Customer Reviews

Night's Cold Kiss (Dark Brethren)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I gave this book 2 stars but believe the author has potential. Antoinette Petrescu witnessed her mother being murdered by a rogue vampire(dreniac) when she was 6 years old. She grows up to become a Venator(rogue vampire hunter) Christian Laroque works for a government approved agency to hunt rogue vampires as well. But Christian's an Aeternus(vampire) The two must work together to hunt the rogue vampire that is on a killing spree. My problem at this point is that the story becomes cliched and erratic. Sure its a familiar plot but with some fancy writing and a creative edge many authors have made it work. Antoinette is a kick butt hunnter,the best in her class, yet early in the story she is almost bested by a group of teenage humans. Odd when you know she fights vampires for a living. Christian doesnt have any oomph. He stands around looking sexy and the author dresses him in a black suit and red shirt.Very vampiric.LOL. The story then becomes disjointed as a lot of characters are introduced by name and no description. They appear and disappear. I also think the author fell into the kill a character for impact mode. Characters died that could have played an interesting part in future novels or this one for that matter. The villain in this was a surprising twist but then even that was ruined by the appearance of a Aeternus(vampire)that was over a century old but stuck with the appearance of a 6 yr old. Another overused cliche. But there is potential. I think with a better more consistent story line, a little less cliche, and no more purposeless killing of characters, we'd have a winner. Maybe a story featuring the animalians (shifters) As for the spelling and typos-there were many. But lately I'm noticing that in a lot of romance so it may be editing in general in need of beefing up.

Overall, paranormals and vampire stories are still in demand. Tracey O'hara should take a moment study what she has and refine it.I'd give this author another chance just because I did see potential and the main parts work for me featuring hunters, rogue vamps and shifters on the police force

When Antoinette was six years old, she watched her mother die a very violent death at the hands of a rogue vampire. That incident shaped Antoinette into the woman she became. She was a determined, intelligent, and a skilled warrior, who made it her mission to kill as many of the Necrodreniac (rogue vampires) as she could. She would have liked nothing better than to get rid the planet of all vampires. It didn't matter that there were good vampires who were an intricate part of modern society...No, as far as she was concerned, they were all monsters. It was her hatred that motivated her into becoming the best Venators (rogue vampire/Necrodreniac hunters) of the best. While she had many good qualities, I couldn't help but feel her character was inconsistant. I was under the impression, she was suppose to be the elite of the Venators. She was suppose to be highly skilled, yet she often found her self bested or out-manuvered by less than skilled villians. Also, I felt her stubborn streak bordered on immaturity, and her feelings in regards to vampires was fickled at best.

I felt Christian's character lacked that something "special" most sexy and brooding vampires have...personality. It felt like everytime there was trouble, he was just standing around watching or was never around to begin with. This gave the impression of a card board character, like the author wasn't sure what to do with him. The only time he was noticably present was when a sex scene or something relevant to it came up.Now, that I am thinking about it...for a supposed nice guy, his sexual taste were a bit on the violent side. It seemed so out of character. I had expected romance and wisdom from him...nope didn't get it.

Now Victor on the other hand was a very engaging character. He was the light within the dark in this book. He was not only interesting, but he brought out the best in Antoinette and Christin's characters. His ability to use witty bantor and his engaging personality into the dialogue was sadly missed when the author decided to snub his character...thus taking away any engaging qualities the protagonsits might have had.

I thought the author did a good job on the world building, but the plot was lacking in both originality and substance. In fact, there were moments, when I felt the chapters were jerky and incomplete. I also felt, there were too many short cuts and easy outs. That being said, I saw alot of potential to be had in this book. The action sequences were amazing. I would have liked it , if the author delved more into the vampire politics. I think the political intrigue would have been a very prudent element. I would have also liked a bit more depth and romance in the relationship of Antoinette and Christian.

Overall, I think that the book was a good read, with the potential to have been a great one. I would have found it more appealing had the book had some unpredictablity, focus more on character depth, explored the vampire politics, and had some originality. I wish the book had more fluidity. Instead it felt jerky and incomplete. I also felt, the characters could have been more engaging and more consistant to who thier characters were suppose to be. I did like Victor, the conflict with Dante, the concept of the Troubles, and the small amount of political intrigue I was given. If you are looking for enjoyment in the urban fantasy world that is a quick and enjoyable read, then you might like Night's Cold Kiss.

Let's face it, it's hard for authors to bring something new to the field in this genre. There is only so much you can do with werewolves, vampires, and the like. What sets some authors apart is their ability to make even the most mundane plot come to life with strong likable characters. That is not the case here. What we have in Night's Cold Kiss is the typical girl whose mother was killed by a vampire, so now she must kill them all to get revenge. Of course she comes to realize that they aren't all bad, and of course she falls in love with one. If that isn't enough cliche for you there is plenty more, but I won't get into that for risk of spoilers.

