Eventide by Elle Jasper
Series: Dark Ink Chronicles #3
Published by Signet
Published on: March 6th, 2012
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
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Newly-bitten tattoo artist Riley Poe feels herself changing in unimaginable ways. Eli Dupre, her vampire lover, has seen the change in her and fears for her humanity. His rival, Victorian, tells her she must see the patriarch of the vampire cult that attacked her to save her soul. In the vampire cult's fortress in Romania, Riley will face her worst fears-and the dark powers threatening to destroy her. And she'll have to do the one thing she's been determined not to do—put her trust in Eli.
Eventide is most remarkable in the way it presents itself on the page. Plenty of spacing between lines. Healthy doses of italics. Rather large epigraphs. It makes for an inviting read of a well-built character. Riley Poe may not be the most straight-laced of the residents of Savannah but she is willing to admit that and much much more.
Perhaps because of the line-spacing her thoughts feel less dense than they should. I should specify this book is written in a hard first-person and only gets out of it through the previously mentioned tricks i.e. italics in which Riley may or may not be in her body and epigraphs in which some other character is providing a paragraph of his or her thoughts.
As a novel I am not sure it entirely works. To Spark Notes the events that led up to these, events that keep in mind I had to sort through all fresh having not read book one or two (again, I know, so sorry), Riley must deal here with vampiric urges overtaking her. Thus much of the struggle stems from Riley’s psyche as she comes to grips, and fails to often, with what exactly she is.
Time skips frequently as Eventide plays up the unreliable narrator to an extreme. Where this whole unreliable narrator thing falls short, however, is in just how much Riley’s friends still adore her, for if you are going to have a narrator that maybe is not in full control of her thoughts or feelings, there should be more “Oh my gosh you’re chewing on Rick, I’m not sure if you should be allowed in this household”.
Basically no matter how out-of-control Riley might have become there is never any question that she will not do anything that will not make her a hero and if she did do anything evil the book leaves enough gaps that it is still up for discussion when it is over. You really cannot complain too much either way because the book flies by at such a fast clip.
Did I mention her friends, admittedly hard to keep track of since yet again I am coming in late, range from thin as cardboard to egg cartons, the egg cartons being her two lovers, Eli and Victorian who actually get to have scenes with Riley that last more than a page and involve some scenery?
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| Recommended: | For a brief departure |
| Like this, like that: | The Dark Forgotten series by Sharon Ashwood and the H & W Investigations series by Jess Haines |
I just love these covers. Great review Josh 🙂