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Night #1
Nightfire
When a murder shakes the small town of Peninsula, all eyes are on Olivia Townsend. She may look eighteen, but the townspeople can sense there’s something darker hiding behind her pretty eyes. Even if she didn’t commit the murder, Olivia knows the smart thing to do is to get out of town. Suspicious neighbors can only mean trouble for a vampire.
Just as her bags are packed, William, a mysterious man from her past, arrives in town. Finding out what brought him back is a temptation Olivia just can’t resist. William’s kindness and interest in Olivia only makes leaving harder.
As she starts to fall for his good looks and warm heart, she’s forced to decide if sticking around is really worth the risk of being discovered. Of course, her mystery man has a secret of his own-and he’s not talking.
Just as her bags are packed, William, a mysterious man from her past, arrives in town. Finding out what brought him back is a temptation Olivia just can’t resist. William’s kindness and interest in Olivia only makes leaving harder.
As she starts to fall for his good looks and warm heart, she’s forced to decide if sticking around is really worth the risk of being discovered. Of course, her mystery man has a secret of his own-and he’s not talking.
184 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2012
3 people are currently reading
267 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 5, 2012
WOW, what an awesome read! I didn't want to stop reading it.
All of the characters were nicely developed, complicated, and likeable. As a reader, I could feel their struggles. The emotions in the story were nicely written and not overly done.
Each person we meet comes into our lives for a reason. Olivia is used to living on her own. She believes she is the only one of her kind and she's lonely, but gets by. Then, she meets William, Jesse, and Jane and her inner turmoil begins.
Why is her soul so attracted to William? Why does Jesse seem to be so engrossed with her? How does one make their own heart happy without causing pain for others? There's only one way for these questions to be answered...read the book!
All of the characters were nicely developed, complicated, and likeable. As a reader, I could feel their struggles. The emotions in the story were nicely written and not overly done.
Each person we meet comes into our lives for a reason. Olivia is used to living on her own. She believes she is the only one of her kind and she's lonely, but gets by. Then, she meets William, Jesse, and Jane and her inner turmoil begins.
Why is her soul so attracted to William? Why does Jesse seem to be so engrossed with her? How does one make their own heart happy without causing pain for others? There's only one way for these questions to be answered...read the book!
July 28, 2012
I recieved this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
In Nightfire, we meet Olivia, a lone vampire living in a small town. Shes been a vampire for over 100 years and has never met another of her kind. She lives a solitary existence, keeping to herself to avoid the suspicions of the towns human population. When a local murder occurs, all eyes turn to her.
William is new to town, housesitting for his Uncle who is away. Tagging along with him for the Summer are Williams girlfriend Jane and her brother/Williams best friend, Jesse.
Olivia meets the trio early on, and is immediately drawn to William, who reminds her of someone from her past. But William has a girlfriend and a secret, and hes not the only one...
First, the negatives.
Olivia obsessing over/proclaiming her love for William, and how she'll die if she cant be with him in every second sentence from the minute she met him. There was no build up to it at all. She saw him. She was in love, obsessed, the works. I hate instalove, so this was extremely frustrating for me. Im just not into reading 100 pages of the protagonist mushing and gushing all over someone she only met 5 minutes ago.
Certain scenes being totally unrealistic. Theres a scene very early on when Olivia magically finds where William is living just by walking around the streets. (come on, very few towns are so small that anyone knows every single house, and what cars the owners drive). And then shes busted spying through the window by Jesse and what does he do? Call the cops? no, he invites her in for lunch. And she accepts. I suppose Jesse and Olivia's behaviour in this scene can be explained by events that happen much later but why are Jane and William not a little freaked out that Jesse is just bringing random stalkers into their house? Do they really think he had a girlfriend he hadnt mentioned, even tho they'd all been at school together? Just all seemed a little too convenient.
Nothing really happens for more than the first half of the book. Its slooooooow. Nightfire is written from the first person perspective (Olivia) and honestly, i think it would have been so much better written in the third person perspective. If we'd been able to hear Jesse's and Williams point of view, i think the first half would have been much more interesting.
So for these reasons, this book started off as one star read. It was just the same old thing ive read a million times before.
HOWEVER! The hook for me, came pretty late in the book. About 70% in to be exact, when Olivia finds out that shes not just your run of the mill, average vampire. And from here on, i devoured the book in a matter of hours. WHY WHY WHY didnt she find out earlier? I didnt care to listen to her gush about William for half the book when we could have been finding out more about her true nature and the vampire world. And the little bit we did find out in the last 30% of the book is just not enough, i really wanted more. Will there be a sequel Ms Burdette?It was the last 30% that bumped my rating up from a 1 to 3 star read.
The main positive i wanted to mention, is how incredibly beautiful the authors writing is. I kept thinking time and time again that the descriptions in this book were almost poetic, and after looking on the authors blog, i realised she does in fact also write poetry. I really do look forward to reading more from this author. I think she could be something amazing with a more unique story line, and i hope that she continues on with the more interesting aspects of Nightfire, if she does choose to write a sequel.