I have to admit that I was enjoying this book initially. The two viewpoints were different enough to add an extra element to the story that many others don't have. There was a bit of intrigue where it seemed the vampires had their own agenda and were playing the humans, but all of that fell apart at around page 200 when the book turned into a romance. The two main characters have sex numerous times, and finally the real bad guy is revealed which isn't much of a surprise. I have a hard time understanding what the point of this book is. If it's a romance the romance is weak and I didn't enjoy it, if it's a mystery there isn't much to it and there isn't much detective work going on. It failed as an action book as well, and the characters aren't strong enough for it to be a character based story. So I'm left thinking it's just another vampire drama with no uniqueness and no redeeming qualities. It's readable, and it wasn't horrible, but I found myself skipping the repetitive love scenes and some of the action sequences towards the end. If you are looking for something new, this is not it. If you like the tried and true vampire hunter turned vampire lover story, then this one may not disappoint.

Danger very similar to a dark time know as the "troubles" is brewing. Much to her dismay, rouge vampire hunter Antoinette teams up with the Aeternus Christian to try and solve a string of murders. Despite her utter hatred of everything vampiric and his determination to never let another human sway him, the two of them quickly find a strong attraction to the other. The odds are stacked against them and with the fragile truce between the races in the balance, the two must come to terms with each other if they are to have any hope of finding the killer before it's too late.

This book was slightly frustrating to me to read. It almost felt like Antoinette had a complete personality change halfway through the book. In the beginning she is everything anti-vampiric. She is one of the absolute best at what she does, killing rouge vampires or Necrodreniacs. She even hates the so called "good" vampires, the Aeternus. When Christian comes along she is rude and downright hateful to him. Of course there was an attraction there almost from the start, but then all of a sudden about halfway through the book it's as if she just turns into this puddle of goo for him. It's like her toughness just flies right out the window. And for what? Considering the fact that she behaves like it's just sex and nothing more, this baffled me. You just don't change your entire outlook on life based on some good sex, and while I'm sure there actually was some real love starting to brew I found it frustrating that it really wasn't shown.

The premise behind this book is really detailed. There is a lot of world building, but it isn't confusing and I didn't feel overly bogged down with too much information. There are plenty of characters to build upon in this series and all of the unique terminology is fascinating. I enjoy books that aren't very predictable and apart from the romance, this one wasn't at all. There were plenty of curve balls thrown in, and the identity of the character behind the problems came at quite a shock.

Putting the drastic changes in Anoinette's behavior aside, the book was pretty good. As I said before, the premise of the book and all of the different characters and races are really interesting. I think there is great potential to this series, as there is so much to explore. Based on the ending of this book I feel that the dangers have only begun and future books should prove to have plenty of danger and adventure. Overall, I enjoyed this book and I feel it's a sound starting place to a series with a lot of promise.

"The Troubles" happened over fifteen years ago. Toward the end of it a six-year-old girl, Antoinette Petrescu, witnessed the slow, cruel murder of her mother by Dante Rubins. She has hated the vampire race ever since, even the one who rescued her, Christian Laroque. Antoinette has grown up to become a fiery and strong willed woman. She is an elite Venator. She hunts down the parahuman criminals.

When the foundation of the CHaPR council between the humans and parahumans begins to crumble, Antoinette reluctantly accepts Christian's help to repair it. When Antoinette begins to suspect Dante has returned no one believes her, stating that Dante perished. Yet Antoinette is almost positive Dante is nearby, possibly the latest serial killer the police search for.

Did Dante somehow survive and come back for Antoinette or is someone else behind the happenings? As for Christian, is he really planning to help or is he using her as bait to draw out the bloodthirsty dreniacs?

**** Author Tracey O'Hara has created a dark and foreboding world on Earth where humans know that other species sit at the top of the food chain as well. There are many terms and organizations to learn whenever a new species is introduced to readers. In the back of this book is a small glossary for anyone who begins to feel overwhelmed. Yet I, as the reader, never felt confused. Everything is so well written that the meanings of terms seemed obvious. My only real problem was keeping up with all the characters' names and positions. There is no glossary to help with that. The heroine, Antoinette, is a real hot head, but I could understand the constant tension bubbling just under her skin due to her traumatic past. An exhilarating story! I eagerly await the next book in the series. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

The lines are cut thin between good and evil, and trust and mistrust, in Tracey O'hara's creepy first Dark Brethren novel, NIGHT'S COLD KISS.

A woman was murdered whilst her six-year-old daughter watched. Now all grown up, and an elite Venator, Antoinette Petruscu is haunted by the parahuman who murdered her mother. Supposedly he died in a fire, but that's looking unlikely, and it can't just be a coincidence that women who share common features with Antoinette are being murdered.

