 Title: Dark Light of Day
|
Light of Day begins and we’re introduced to our protagonist Noon in the middle of a desperate discussion with her bestie, Peter. Noon is a demon who happens to be destructive, with waning, dark magic. She also happens to be the daughter of prominent demons, who have issues of their own. Enter Ari, who forces her hand in choosing what she’s destined to be: a Maegester, keeper of demon “peace”, and the story unfolds from there…
The Great:
I like Archer’s world. She creates a unique setting where demons rule and live in co-existence with angels. Demons are sophisticated and educated. In fact, Noon is attending St. Lucifer’s – a school of demon law. The demons attend one school and the angels attend another. They cavort with each other in a scholarly way, during seasonal parties etc., with a vague Harry Potter feel to it. There is a definite penchant for student life in the first half of the book. There is a lot of hustling through hallways from one class to the next, Noon staring at Ari from a far, him glaring back at her and vice versa. In fact, before the first “adult” scene, this book had a distinct YA feel to it. But not to worry, there are a few steamy scenes that very well written, add to the plot and are not gratuitous.
The dialogue between characters is natural and flows well. I enjoyed the banter between Noon and Ari. Oh Ari, let me tell you about Ari…Ari is complex, brooding, charming and brave. Everything a male lead should be. Their relationship develops quickly, but it doesn’t hinder the story, only enhances it.
Noon is very likable. As a reader, I really empathized with her self-loathing. She hates what she truly is and she’s ashamed of the power she possesses. She wants nothing to do with her unique magic. She’s a rarity in the demon world, because usually it’s only males who possess this foreboding power, but for Noon it’s to her detriment. The thought of becoming a Maejester who judges and even executes demons, has her going to extreme lengths to fix this problem called her destiny. She longs for flowers and gardens and the magic that creates and heals. Her lack of confidence comes from many factors, including, dysfunctional parents. She loves her brother but is also a tad jealous of him. Archer paints an excellent picture of her main character. Noon, certainly does some transforming throughout this book.
The novel is told in first person, something I really like about Urban Fantasy. Archer does a good job at creating an original take on demons and who they are. In her story they are capable of supreme intelligence, ruling, wealth, savagery, magic and even have a taste for finer dining.
The Not So Great:
Unfortunately, in the beginning, I found the story very confusing. There are too many references to the different clans, demons, cities and different types of magic and powers in the first chapters. It was dizzying actually. The beginning is comprised of too much information, too soon. If I have to go back and re-read who is where, and what just happened, more than a hand full of times, it can get very tedious.
There is a lot of “telling” which makes some of the narrative in the beginning, monotonous and flat: Noon makes dinner and describes it. Noon looks at dinner and describes it. Noon eats dinner and describes it. Well, I’m sure you get the picture. This happens a lot throughout the beginning of the book and really draws out the boredom of these monotonous activities. Noon does a lot of introspective reflection too soon in the book. The reader doesn’t know her well enough to care about all of her idiosyncratic observations.
The reason why you should read this:
Having said that, the content of this novel is very original and enjoyable to discover. This story and characters have potential, and it became a page turner at the 60% mark on my ereader. The ending is satisfying, and not a cliffhanger, which is nice for a change. The writing is good, the story is good, but the way it’s told, could have some readers disengaging. I’m here to urge you to push through to the end. There are some great fight scenes, and by the end of the book you will be thinking about Noon and her journey and how far she’s come. Jill Archer has me curious about Noon, definitely enough to read the second book.
About the Blogger
I review Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance books with a focus all things werewolf. Based out of Ottawa, Canada
My name is Sue Miller and I live in Toronto, Ontario. I dabble in writing and obsess in reading anything I can, especially fantasy and YA. I spend countless hours on Goodreads, twitter and blog reading. If I fall in love with a book I immediately go to the author’s website and devour details on how he/she writes. I’m also a music junkie and have playlists for all of my favorite books. My guilty pleasure is video games – fantasy of course.