In Nightfire, we meet Olivia, a lone vampire living in a small town. Shes been a vampire for over 100 years and has never met another of her kind. She lives a solitary existence, keeping to herself to avoid the suspicions of the towns human population. When a local murder occurs, all eyes turn to her.
William is new to town, housesitting for his Uncle who is away. Tagging along with him for the Summer are Williams girlfriend Jane and her brother/Williams best friend, Jesse.
Olivia meets the trio early on, and is immediately drawn to William, who reminds her of someone from her past. But William has a girlfriend and a secret, and hes not the only one...
First, the negatives.
Olivia obsessing over/proclaiming her love for William, and how she'll die if she cant be with him in every second sentence from the minute she met him. There was no build up to it at all. She saw him. She was in love, obsessed, the works. I hate instalove, so this was extremely frustrating for me. Im just not into reading 100 pages of the protagonist mushing and gushing all over someone she only met 5 minutes ago.
Certain scenes being totally unrealistic. Theres a scene very early on when Olivia magically finds where William is living just by walking around the streets. (come on, very few towns are so small that anyone knows every single house, and what cars the owners drive). And then shes busted spying through the window by Jesse and what does he do? Call the cops? no, he invites her in for lunch. And she accepts. I suppose Jesse and Olivia's behaviour in this scene can be explained by events that happen much later but why are Jane and William not a little freaked out that Jesse is just bringing random stalkers into their house? Do they really think he had a girlfriend he hadnt mentioned, even tho they'd all been at school together? Just all seemed a little too convenient.
Nothing really happens for more than the first half of the book. Its slooooooow. Nightfire is written from the first person perspective (Olivia) and honestly, i think it would have been so much better written in the third person perspective. If we'd been able to hear Jesse's and Williams point of view, i think the first half would have been much more interesting.
So for these reasons, this book started off as one star read. It was just the same old thing ive read a million times before.
HOWEVER! The hook for me, came pretty late in the book. About 70% in to be exact, when Olivia finds out that shes not just your run of the mill, average vampire. And from here on, i devoured the book in a matter of hours. WHY WHY WHY didnt she find out earlier? I didnt care to listen to her gush about William for half the book when we could have been finding out more about her true nature and the vampire world. And the little bit we did find out in the last 30% of the book is just not enough, i really wanted more. Will there be a sequel Ms Burdette?It was the last 30% that bumped my rating up from a 1 to 3 star read.
The main positive i wanted to mention, is how incredibly beautiful the authors writing is. I kept thinking time and time again that the descriptions in this book were almost poetic, and after looking on the authors blog, i realised she does in fact also write poetry. I really do look forward to reading more from this author. I think she could be something amazing with a more unique story line, and i hope that she continues on with the more interesting aspects of Nightfire, if she does choose to write a sequel.
June 13, 2012
I just finished Alyson Burdette's Nightfire, and I have to say that this is one of the best vampire books I have ever read. I read Anita Blake (Laurel K. Hamilton), Anne Rice (Lestat), and have read the first book in the Twilight series so it's not like I'm a stranger to vampire fiction.
What I loved:
1) Olivia. She's an amazing and refreshing protagonist. This is a vampire novel told from the female point-of-view (as a vampire and something else). I'm going to leave the "something else" as a spoiler free thing. But trust me...Olivia is not a run-of-the-mill vamp. There's a reason she hangs out around all that water in Peninsula, and I can't wait to see Alyson explore this in future installments of the series.
2) Jesse. Although he does something that is pretty terrible, I couldn't help feeling drawn to his obvious charm. It's clear that he loves Olivia, wants what he sees as is best for her, but ends up hurting her terribly in the climax of the book all to prove a point. I wonder if she'll be able to see that Jesse is probably better for her than William, but Olivia is definitely stuck on William.
3) William. The handsome vampire hunter. Aside from being a tough-as-nails guy he's also got the whole swoon worthy blue-eyed boy-next-door thing going on. I loved every scene in which Alyson explores with this guy. It's some of the best romance writing around.
4) Alyson's prose. She is a great writer. Here are examples pulled from the book:
"He's suddenly little more than a memory, and I wonder if my body has remembered how to dream...His deep blue eyes open wide as he pulls me toward him. They are two glass jars full of fireflies that dance in the moonlight."
"I spit the words out at him, wishing they were knives."
"He laughs, and it is the sound of a thousand birds in song."
Pretty amazing, right?
So yeah. Alyson...when can we expect a sequel? Nightfire has left me wanting more :))
What I loved:
1) Olivia. She's an amazing and refreshing protagonist. This is a vampire novel told from the female point-of-view (as a vampire and something else). I'm going to leave the "something else" as a spoiler free thing. But trust me...Olivia is not a run-of-the-mill vamp. There's a reason she hangs out around all that water in Peninsula, and I can't wait to see Alyson explore this in future installments of the series.
