictable. I still really enjoyed it, though, as I did the whole book which is why I recommend this book! That is, if you like this sort of stuff, or are a fan of L.J. Smith, which I am (except for her newest vampire diaries books :( which I still feel sad about).

The books were purchased for a 9th grade student whom wants to be a writer and is living in poverty, she has been inspired by the two Authors.

Warren

I've been a vampire fan for a long time, and some can be quite inappropriate for younger consumers. So when I find things that my daughter might like I tend to pre-read it before my daughter does. I can without reservation hand these novelettes over to my daughter to read. I like that there are strong moral female characters for her to emulate, though I am a bit disconcerted by the common theme of soul mates. Then again, I am male and over 50, and my daughter is 14. Hopefully she will love it and it will further stimulate her to read.

THIS IS A GOOD SERIES. IT HAS WONDERFUL STORIES ABOUT VAMPIRES. THERE ARE THREE STORIES TO EACH BOOK BUT ALL ARE INTER LINK IN SOMEWAY. I REALLY LIKE THIS SERIES.

I read this series when it was originally released. I still have all nine books. They have their own shelf on my bookshelf (along with The Vampire Diaries, Dark Vision, Forbidden Game etc). I bought these "anthologies" because this series is just great. I love Soulmate.

These books are a very good read. However I only wish they were longer. Can't wait until Book 3 is released.