The Night Creatures Series

Burn Bright - Bk 1

Retra is a Seal – that is she is from the sealed community, a community cut off from those outside it. She is marked as an outcast, a behaviour strip to control some of her actions has been attached to her body. Despite the pain of her actions she is determined to escape. Unlike her brother, Joel, she doesn’t really want to go to Ixion, she has no real desire to party and seek pleasure like the rest of those who choose to go. Ruzalia, is a priate who raids the boats, pulling certain people off them, no-one seems to know why, so getting to Ixion is the first challenge.

For Retra to survive on Ixion she has to put aside all she has ever learnt and find a way to blend in. She needs to start having fun. If she can’t do this she will be withdrawn early and no-one can say exactly what that means. Except perhaps the Ripers, who are the Guardians of Ixion but are they really looking out for everyone or is something much darker going on. Retra doesn’t want to get caught up in the machinations going on under the pretty surface, she just wants to find Joel, if he is still alive. The problem is the dark secrets she stumbles upon mean Retra has some decisions to make. Even if she wanted to stay uninvolved she can’t, she knows too much.

My Initial Thoughts

This is an intricately and darkly woven dance. The layers are well blended, the story compelling. You move silently with Retra as she discovers herself, her strength, and the secrets most seem unwilling to uncover. As she grows from Retra to Naife you know you you have to keep reading to find out what happens next. Retra is accompanied by an eclectic mix of characters that blend well to create the diverse micro-culture that is Ixion.

Did I Like It?

Yes, is the easy answer. I really liked the way the surface and underlying worlds of Ixion played against each other. It’s dark in it’s tone rather than relying on paranormal creatures to make it that way. Don’t get me wrong the creatures add to the tone, they just aren’t the focus. I found the world De Pierres has created to be one that draws you in completely. You get swept up into the hedonism of the moment, the goal of the Baby Bats, even while sensing, through Retra, that things are not quite what they seem. It needs to be added though, the events that pan out don’t seem obvious which is part of the reason you stay drawn in.

The theme in this that really intrigued me is the one of how something can appear one way on the surface, or to one group of people and yet to others something entirely different is going on. This will probably be something I touch on in a later post.

So be brave baby bat and step out into the night. Tell me how it goes for you.

Angel Arias - Bk two

Retra now goes by the name Naif and has escaped Ixion but her life will never be the same. Bonded to Lenoir she often finds him in her thoughts and while this takes some getting used to, this is not her biggest problem. She knows Rippers have been seen on Grave and she is determined to go home and find out what connects the two, apparently opposed, lands.

Naif hopes to convince Ruzalia to help her, no easy task as the pirate is focussed on her own agenda. As if things weren’t complicated enough, not everyone Ruzalia saves is grateful and soon there is a revolt and Naif and her friends are caught right in the middle.

Naif will need every ounce of courage and strength she has if she is to get to the bottom of what is really going. Also she must survive – for herself, for Lenoir and for her friends, those on and off Ixion. She must tell others what is really going on.

Naif has grown. She hasn’t become as strong and forceful as Ruzalia or Suki but she is growing more comfortable in her own decisions and actions. She stands again and again for what she thinks is right and when she’s been knocked over she gets back up. (This is a trait I love in female characters – that and not having everything revolve around getting a boy to love her.) Naif may not be the strongest or the smartest but she is certainly determined and loyal, traits worth admiring.

The story is dark, taut and well woven. We are swept into this tale, it grabs us and refuses to let us go. I enjoyed Burn Bright, enough that I looked forward to the release of Angel Arias, the sequel though, drew me in more effectively and completely than I had expected.

De Pierres has returned us to a complex world with much going on beneath the surface. It is a world and story that is thoroughly engrossing even if some of the details are more than a little disturbing – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Angel Arias is a compelling read that plays with the truth that the dark places can be appealing. De Pierres storytelling sucks us in and throws us out the other side with an attitude that says ‘Be careful what you wish for Baby Bat, you may not like it when you get it’.

I am really looking forward to book three.

Shine Light Bk 3

Ixion, the land of ever-night, the place of youth and parties. Ixion, feeding zone for Ripers and Night Creatures and a war zone for the rebels led by Dark Eve and Clash.

Naif has to go back. She doesn’t want to, there are so many bad memories. She knows so much more now, she knows the risks. She has to go back for her friends and her brother. There are still secrets on Ixion that she needs to uncover – including finding out if there is a way to cure the effects of the badges worn by everyone and that are slowly killing them.

All of which is complicated by her bond to Lenoir – her greatest love and a mortal enemy – A Ripper.

This is the final book in the Night Creatures trilogy.

Naif has come a long way from the quiet, scared, timid Seal from the beginning. She has grown in strength in leaps and bounds. She is becoming a leader, different to her brother and Dark Eve but a leader non the less. She sees beyond, to the big picture and knows changes need to be made, more than Dark Eve and Clash think and more than Lenoir thinks. The story is layered, engaging and has some surprising moments which are always a treat. Naif is a character who grows on you even as she grows. So many females are strong in this and I shouldn’t have to mention that but I still feel compelled to and I guess that is a little sad, but I’m going to mention it because they are and that still makes them a bit of an anomaly.

The cast is colourful and varied with their own strengths and weaknesses, but really this is Naif’s story and the others complement it so well. De Pierres has woven a darkly intriguing story that has gone from strength to strength. This is a fitting conclusion to this trilogy. I loved it and wanted to go with Naif all the way.

Highly Recommended.