2) Jesse. Although he does something that is pretty terrible, I couldn't help feeling drawn to his obvious charm. It's clear that he loves Olivia, wants what he sees as is best for her, but ends up hurting her terribly in the climax of the book all to prove a point. I wonder if she'll be able to see that Jesse is probably better for her than William, but Olivia is definitely stuck on William.
3) William. The handsome vampire hunter. Aside from being a tough-as-nails guy he's also got the whole swoon worthy blue-eyed boy-next-door thing going on. I loved every scene in which Alyson explores with this guy. It's some of the best romance writing around.
4) Alyson's prose. She is a great writer. Here are examples pulled from the book:
"He's suddenly little more than a memory, and I wonder if my body has remembered how to dream...His deep blue eyes open wide as he pulls me toward him. They are two glass jars full of fireflies that dance in the moonlight."
"I spit the words out at him, wishing they were knives."
"He laughs, and it is the sound of a thousand birds in song."
Pretty amazing, right?
So yeah. Alyson...when can we expect a sequel? Nightfire has left me wanting more :))
June 7, 2012
This is a mix of romance and suspense, which I like. The storyline was well put together, with characters that are well developed, it all jumped off the pages.
If you like romantic suspense, you'll enjoy this book. Just make sure you set time aside so you can read it from start to finish, because you will not be able to put it down.
I recieved this book from the author for an honest review....Thank-you Alyson Burdette you took me away, gave me new friends, and I really enjoyed myself.
If you like romantic suspense, you'll enjoy this book. Just make sure you set time aside so you can read it from start to finish, because you will not be able to put it down.
I recieved this book from the author for an honest review....Thank-you Alyson Burdette you took me away, gave me new friends, and I really enjoyed myself.
November 11, 2012
This isn't your typical vampire story. Yes there are traditional vampires in but their other breeds of vampires. This is what makes this book so interesting. It defies the norms and breaks with traditions in vampire lore. These vampires can walk in the sun and have culture, histories, and form of government as well. Here are my thoughts:
Olivia became a monster over hundred years ago yet despises her existence because of the Hunger that she must feed. She lives in a rural town in Ohio and enjoys the peaceful existence that she has at least until the murder of Mary Hamilton occurs. Now she must limit her hunting grounds out of fear being caught. She's out stalking her prey when she unexpected meets a man with the most haunting blue eyes that seem very familiar to her. The man asks if she needs anything at all because he would gladly give it. Now she's on a mission to find this man again to get to know him better. When she stumbles upon where he lives she's entranced by him and feels things she hasn't felt in a really long time. When a young man catches Olivia staring at her mystery man invites her to share dinner with him. The young man named Jesse is hiding a dark secret and wants Olivia all to himself for reasons unexplained. Olivia learns her mystery man's name is William yet she must endure Jesse's company to even be close to William. William is intrigued by Olivia yet in a relationship albeit an unhappy one with Jane. Jane is Jesse's sister and friend of William. William is also hiding a secret. What will Olivia do to keep seeing William? Will she share a relationship with Jesse? What is Jesse hiding? What is William hiding? Will Olivia tell William what she really is? Your answers await you in Nightfire.
Olivia became a monster over hundred years ago yet despises her existence because of the Hunger that she must feed. She lives in a rural town in Ohio and enjoys the peaceful existence that she has at least until the murder of Mary Hamilton occurs. Now she must limit her hunting grounds out of fear being caught. She's out stalking her prey when she unexpected meets a man with the most haunting blue eyes that seem very familiar to her. The man asks if she needs anything at all because he would gladly give it. Now she's on a mission to find this man again to get to know him better. When she stumbles upon where he lives she's entranced by him and feels things she hasn't felt in a really long time. When a young man catches Olivia staring at her mystery man invites her to share dinner with him. The young man named Jesse is hiding a dark secret and wants Olivia all to himself for reasons unexplained. Olivia learns her mystery man's name is William yet she must endure Jesse's company to even be close to William. William is intrigued by Olivia yet in a relationship albeit an unhappy one with Jane. Jane is Jesse's sister and friend of William. William is also hiding a secret. What will Olivia do to keep seeing William? Will she share a relationship with Jesse? What is Jesse hiding? What is William hiding? Will Olivia tell William what she really is? Your answers await you in Nightfire.
August 13, 2013
In addition to well-developed characters and an interesting plot, this book had several intriguing aspects. The prose is remarkably lovely. The author's treatment of Olivia is refreshing. Since everything is from her point of view, you would think it would be easy to sympathize with her. It wasn't for me. Sure, I can give her the monster bit, it's not her fault. But the choices she does make bother me, which is intriguing in itself, and I do care about what happens to her because I can see no good coming of any of it. It's also written in the present tense, so everything's happening right now. These elements combined to make a compelling read, in spite of some slower parts (I am an unusually impatient reader, though). What surprised me was the ending--it was more satisfying than I would have thought possible.
February 23, 2015
I really hope she writes another book!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews