Gwen’s review of Noah (Nightwalkers, Book 5) by Jacquelyn Frank
Paranormal romance released by Zebra 2 Sep 08
In this very long (over 450 pages!) fifth book in Frank’s Nightwalkers series, a LOT happens and we finally get to meet Noah’s mate – Kestra. She’s everything I could have hoped for for the Demon King. Frank gives us more meat in this book than past entries and I happily chewed away. Even if some of it was a little more like jerky than filet mignon.
Frank still suffers from the “more is better” school of writing – sometimes using ten words when three will do – but she was better in this book. Either her editor is getting better, she’s getting better, or I’m just getting used to it. Whatever is happening, I didn’t skim thru more than about 10% of Noah (I skimmed probably 50% of Jacob).
Frank is also getting better at giving us more rounded characters. I think Kestra is my favorite heroine to date, with Siena a close second.Kerstra is strong, clever, wickedly funny, and kick-ass. I do love kick-ass heroines.
Noah, on the other hand, comes across as a whiny little bitch, when he isn’t hurting the people he loves by accident. I realize he’s going thru the emotional extremities of Samhain, but I still wanted to hit him and I was glad every time Kestra did so.
The demoness villain didn’t make a single appearance in this book, but we still had some good villains in the rogue vampires who suck Nightwalker blood acquiring the Nightwalker’s abilities in the process. The scenes with the bad guys were action-packed and full of satisfying drama. The secondary characters were more than window dressing, too. We got to spend some quality time with Jacob and Bella because of some early drama involving their little girl and Noah. Gideon and Damien play a key role.
Frank can write some steamy sensual scenes. The only bone I have to pick with her on these is to avoid the verbiage diarrhea when she writes them – it stucks to lose momentum in a hot moment, delayed while the author describes how beautiful the heroine is in the light from a stained-glass window. DON’T CARE. MOVE ON. KNOW THAT ALREADY because you’ve described it a million times already.
This was one of the better Nightwalkers entries and I really enjoyed the characters. I recommend Noah to fans of the series and Frank’s writing. You’ll really enjoy this entry, I predict.
Grade: B-
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Summary:
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The Nightwalkers have lived in the shadows of our world for centuries, gifted with abilities few humans can comprehend. For Noah, duty is all – until he meets the woman who is his destiny…
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As Demon King, Noah is dedicated to protecting his kind from their human and Nightwalker enemies. Yet every night he’s tormented by images of a woman both achingly real and tantalizingly beyond his grasp. And his bone-deep need leaves him no choice but to force her to enter a world beyond her imagining…
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Read an excerpt.
Other books in the series:
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