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Night World #8
Black Dawn
The eighth book in L.J. Smith’s beloved bestselling Night World series is now available as a special collector’s edition!
First he puts her in a dungeon. Then he realizes they are soulmates. Now he wants to make her a vampire princess.
Maggie Neely is a short, spunky sixteen-year-old with auburn hair and an iron will. When her brother turns up missing, she’s determined to find him. But she never suspects that the trail will lead her into the most secret heart of the Night World, a kingdom where no outsider has stepped in five hundred years...
First he puts her in a dungeon. Then he realizes they are soulmates. Now he wants to make her a vampire princess.
Maggie Neely is a short, spunky sixteen-year-old with auburn hair and an iron will. When her brother turns up missing, she’s determined to find him. But she never suspects that the trail will lead her into the most secret heart of the Night World, a kingdom where no outsider has stepped in five hundred years...
272 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1997
68 people are currently reading
2649 people want to read
About the author
L.J. Smith
337 books112k followersSmith was born in Villa Park, Orange County, California. In interviews, she has said she realized she wanted to be a writer sometime between kindergarten and first grade, “when a teacher praised a horrible poem I’d written”, and began writing in earnest in elementary school. Smith received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1987, followed by teaching credentials in Elementary education and Special education from San Francisco State University.
She taught kindergarten and special education for several years before becoming a full-time writer. Her first book, The Night of the Solstice, was published by MacMillan in 1987, followed by, Heart of Valor in 1990, and the 4-volume Vampire Diaries series in 1991-2. Three trilogies followed: The Secret Circle (1992), The Forbidden Game (1994), and Dark Visions (1995). The first installment of her popular Night World series was published in 1996, followed by eight more over the next two years. In 1998, Smith began a decade-long hiatus from writing, returning in 2008 with a new Web site and a series of new short stories. The Vampire Diaries series was reissued in 2007, followed by re-printings of The Secret Circle trilogy and Night World series in 2008/2009. The Night of the Solstice and Heart of Valor was also reissued in 2008. Three new Vampire Diaries installments were published in 2009 and 2010.
Smith lived in the San Francisco Bay area “with one dog, three cats, and about ten thousand books.”
She passed away on March 8th, 2025, after a lengthy illness.
She taught kindergarten and special education for several years before becoming a full-time writer. Her first book, The Night of the Solstice, was published by MacMillan in 1987, followed by, Heart of Valor in 1990, and the 4-volume Vampire Diaries series in 1991-2. Three trilogies followed: The Secret Circle (1992), The Forbidden Game (1994), and Dark Visions (1995). The first installment of her popular Night World series was published in 1996, followed by eight more over the next two years. In 1998, Smith began a decade-long hiatus from writing, returning in 2008 with a new Web site and a series of new short stories. The Vampire Diaries series was reissued in 2007, followed by re-printings of The Secret Circle trilogy and Night World series in 2008/2009. The Night of the Solstice and Heart of Valor was also reissued in 2008. Three new Vampire Diaries installments were published in 2009 and 2010.
Smith lived in the San Francisco Bay area “with one dog, three cats, and about ten thousand books.”
She passed away on March 8th, 2025, after a lengthy illness.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
March 8, 2020
The eighth installment of L.J. Smith's Night World series, in which a secret world of vampires, witches and shape-shifters exists alongside the human one, Black Dawn follows the story of Maggie Neely, a feisty teenage girl who stumbles upon a hidden kingdom in the mountains of Washington state, and discovers that Delos Redfern - the vampire-prince who rules it - is her soulmate.
Determined to locate her missing brother Miles, Maggie instead finds herself captured by slave traders, and bound for the Dark Kingdom. Between escaping with her blind companion Aradia, Maiden of all the Witches; discovering that she is the long-looked-for Deliverer, the prophesied liberator of the human slaves of this strange land; and meeting her true love Delos, who is not only the lord of Black Dawn, but one of the four Wild Powers who will either prevent or bring about the approaching apocalypse; Maggie has a lot to do...
The second of Smith's Night World books to focus on the Wild Powers, Black Dawn continues the ongoing narrative about the approaching millennial apocalypse (this was published in late 1997), begun in Huntress . Unfortunately, with its divided narrative, unconvincing "romance" between Delos and Maggie, and a "lost kingdom" in the mountains that would strain even the most devoted reader's suspension of disbelief, this is not one of the stronger titles in the series. It's fast-paced, and my love of the series carried me through, but I probably wouldn't recommend it on its own merits. Then again, as the eighth in a series, who would be reading it on its own?
Determined to locate her missing brother Miles, Maggie instead finds herself captured by slave traders, and bound for the Dark Kingdom. Between escaping with her blind companion Aradia, Maiden of all the Witches; discovering that she is the long-looked-for Deliverer, the prophesied liberator of the human slaves of this strange land; and meeting her true love Delos, who is not only the lord of Black Dawn, but one of the four Wild Powers who will either prevent or bring about the approaching apocalypse; Maggie has a lot to do...
The second of Smith's Night World books to focus on the Wild Powers, Black Dawn continues the ongoing narrative about the approaching millennial apocalypse (this was published in late 1997), begun in Huntress . Unfortunately, with its divided narrative, unconvincing "romance" between Delos and Maggie, and a "lost kingdom" in the mountains that would strain even the most devoted reader's suspension of disbelief, this is not one of the stronger titles in the series. It's fast-paced, and my love of the series carried me through, but I probably wouldn't recommend it on its own merits. Then again, as the eighth in a series, who would be reading it on its own?
July 31, 2017
4 Star Read:
A strong, well-developed heroine in Maggie with multiple, detailed plot lines on varying scales and L. J Smith has hit another home run with her array of interesting, unique characters.
Among some of my favorites. Outstanding literary work. The characters are well developed, interesting. The liked characters are likable and the hated are unlikable. The writing is captivating enough to keep you interested until the end and leave you wanting more. It has a fairly original or uniquely well-developed plot. The pretense and romance were well balanced and done with properly distributed amounts of hints, behaviors, and chemistry. Not so much predictable if at all. Overall, loved it, I recommend reading!!
A strong, well-developed heroine in Maggie with multiple, detailed plot lines on varying scales and L. J Smith has hit another home run with her array of interesting, unique characters.
Among some of my favorites. Outstanding literary work. The characters are well developed, interesting. The liked characters are likable and the hated are unlikable. The writing is captivating enough to keep you interested until the end and leave you wanting more. It has a fairly original or uniquely well-developed plot. The pretense and romance were well balanced and done with properly distributed amounts of hints, behaviors, and chemistry. Not so much predictable if at all. Overall, loved it, I recommend reading!!
March 17, 2021
Here it is the 8th book in the series. It was a torture to finish this book, because it was quite boring: slaves... slaves... sitting in dungeons and nothing really happening. I made a pause and read other books instead, until I decided I must finish this one. MAYBE if it would be translate to Lithuanian- I would had liked it more. But now I give two stars.
Will I read other books? IDK.... Maybe... I kind of want to finish series, but unsure if other books will change anything.
Will I read other books? IDK.... Maybe... I kind of want to finish series, but unsure if other books will change anything.
August 20, 2020
This was another one that I didn't remember, and I did like it. It was more fantasy than romance, and there weren't really that many romantic scenes. It was too easy to guess
June 22, 2019
Night World
Black Dawn
L. J. Smith
Maggie Neely woke up to the sound of her mother screaming.
Plot.
Maggie is your average human till the day her brother Miles goes missing.
When Maggie’s brother Miles doesn’t come back from a mountain climbing expedition.
When his girlfriend Sylvia turned up and tells everyone what happened Maggie finds herself unable to believe Sylvia’s story; so she followers her home to where Sylvia drugs her, then kidnapped her.
Maggie wakes up in a waggon with four other girls heading towards a secret Vampire Castle, Black Dawn to be sold as vampire slaves.
Maggie desperately wants to find her brother, but in order to do that she needs to get away from her kidnappers.
Till she runs into the Vampire Prince Delos. Her soulmate. A Wild Power.
What I Liked.
I liked that it had a different twist to the other books.
I liked Maggie.
What I Didn’t Like.
These books have been getting better and better, but sadly this one let me down, it didn’t have all that much... action, I guess.
Overall.
I liked this instalment, it was good, interesting, but it could have been longer.
