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After #1
After Dark
Years before, the man Andrew loved mysteriously disappeared. He wasn’t about to lose another one. He'd do whatever it took to protect Devon, including killing his abusive older brother Tyler.
Hours after the funeral, Andrew gets a frantic phone call from Tyler’s wife telling him that Tyler . . . is there. When he and Devon go to investigate, Tyler attacks Andrew, awakening his latent magical abilities. Now able to see the magic in everyday life, Andrew discovers that Devon, his lover, is a werewolf.
Devon, however, has no idea what Andrew is talking about, or why his last lover thought he was a werewolf either. And while Andrew struggles with his new powers, Devon must come to terms with what he is.
By killing Tyler, Andrew thought to end his violence, but instead it forced him to bloodier means and magic. Now Andrew must find a way to stop him, or lose Devon, but he needs Devon's help. And his trust.
Hours after the funeral, Andrew gets a frantic phone call from Tyler’s wife telling him that Tyler . . . is there. When he and Devon go to investigate, Tyler attacks Andrew, awakening his latent magical abilities. Now able to see the magic in everyday life, Andrew discovers that Devon, his lover, is a werewolf.
Devon, however, has no idea what Andrew is talking about, or why his last lover thought he was a werewolf either. And while Andrew struggles with his new powers, Devon must come to terms with what he is.
By killing Tyler, Andrew thought to end his violence, but instead it forced him to bloodier means and magic. Now Andrew must find a way to stop him, or lose Devon, but he needs Devon's help. And his trust.
161 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2006
207 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 12, 2010
Awesome.
I accidentally grabbed After Midnight first, suckered in as usual by the promise of werewolves. It didn’t take long before I realized that there just had to be a story that came before, so I immediately hunted down After Dark. Readers, be aware: It is entirely possible to read and enjoy the second book without reading the first, but you’ll get a better experience if you read them both, in order. You won’t be sorry. Trust me.
In general, it’s the “bottom” in a book that immediately catches my
attention, that I suffer for and fall just a little in love with. And of course I immediately fell a little in love with Devon… what surprised me was that I wasn’t immune to Andrew’s charms. Maybe it was because the two of them are already in an established relationship. Maybe it was simply the equality in the relationship between the two men.
Devon may be gentle, considerate, supportive, with a certain sweetness in his character, but he’s definitely no weak, simple-minded dude-in-distress. He’s a strong, intelligent man in his own right, someone with interests and abilities and a history that are independant of his lover. Oh, and did I mention he’s pretty, has a slight British accent, and is a werewolf? Any of these facets of his character would have made him seem endearing and sexy to me, but with the grace, passion, and tenderness that is shown in Devon’s love for Andrew, it’s a lethal combination that I was powerless to resist.
It would have been so easy for Prieto to cast Andrew as a stupidly macho and infuriating hero. Certainly he’s a strong-and-silent type, someone who’s first instinct is to protect his loved ones even at enormous cost to himself. With the addition of a phenomenal magic power, it would have been easy for Prieto to let Andrew “take care” of everything, solve all the puzzles, defeat all the bogeymen. But, no – Andrew is an incredibly, awesomely human hero – a bit of a geek, even. He has weaknesses, he makes mistakes, he gruesomely murders a villain or two, but even at his darkest point, loving Devon is the thing that drives him forward. How do you get more romantic than that?
Prieto managed to make me slow down and cherish the moments of tenderness. It’s not often I’ll sit still for the characters’ “I love yous,” but in both of these books, I lingered over the gentler scenes with a misty, goofy smile on my face.
These two books aren’t just romantic. They’re also creepy, scary, and
exciting. I was often bouncing in my desk chair, shrieking things such as “Eeeek!” or “Devon, watch out!” or “NO, Andrew, BAD MAGE!!!” Mildly annoying for my household, maybe, but tremendously enjoyable for me.
Considering that these two books are packed with vampires, werewolves,
villains, and an astonishing amount of blood, Prieto managed to create a very unique story with these two books. She stinted at nothing – action, adventure, romance, mystery, monsters, and a masterful characterization and attention to detail. I was blown away.
There’s a kind of elegance to this author’s style that is instantly
attractive to me, a balance between rich detail and exciting pace, and an assumption on the author’s part that challenges the reader to use their brain instead of slowing everyone down just to let a few stragglers keep up.
