Darkness Before Dawn by J.A. London

Darkness Before Dawn

Author: J.A. London

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishing

Pages: 342

Team: Victor ♥

Rating: 4 Stars 

This electrifying new trilogy blends the best of paranormal and dystopian storytelling in a world where the war is over. And the vampires won.

Humans huddle in their walled cities, supplying blood in exchange for safety. But not even that is guaranteed. Dawn has lost her entire family and now reluctantly serves as the delegate to Lord Valentine, the most powerful vampire for miles. It isn’t until she meets Victor, Valentine’s son, that she realizes not all vampires are monsters....

Darkness Before Dawn is a fresh new story with captivating characters, unexpected plot twists, a fascinating setting, and a compelling voice. Written under the name J. A. London by a talented mother-son team, the trilogy is perfect for fans of True Blood and the House of Night and Morganville Vampires series.~Goodreads

I had high hopes for this book. Being a reader who’s over vampires, I needed this book to wow me, dazzle me and not irritate me. Darkness Before Dawn did not disappoint! I was actually surprised at how good it was!

I really liked the writing style in this one. It wove simplistic descriptions with beautiful imagery and I thought the whole book read like a movie. Or at least it did for me! I saw everything play out perfectly in my head.

As for the main character, Dawn, I was actually quite fond of her! She was smart, determined and not afraid to stand up for herself. Following her parents death, she became the youngest delegate to represent both the vampires and the humans in the city where she lives, so those traits are definitely handy! The only thing I didn’t like about Dawn? The people she hung around with; her boyfriend Michael being one of them.

Michael was too perfect for me. Dawn mentioned over and over how perfect they were for each other but I felt nothing between them. They had more of a sibling vibe going on. Also, he was kind of an ass. He wasn’t that supportive of Dawn, and he was more concerned about what a good vamp killer he’d be once he became a Night Watchman. Ugh. I felt that he was too wrapped up in himself. I did not fall for his ‘charms.’

I really wasn’t impressed with Dawn’s best friend, Tegan, either. She was bossy and irresponsible; she really only led Dawn into trouble. I didn’t click with her as a character. But, one good thing about Tegan’s recklessness? It led to Victor!

Oh my gosh *swoon* I love him. So much. He is sexy and charming and protective and intelligent. Oh yeah, and vampire. And once Dawn found that fact out she never missed a chance to tell Victor how much she despised him; but he was not deterred. He wanted to help her lessen the strain between the vampires and the humans; he insisted that they could work together.

So, the more Dawn and Victor spend time together the more she learns about him. Victor does a lot of things to help the citizens of her city and Dawn comes to understand that not all vampires are monsters, especially not Victor. Could she perhaps be falling for this creature of the night? She sure is!

Now, Victor and Dawn....they have CHEMISTRY!! The forbidden-ness of their relationship!? Holy wowza. It was fantastic! But just when things start heating up between them BAM! The end. Oh my Lord Valentine! What the HELL!? How could it end there!? EEEP! That ending was like, whoa.

Overall, Darkness Before Dawn was a really good read! If you’re looking for a book that puts a new spin of vampire/human relationships and one that has a dash of delightful romance, then this book is for you!