I wish I could have enjoyed it more.
I also wanted more Delos and Maggie cutenesses. Just awwwwwwwh!
Sad that this series is ending/near the end.
3/5*
Black Dawn
L. J. Smith
Maggie Neely woke up to the sound of her mother screaming.
Plot.
Maggie is your average human till the day her brother Miles goes missing.
When Maggie’s brother Miles doesn’t come back from a mountain climbing expedition.
When his girlfriend Sylvia turned up and tells everyone what happened Maggie finds herself unable to believe Sylvia’s story; so she followers her home to where Sylvia drugs her, then kidnapped her.
Maggie wakes up in a waggon with four other girls heading towards a secret Vampire Castle, Black Dawn to be sold as vampire slaves.
Maggie desperately wants to find her brother, but in order to do that she needs to get away from her kidnappers.
Till she runs into the Vampire Prince Delos. Her soulmate. A Wild Power.
What I Liked.
I liked that it had a different twist to the other books.
I liked Maggie.
What I Didn’t Like.
These books have been getting better and better, but sadly this one let me down, it didn’t have all that much... action, I guess.
Overall.
I liked this instalment, it was good, interesting, but it could have been longer.
I wish I could have enjoyed it more.
I also wanted more Delos and Maggie cutenesses. Just awwwwwwwh!
Sad that this series is ending/near the end.
3/5*
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2016
Read this book if you don't mind the following:
1. Instalove. This is a serious case of instalove. The main characters first meet through a dream (that until now I still don't get the mechanics of how Delos appeared as future Delos warning Maggie off or something like that). Then when they truly meet in person, some magical connection makes them realize they're soulmates! Thus they are now irrevocably in love with each other because they are soulmates after all and you only have one of those in your lifetime.
2. Wonder woman. Maggie is human. She has no magical powers nor special talent... but she is a wonder woman. She leaves home to rescue her brother, gets caught but because she is very resourceful she finds a way to escape. She has a big heart too. She does everything in her power to save the injured slave girl even at the expense of the possibility of being caught. She is very able in whatever she decides to do. Or just plain lucky. I find that the line between the two is thin so I rather not think deeply which is which.
Since I didn't read the series from book 1, I'm just going to assume that there was a detailed introduction to what this dark kingdom is. If there wasn't, well, then the world building could have done better. I think the book would have fared better in my rating scale if it were maybe 150 pages more. Or not. Because I still don't like Maggie. Why so perfect?
1. Instalove. This is a serious case of instalove. The main characters first meet through a dream (that until now I still don't get the mechanics of how Delos appeared as future Delos warning Maggie off or something like that). Then when they truly meet in person, some magical connection makes them realize they're soulmates! Thus they are now irrevocably in love with each other because they are soulmates after all and you only have one of those in your lifetime.
2. Wonder woman. Maggie is human. She has no magical powers nor special talent... but she is a wonder woman. She leaves home to rescue her brother, gets caught but because she is very resourceful she finds a way to escape. She has a big heart too. She does everything in her power to save the injured slave girl even at the expense of the possibility of being caught. She is very able in whatever she decides to do. Or just plain lucky. I find that the line between the two is thin so I rather not think deeply which is which.
Since I didn't read the series from book 1, I'm just going to assume that there was a detailed introduction to what this dark kingdom is. If there wasn't, well, then the world building could have done better. I think the book would have fared better in my rating scale if it were maybe 150 pages more. Or not. Because I still don't like Maggie. Why so perfect?
December 23, 2015
Source: I own a bind up of books 7-9 of this series.
Cost: Free gift
Title: Black Dawn
Series: Night World #8
Author: LJ Smith
Overall Rating: 3 stars
I think in every set of three in this series, there's one book that is a three star book for me, and in this set of three, I think it's going to be Black Dawn.
There was nothing wrong with it per say, but it just didn't match up to how much I enjoyed Huntress. I liked Maggie as a main character, but sometimes she was kind of irritating. Delos was even more annoying in places. I just didn't care for this book as much as I'd hoped too and that makes me kind of sad as I feel like it cheated me in some way just because I know how great of an author LJ is.
Cost: Free gift
Title: Black Dawn
Series: Night World #8
Author: LJ Smith
Overall Rating: 3 stars
I think in every set of three in this series, there's one book that is a three star book for me, and in this set of three, I think it's going to be Black Dawn.
There was nothing wrong with it per say, but it just didn't match up to how much I enjoyed Huntress. I liked Maggie as a main character, but sometimes she was kind of irritating. Delos was even more annoying in places. I just didn't care for this book as much as I'd hoped too and that makes me kind of sad as I feel like it cheated me in some way just because I know how great of an author LJ is.
June 7, 2017
Will post review under bind up edition Night World, No. 3
January 7, 2018
Black Dawn is book 8 in the Night World series.
I loved reading about Maggie and her determination to find her brother. And Prince Delos made it even better.
I loved reading about Maggie and her determination to find her brother. And Prince Delos made it even better.
June 25, 2021
This one was weird because it didn't feel like it took place in the modern world.
Maggie's brother goes missing and his girlfriend swings by his parents house to break the news. Immediately, Maggie gets the feeling that Sylvia is lying. There's no way he would make such a stupid mistake while rock climbing, and definitely not a mistake that might have cost him his life.
Earlier that night Maggie got visit from a mysterious man in her dream. He tells her to remember the way to the pass. After hearing the news of her brother's disappearance, Maggie follows Sylvia back to her apartment where she inevitably gets drugged, sold into slavery, and finds her soulmate in the vampire running the camp. Terrible connection, but whatever.
Maggie, Jeanne, P.J., and Cady come up with a grand scheme to free all the slaves but obviously they're going to need help. Cady has a secret super power (obvi she's a witch and if you've read the rest of the series you know who she is immediately) and Maggie, of course, is the prophesied Deliverer. The romance factor is verrrrrry thin in Black Dawn but I feel like it was filled with Gladiator-esque action.
Full series review will be posted on A Reader's Diary!
Maggie's brother goes missing and his girlfriend swings by his parents house to break the news. Immediately, Maggie gets the feeling that Sylvia is lying. There's no way he would make such a stupid mistake while rock climbing, and definitely not a mistake that might have cost him his life.
Earlier that night Maggie got visit from a mysterious man in her dream. He tells her to remember the way to the pass. After hearing the news of her brother's disappearance, Maggie follows Sylvia back to her apartment where she inevitably gets drugged, sold into slavery, and finds her soulmate in the vampire running the camp. Terrible connection, but whatever.
Maggie, Jeanne, P.J., and Cady come up with a grand scheme to free all the slaves but obviously they're going to need help. Cady has a secret super power (obvi she's a witch and if you've read the rest of the series you know who she is immediately) and Maggie, of course, is the prophesied Deliverer. The romance factor is verrrrrry thin in Black Dawn but I feel like it was filled with Gladiator-esque action.
Full series review will be posted on A Reader's Diary!
June 8, 2019
He leído todos sus libros en mi adolescencia (los cuales sacaba de la biblioteca) y volverlos a leer me ha traído a mi yo de 13, 14, 15 años ;-;
Este libros es el 4to de la saga pero el Octavo de la serie (ya que tiene varios que aún no se han traducido al español). Me volvieron a encantar los personajes, Maggie valiente y decidida y Delos serio pero vulnerable, ahora veo que el amor fue rápido, pero las páginas se pasan volando y te atrapa en cada capítulo, me dieron ganas de volverlos a leer al igual que la saga de Vampire Diaries. Todo tiene una buena explicación y un cierre a los hechos. Simplemente volver a entrar en las paginas ha sido maravilloso!
Este libros es el 4to de la saga pero el Octavo de la serie (ya que tiene varios que aún no se han traducido al español). Me volvieron a encantar los personajes, Maggie valiente y decidida y Delos serio pero vulnerable, ahora veo que el amor fue rápido, pero las páginas se pasan volando y te atrapa en cada capítulo, me dieron ganas de volverlos a leer al igual que la saga de Vampire Diaries. Todo tiene una buena explicación y un cierre a los hechos. Simplemente volver a entrar en las paginas ha sido maravilloso!
November 16, 2025
3.75⭐️
I think this is my favorite of the series. A great story, I felt the danger the whole time, I didn’t remember any of the characters and there was so much to lose. It was interesting, I liked each of the main characters and the side stories, and I found it surprisingly dark comparatively.
(It’s probably my favorite because it’s similar to book 5 but darker).
I think this is my favorite of the series. A great story, I felt the danger the whole time, I didn’t remember any of the characters and there was so much to lose. It was interesting, I liked each of the main characters and the side stories, and I found it surprisingly dark comparatively.
(It’s probably my favorite because it’s similar to book 5 but darker).
September 21, 2018
Re-read
Because I haven't read these books in a long time!!
Because I haven't read these books in a long time!!
April 3, 2022
Hmm, this one I didn't like as much as I used to. Delos is still the best thing about this book, but the pacing of the story was too quick and at times the dialogue was cringey.
February 29, 2024
The shifting away from romance to all of this "end of days" sort of thing is a little refreshing but Black Dawn does another lane change that is interesting as well...it goes fantasy.
Not this like completely medieval route or even the sort of urban fantasy but a sort of mash-up. The clearest example I think would be The 10th Kingdom that came on NBC back in the 1990s.
Am I old yet or what?
Anyway all of this stuff going on has been Night People living in the human world but now it is humans becoming trapped in the way the world was before...when the Night World was in charge.
The way most of the vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves and the really evil witches want it now...where humans are slaves, food and sport.
The human who is involved this time as our main character is Maggie Neely. She is awakened early in the morning about a week after Halloween by the tortured scream of her mother and Maggie runs down stairs in mismatched clothes to see what is wrong.
The police are there, her mother is crying in her husband's arms and her older brother Miles' girlfriend Sylvia Weald is there in clothing for rock climbing but Miles...isn't there.
According to the police and Sylvia and the obvious reaction of her mother, Maggie learns her brother is dead. None of them notice her at first but as Maggie listens to Sylvia explain what happened, she has a feeling that Sylvia is lying.
The way she tells the story is as if she has rehearsed performing a monologue for a drama class because of the way Sylvia focuses on Maggie's mismatched socks and by painting it as if Miles didn't setup his equipment correctly when Maggie knows that Miles is the best climber in Washington State.
Despite the scene caused by her mother fainting, the police tell Sylvia to wait out in the car but Maggie catches her heading back toward her college campus instead. Maggie follows Sylvia to a party in her dorm and before she can corner and confront the other girl, Sylvia already knows Maggie has followed her.
Sylvia starts burning incense as Maggie questions where her brother really is and if Miles is dead and Sylvia starts talking strangely about anything beside that subject. The smoke starts making Maggie's eyes burn and then she gets all dizzy as it seems Sylvia's eyes have a red tinge to them before Maggie passes out.
Maggie realizes she is dreaming because there is clearly white mist all around and out of it steps a young man who is not that much older than her but he has dark hair and is very handsome. Besides being tall, he has fierce yellow eyes and a gentleness to his face as he says Maggie's name but what he has to say isn't sweet nothings in her ear.
He tells her when she wakes up that she has to leave and he shows Maggie a pass that will lead her back home but Maggie is determined to find Miles, now believing that he may just be alive. The stranger tells her not to think of that right now but to be safe and that he has always loved her before they share a kiss.
It is strangely comforting but Maggie soon wakes up to find herself in a wooden room but the movement and sounds are of a wagon being pulled by horses. There are three other girls.
One is a redhead like Maggie and the same age while the other girl near a corner is unseen it is the other one that is the most shocking because she looks to be only ten years old. Yet another shock is that Maggie has been sold into slavery to the Night World but it is a place hidden from the outside by magic and fog...the Dark Kingdom.
Maggie is all prepared to escape but the redhead tells her that is exactly what she was trying to do but they caught her again...it isn't her first time trying to get away. She lifts her shirt and shows Maggie and the younger girl named P.J. her back.
It is more than just cuts or burns or welts but a gruesome game of Tic Tac Toe carved into the skin.
Maggie is sick and she then learns that her name is Jeanne after pleading. Jeanne has clearly been here a long time because she is snarky in a jaded and cold way but they all plan to try and escape the cart...until we get to the other girl.
Jeanne is convinced to leave her as she will be a hinderance but P.J. says that she has been very weak and sick since they brought her here and Maggie won't leave her behind if she is ill. Jeanne also tells Maggie that the girl is blind but it spurs Maggie on enough to ask her what her name is and if she is well enough to run.
The girl with the pale mocha skin says her name is Arcadia so Maggie calls her Cady for short and she also says she thinks she is strong enough to run. They decided to topple over the cart by running at it like a battering ram until it tips over then Jeanne will help P.J. and Maggie will be 100% responsible for Cady.
The girls get free and are chased by two men but they get closer to Maggie and Cady that she learns their names are Gavin and Bern, they were bringing a certain maiden among the girls who wasn't just an ordinary slave and if the don't find them, a certain "Her" will not be happy.
Maggie and Cady travel for awhile but get caught with Bern literally climbing the mountains with bare hands...and then he shapeshifts into a bear!
A large ferocious black bear but before it can attack it gets struck by...lightning? That's what Maggie believes it is at first but it turns from blue electricity to a blue fire that consumes the bear that was Bern and Gavin runs away screaming. So the body won't fall on her, Maggie kicks the bear over the ledge.
When it is over, Maggie realizes that it was powerful magic and then finds the source...the boy from her earlier dream.
He is still handsome but there is no softness to his features or his demeanor and an iciness to his attitude. He denies that he was trying to save either Maggie or Cady and is not thrilled that Maggie wants to give his water that he brought to Cady. Maggie says she can control her thirst if Cady really needs it more and he disagrees because you see...vampires give in to their hunger all the time.
Despite learning he is a vampire, Maggie isn't scared and it seems to earn some of the young man's respect that he leads her to a cave filled with cold water to fill up the canteen.
If you couldn't guess by now the moment that they make skin to skin contact by touching hands, Maggie feels something happening between them. She gets just another shock after learning about witches and shapeshifters and vampires when she can hear the young man's voice in her head and he can hear hers.
Also his name is Delos...Delos Redfern, the vampire prince who runs the Dark Kingdom after the death of his father three years ago. The time when humans from the outside world were brought in through the pass that had not been open in five hundred years.
Maggie can see inside Delos and relives his memories from childhood where he was found to be a Wild Power that could help the Night World destroy the humans. She sees a child shown no love by his father and only used as a weapon to become cold and lethal and when it feels as if Maggie is starting to thaw the ice about Delos, he throws her out of his thoughts.
Delos tells Maggie to leave but she goes back for Cady and is saved by Delos yet again when a hunting party come upon him and he makes a comment that he killed some escaped slave girls with his blue fire. Maggie isn't too thrilled to find that Sylvia is with the hunting party and that she acts like a flirt with Delos.
Delos doesn't seem to be interested or even like Sylvia but what worries Maggie is how some of her tone indicates that she may not be completely interested in Delos either unless it is in some devious way that covets the power he has as prince.
Maggie and Cady get away and then meet up again with P.J. and Jeanne later that evening but the next day all of the girls are on the run as the hunting party is out once again to try and find the two other "alive" girls. Delos knows Maggie is close because of their soulmate bond but doesn't reveal her to those in the party and they ride on once the shapeshifter dogs lose the scent and life energies they have been tracking.
Maggie is bewildered to have seen Delos' father alive and riding with the party but when the truth of just who it really is revealed...that is when the story takes it dangerous turn.
I won't spoil that much but it is basically you know...royal coup, thaw the heart of the icy vampire prince and keep him from being a Doomsday device. There is a lot of character development in this one and to go over every detail would spoil the best parts of Black Dawn.
The climax is something else but the ending is one that is oddly hopeful yet also excitingly ominous as the prophecy is still far from being over...
Not this like completely medieval route or even the sort of urban fantasy but a sort of mash-up. The clearest example I think would be The 10th Kingdom that came on NBC back in the 1990s.
Am I old yet or what?
Anyway all of this stuff going on has been Night People living in the human world but now it is humans becoming trapped in the way the world was before...when the Night World was in charge.
The way most of the vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves and the really evil witches want it now...where humans are slaves, food and sport.
The human who is involved this time as our main character is Maggie Neely. She is awakened early in the morning about a week after Halloween by the tortured scream of her mother and Maggie runs down stairs in mismatched clothes to see what is wrong.
The police are there, her mother is crying in her husband's arms and her older brother Miles' girlfriend Sylvia Weald is there in clothing for rock climbing but Miles...isn't there.
According to the police and Sylvia and the obvious reaction of her mother, Maggie learns her brother is dead. None of them notice her at first but as Maggie listens to Sylvia explain what happened, she has a feeling that Sylvia is lying.
The way she tells the story is as if she has rehearsed performing a monologue for a drama class because of the way Sylvia focuses on Maggie's mismatched socks and by painting it as if Miles didn't setup his equipment correctly when Maggie knows that Miles is the best climber in Washington State.
Despite the scene caused by her mother fainting, the police tell Sylvia to wait out in the car but Maggie catches her heading back toward her college campus instead. Maggie follows Sylvia to a party in her dorm and before she can corner and confront the other girl, Sylvia already knows Maggie has followed her.
Sylvia starts burning incense as Maggie questions where her brother really is and if Miles is dead and Sylvia starts talking strangely about anything beside that subject. The smoke starts making Maggie's eyes burn and then she gets all dizzy as it seems Sylvia's eyes have a red tinge to them before Maggie passes out.
Maggie realizes she is dreaming because there is clearly white mist all around and out of it steps a young man who is not that much older than her but he has dark hair and is very handsome. Besides being tall, he has fierce yellow eyes and a gentleness to his face as he says Maggie's name but what he has to say isn't sweet nothings in her ear.
He tells her when she wakes up that she has to leave and he shows Maggie a pass that will lead her back home but Maggie is determined to find Miles, now believing that he may just be alive. The stranger tells her not to think of that right now but to be safe and that he has always loved her before they share a kiss.
It is strangely comforting but Maggie soon wakes up to find herself in a wooden room but the movement and sounds are of a wagon being pulled by horses. There are three other girls.
One is a redhead like Maggie and the same age while the other girl near a corner is unseen it is the other one that is the most shocking because she looks to be only ten years old. Yet another shock is that Maggie has been sold into slavery to the Night World but it is a place hidden from the outside by magic and fog...the Dark Kingdom.
Maggie is all prepared to escape but the redhead tells her that is exactly what she was trying to do but they caught her again...it isn't her first time trying to get away. She lifts her shirt and shows Maggie and the younger girl named P.J. her back.
It is more than just cuts or burns or welts but a gruesome game of Tic Tac Toe carved into the skin.
Maggie is sick and she then learns that her name is Jeanne after pleading. Jeanne has clearly been here a long time because she is snarky in a jaded and cold way but they all plan to try and escape the cart...until we get to the other girl.
Jeanne is convinced to leave her as she will be a hinderance but P.J. says that she has been very weak and sick since they brought her here and Maggie won't leave her behind if she is ill. Jeanne also tells Maggie that the girl is blind but it spurs Maggie on enough to ask her what her name is and if she is well enough to run.
The girl with the pale mocha skin says her name is Arcadia so Maggie calls her Cady for short and she also says she thinks she is strong enough to run. They decided to topple over the cart by running at it like a battering ram until it tips over then Jeanne will help P.J. and Maggie will be 100% responsible for Cady.
The girls get free and are chased by two men but they get closer to Maggie and Cady that she learns their names are Gavin and Bern, they were bringing a certain maiden among the girls who wasn't just an ordinary slave and if the don't find them, a certain "Her" will not be happy.
Maggie and Cady travel for awhile but get caught with Bern literally climbing the mountains with bare hands...and then he shapeshifts into a bear!
A large ferocious black bear but before it can attack it gets struck by...lightning? That's what Maggie believes it is at first but it turns from blue electricity to a blue fire that consumes the bear that was Bern and Gavin runs away screaming. So the body won't fall on her, Maggie kicks the bear over the ledge.
When it is over, Maggie realizes that it was powerful magic and then finds the source...the boy from her earlier dream.
He is still handsome but there is no softness to his features or his demeanor and an iciness to his attitude. He denies that he was trying to save either Maggie or Cady and is not thrilled that Maggie wants to give his water that he brought to Cady. Maggie says she can control her thirst if Cady really needs it more and he disagrees because you see...vampires give in to their hunger all the time.
Despite learning he is a vampire, Maggie isn't scared and it seems to earn some of the young man's respect that he leads her to a cave filled with cold water to fill up the canteen.
If you couldn't guess by now the moment that they make skin to skin contact by touching hands, Maggie feels something happening between them. She gets just another shock after learning about witches and shapeshifters and vampires when she can hear the young man's voice in her head and he can hear hers.
Also his name is Delos...Delos Redfern, the vampire prince who runs the Dark Kingdom after the death of his father three years ago. The time when humans from the outside world were brought in through the pass that had not been open in five hundred years.
Maggie can see inside Delos and relives his memories from childhood where he was found to be a Wild Power that could help the Night World destroy the humans. She sees a child shown no love by his father and only used as a weapon to become cold and lethal and when it feels as if Maggie is starting to thaw the ice about Delos, he throws her out of his thoughts.
Delos tells Maggie to leave but she goes back for Cady and is saved by Delos yet again when a hunting party come upon him and he makes a comment that he killed some escaped slave girls with his blue fire. Maggie isn't too thrilled to find that Sylvia is with the hunting party and that she acts like a flirt with Delos.
Delos doesn't seem to be interested or even like Sylvia but what worries Maggie is how some of her tone indicates that she may not be completely interested in Delos either unless it is in some devious way that covets the power he has as prince.
Maggie and Cady get away and then meet up again with P.J. and Jeanne later that evening but the next day all of the girls are on the run as the hunting party is out once again to try and find the two other "alive" girls. Delos knows Maggie is close because of their soulmate bond but doesn't reveal her to those in the party and they ride on once the shapeshifter dogs lose the scent and life energies they have been tracking.
Maggie is bewildered to have seen Delos' father alive and riding with the party but when the truth of just who it really is revealed...that is when the story takes it dangerous turn.
I won't spoil that much but it is basically you know...royal coup, thaw the heart of the icy vampire prince and keep him from being a Doomsday device. There is a lot of character development in this one and to go over every detail would spoil the best parts of Black Dawn.
The climax is something else but the ending is one that is oddly hopeful yet also excitingly ominous as the prophecy is still far from being over...
July 9, 2013
Whereas the first NIGHT WORLD omnibus set up the basic concept for the Night World and the rules in place for its existence, the second began to give the sense that all the stories were interconnected rather than one-off stories. With each installment, more was learned about the history of the sub-world, the concept of soulmates, and (particularly in this final omnibus) the coming of the end of the world. Such was the case for the first nine books in this series, but unfortunately, the final book in the series was never published, leaving readers hanging as to how the story ended.
For example, despite the fact that each book features a new female protagonist, other secondary characters often pop up in cameo a... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
For example, despite the fact that each book features a new female protagonist, other secondary characters often pop up in cameo a... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
April 26, 2025
This was so good. This is one of my favorite books so far in the Night World series along with Daughters of Darkness.
I really love Maggie, and Delos was so cute that I just wanted to protect him. I liked seeing his past through his thoughts and his mind, and I loved how Maggie was there ready to hold him.
I'm excited about reading how this is going to go because we are getting close to the great end. And well.... that's bad news because L.J. hasn't published Strange Fate which is the last episode for the Night World series.
Nightworld Series
1. Secret Vampire 3/5
2. Daughters of Darkness 5/5🌟🔝
3. Spellbinder 3.5/5
4. Dark Angel 2/5
5. The Chosen 4.5/5
6. Soulmate 3/5
7. Huntress 3/5
8. Black Dawn 4.5/5
9. Witchlight tbr
10. Strange Fate tbr
I really love Maggie, and Delos was so cute that I just wanted to protect him. I liked seeing his past through his thoughts and his mind, and I loved how Maggie was there ready to hold him.
I'm excited about reading how this is going to go because we are getting close to the great end. And well.... that's bad news because L.J. hasn't published Strange Fate which is the last episode for the Night World series.
Nightworld Series
1. Secret Vampire 3/5
2. Daughters of Darkness 5/5🌟🔝
3. Spellbinder 3.5/5
4. Dark Angel 2/5
5. The Chosen 4.5/5
6. Soulmate 3/5
7. Huntress 3/5
8. Black Dawn 4.5/5
9. Witchlight tbr
10. Strange Fate tbr
September 8, 2010
didn't actually read...listened to the audiobook. it was good once I got past the narrators voice.
August 7, 2016
For a more detailed review, please check out my review below:
Debra's Book Cafe
Debs :-)
Debra's Book Cafe
Debs :-)
August 30, 2016
This one kept you guessing what was going on and what was going to happen. I loved it.
April 27, 2020
More and more when I read this series, I wonder what I found so fascinating and good about them when I was younger. As far as the storytelling goes, they’re fairly average, and while I can make some allowances because the author was writing in a time when YA novels were mostly confined to 200 very short pages or less instead of having the allowance of expanding the plot, but that grace can only go so far.
This book starts out with another example of a teenager — Maggie — making a ridiculous leap of logic that turns out to be right. She awakens to find her parents distraught as her brother’s girlfriend Sylvia informs them that Miles (said brother) has died. Maggie deduces that Sylvia must be lying about what happened because her display of grief is “too perfect” and so must be acting. Following her intuition, she sneaks out of the house to follow Sylvia and ends up getting kidnapped by a group of Night People who are intent on bringing human slaves to their hidden kingdom in the mountains.
Yeah, you read that right.
The story itself, while fairly simple, is interesting enough. Maggie finds other people who are kidnapped, living in the castle town as slaves, and sets out trying to free them. Along the way she meets Delos, the vampire prince, scornful and cold and yet still her soulmate, as is typical for the Night World books.
But this really fails when you throw in some logical scrutiny. Aside from the opening scene, which really just seemed like the author wrote herself into a corner very quickly and needed some way — any way! — to get Maggie to follow Sylvia so the real plot could start, I have a hard time suspending my disbelief when it comes to the major end-of-the-world prophecy, specifically how it’s done here.
My biggest problem with it? Aside from the fact that the prophecy is translated into English and only one translation is ever mentioned anywhere ever, the kingdom in the mountains in relation to it is a major fail. The kingdom, with its sanitized medieval-style culture, was established around 600 years ago in an American mountain range, and yet they have the exact same version of the prophecy. Same translation, in modern English, in spite of only very recently (last couple of decades or so) having contact with the outside world. They all speak modern English there, in fact, and quite easily.
Then on top of it all, the “finding Miles” subplot that occasionally pokes its head up at random places in the story, gets wrapped up almost as an afterthought, like Smith had forgotten Maggie’s sporadically-driving goal until someone pointed it out, and then she just tacked on an ending that makes sense but still comes somewhat out of left field and doesn’t flow well with the rest of the scene.
I keep trying to tell myself that I’m being too hard on the book and the author, that most teens won’t catch that, but that really isn’t much of an excuse. Smith has made some other major gaffes in this series, including some incredibly ironic and hypocritical ones, and the more I read them, the more I notice them. And the more I wonder why I bought the re-released books a few years back. They aren’t as good as I remember, and rereading them now has ripped away the shiny happy veneer that nostalgia once gave them. There are so many better YA urban fantasy novels worth reading, and if truth be told, I’m rather glad that this is the penultimate novel in the series (unless you count the as-yet-to-be-released final book that should have come out over 10 years ago but is still in progress) and I won’t have to keep reading them much longer.
Sometimes things are best left in the past.
This book starts out with another example of a teenager — Maggie — making a ridiculous leap of logic that turns out to be right. She awakens to find her parents distraught as her brother’s girlfriend Sylvia informs them that Miles (said brother) has died. Maggie deduces that Sylvia must be lying about what happened because her display of grief is “too perfect” and so must be acting. Following her intuition, she sneaks out of the house to follow Sylvia and ends up getting kidnapped by a group of Night People who are intent on bringing human slaves to their hidden kingdom in the mountains.
Yeah, you read that right.
The story itself, while fairly simple, is interesting enough. Maggie finds other people who are kidnapped, living in the castle town as slaves, and sets out trying to free them. Along the way she meets Delos, the vampire prince, scornful and cold and yet still her soulmate, as is typical for the Night World books.
But this really fails when you throw in some logical scrutiny. Aside from the opening scene, which really just seemed like the author wrote herself into a corner very quickly and needed some way — any way! — to get Maggie to follow Sylvia so the real plot could start, I have a hard time suspending my disbelief when it comes to the major end-of-the-world prophecy, specifically how it’s done here.
My biggest problem with it? Aside from the fact that the prophecy is translated into English and only one translation is ever mentioned anywhere ever, the kingdom in the mountains in relation to it is a major fail. The kingdom, with its sanitized medieval-style culture, was established around 600 years ago in an American mountain range, and yet they have the exact same version of the prophecy. Same translation, in modern English, in spite of only very recently (last couple of decades or so) having contact with the outside world. They all speak modern English there, in fact, and quite easily.
Then on top of it all, the “finding Miles” subplot that occasionally pokes its head up at random places in the story, gets wrapped up almost as an afterthought, like Smith had forgotten Maggie’s sporadically-driving goal until someone pointed it out, and then she just tacked on an ending that makes sense but still comes somewhat out of left field and doesn’t flow well with the rest of the scene.
I keep trying to tell myself that I’m being too hard on the book and the author, that most teens won’t catch that, but that really isn’t much of an excuse. Smith has made some other major gaffes in this series, including some incredibly ironic and hypocritical ones, and the more I read them, the more I notice them. And the more I wonder why I bought the re-released books a few years back. They aren’t as good as I remember, and rereading them now has ripped away the shiny happy veneer that nostalgia once gave them. There are so many better YA urban fantasy novels worth reading, and if truth be told, I’m rather glad that this is the penultimate novel in the series (unless you count the as-yet-to-be-released final book that should have come out over 10 years ago but is still in progress) and I won’t have to keep reading them much longer.
Sometimes things are best left in the past.
May 22, 2011
(Im a spoiler!!.. Beware)
Why is this book called 'Black Dawn'? Because thats the name of the castle in the Dark Kingdom.
One from the land of the kings long forgotten(thats the Dark Kingdom).
One from the hearth which still holds the spark.
One from the Day World where two eyes are watching.
One from the twilight to be one with the dark.
(The third line was already solved in Huntress.. it was Jez)
(The first line will be solved in this book.. it was Delos)
Something cool? All the Wild Powers have to be seventeen b/c in the prophecy it said they were suppose to be born when Arcadia/Cady -maiden of the witches- has her first vision(which was seventeen yrs ago).Oh!And also that Maggie was mentioned in a prophecy.It said 'She will come in flowers,shod in blue and scarlet'.Why does it say her clothes description? To tell the people theres a girl out there who will come and save them all from the Dark Kingdom.
Something good? The witches seceded from the Night World.They believ in saving the humans.And they already have a Wild Power on their side.Now they're going for two.
Ending: Every slave is safe and released.Miles is ok and a shapeshifter(falcon).Delos joins Circle Daybreak so that they now have 2 Wild Powers.Delos n Maggie r soulmates n together.
Characters:
Maggie Neely: short and rounded-face,fox-colored hair and brown eyes, plays soccer,follows Sylvia to her apartment when suspicious about the lie she told that stated Miles was dead(she followed Sylvia all the way into her room and was drugged by a potion that was made and fell unconcious into a dream),when Bern gets struck by blue lightning she looks in the direction of where it came from and sees the boy from her dreams-Delos-(she had to ask him for water and when she touched him they experience the soulmate principle).
Jake: Maggie's dog.
Miles: Maggie's older college brother,expert climber(never makes a mistake),eighteen,auburn hair,disappeared on Halloween,was being used by Sylvia as a plaything and she tryed to take him to Samhain(celebration witches have every halloween at midnight) but he turned on her somehow and was punished,wasnt killed but was turned into a falcon by Gavin(Sylvia liked him still and wanted him to be close to her),transformed back when Maggie cut the green strap off his leg,he was punished by Sylvia b/c he was tring to protect Arcadia.
Sylvia Weald: witch,Mile's girlfriend(she put him under a spell so that he'd fall in love w/ her w/o any questions),tall and willowy, fragile-looking,violet eyes,pale hair that almost looks gray,made up a story to Mile's family and the police about Mile being dead b/c of falling off while climbing,usually got her girls from Gavin,always had a soft spot for Miles,right after she released Delos from the spell she put on him blocking his powers she was killed,before she died she told Maggie what happened to Miles and told her how to release him.
Delos Redfern: vampire prince ruling the secret kingdom(has been ruling when fourteen since his father died),one of the Wild Powers, striking,dark hair thats a little rough and tousled with a tendency to wave,smooth fair skin w/ elegant bones, fearless brilliant yellow eyes surrounded by fierce black lashes,a whole head taller than Maggie was,came into Maggie's dream and told her the way to escape when she was drugged by smoke that Sylvia was making and was taken away by mist before she could ask who he was,was released of Sylvia's spell when every good person there convinced her to do the right thing,struck Hunter with lightning and he along w/ the Night World people there disappeared,joins the good side- Witches/Daybreak.
Tormentil Redfern: Delos's father,old king of the Dark World,tall with a chilly austere face,yellow eyes,when Delos was five years old he had his son get a brace made by witches for his wrist in order to control the Wild Power,made Delos kill his teacher to test the Wild Power,is dead.
Jeanne McCartney: girl w/ untidy red hair,angular intense face and flat hard green eyes,seemed to be about Maggie's age,was trying to get out of the valley when kidnapped by guys,one of the girls that was sold to be a slave and was in the cart when Maggie woke up,finds Maggie n Arcadia in the forest and helps them into the shelter she found with P.J.
P.J. Penobscot: about nine or ten,very pretty with slight short blond hair,was trick-or-treating on Halloween and was kinapped(her friend escaped),one of the girls that was sold to be a slave and was in the cart when Maggie woke up,goes with Jeanne to escape but finds shelter instead.
Arcadia/Cady: the maiden of the witches,one of the girls that was sold to be a slave and was in the cart when Maggie woke up,is blind and sick(she so far hasnt woke up from the drug when kidnapped),when she went to the Dark Kingdom to convince Delos to join the witches' side she was kidnapped they injected her w/ something and her system had a bad reaction to it(thats why she is sick),beautiful,had smooth skin the color of coffee with cream, delicate features,high cheekbones and perfect lips,black hair,long lashes surrounding brown eyes,tall, eighteen or nineteen,is the person who Maggie helped escape from the cart,was taken by the three girls to the castle where the slaves are taken to get a healer.
Gavin: shapeshifter,one of the people involved in kidnapping pretty girls for trading as slaves,had dark blond hair,a thin nose and sharp chin,ran away when the blue light blasted Bern.
Bern: bear shapeshifter,one of the people involved in kidnapping pretty girls for trading as slaves,huge w/ shoulders as broad as a two-by-four,massive chest,heavily muscled arms and a narrow waist,was about to do something to Maggie when a blue lightning came and killed him.
Hunter Redfern: vampire,Delos's great-grandfather,it was his son who discovered the Dark Kingdom,cold handsome face, blood-red hair,tall.
Chervil: Hunter's son,had a fight w/ Hunter so he ran away and that left his father w/o a heir(the place he went to is the Dark Kingdom.. which he discovered).
Laundress: a healer,one of the slaves,handsome woman with dark hair,is the healer Jeanne brought in to heal Cady but when she saw Cady she got mad and wouldnt heal her(b/c Cady is a witch),was about to kill Cady when her assistant said Maggie is the Deliverer,had a daughter that was about Cady's age.. a werewolf got some interest in her and bit her which transformed her.. but then he got tired of her n made her run only to hunt her down.
Soaker: Laundress's assistant slave.
Old Mender: healer for the slaves and sews torn clothes,use to be the queen's seamstress before she died,old woman with thin white hair and a face exactly like dried apple dolls.
Chamber-pot Emptier: big-boned girl with gentle eyes,helped Maggie find Delos's room in the castle(it was Maggie's plan to try and get him alone to convince him not to make the deal with Hunter Redfern which is shutting down the Dark Kingdom and joining his side).
Pages: 340-k 436-k
Why is this book called 'Black Dawn'? Because thats the name of the castle in the Dark Kingdom.
One from the land of the kings long forgotten(thats the Dark Kingdom).
One from the hearth which still holds the spark.
One from the Day World where two eyes are watching.
One from the twilight to be one with the dark.
(The third line was already solved in Huntress.. it was Jez)
(The first line will be solved in this book.. it was Delos)
Something cool? All the Wild Powers have to be seventeen b/c in the prophecy it said they were suppose to be born when Arcadia/Cady -maiden of the witches- has her first vision(which was seventeen yrs ago).Oh!And also that Maggie was mentioned in a prophecy.It said 'She will come in flowers,shod in blue and scarlet'.Why does it say her clothes description? To tell the people theres a girl out there who will come and save them all from the Dark Kingdom.
Something good? The witches seceded from the Night World.They believ in saving the humans.And they already have a Wild Power on their side.Now they're going for two.
Ending: Every slave is safe and released.Miles is ok and a shapeshifter(falcon).Delos joins Circle Daybreak so that they now have 2 Wild Powers.Delos n Maggie r soulmates n together.
Characters:
Maggie Neely: short and rounded-face,fox-colored hair and brown eyes, plays soccer,follows Sylvia to her apartment when suspicious about the lie she told that stated Miles was dead(she followed Sylvia all the way into her room and was drugged by a potion that was made and fell unconcious into a dream),when Bern gets struck by blue lightning she looks in the direction of where it came from and sees the boy from her dreams-Delos-(she had to ask him for water and when she touched him they experience the soulmate principle).
Jake: Maggie's dog.
Miles: Maggie's older college brother,expert climber(never makes a mistake),eighteen,auburn hair,disappeared on Halloween,was being used by Sylvia as a plaything and she tryed to take him to Samhain(celebration witches have every halloween at midnight) but he turned on her somehow and was punished,wasnt killed but was turned into a falcon by Gavin(Sylvia liked him still and wanted him to be close to her),transformed back when Maggie cut the green strap off his leg,he was punished by Sylvia b/c he was tring to protect Arcadia.
Sylvia Weald: witch,Mile's girlfriend(she put him under a spell so that he'd fall in love w/ her w/o any questions),tall and willowy, fragile-looking,violet eyes,pale hair that almost looks gray,made up a story to Mile's family and the police about Mile being dead b/c of falling off while climbing,usually got her girls from Gavin,always had a soft spot for Miles,right after she released Delos from the spell she put on him blocking his powers she was killed,before she died she told Maggie what happened to Miles and told her how to release him.
Delos Redfern: vampire prince ruling the secret kingdom(has been ruling when fourteen since his father died),one of the Wild Powers, striking,dark hair thats a little rough and tousled with a tendency to wave,smooth fair skin w/ elegant bones, fearless brilliant yellow eyes surrounded by fierce black lashes,a whole head taller than Maggie was,came into Maggie's dream and told her the way to escape when she was drugged by smoke that Sylvia was making and was taken away by mist before she could ask who he was,was released of Sylvia's spell when every good person there convinced her to do the right thing,struck Hunter with lightning and he along w/ the Night World people there disappeared,joins the good side- Witches/Daybreak.
Tormentil Redfern: Delos's father,old king of the Dark World,tall with a chilly austere face,yellow eyes,when Delos was five years old he had his son get a brace made by witches for his wrist in order to control the Wild Power,made Delos kill his teacher to test the Wild Power,is dead.
Jeanne McCartney: girl w/ untidy red hair,angular intense face and flat hard green eyes,seemed to be about Maggie's age,was trying to get out of the valley when kidnapped by guys,one of the girls that was sold to be a slave and was in the cart when Maggie woke up,finds Maggie n Arcadia in the forest and helps them into the shelter she found with P.J.
P.J. Penobscot: about nine or ten,very pretty with slight short blond hair,was trick-or-treating on Halloween and was kinapped(her friend escaped),one of the girls that was sold to be a slave and was in the cart when Maggie woke up,goes with Jeanne to escape but finds shelter instead.
Arcadia/Cady: the maiden of the witches,one of the girls that was sold to be a slave and was in the cart when Maggie woke up,is blind and sick(she so far hasnt woke up from the drug when kidnapped),when she went to the Dark Kingdom to convince Delos to join the witches' side she was kidnapped they injected her w/ something and her system had a bad reaction to it(thats why she is sick),beautiful,had smooth skin the color of coffee with cream, delicate features,high cheekbones and perfect lips,black hair,long lashes surrounding brown eyes,tall, eighteen or nineteen,is the person who Maggie helped escape from the cart,was taken by the three girls to the castle where the slaves are taken to get a healer.
Gavin: shapeshifter,one of the people involved in kidnapping pretty girls for trading as slaves,had dark blond hair,a thin nose and sharp chin,ran away when the blue light blasted Bern.
Bern: bear shapeshifter,one of the people involved in kidnapping pretty girls for trading as slaves,huge w/ shoulders as broad as a two-by-four,massive chest,heavily muscled arms and a narrow waist,was about to do something to Maggie when a blue lightning came and killed him.
Hunter Redfern: vampire,Delos's great-grandfather,it was his son who discovered the Dark Kingdom,cold handsome face, blood-red hair,tall.
Chervil: Hunter's son,had a fight w/ Hunter so he ran away and that left his father w/o a heir(the place he went to is the Dark Kingdom.. which he discovered).
Laundress: a healer,one of the slaves,handsome woman with dark hair,is the healer Jeanne brought in to heal Cady but when she saw Cady she got mad and wouldnt heal her(b/c Cady is a witch),was about to kill Cady when her assistant said Maggie is the Deliverer,had a daughter that was about Cady's age.. a werewolf got some interest in her and bit her which transformed her.. but then he got tired of her n made her run only to hunt her down.
Soaker: Laundress's assistant slave.
Old Mender: healer for the slaves and sews torn clothes,use to be the queen's seamstress before she died,old woman with thin white hair and a face exactly like dried apple dolls.
Chamber-pot Emptier: big-boned girl with gentle eyes,helped Maggie find Delos's room in the castle(it was Maggie's plan to try and get him alone to convince him not to make the deal with Hunter Redfern which is shutting down the Dark Kingdom and joining his side).
Pages: 340-k 436-k
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2022
I only have the eighth book so I decided to give this a three stars instead of a full-on zero because I haven't read the entire series. Although, judging by this book, I think I already hate it.
Maggie is really perfect, to the point where the author gave her no flaws at all, just lots of skills and smarts; yes, she's brave, strategic, smart, self-less, and all of the above. But what about her flaws? Doesn't she have any flaws in specific? Or is her flaw just Dorian or whatever his name is. She's the hero, she's set out to save her brother, she's little miss perfect who fell in love with a boy in her dreams (although, I don't want to judge, I have also fallen in love with boys in my dreams), missy, you don't even know him yet. He hasn't met you until he saved you. And it's creepy thinking that he KISSED YOU, IN YOUR DREAMS, WITHOUT KNOWING YOU?
Secondly, the worldbuilding are told by the characters. It's like they were born there itself, instead of just being enslaved, they know who run the Nightworld, how it's created, why it's created, what it's for, and who lives there. They know the lore. Except for Maggie, but, within most of the characters she knew - they seem to know everything and everyone. I think the author introduced the Nightworld from the very beginning, if they didn't, then they need to work on it a little more?
Third, Dorian and Maggie's relationship. Can I mention that Dorian is just pushing Maggie away? And kissing her at the last moment? The last scene, where Maggie needed him to switch sides, in other terms, choose his 'destiny'. What did he say? Oh yes, "I can hurt you, watch me hurt you." I don't think Maggie was scared, but anyone in that situation would be. Seriously man, I just want to see a male character where he isn't so I don't know... angry? and emotionless? LIKE MISS GIRL, IT'S ALL I WANT, I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BLACK HAIR AND PERFECT JAW, I JUST WANT YOU TO BE HUMAN OR HAVE FEELINGS GODDAMIT.
Anyway, thank you for reading :)
Maggie is really perfect, to the point where the author gave her no flaws at all, just lots of skills and smarts; yes, she's brave, strategic, smart, self-less, and all of the above. But what about her flaws? Doesn't she have any flaws in specific? Or is her flaw just Dorian or whatever his name is. She's the hero, she's set out to save her brother, she's little miss perfect who fell in love with a boy in her dreams (although, I don't want to judge, I have also fallen in love with boys in my dreams), missy, you don't even know him yet. He hasn't met you until he saved you. And it's creepy thinking that he KISSED YOU, IN YOUR DREAMS, WITHOUT KNOWING YOU?
Secondly, the worldbuilding are told by the characters. It's like they were born there itself, instead of just being enslaved, they know who run the Nightworld, how it's created, why it's created, what it's for, and who lives there. They know the lore. Except for Maggie, but, within most of the characters she knew - they seem to know everything and everyone. I think the author introduced the Nightworld from the very beginning, if they didn't, then they need to work on it a little more?
Third, Dorian and Maggie's relationship. Can I mention that Dorian is just pushing Maggie away? And kissing her at the last moment? The last scene, where Maggie needed him to switch sides, in other terms, choose his 'destiny'. What did he say? Oh yes, "I can hurt you, watch me hurt you." I don't think Maggie was scared, but anyone in that situation would be. Seriously man, I just want to see a male character where he isn't so I don't know... angry? and emotionless? LIKE MISS GIRL, IT'S ALL I WANT, I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BLACK HAIR AND PERFECT JAW, I JUST WANT YOU TO BE HUMAN OR HAVE FEELINGS GODDAMIT.
Anyway, thank you for reading :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2019
Black Dawn probably has the prettiest cover (though to be fair the falcon connection is.... kind of weak so I think it's on the cover because they needed a motif) and it also has one of the nicer stories that doesn't seem to have any grievous problems with the plot like with Soulmate and it wasn't dull or unfocused like Daughters of Darkness or just plain ugh like Huntress. It's more aligned with The Chosen and since it's a somewhat similar tale of capture and escape and saving people, apparently this kind of story is L. J. Smith's strong suit. Maggie is a good, tolerable heroine and Delos, while somewhat bland, at least has the princely angle going for him.
Though I will clarify that 4/5 on a Night World book is in relation to how bad the others have been so far. It's a quick read and mostly enjoyable. I still wish it had MORE and I imagined a somewhat different story based on the "she's his soulmate... and his prisoner!" tagline but Maggie is only in the dungeon for like... a day... and Delos ends up in there with her :/
What I thought this was going to be in my head: Maggie goes to the mountains where Miles was last seen and accidentally enters the Dark Kingdom. She is found by soldiers or something and brought to the castle for the crime of being a human in a secret kingdom. Delos has her thrown in the dungeon and ends up touching her, sparking the soulmate thing. But, being a vampire prince, he rejects it and keeps Maggie locked up but over the course of time finds their bond can't be blocked out and eventually succumbs. And like there's conflict stuff and she finds her brother and blah blah.
But it happens a lot differently so... at least it wasn't predictable in that basic sense, but it's still very much formulaic and as insta-love filled and simplistic as the previous 8.
Though I will clarify that 4/5 on a Night World book is in relation to how bad the others have been so far. It's a quick read and mostly enjoyable. I still wish it had MORE and I imagined a somewhat different story based on the "she's his soulmate... and his prisoner!" tagline but Maggie is only in the dungeon for like... a day... and Delos ends up in there with her :/
What I thought this was going to be in my head: Maggie goes to the mountains where Miles was last seen and accidentally enters the Dark Kingdom. She is found by soldiers or something and brought to the castle for the crime of being a human in a secret kingdom. Delos has her thrown in the dungeon and ends up touching her, sparking the soulmate thing. But, being a vampire prince, he rejects it and keeps Maggie locked up but over the course of time finds their bond can't be blocked out and eventually succumbs. And like there's conflict stuff and she finds her brother and blah blah.
But it happens a lot differently so... at least it wasn't predictable in that basic sense, but it's still very much formulaic and as insta-love filled and simplistic as the previous 8.
March 2, 2017
This most definitely got my eye!
General review, spoiler-free:
The Night World is the world with every dark creature you can imagine. Every "fictional" creature you know came from somewhere: The Night World.
Now, something weird, even for the Night World, is happening. Soulmates are appearing again. Two beings so connected, they are just meant to be. Every story of this series meant to culminate with the end of the world as we know focuses on different characters and how all these end up meeting.
Amazing narrative. Interesting characters and quite outstanding the the 90s (if I say so myself). Love stories for love sick people. Awesome mythology.
Here my rating of favorites (A to C). All of them are good, but some are better than others. So I have A) the ones I love most, B) the special ones and C) the rest, the lovely ones but now outstanding in comparison.
Secret Vampire (#1) - C: Nice introduction to the world and a good view of how the series work, if you read after book 2.
Daughters of Darkness (#2) - A: Special pairing and development for me personal, I adore it. The one I've read the most. CUTE ROMANCE ALERT 1!
Spellbinder (#3) -
Dark Angel (#4) - B: Most interesting development of independent plot, this is a special.
The Chosen (#5) - B: Really good subplot and secondary characters, makes you want more!
Soulmate (#6) A: I love the characters and how the idea of soulmates is explained. CUTEST ROMANCE ALERT 2!!! And one more mystery but it's a spoiler.
Huntress (#7) C: So much fun!
Black Dawn (#8) B: Lovely characters and idea. Cute romance alert!!!
Witchlight (#9) B: Good character development and a better feeling about shapeshifters.
Strange Fate (#10) -
General review, spoiler-free:
The Night World is the world with every dark creature you can imagine. Every "fictional" creature you know came from somewhere: The Night World.
Now, something weird, even for the Night World, is happening. Soulmates are appearing again. Two beings so connected, they are just meant to be. Every story of this series meant to culminate with the end of the world as we know focuses on different characters and how all these end up meeting.
Amazing narrative. Interesting characters and quite outstanding the the 90s (if I say so myself). Love stories for love sick people. Awesome mythology.
Here my rating of favorites (A to C). All of them are good, but some are better than others. So I have A) the ones I love most, B) the special ones and C) the rest, the lovely ones but now outstanding in comparison.
Secret Vampire (#1) - C: Nice introduction to the world and a good view of how the series work, if you read after book 2.
Daughters of Darkness (#2) - A: Special pairing and development for me personal, I adore it. The one I've read the most. CUTE ROMANCE ALERT 1!
Spellbinder (#3) -
Dark Angel (#4) - B: Most interesting development of independent plot, this is a special.
The Chosen (#5) - B: Really good subplot and secondary characters, makes you want more!
Soulmate (#6) A: I love the characters and how the idea of soulmates is explained. CUTEST ROMANCE ALERT 2!!! And one more mystery but it's a spoiler.
Huntress (#7) C: So much fun!
Black Dawn (#8) B: Lovely characters and idea. Cute romance alert!!!
Witchlight (#9) B: Good character development and a better feeling about shapeshifters.
Strange Fate (#10) -
November 9, 2022
Starke Charaktere und tolle Story
Das Buch hat mir echt total gut gefallen mit einer schönen, spannenden, kurzen und fesselnden Fantasygeschichte rund um die Welt von Hexen, Gestaltwandler, Vampiren und mehr. Schon vom ersten Kapitel an steigert die Story immer weiter an Spannung und man begleitet die Protagonistin auf eine Reise, auf der sie etwas über sich selbst und über die magische Welt erfährt. Dabei fand ich ihren Charakter einfach nur bewundernswert: ihre mutige, selbstlose und unerschütterliche Art hat mich wirklich begeistert und macht es einem Leser leicht sie zu mögen und durch sie in die Geschichte einzutauchen.
Und auch die Story hat mir wirklich gut gefallen, sie ist spannend und mitreißend und enthält einfallsreich Aspekte sowie tiefgründige/ ernste Passagen (gerade auch diese sind toll zu lesen, neben den humorvollen und spannenden). Und natürlich eine Welt voll von Fantasy.
Alles in allem ein auf jeden von lesenswertes, tolles und mitreißendes Buch aus der „Night World- Reihe“, das man nur empfehlen kann.
Das Buch hat mir echt total gut gefallen mit einer schönen, spannenden, kurzen und fesselnden Fantasygeschichte rund um die Welt von Hexen, Gestaltwandler, Vampiren und mehr. Schon vom ersten Kapitel an steigert die Story immer weiter an Spannung und man begleitet die Protagonistin auf eine Reise, auf der sie etwas über sich selbst und über die magische Welt erfährt. Dabei fand ich ihren Charakter einfach nur bewundernswert: ihre mutige, selbstlose und unerschütterliche Art hat mich wirklich begeistert und macht es einem Leser leicht sie zu mögen und durch sie in die Geschichte einzutauchen.
Und auch die Story hat mir wirklich gut gefallen, sie ist spannend und mitreißend und enthält einfallsreich Aspekte sowie tiefgründige/ ernste Passagen (gerade auch diese sind toll zu lesen, neben den humorvollen und spannenden). Und natürlich eine Welt voll von Fantasy.
Alles in allem ein auf jeden von lesenswertes, tolles und mitreißendes Buch aus der „Night World- Reihe“, das man nur empfehlen kann.
June 16, 2023
This one was hard to rate. I liked the idea of this group of night worlders being entirely cut off from the rest of the world and half of them knowing nothing of what the outside of their community is like. It added an extra layer to Delos who I felt so sorry for ||his childhood was awful, add to that the fact he had nowhere to run to, if that was the only experience he had had though he probhably considered it his due, this made me feel such compassion for his character||. I appreciated how some of the small details were later revealed to be big things, some were more obvious than others. My main issue with this story was the writing, this series has several points that have seemed unfinished and badly composed, they seemed to stand out more in this book though, there were some paragraphs that were almost painful to read. That being said I am enjoying the underlying story, can't help but notice that we have two more wild powers to find and only one more book, I know there was supposed to be a book 10 that has never actually appeared and that worries me slightly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2021
Como siempre, estos libros son muy rápidos y fáciles de leer, te atrapan desde el primer momento. La pluma de la autora sigue siendo ligera y entretenida.
Me gustó mucho esta historia, comenzamos con la protagonista que se entera del Night World y luego intenta escapar y salvar a los que están a su alrededor, para después darse cuenta que su alma gemela es un vampiro.
Me gusta mucho la manera en la que la autora desarrolla el romance entre los protagonistas, a pesar de que el libro es corto.
Sobre los personajes, Maggie es la protagonista fuerte y que no se rinde hasta cumplir su objetivo, pero también es una persona amable y que cuida de los demás. En cambio, Delos, es un vampiro que solo fue criado como un arma y por lo tanto, nunca supo lo que es ser querido hasta que conoció a Maggie. Son la pareja perfecta el uno para el otro.
Les recomiendo mucho estos libros si quieren leer una historia ligera y entretenida.
Me gustó mucho esta historia, comenzamos con la protagonista que se entera del Night World y luego intenta escapar y salvar a los que están a su alrededor, para después darse cuenta que su alma gemela es un vampiro.
Me gusta mucho la manera en la que la autora desarrolla el romance entre los protagonistas, a pesar de que el libro es corto.
Sobre los personajes, Maggie es la protagonista fuerte y que no se rinde hasta cumplir su objetivo, pero también es una persona amable y que cuida de los demás. En cambio, Delos, es un vampiro que solo fue criado como un arma y por lo tanto, nunca supo lo que es ser querido hasta que conoció a Maggie. Son la pareja perfecta el uno para el otro.
Les recomiendo mucho estos libros si quieren leer una historia ligera y entretenida.
April 11, 2022
I liked and disliked this book in equal parts. I liked the world building and the idea of a hidden medieval kingdom. I liked the friendships between Maggie and the girls. Really liked Aradia. Did not like the repeated usage of the trope where the male vampire wants to forcefully change his soulmate into a vampire. I think in these Night World books at LEAST three of them have that happen. And then they change their minds and don't change them. Also, what does L.J. Smith have against shapeshifters lmao? Nine books in this universe and not one with a shapeshifter love interest. Chervil is a terrible name, it literally is French parsley. The reunion with Miles was RIDICULOUS. A thumbs up?? lmaooo
September 29, 2019
Maggie refuses to believe her brother is dead, so she follows Miles' girlfriend and is quickly drugged, kidnapped and transported to a lost kingdom of vampires calling themselves the Black Dawn. She manages to escape and meet her 'soulmate' whom she learns is Delos, the heir to the kingdom and also a Wild Power.
Again, the plot development is rapid in these later-series books, and character development suffers. I don't buy Maggie's 'relationship' with Delos and her ability to influence him so quickly away from his entire upbringing. However, the series as a whole has been decent and I'll probably finish it out.
Again, the plot development is rapid in these later-series books, and character development suffers. I don't buy Maggie's 'relationship' with Delos and her ability to influence him so quickly away from his entire upbringing. However, the series as a whole has been decent and I'll probably finish it out.
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