Tracy’s review of Nightfall
Growing up with an unstable, often absent father who preached about the end of the world, Jenna never thought in her wildest nightmares that his predictions would come true. Or that he would have a plan in place to save her-one that includes the strong, stoic man who kidnaps and takes her to a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest.
The mysterious ex-Marine named Mason owes a life-debt to Jenna’s father. Skilled and steadfast, he’s ready for the prophesied Change, but Jenna proves tough to convince. Until the power grid collapses and mutant dogs attack-vicious things that reek of nature gone wrong.
When five strangers appear, desperate to escape the bloodthirsty packs, Jenna defies her protector and rescues them. As technology fails and the old world falls away, Jenna changes too, forever altered by supernatural forces. To fight for their future, she and Mason must learn to trust their instinctive passion-a flame that will see them through the bitter winter, the endless nights, and the violence of a new Dark Age.
Jenna Barclay is kidnapped and taken to a cabin where she is told by Mason – a man who she thinks is crazier than a loon – that the world is gonna end. She wishes that she’d never heard it before but unfortunately her father, when he was around, spouted the same crap and she just didn’t want to hear it. Sure, Europe hadn’t been heard from in a while and the east coast had it’s share of trouble but the government had assured the people west of the Mississippi that all would be well. Why would she assume that they were wrong?
Jenna soon finds out that the government was way wrong. Basically the apocalypse has arrived and because of Mason, she’s survived it. When five others show up at the cabin door Mason is ready to let them die – not only in the coming winter but by the “demon dogs” that are tearing humans apart. Jenna shows them compassion and ends up letting them in. Unfortunately they can’t last out the winter with the food they have on hand, even with strict rations. They head to a local nature station where there is heat and provisions but in the process they have to face the demon dogs.
What are the demon dogs exactly? Well, they’re not really sure but they do know that they were created by the magic that is now in the world and that they used to be humans. They’ve lost all sense of humanity and now exist only to survive. That means eating humans if they have to for food.
Only 5 of the seven make it to the nature station where they meet up with Chris Welsh. Chris is happy to have someone to talk to but is quite upset with the talk of magic as he is a scientist. So how does he explain the demon dogs and how does he explain that they are now working as a team to try and infiltrate the nature station so that they can get to the humans. And what happens when one of their own is bitten by one of the demon dogs?
I had heard good things about this book when it cam out so was very much looking forward to reading it. But in all honesty I really skimmed the reviews because I wanted no spoilers. Well I probably should have read them more thoroughly because I would have been better prepared for what I was in store for. By that I mean that yes, this is a romance but it was one of the bloodiest romances I’ve ever read.
The story is quite startling in its descriptiveness of people dying and being torn apart by the demon dogs – as well as what happens to the humans when they don’t die right away. But I think that’s one of the things that made me like the book so much – it seemed so much more realistic for the graphic aspect of the story.
Despite the horrifying things that happen in the story there’s also a romance between Mason and Jenna that is quite touching. It’s definitely not your typical romance but one that got down to the nitty gritty of their personalities quite quickly and brought out the best in the pair. Mason was a tougher nut to crack but it was definitely a pleasure seeing him shed his hard outer shell.
Besides the scientist Chris, we also got to meet Penny, a 9 year old girl who has some strange abilities (did she have any before this apocalypse, I wonder?) and Tru, a 15 year old boy who seems at first to be all talk but in the end finds himself becoming a man. There are a few other characters in the story but these are the ones that really caught my eye.
In the end a really great book that I couldn’t put down. The next book, Midnight, comes out on Sept. 6th and I can’t wait to dive in when it releases.
Rating: 4.75 out of 5
You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place
This book is available from Berkley Sensation. You can buy it here
Great review! I have this in my TBR pile but I think I’ll bump it up some.
Loved the review! I had no idea the next one was coming out so soon. I need to get going and read this one. 🙂
Great review Tracy. Might have to see if my library has this 🙂
Sheree – It’s really good – I hope you enjoy it.
Leslie – Yes! Not only will book 2 come out soon but then the 3rd book will come out not long after that at the beginning of December.
Orannia – Hope they have it – it’s worth reading!