Review: Blood-Kissed Sky by J.A. London

Title: Blood-Kissed Sky (Darkness Before Dawn Trilogy #2)
Author: J.A. London
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Goodreads

There's nowhere left to hide.

I thought vampires were our enemies- they controlled our lives, isolated our cities, and demanded our blood- until I met Victor. With Victor taking over as the new Lord Valentine, things were supposed to get better. Instead, they're worse than ever.

Day Walkers, a new breed of vampires who can walk in the sun, are terrorizing the city. Blood supplies are low, and if Victor's vampires don't get enough, they will become infected with the Thirst- a disease that will turn them into mindless killers.

To stop it, I must journey across the desolate wasteland to the very place where the sickness began. I can only hope that the answers that await me are enough to save us all...before it's too late. 

Review by Nara


Thank you to HarperCollins for sending me a copy of Blood-Kissed Sky through Goodreads First Reads. In no way did this affect my opinion of the book.

*Contains spoilers for Darkness Before Dawn*

"She is awakening," the vampire, as ancient as the rocks that surrounded him, announced.
HAHAHAHAHA! The above is the first line of the prologue of Blood-Kissed Sky, and seriously? That line was so ridiculously cliched that I literally burst out laughing. On continuation of reading the prologue, it didn't get much better. Here's the last line of the prologue:
Soon. So very, very soon.
Really? That line hasn't been used before *cough cough*. Thankfully, the use of cliches eased up slightly in the body of the novel, although there were times when I couldn't help but shake my head at lines such as:
"I pride myself on my control. For me, human blood is nourishment, a necessary evil, and nothing more. It's always been like that, until you came along. You bring out the monster in me, Dawn."
Edward flashbacks? You know, Twilight? Anyone?

I really enjoyed Darkness Before Dawn, but I found that Blood-Kissed Sky wasn't quite up to the same standard. The plot was mostly predictable (e.g. I predicted Sin's true identity and Dawn's identity) except that I didn't expect the massive twist about Los Angeles at all- which I suppose is a job well done. So look forward to that one!

A major problem I had with the novel was Dawn's narrative voice. It was almost as if Dawn had two personalities as she was fluctuating continually from sounding like a perfectly normal teenager to sounding like some posh lady from the 18th century. I found that the discrepancy between the two was at times confusing and at times downright annoying (usually the 18th century lady was combined with the ridiculously cliched lines).

Another less significant problem was the romance. The romance was sort of a love triangle (much like it was in Darkness Before Dawn) but I honestly found it a bit superficial- I didn't really see Dawn and Victor (or Dawn and Michael, for that matter) connect. Still, overall, the novel wasn't bad- the pacing, writing and characters were all relatively good, making the novel worth a read. To conclude:
"How can you walk away?" I ask.
"Because I love you."

Similar Books:
1. Black City by Elizabeth Richards
2. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
3. When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen

Liked it

Ratings
Overall: 8/10
Plot: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 4/5