Keeping herself safe whilst investigating means teaming up with Christian Laroque, an Aeternus. Trained to hunt Necrodreniacs addicted to the death-high of draining a human completely whilst feeding, Antoinette is not exactly friendly with vampiric people. But this is a matter of life and death - eternal or otherwise.

Whilst this series's vampires have a decent dose of originality, they also example what I dislike most: blood-thrall. It has the sleaze of mind-rape, though the donors seem rather scarily into it. This never sits well with me, but please persist reading if you're struggling early on - the last half of the novel is engrossing. The less you know beforehand, the better your reading experience. I can't name my favourite characters because of their strong connections to major spoilers.

Though the author is Australian, the setting is American, and the only Aussies you'll find here are in the bar - unsurprising, really ;-)

The sci-fi elements are the real drawcards, raising this above most other vampire novels on the market. With memorable scenes and a particularly unforgettable character (you'll know when you meet her), NIGHT'S COLD KISS kicks off a series with strong world-building, and hopefully much more science to come.

The Hundreds Years War between the humans and Aeternus vampires finally ended when courageous leaders from both sides reached a desperately needed peace accord. However, Necrodreniacs rebels reject the pact as they thrive on human blood; their thirst is insatiable.

Fifteen years ago, when she was six years old, Antoinette Petrescu observed in fear and horror as vampire Dante Ribins slowly killed her mother. Although another vampire Christian Laroque saved the child's life, she loathes all undead. Her racial prejudice has driven Antoinette who as a teen worked obsessively hard so she could become part of the elitist Venator corps stalking down paranormal criminals.

The CHAPR council between the humans and para-humans that has maintained the peace is beginning to fall apart due to distrust fostered by the actions of rogues on both sides especially the vamps. To save the council, Antoinette and Christian agree to team up though she loathes doing so. However, as she begins to believe Dante is behind the prime assaults on the council, no one accepts her theory that the notorious serial has returned from the dead. She also ponders whether Christian, hiding behind his mask of concern, is the impetus behind the dreniacs's bloody surge.

The first Dark Brethren tale is a terrific foreboding urban fantasy that uses sentient species' needs to be numero uno as a form of prejudice to anchor an ominous looking world where danger is everywhere. The story line is fast-paced, but the introduction to who's who slows down the reader (thankfully Tracey O'Hara provides a scorecard). Fans will enjoy the hostilities to be top dog on earth yet Antoinette makes this thriller work as she witnessed the tragedy of her mother's s death; the adult is the child. This is a great start to a world in which NIGHT'S COLD KISS is the warmest time on planet earth.

Harriet Klausner

"Night's Cold Kiss", the first in Tracy O'Hara's series "Dark Brethren" was an enjoyable book and yet far from perfect. I am still a sucker for a unique new Urban Fantasy story and while its not proved itself as one of the best out there, it also left me satisfied and eager to read the next installment.

The world is nicely developed. There are vampires called Aeternus, blood thirsty vampires called dreniacs, and dreniac hunters called Venators. Antoinette is one of those Venators. She has hated the Aeternus forever, never forgiving or forgetting that an Aeternus killed her mother years ago. Her uncle soons gives her a task working with two men who are both Aeternus. She is immediately attracted to Christian and can't help but like his amiable friend Viktor. Together, they try to find a murderer who is killing paranormals. Their research leads them into a deeper mess than they could have imagined and Antoinette seems to be right in the midst of it. New information comes up regarding the death of her father and a government official is killed right in front of her. She is truly shattered when she learns that her mother's murderer may not really be dead. In fact he may now be stalking her!

I really liked the world that the author has developed. It is strong and unique. The backs story can sometimes be overwhelming and I wish it could be explained better. The author tends to drop a lot of detailed information in a short amount of time and then flies quickly on to something else. She also has a habit of introducing a lot of new characters and not providing much detail about them. Then when they are mentioned again it is difficult to remember who that person is.

The characters seem to be both the strongest and weakest aspect of this book. I absolutely adored the gruff ex-government worker Oberon. He changes into a bear and is absolutely delightful. He is dry and grouchy and adds so much to the story. Also I really liked Viktor's dog Ceberus. I loved his loyalty and who can resist a cute dog? Vicktor was my second favorite character after Oberon. He had so many layers and mysteries I couldn't wait to have revealed but then, abruptly and unexpectedly, he was out of the story. I can't emphasize my disappointment over that and I believe it to be a detriment to the series. He could have been the next hero!

Unfortunately, both our leads, Antoinette and Christian were somewhat disappointing. Christian just was written as a strong character. I never believed him as a romantic interest for Antoinette. Even as the book closed I didn't feel like I knew the character. Antoinette was better but I was disappointed that she was introduced as such a strong, kick butt heroine and then later in the book seems to turn into a weak willed woman who needs to be saved. She also makes multiple bad decisions in the heat of the action.