Luisa Prieto joins Lanyon and Bryce on my list of most-beloved-authors, and I’m eagerly awaiting her next release. After Dark and After Midnight are two stories that I absolutely recommend as the next must-have items to go into your shopping cart.
I accidentally grabbed After Midnight first, suckered in as usual by the promise of werewolves. It didn’t take long before I realized that there just had to be a story that came before, so I immediately hunted down After Dark. Readers, be aware: It is entirely possible to read and enjoy the second book without reading the first, but you’ll get a better experience if you read them both, in order. You won’t be sorry. Trust me.
In general, it’s the “bottom” in a book that immediately catches my
attention, that I suffer for and fall just a little in love with. And of course I immediately fell a little in love with Devon… what surprised me was that I wasn’t immune to Andrew’s charms. Maybe it was because the two of them are already in an established relationship. Maybe it was simply the equality in the relationship between the two men.
Devon may be gentle, considerate, supportive, with a certain sweetness in his character, but he’s definitely no weak, simple-minded dude-in-distress. He’s a strong, intelligent man in his own right, someone with interests and abilities and a history that are independant of his lover. Oh, and did I mention he’s pretty, has a slight British accent, and is a werewolf? Any of these facets of his character would have made him seem endearing and sexy to me, but with the grace, passion, and tenderness that is shown in Devon’s love for Andrew, it’s a lethal combination that I was powerless to resist.
It would have been so easy for Prieto to cast Andrew as a stupidly macho and infuriating hero. Certainly he’s a strong-and-silent type, someone who’s first instinct is to protect his loved ones even at enormous cost to himself. With the addition of a phenomenal magic power, it would have been easy for Prieto to let Andrew “take care” of everything, solve all the puzzles, defeat all the bogeymen. But, no – Andrew is an incredibly, awesomely human hero – a bit of a geek, even. He has weaknesses, he makes mistakes, he gruesomely murders a villain or two, but even at his darkest point, loving Devon is the thing that drives him forward. How do you get more romantic than that?
Prieto managed to make me slow down and cherish the moments of tenderness. It’s not often I’ll sit still for the characters’ “I love yous,” but in both of these books, I lingered over the gentler scenes with a misty, goofy smile on my face.
These two books aren’t just romantic. They’re also creepy, scary, and
exciting. I was often bouncing in my desk chair, shrieking things such as “Eeeek!” or “Devon, watch out!” or “NO, Andrew, BAD MAGE!!!” Mildly annoying for my household, maybe, but tremendously enjoyable for me.
Considering that these two books are packed with vampires, werewolves,
villains, and an astonishing amount of blood, Prieto managed to create a very unique story with these two books. She stinted at nothing – action, adventure, romance, mystery, monsters, and a masterful characterization and attention to detail. I was blown away.
There’s a kind of elegance to this author’s style that is instantly
attractive to me, a balance between rich detail and exciting pace, and an assumption on the author’s part that challenges the reader to use their brain instead of slowing everyone down just to let a few stragglers keep up.
Luisa Prieto joins Lanyon and Bryce on my list of most-beloved-authors, and I’m eagerly awaiting her next release. After Dark and After Midnight are two stories that I absolutely recommend as the next must-have items to go into your shopping cart.
dnf
January 3, 2015I'm abandoning this book and shove it into my "DNF" shelf. The main reason is because I'm annoyed with how the story unfolds. The story opens in a funeral, and how Andrew is scared about Tyler even if his brother is dead (Tyler wants Devon's eyes?!?)
And it feels like I'm pushed into a middle of some dire situation without any background. My first reaction to the 1st chapter of this story was, "HUH"? Then I stopped and tried to find whether there was a prequel that explaining about Andrew and Devon, and the whole story with Tyler. But nope, there aren't any. Maybe the story will explain everything in the end, but I already feel like a soldier marching to a battle with a blind eye and not knowing everything. It just annoys me to the very end. NOT going to continue this or even look at the sequel.
And it feels like I'm pushed into a middle of some dire situation without any background. My first reaction to the 1st chapter of this story was, "HUH"? Then I stopped and tried to find whether there was a prequel that explaining about Andrew and Devon, and the whole story with Tyler. But nope, there aren't any. Maybe the story will explain everything in the end, but I already feel like a soldier marching to a battle with a blind eye and not knowing everything. It just annoys me to the very end. NOT going to continue this or even look at the sequel.
April 22, 2012
This is an expanded edition of a shorter novella (which I haven't read) and i have to say that, like most of Prieto's books, I couldn't put it down. The pacing is taught, the characters well-drawn, and there's plenty of personality to the writing itself. I'm eager to read the next one, which appears to have been previously released but is no longer available. I'm assuming that the plan is to re-release it, perhaps also in an expanded edition. I hope so, anyway!
May 31, 2011
The idea behind this book was great. The execution left me forcing myself to keep reading and confused as heck while I was doing it.
February 7, 2008
After Dark is by no means for the faint of heart. I would categorize this as a Gay Horror novel. I have never read anything like it. The closest, in my experience, would be to say it gives the same feeling as the early Anita Blake novels by Laurell K. Hamilton. The warning for violence should be taken seriously. There is gore to go along with it, as well.
This is an intense book. I was immediately thrown into the story and had to figure out which way was up. I was slowly fed facts along with back histories to both main characters. I wasn’t given clues before hand and couldn’t quite figure out what was coming next.
I love this style of story weaving!
Prieto assumes that the reader is smart enough to catch up. I appreciate that. The writing is done in a clean way with no extraneous information or explanations thrown in. The way the story unfolds is with necessary trips back and forth through time and yet at no time was I left confused. Actually, I take that back. There were moments in which I couldn’t figure out what had just happened but that was because the character hadn’t figured out yet what had happened. This is not only an engaging form of writing, but an exciting one. It left me dying to know more, salivating to scroll down to read the next bit, and it definitely had my brain buzzing with possibilities as I tried connecting the dots along with the characters.
Devon and Andrew were two great characters. It was nice to see slow and loving sex in a book. There were no quickies in public or cries for “Harder”, as nice as those are. Theirs is a quiet and comfortable love and relationship, and I think this is what really adds to the story and makes it seem like a romantic horror. These two really love each other in a solid, long-lasting way and rely on each other even as questions and doubts creep in. It was a wonderful feeling having these two characters lead the way in the story.
There were a few typos, but nothing that was particularly distracting. I wish that the editor had been a bit more considerate, but that seems to be an ongoing longing with this publisher.
This book ends with an abruptness that made me very happy CarvedWood had already made sure we bought both books first. It wasn’t a bad abruptness, but it definitely leaves you craving more.
For more review on this book, Top & Bottom Book Review
This is an intense book. I was immediately thrown into the story and had to figure out which way was up. I was slowly fed facts along with back histories to both main characters. I wasn’t given clues before hand and couldn’t quite figure out what was coming next.
I love this style of story weaving!
Prieto assumes that the reader is smart enough to catch up. I appreciate that. The writing is done in a clean way with no extraneous information or explanations thrown in. The way the story unfolds is with necessary trips back and forth through time and yet at no time was I left confused. Actually, I take that back. There were moments in which I couldn’t figure out what had just happened but that was because the character hadn’t figured out yet what had happened. This is not only an engaging form of writing, but an exciting one. It left me dying to know more, salivating to scroll down to read the next bit, and it definitely had my brain buzzing with possibilities as I tried connecting the dots along with the characters.
Devon and Andrew were two great characters. It was nice to see slow and loving sex in a book. There were no quickies in public or cries for “Harder”, as nice as those are. Theirs is a quiet and comfortable love and relationship, and I think this is what really adds to the story and makes it seem like a romantic horror. These two really love each other in a solid, long-lasting way and rely on each other even as questions and doubts creep in. It was a wonderful feeling having these two characters lead the way in the story.
There were a few typos, but nothing that was particularly distracting. I wish that the editor had been a bit more considerate, but that seems to be an ongoing longing with this publisher.
This book ends with an abruptness that made me very happy CarvedWood had already made sure we bought both books first. It wasn’t a bad abruptness, but it definitely leaves you craving more.
For more review on this book, Top & Bottom Book Review
October 23, 2011
Sketchy and random. The summary is misleading, in that the WHOLE NOVEL is about Devon and Andrew trying to find a way to protect against and stop Tyler. By the summary, I was expecting Tyler's final death to come in the beginning, and the rest of the novel to be about Andrew and Devon adapting after-the-fact.
About 85% of the novel was built from back-flashes, memories from both Devon and Andrew's standpoint - and Tyler's - that explained little and only made the whole story more confusing. What was dragged out in a 4-page long conversation or action between characters could have much more easily been explained in a few paragraphs of the chara reflecting on it.
Very little was gone into detail at all, beyond physical description [the setting, the gore, the appearance of something magical]. It was action without explanation, without the complication of feelings interlaced in the memories or reflection.
Honestly, I kind of wanted to poke at it a bit to see if it might spontaneously change style half-way through, then further through, then almost to the end... with nothing.
More surprising than anything I think, was how Devon wasn't even told - by anyone - that he was a werewolf until Andrew says it, the very last line of the novel [he doesn't remember any time that he changes, has no clue he's anything other than completely human]. I kept hoping Andrew would tell him sooner, that they would bloody communicate about *anything,* and that just never happened. The two MCs were just independently revolving planets circling each other - to the point that I really wondered what they were doing with each other to begin with.
About 85% of the novel was built from back-flashes, memories from both Devon and Andrew's standpoint - and Tyler's - that explained little and only made the whole story more confusing. What was dragged out in a 4-page long conversation or action between characters could have much more easily been explained in a few paragraphs of the chara reflecting on it.
Very little was gone into detail at all, beyond physical description [the setting, the gore, the appearance of something magical]. It was action without explanation, without the complication of feelings interlaced in the memories or reflection.
Honestly, I kind of wanted to poke at it a bit to see if it might spontaneously change style half-way through, then further through, then almost to the end... with nothing.
More surprising than anything I think, was how Devon wasn't even told - by anyone - that he was a werewolf until Andrew says it, the very last line of the novel [he doesn't remember any time that he changes, has no clue he's anything other than completely human]. I kept hoping Andrew would tell him sooner, that they would bloody communicate about *anything,* and that just never happened. The two MCs were just independently revolving planets circling each other - to the point that I really wondered what they were doing with each other to begin with.
March 29, 2009
In this book, Andrew killed his abusive brother Tyler to protect his lover Devon. What he didn't count on was Tyler coming back from the dead. This is a gay horror story and a good one. The right mix of sex, romance, gore and horror - yes, some authors do know how to get it right and Prieto is definitely one of them. Also, the author goes back to the roots of the horror genre - vampires are devious, blood-sucking monsters, werewolves are feral beasts that kill without remorse and the uglies that come out after dark are terrifying. Really good!
January 23, 2012
3.5 stars. Good paranormal m/m romance about a guy who's unable to mourn his brother's death for various reasons - particularly since his brother doesn't seem to be completely dead...
March 9, 2016
This story was a little darker than I expected (not that it was really heavy reading or anything), but I still loved it. Prieto wove a fascinating world and story about werewolves, vampires and mages while still remaining so grounded in the real world. It was great fun to watch Devon and Andrew dance around each other trying to discover each other's secrets as the plot ventures deeper... and gratifying to see them trust each other with them. Prieto's writing style was a little different than anything else I've read, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. I'm definitely reading some more from her in the future.
July 7, 2012
I started reading the extended edition, but didn't like it. The story was difficult to follow with the constant change of POV, memory flashes and lots of digressions. After reading a half of the book I switched to 2006 edition and... what a change! Completely different reading experience. Gripping story, good pace, not overloaded with details that had no significance for the main thread - just dark, sweet, unpredictable tale of two lovers who discover their paranormal abilities in some gruesome circumstances.
April 21, 2012
I love Prieto's "Shadow Hunt" so I was excited to read "After Dark". It was good and creepy as well. It had a good mixture of dark and sweet moments and it was not a slow read, leaving me at the edge of my seat. I loved Devon and Andrew, they were cute together. I can't wait for the second book.
December 5, 2011
3.25 out of 5
Want to read
January 5, 2018....this is like that "teenage mutant ninja turtle" analysis post on tumblr, like five different things happen all once in the blurb and three different swerves change everything. ,,amazing,,
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews