Series Review + Giveaway: The World of Nightwalkers

Today I'm thrilled to kick off the promotional tour for Jacquelyn Frank's adult paranormal romance series, The World of Nightwalkers; a tour celebrating the series as a whole but with particular emphasis on Forsaken (book 3), which releases on January 7th from Ballantine Books. Normally in this situation I would write one review for the entire series, but since each book focuses on a different couple, I decided to split them into separate shorter reviews. Because I was new to this series, I started with book one, Forbidden, put book two on hold in the interest of time management, and then skipped ahead to Forsaken, which is why you'll find only two reviews below. 

Be sure and check out the bottom of the post for all the details on how to win a copies of all three books!

FORBIDDEN
The World of Nightwalkers #1
Jacquelyn Frank
Adult Paranormal Romance
352 pages
Ballantine Books
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from TLC Book Tours)
The unexpected happens in an instant. On her way to work, secretary Docia Waverley hurtles into a crashing crossroads, and she quickly begins to suspect that things will never be the same. Then, when a tall, blond, muscular stranger intervenes on her behalf, telling her it is his duty to protect her at all cost, what is just a feeling turns to proof positive. That is, as long as Docia’s savior doesn’t turn out to be a crazed kidnapper.

When Ram finds Docia, he has no doubt that she is his queen. But as this golden warrior sweeps in to protect her, he feels something more than body heat every time they touch. He is overwhelmed by a searing connection that goes deep into the twin souls inside him. A desire rises in him that is forbidden—this woman is his queen, the mate of his king, his leader, his best friend. And yet Docia is so vulnerable and attractive that she awakens a hunger in Ram that is undeniable, a carnal craving he cannot yield to . . . not without risking the very survival of the Bodywalkers.

MY THOUGHTS
Forbidden is a story that gets off to a bit of a rocky start, perhaps due in part to it being the first in new paranormal romance series (though set in the same world as Ms. Frank’s Nightwalker books), therefore bearing the burden of introduction and explanation. Instead of the explanation of the supernatural aspect of this world being seamlessly woven into the narrative, the first hundred-plus pages feel more informative than anything as we’re bounced around to several different characters instead of getting to spend much-needed time with our romantic hero and heroine. Though Docia and Ram are the main focus of this initial book, it could be said that their story is as much her brother Jackson’s as hers, our time equally split between the three of them despite the fact that Jackson is the hero of book two.

After about the halfway point however, things begin to settle down and Docia and Ram start to inch their way to the forefront, finally allowing us the chance to emotionally connect to them rather than simply digest their story as it’s detailed for us on page. Docia is a touch tricky at times, her reactions to the major upheaval in her life almost frustratingly youthful, her snarky outbursts clearly meant to be endearing (as Ram finds them), but to us she just comes across as peevish. She undoubtedly earns a freak out or two given all she goes through in a short period of time, it’s just the way she expresses her fear and anger that keeps us from fully embracing her. Much like the story itself though, Docia settles in the second half and becomes someone we’re actually rooting for, making Forbidden a book that ends far stronger than it starts.

Rating: 3.5/5

FORSAKEN
The World of Nightwalkers #3
Jacquelyn Frank
Adult Paranormal Romance
352 pages
Ballantine Books
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from TLC Book Tours)
As a mercenary, Leo Alvarez has signed on for a lot—but he never signed on for his best friend becoming host to the soul of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Jackson is now inhabited by a Bodywalker, and Leo is forced to grapple with a realm of supernatural beings far more dangerous than anything he’s ever encountered.

But when Jackson is wounded by an attack from a demon god, Leo must team up with another supernatural creature—a Night Angel—to save his friend from utter destruction. With skin as black as midnight, hair as white as snow, and a body of pure perfection, the Night Angel arouses a burning desire in Leo, even as he refuses to be intimidated by her power—or the power of those who would destroy his friend. An unusual alliance is forged, electrified by sexual temptation, and together the two must unite their strengths to bring down a supreme evil.

MY THOUGHTS
Forsaken is free of one of the main issues that plagued book one, focusing almost exclusively on Leo and Faith–with only a couple deviations into the laughably terrifying existence of a villainous imp god–rather than bouncing us to a third protagonist as was the case with Jackson in Ram and Docia’s story. As a result it feels as though we get to know Leo and Faith far better than we did our very first couple, and Faith in particular is someone we can’t help but feel grateful for knowing on a deeper level. She’s strong of both mind and body, quick to call Leo on his petty nonsense as he attempts to push her buttons and proceeds to cut her off at the ankles with his scathing criticism of anything supernatural. Her mental and emotional strength does wane a bit as her feelings for him grow, her attachment making her vulnerable in a way she wasn’t in the very beginning, but even vulnerable she continues to stand tall and take the sometimes brutal blows she’s dealt without flinching.

Leo, for his part, is someone we want desperately to like given the horror he experienced in book two (something that is recounted in gut-wrenching detail for us in the beginning of this third book), thoroughly understanding his hatred of all things paranormal after the torture he endured at the hands of a uniquely sadistic bodywalker. For most of this story the push/pull nature of his relationship with Faith more than makes sense, his physical scars just beginning to heal and his mental ones still as raw as they were the moment they were inflicted, so his struggle to come to terms with the fact that Faith is a Night Angel is one we feel to our cores. It’s in the late chapters however when our feelings begin to shift, Leo’s caustic remarks and painful offhand comments becoming far less justifiable as Faith continues to prove that her otherworldliness does not sentence her to the same vile category as his torturer, and he comes startlingly close to running out of page time before he can make amends.

As a result of his continued and lengthy internal debate as to whether or not all supernatural entities deserve to be painted with the same brush as the one who hurt him, the conclusion of this third installment feels quite rushed. All of his struggles seem to find resolution quickly and easily in the last chapter, detracting from the believability of his love for Faith given we’ve seen nothing but evidence contrary to such feelings. That being said however, up until that point their relationship is ripe with the addicting kind of tension that stems from the knowledge that these two people, so different in so many ways, are going to find happiness in one another eventually, and we just have to sit back and enjoy watching as the chasm between them grows ever-narrower.

Rating: 4/5
Ending: 3.5/5

The World of Nightwalkers:

Forbidden • Forever • Forsaken

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JACQUELYN FRANK

Jacquelyn Frank is the New York Times bestselling author of the World of Nightwalkers series (Forbidden, Forever, and Forsaken), the Three Worlds series (Seduce Me in Dreams and Seduce Me in Flames), the Nightwalkers series (Adam, Jacob, Gideon, Elijah, Damien, and Noah), the Shadowdwellers novels (Ecstasy, Rapture, and Pleasure), and the Gatherers novels (Hunting Julian and Stealing Katherine). She lives in North Carolina and has been writing romantic fiction ever since she picked up her first teen romance at age thirteen.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and Ballantine Books I have a set of all three World of Nightwalkers books up for grabs to one lucky winner! To enter, please just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US addresses only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Branded Tour: Excerpt

As part of the blog tour for the first book in Keary Taylor's Fall of Angels series, Branded, I'm excited to share with you a small snippet from the novel as well as some information on the next release in the series!

BRANDED SYNOPSIS (from Goodreads)

Jessica’s had the nightmares for as long as she can remember. Nightmares of being judged for people who have died, of being branded by the angels. Her friends and family think she’s a crazy because of it all. Yet she carries the mark of the condemned, seared into the back of her neck, and hides it and herself away from the world.

But when two men she can’t ignore enter her life everything changes, including the nightmares. The two of them couldn’t be more different. She will do anything to be with one of them. Even tell him the truth about angels, why she never sleeps, and the scar on the back of her neck. But one of the two has set events into motion what will puller her toward her own judgment and turn her into the object of her greatest fear.

EXCERPT

I stripped down and turned the water in the shower on. Knowing what I was about to see, I stood before the mirror and turned my back to it, peaking over my shoulder back at my reflection.

My parents had always insisted that nightmares weren’t real. They couldn’t be real. The scars that covered my neck and back suggested otherwise. A beautiful and detailed X was branded into the back of my neck and an intricate, rather realistic pattern of wings spread itself from the lower portion of my back, up to the top of my shoulders. Both were a fresh, scarlet red. The color wouldn’t last long. After a day or so both would fade to a flesh color, no longer swollen but just a raised scar. I compared the wings to the African tribes I had seen that would cut their flesh to make the beautiful patterns that covered their bodies. I believed it was called scarification. Mine looked just like this but in the right light you could see a strange metallic silver in the wings, just like the angels from my nightmares. The X was a beautiful and terrifying scar, as if a red hot iron had indeed been pressed into my neck.

I stepped into the shower and relished in the hot water. If only it could burn the marks from my skin. Some would say my scars were beautiful but I hated them. They were sore reminders of just exactly how abnormal my life was. I could never have a normal existence because of all this. I was a freak.



Book two in the series, Forsaken, releases January 11 so be sure and add it to your lists! For more information on Keary, you can find her here:

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