Saturday 8 October 2011

Darkness Falls by Mia James

Pages - 376
Published by Indigo, an imprint of Orion.

He stalked her. Keeping to the shadows, slipping from doorway to doorway, he followed the girl, never losing sight of her, never losing her scent. He increased his pace, falling in behind her. She swayed as she walked, stumbling here and there, but he matched her step for step, his feet sliding down the cobble, carefully skirting the puddles. He didn't want to leave footprints, didn't want to leave any trace. The fog helped: thick,swirling. The fog was his cloak, his accomplice, it wrapped around him and kept him hidden. Hidden was good. Hidden was safe. 


Goodreads Summary
April Dunne is having a rough time. There are vampires in her school. Not Goths, or Emos in fancy dress. Dangerous, blood-sucking semi-immortals. They run the school. They pretend to be students at it. And they're using their influence to recruit smart, rich students - aka 'bleeders' - to their own cause. What is that cause? April isn't sure. But she knows they killed a rock star for it, and innocents who got too close to the truth. One of them almost killed her. But that's nothing to what's coming next. Gabriel, her kinda-boyfriend, is dying and unless April can find a cure then not only is she going to be boyfriendless, she's also going to lose one of her major allies in the school. And she really needs allies. Because it turns out April has an ability of her own, one that could prove lethal to the 'Suckers' who've taken over the school. If any of them figure out what she is, then losing her boyfriend will be the least of her problems 
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Holy moly! After reading a couple of reviews I was worried that this book might be suffering from 'Middle Book Syndrome' so I began reading it with trepidation. However I was quickly involved in the story and I couldn't put the book down. I actually felt more attachment to this book than the first. The characters had grown, the situation had become more intense and I was sharpening my nails ready to defend April at any given moment. 


Gabriel, April's vampire boyfriend, whom she had infected with a deadly virus, is like a ticking time bomb for the first half of the book. I swear I thought he might drop down dead at any minute. Luckily April saves the day with a potion that will cure him, but stops any chances of romance for the time being. Their relationship comes to a sort of stand still and by the end of the book you can't help thinking that all is not quite right with Gabriel. 


I love Caro! As April friend and Queen of the Conspiracy Theory, she had me in fits with her sarcasm. With each new comment she made whilst facing a rather dangerous situation, I was snorting with laughter. On the other hand, April needs a bit of a talking too, as she seems intent on throwing friends and loved ones in the trash heap. She is setting herself up for a fall, where no one will be able to catch her. 


By Chapter 12 the conspiracy theories concerning Queen Victoria had me gripped. If the information mentioned about her in this book is true, then I will definitely want to know more. I had never heard of any of the claims written in this book before. 


The ending of the book was explosive. I couldn't believe all the things that came out in the last couple of chapters. I now have my own theories about certain characters within the book which I am willing to share only with people who have read it. I don't want to spoil it for the rest of you. 


My favourite thing about this series, is that Mia James has shown that we as Brits, can compete with the US vampire scene. We can have hot vampires too! We can have cool eerie places to hang out in! Mia James has just added to the coolness that seeps from Highgate Cemetary, helping to make it a popular tourist destination.  I even think that April might be the UK's equivalent of Buffy! See there, I said it! 


Out of the two books written in this series so far. This is definitely my favourite. What will happen in the next book? I can't wait to find out. 

5 comments:

  1. I really want to read this series. It sounds so good. A UK Buffy huh? Want! Want! Want! LOL I have the first one on my shelf and I think it's time it moved up that tbr pile.

    Absolutely love your new blog design. It's purple and cute and totally gorgeous!

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  2. Glad to read that this isn't suffering from middle book syndrome, a deadly condition indeed.

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  3. Middle book syndrome is definitely a common problem, so it's extra awesome when a second book in a series turns out to be better than the first. I'm glad you enjoyed this one so much!

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  4. I am so glad that it did not suffer from middle book syndrome, that is one serious syndrome

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  5. I'm reading this book at the moment, so I only sort of skimmed your review, but I'm really loving it so far! :)

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