Still I liked the plotline and the book sped along at a nice, brisk pace. I wanted to know more about Oberon and the world and I plan to read the next book. Hopefully this one just had `first book syndrome' and will eventually hit its stride. I really feel like this can be a special series, given some attention and thought.

Night's Cold Kiss is not exactly deep and meaningful fare, but nor did I expect it to be. O'hara delivers a raunchy, paranormal-filled romp that is sure to delight fans of the Sookie Stackhouse or Karen Chance books. Believe it or not, this book is actually steamier than those books, although not as steamy as some of the Laurell K. Hamilton books.

The characters are fairly one-dimensional, but they are at least somewhat interesting and not offensive. Antoinette kicks ass, which is always a good thing to see. Christian, the love interest, does have the whole perfect and broody thing happening, but manages not to be quite as insanely over-protective and irritating as the Edwards or Bills of the paranormal world. My favorite characters were the ursian (shifts into a bear) Oberon and the malamute Cerberus.

I have three rather nit-picky criticisms. One: the names. The character names are almost all absurd. See Antoinette (how would she not have abbreviated this?) and Christian (good name for a vampire). Antoinette's brother is nicknamed Nici (for real?). Two: the drinking. Antoinette says at the beginning that she rarely drinks and then proceeds to imbibe spirits (more than are good for her) in every scene until the action (ahem) really begins. Three: vampire healing or lack thereof. An Aeternus character heals from multiple broken bones in a matter of minutes. Another Aeternus is killed by a single silver bullet wound in a matter of minutes. Really? Sure, silver is bad, blah, blah, but that still seems a bit swift and unlikely.

But really, who cares about that? If you want to read a hot paranormal romance, Night's Cold Kiss will satisfy.

When I held Night's Cold Kiss in my hands for the first time I was immediately impressed. The book looks impressive and when I started to skim through it I discovered the Glossary at the end. I thought wow that really looks like some serious world-building and the book didn't disappoint in that department. But let's start at the beginning.

We are thrown in the middle of a world full of paranormal creatures living in a more or less peaceful coexistence with the human population. There are organisations on both sites to keep an eye on the fragile peace and to punish those who break the line. The biggest problem are the Draniacs, vampires who turned crazy after feeling the "death rush" while draining someone completely. They turn into mindless killing machines who go rampant on a killing spree. But there is a group of humans who protect us from this threat- the Venators and our heroine is one of them.

Antoinette is a kick ass heroine with some baggage of her own. Her mother was killed by a necrodreniac who made the small Antoinette watch her mother die a slow and painful death. No wonder Antoinette is now full of prejudices and hates vampires in general with all her might. Not only this makes her into the best Venator out there and her goal is to kill as many of those vampires as she can. Antoinette is stubborn as hell and at some points she shows a rather unbecoming childish streak. But she is also an unbelievably strong woman ,compassionate for those she loves and no matter what she wants to keep the rest of her family together. For outsiders she seems to be untouchable. Her attitude shows and she can't hide her disdain for the vampire population in general. When she meets Christian and Victor she doesn't seem to be able to stop herself from judging them. With time she discovers her missjudgment but old habbits die hard.

Christian is a mysterious and very old vampire. He has big secrets in his past but all in all he is a nice guy. He learned to be in control of himself and Antoinette seems to shortcircuit that ability. He tries to keep his attraction for her in check but I have to say he's not doing such a good job. I was really intrigued by this character at first but unfortunately in the middle of the story his character was pushed a bit into the background. I would have loved to read more about him.

And then we have Victor- he's Christian's best friend but nothing like the brooding hero. He's a wonderful funny and witty character but for my taste his description was a bit too androgynous to be attractive. But I loved him nonetheles. His way to banter with Antoinette gave this book a wonderful funny side, something to light up your mood between all those fights and bloodshed. He also has that wonderful beast of a dog, Cerebrus and I just loved that one too.

The sidecast in general was very intriguing and variying. Each and every single character had a distinct feel to them- this made Night's Cold Kiss extra vibrant for me. I love to see the different facets and even more like the compulsion to discover their own secret agenda. That's always the most fun for me in one of those novels full of political intrigues. One of the characters I loved the most is Kavendish the mysterious butler. Very entertaining character.

Again I have to say I thought the end was a bit too easy and the last scene threw me off even more. I would have never seen that coming but it makes me even more curious for book 2, Death's Sweet Embrace.

An urban fantasy novel with an awesome world-building, captivating characters and a fast paced story. Night's Cold Kiss is urban fantasy at its best and it even has a bit of romance to sweeten the deal. I can't wait to read more.