Review: Demon Night by Meljean Brook ~ Now with Link to Excerpt

Posted January 24, 2008 by Holly in Reviews | 6 Comments

Review: Demon Night by Meljean Brook ~ Now with Link to ExcerptReviewer: Holly
Demon Night by Meljean Brook
Series: The Guardians #3
Also in this series: Demon Bound, Demon Forged, Guardian Demon, Demon Angel, Demon Moon
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: February 5th 2008
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 448
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
five-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

Meljean Brook returns to explore the seductive corners of the dark, as a forbidden attraction tempts danger under the canopy of the Demon Night.

Charlie Newcomb worked hard to get her life back together. But all that is shaken when she's set upon by three vampires desperate to transform her beauty into something evil. Because Charlie is the vital link to something they want--and need: Charlie's flesh-and-blood sister, a medical scientist whose knowledge could be invaluable to the predators.

But to get to her, they must first get to Charlie, who's now under the intimate protection of Ethan McCabe. As her Guardian, Ethan is attracted to her vulnerabilities--as well as her strengths. The closer he gets, the more protecting her becomes not just his duty, but his desire. Will it be enough to save Charlie when the demon night falls?

I have to start out by saying…I love that cover. Love it. I’ve spent more time than is healthy over at Meljean Brook’s website staring at it. Seriously. She was totally blessed by the powers that be in the cover department. Lucky girl.

I’m a Meljean Brook fangirl. I loved her first book in The Guardians series, Demon Angel, I absolutely adored the second book Demon Moon, and I’m in love with this, the third book. She has the most amazing way of telling a story, with equal parts humor, depth and emotion.

One of the most amazing things about Ms. Brook’s stories is the imagery. If an author is good, she can pull me into her story and make it so I feel like I’m watching it, rather than reading it. More like a movie showing in my head, one I’m totally engrossed in. Other times I feel like I’m being told a story, but not drawn into it. MB definitely falls into the category of the former. It’s not that I feel like I’m the heroine, or any of the other characters, but that I’m right there with them as they follow their journey.

There were times whilst reading this when I truly felt like my heart would break. My palms got clammy and a knot formed in my stomach. Other times I was so emotionally overcome I felt tears welling in my eyes. It was…amazing.

Charlie was an interesting character, full of contradictions and inner strength. She’s a recovering alcoholic and former Opera singer who has a lot of personal demons to fight. At first glance, she seems weak and self-pitying, but as we – and her darling hero – come to learn, she’s nothing if not strong and self-aware. There were times when my heart hurt reading about her, and other times when my stomach ached from laughing so hard at her witty and sarcastic personality. I do so love a witty and sarcastic heroine.

Ethan (Drifter) was an equally interesting character. Following along with Charlie as she learned more about him, his past, what drives him, was truly fascinating. Just when I thought I had him figured out a new side to him would show and I’d be back to wondering just who, exactly, he was. His determination to protect Charlie was wonderful, but the underlying need to care for her – to make sure she was always comfortable and happy, as well as safe – was what made him so irresistible and compelling. It wasn’t so much his actions, but the reasoning behind them.

Basically, these were three dimensional characters that were much more than they appeared to be.

The plot itself was well fleshed out. While there are other things going on (an investigation into the lab Charlie’s sister Jane works for, vampires after Charlie, a Demon I haven’t quite figured out yet, and a super scary demon that was released from Hell) I never felt like I couldn’t keep up or too much was happening at once.

We saw Lilith and Hugh, and Savi and Colin, and Sir Pup, Lilith’s Hellhound. Seeing them was wonderful, and MB did a fabulous job of keeping them in the background, without having their presence overshadow the main story.

I’m intrigued by Charlie’s sister, and the sub-plot that involved her. I’m hoping we’ll see more of her in future books.

Overall a well fleshed out, colorful, emotional tale you don’t want to miss.

5 out of 5

This book is available from Berkley on February 5th. Pre-order it here or here in eBook format.

Also, exciting news! Meljean Brook has agreed to Guest Blog with us the first week of February, so be sure to check back. She even mentioned something about a giveaway…:)

Update: The Good, The Bad and The Unread was lucky enough to get an Exclusive Sneak Peek of Demon Night. Go check it out..you can read the first four chapters! How lucky are they?

five-stars


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6 responses to “Review: Demon Night by Meljean Brook ~ Now with Link to Excerpt

  1. You forgot the part about how you started the series because I said you would love it *G*.

    We will have an excerpt up of the first few chapters today.

    READ THIS people… you soooo want to.

  2. I got Demon Angel from the library (several times) after hearing all the rave reviews about Demon Moon (and we know I can’t read something out of order) but I never got around to reading it. I’ll have to check it out AGAIN.

    And that is a fab cover.

  3. I can’t wait to get my hands on my copy!! this book along with Mine to Possess can’t come out fast enough!

    great review by the way 😀

  4. I LOVED this book! Love the entire series. I don’t covet too many series, but this is one I wait oh so impatiently for the next book.

    Ethan and Charlie were fabulous. Meljean is a genius. I’m a drooling fangirl. Pathetic, really.

    *g*

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