Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Recommended Read!, June 23, 2008
The end of the world is nearing and only a select few have the potential to stop it. They are the NIGHTKEEPERS... but has their heritage been lost too much for them to reclaim it?
Leah Daniels is a Miami Police Detective but she wants revenge on the cult leader she believes responsible for her brother's death. Matty was a victim of the so-called Calendar Killer and his death remains unsolved although Leah strongly suspects the cult leader who preaches the Mayan calendar countdown to 2012 signals the end of the world.
Meanwhile, Striking Jaguar is attempting to assemble the last of the NIGHTKEEPERS, a race he thought lost long ago in the massacre in which his parents perished. Strike is the heir to the throne but visions of Leah are disrupting his quest to save the world. Will his visions spell doom just as his father's did?
Jessica Andersen does a marvelous job at crafting a very credible and intensely complex world. The story is based on the Mayan mythology and the sheer depth of the legends alone would make NIGHTKEEPERS worth reading. Ms. Andersen takes things even deeper however, as she creates new races and powers that are all tied into the Mayan calendar and the fear of the year 2012.
NIGHTKEEPERS is a powerful, sometimes violent, but always exciting tale. Don't mistake the violence for being gratuitous, however, as the plot is true to the core of the Mayan belief system in her book and the lines between good and evil are clearly drawn. The pace never slows down as Jessica Andersen takes off running with the plot from the very first page.
Jessica Andersen introduces readers to a plethora of characters in NIGHTKEEPERS. Her book reads very much like a fantasy novel rather than the typical paranormal romance so I suspect that urban fantasy fans will appreciate her efforts the most. NIGHTKEEPERS requires some extensive world building and Ms. Andersen is only just now scratching the surface of the characters and what paths they will lead us readers down. I must admit that Rabbit really stole the show as his story is so unusual that it is hard not to feel sympathy for him.
NIGHTKEEPERS is an exciting and innovative foray into the urban fantasy/paranormal romance genres. Jessica Andersen simply blew me away with this phenomenal tale. Kudos to Jessica Andersen for a book that truly stands out!
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An entirely new realm, June 12, 2008
I admit that I'm a little late reading this book. It was on my shelf in the TBR pile. I picked it up this morning and I can say I've been an idiot for waiting this long.
Jessica Anderson has created an entirely new realm of heroes. These aren't your average shape shifter/vampire heroes but Mayan priests aka Night Keepers.
The story focuses on the son of the King, Strike, and a no-nonsense cop whose brother was killed, Leah.
Within this realistic battle of epic proportions of good vs. evil love seems to have taken root.
Strike needs to man up and take the Scepter of kingship; he also needs to gather the remaining Night Keepers and their Winikins. Leah needs to find her brother's murderer and closure for herself in regards to her brother joining the 2012 Prophecy 'cult.'
When Leah and Strike meet sparks fly (literally across the room) and they immediately fall for one another, but the world's ending in four years (hence 2012) and to release the Night Keeper's god (ancient Mayan serpent) it requires Leah's death.
Ah the problem! The world or Leah's life?
This book was great, and certainly a welcome addition to any avid paranormal reader's collection. After I was done reading it I immediately found myself reading an excerpt from Dawn Keeper and becoming ticked that I have to wait until January 2009 for the story to continue.
Anderson has previously only written Harlequin books and I am happy to say has now left her mark in the paranormal world.
Must read!
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies!, June 3, 2008
Mayan lore states that during the end time prophecy, demons will surface and an apocalypse will result. It is up to the Nightkeepers, a group of warriors and priests, to channel ancient magic and spells to drive said evil back to the underworld. Striking Jaguar, the son and heir of the last king, thought he was the only one left after the annihilation of his people so long ago. With just weeks left until the sacred equinox occurs once more, Strike finds out that there are more like him and it is up to him to make the call for them to return home and embrace the mystical powers that each of them possesses. As for Strike, his duty as king is to call upon the Mayan god needed to fight the battle with the son of the god of the Mayan underworld. But, in doing so, Strike will have to make a sacrifice in order to appease his god. A sacrifice that he prays he doesn't have to make.
Leah Daniels is a Miami narcotics detective investigating the peculiar death of her brother and several others that are almost ritualistic in their simplicity. Answering the call to meet an informant, she is horrified to find out that she has been set up. Waking up tied to a stone altar, she is horror-struck at realizing that she is to be the sacrifice made in order to bring a demon from the underworld. Finding strength she didn't know she possesses, Leah fights for her very life. Rescue comes in the form of a striking man whom Leah recognizes. And she should. She dreams of him quite often.
Strike and Leah are ill prepared for the feeling each invoke in the other. With just a few weeks left before the Nightkeeper's plan can be put to the test, each will have to come to grips with their feelings. Will they be able to keep their focus or will their burgeoning feelings interfere? With fortitude comes sacrifice. Will that sacrifice be made?
Jessica Andersen is a new author for me and if NIGHTKEEPERS is any indication of her talent, then she will become one of my favorites. As an avid reader, I am ashamed to say that I was not knowledgeable of Mayan lore and rituals. Sacrifice? What's that? After reading NIGHTKEEPERS I have found a new subject to investigate. The lore, rituals, and basic history of this proud forgotten race amazed and astonished me.
Then there is the romance. Striking Jaguar is bronzed and beautiful. His calling chafes at him. He doesn't want to be king. He wants to be normal. But when push comes to shove, he grabs his future and forges ahead with a moral fortitude that few possess. By his side is Leah, the woman that destiny brought into his life. His choices and utter despondence at finding another way to call the Mayan god to help brought tears to my eyes and an ache in my heart. I read each word with bated breath.
Ms. Andersen possesses true brilliance because in her world building, I forgot mine for the twelve hours it took for me to finish NIGHTKEEPERS. Then, as I read the last word of this amazing book, I noticed the tease at the end. It seems my wait is on for the next installment, The Dawnkeepers, and had there been a buy link at Amazon, I would have already pre-ordered it just by reading NIGHTKEEPERS alone.
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