Title: Everdark
Author: Elle Jasper
Release Date: June 7th, 2011
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
When Savannah tattoo artists Riley Poe is ambushed by an undead enemy, she inherits some of the traits of her attackers-and a telepathic link with a rampaging vampire. Now, she’s experiencing murder after murder through the victims’ eyes. And her new powers will not be enough to stop the horror-or the unending slaughter…
Summary from Goodreads.com
My Review: I absolutely loved the first book in this series, Afterlight, (review here) so I was beyond excited to get my hands this book. The chemistry between Riley and Eli in book one was scorching, and I was hoping that passion would spill over into this book. In a way I did get my wish, since Riley was bitten by strigoi her blood is not as addictive as it was before; therefore Eli could be more comfortable around her. However, I did not feel that spark like I did in book one. They are all over each other in the first couple of chapters, but it gets a little repetitive and I did not feel the same level of excitement for them as I did in Afterlight. I did, however, like watching Riley’s brother, Seth, relationship with one of the Dupres get hinted at. I think there is a little something going on there and I am hoping we will get to explore that little side plot further in the future.
As for the action, in the beginning there was quite a bit going on, so the story moved along well. About halfway through though, the book starts to lose steam. Riley, Eli and crew are in pursuit of the villain but nothing actually happens for a good hundred pages and I started to lose interest. I was also getting a little confused with Riley’s feelings towards Eli. Victorian keeps entering her mind, messing with her body and feelings and she is not always so opposed to him being there. It was just creepy how Victorian could control some of her actions and get her very excited. I was not a fan, and I am quite surprised Riley is not putting up more of a fight over this invasion. She does vocally say she is not happy with the situation, but I am wondering if this is going to be more of an issue in book three. Plus, poor Eli, he can’t fight someone when that someone is in Riley’s mind. I hope this is going to get cleared up in the next book and Riley will be kicking Victorian to the curb.
As for the ending all I can say is: WOW! The jam packed, action filled, suspenseful ending made some of the slower pace from before worth it. There was a huge cliffhanger that will leave you begging for the next book in the series. Luckily, Elle was nice enough to give us a little teaser for the book three and I think that will tide me over until it releases.
Overall, this was a solid sequel, but one I did not like it as much as the first book. The slow pace really just bummed me out and I am hoping that the next book will pick the action back up again. That being said, I still think it is worth reading and getting to see where Riley’s crazy life has taken her now.
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