Jacob (Nightwalkers, #1)

Mar 30, 2012 Emily May rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pnr, paranormal-uf, 2011, wtf-sexism, insta-love, bloody-awful

I just cannot take it any longer! Maybe it was unfair that I gave the ending 1 star but I wouldn't know because I never made it there. This book just bugged me so much in every way. I love the paranormal romance genre, that and dystopias are what get me going book-wise; so I was thinking this would be another to add to the list: Fever Series, Black Dagger Brotherhood, Lords Of The Underworld, etc, etc. I even ignored the terrible Mills & Boon style cover and pretended it didn't offend my ey...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Buggy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: shelf-09, paranormal-rom, demonexy, tstl-heroine

Opening Line:"How ridiculously simple it would be to cause them harm."

Jacob is the Demon enforcer for his people. His responsibility for the past 700 years has been to protect the human population from fellow Nightwalkers who fall victim to the maddening Moonlust. He takes his duties as enforcer seriously and over the years has even had to punish close friends and family members when they stray too close to humans. Because of this Jacob has become feared within Demon society, now an involuntary...more Opening Line:"How ridiculously simple it would be to cause them harm."

Jacob is the Demon enforcer for his people. His responsibility for the past 700 years has been to protect the human population from fellow Nightwalkers who fall victim to the maddening Moonlust. He takes his duties as enforcer seriously and over the years has even had to punish close friends and family members when they stray too close to humans. Because of this Jacob has become feared within Demon society, now an involuntary loner. One night while hunting a rogue Demon, Jacob inadvertently rescues a woman after she falls from her apartment window, landing safely in his strong arms. The attraction between the two is immediate, he cannot let her go. Has Jacob himself fallen victim to Moonlust?

There's something strange about this raven haired nymph. Isabella's not just your average human, for within minutes of being rescued she senses something and runs into a warehouse. Jacob follows and is rendered helpless as she proceeds to kill a Necromancer (bad guy) while it practices the black arts. Jacob, unable to believe what he's seen puts Bella into a deep sleep and takes her back to his castle where he'll try to figure out what she really is. When Bella awakes she isn't at all scared, just excepting and curious about this new world she finds herself in. She's apparently really horny too despite the fact that she's a virgin (why are they always virgins?) The couple can't seem to keep their hands off each other, even though this little collaboration will mean certain death for Jacob. Just as the intense make-out session reaches a precipice it is rudely interrupted by the demon king Noah. He also assumes that Jacob has gone mad with lust. Now who will enforce the enforcer?

After some explanations, Bella proceeds to hang out in the Demon library learning about their rich culture as her psychic connection with Jacob and strange new powers inexplicably grow. Eventually Bella locates some ancient papers that will change the course of human and Demon destiny forever, and thankfully explain what she is becoming.

Jacquelyn Frank has created a very detailed and complex world with this first book in her Nightwalkers Series. And although I really enjoyed the initial chapters as well as the exciting and romantic final chapters, the middle section seemed to stall. As the author filled in pages and pages of Demon history, rules and culture while Jacob and Bella just hung out in the castle having telepathic phone sex in each others minds. I just wanted to get on with it, for SOMETHING to happen.

I also found Bella's character to be particularly annoying with her rolling eyes and silly quips. There were parts however that I loved and this is a good book, maybe just not great. It was nice to read a paranormal without Vampires and I appreciated the tightness and detail of Ms Frank's well written first novel. The secondary characters have also been well developed and left elusive enough for you to want to come back for another instalment. Cheers! (less)

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Sep 28, 2008 Terra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jacob (Book 1 of The Nightwalkers Series) by Jacquelyn Frank is a better than delightful romantic treat in the world of paranormal. Deliciously sensual ground shaking love and Demons like you have never seen before encompass this book with an elemental frenzy.

Jacob is young for his six hundred years and every bit the professional when it comes to his job. Being an immortal Demon does have it's drawbacks and it's up to Jacob as The Enforcer to make sure that things go as they should and if a law...more Jacob (Book 1 of The Nightwalkers Series) by Jacquelyn Frank is a better than delightful romantic treat in the world of paranormal. Deliciously sensual ground shaking love and Demons like you have never seen before encompass this book with an elemental frenzy.

Jacob is young for his six hundred years and every bit the professional when it comes to his job. Being an immortal Demon does have it's drawbacks and it's up to Jacob as The Enforcer to make sure that things go as they should and if a law is broken he is the one to track down and punish the guilty party. An amazing male of his species he is graceful, quiet, extremely handsome and about to get the shock of his life.

Isabella is a petite brunette with the most silky long dark hair that just begs to have your fingers run through it. A delightful little beauty who is kind as the day is long, smart as a whip and packs a mighty punch, she is every bit the match for Jacob. Born human with the normal human life she is stunned beyond words when her life goes topsy turvie and she discovers the real truth about her heritage.

Our story starts us out in a period of unrest and upset during the Druid time of Samhain and a few days before the full moon. A time when the Demon's worst nightmares can come true as necromancer's ply their magic by summoning Demon's to them. A time when a Demon can go from looking totally human to becoming a hideous beast. A time when a intelligent caring mind can be turned into a completely different personality with only two thoughts left, self preservation and sex.

What was thought long ago lost to the Demon race has reappeared. What was once thought of as their destruction is now their salvation. Those who the Demon race thought they had rid the world of have come back again but now as a race of halfbreeds. A thousand years have passed since the great war and it has taken that long for the bloodline of our halfbreeds to become potent enough to make itself known.

Our author has given us an extremely rich tale of love, lust, nightmares, purity, pain and terror. She has given us a race who considers itself supreme over humans only to have the rude awakening of having a door slammed in their face as they realize their mistakes. She has given us a tale of love coming from the most unlikely of places. A love that should be taboo. A love that will right the wrongs done to an innocent race oh so my years past. A realization of the harsh punishments that have been doled out to beings doing only what nature had meant them to do.

This is a luscious novel action packed and sure to keep you reading from beginning to end while sitting on the edge of your seat.(less)

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Oct 10, 2012 Carolyn F. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, audiobook-and-owned-book

Re-read by audiobook. I also have the paperback. At first I didn't care for Xe Sands' narration much but she definitely got better. The problem is though that scenes from the book that I found unforgettable - him hiding around a corner just to be near her and him falling asleep with his nose at her neck so he could smell her all night - were just read through quickly and I almost missed them. I'll keep the rating the same because I did enjoy the book.

06/16/10 previous reviewThis book started ou...more

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Aug 17, 2010 Leah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-stars, happy-slapsgiving, horrible-heroine-alert

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 28, 2009 Christel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: paranormal readers

Recommended to Christel by: Amazon.com

A little different take on the paranormal world.

Jacob is a Demon who is the Enforcer of the Nightwalkers. he is centuries old and it is his job to make sure his species of Demons do not bother or chase after humans. This mainlky happens during 2 phases of the year, Samhaim (Autumn) and Beltran (Spring). Jacob is immune to forbidden desires and the curse of the full moon.
Isabella works as a Librairian in New York City. She lives in an apartment with her sister Corrine. One night while she is lean...more

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Feb 02, 2008 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, 2008, elemental-magic, romance

I really liked this book, but I can't give it more than 3 stars.

Pros
I love the new take on demons, on nightwalkers in general, turning them into an ancient race of honourable, magical beings who are only turned into hideous, slobbering, demonic fiends when summoned by human necromancers.

I'm a big fan of elemental magic - the five elements are usually earth, air, fire, water and spirit. Here, instead of spirit, it's mind and body. Each demon is master of one particular element. Jacob's is earth.

I...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Nadine rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dusty-bookshelf-read, 1st-parts, read-in-2013, what-a-waste-of-time-and-paper, group-reads

Das beste, was man über dieses Buch sagen kann ist, dass es konsequent auf sämtlichen Ebenen enttäuscht.

Charaktere:
Bella: Sie schwankt zwischen kindlicher Naivität (und hüpft gerne mal vor Aufregung von einem Fuss auf den anderen) und absoluter Genialität (wenn sie gerade erst dabei ist, die "Damönensprache" zu lernen, sich 3 Tage im Archiv vergräbt und dort die alten Schriften ind er gerade erst erlernten Sprache mit den vielen Bänen voller Damönengestze vergleicht und ihr dabei auffällt, dass...more Das beste, was man über dieses Buch sagen kann ist, dass es konsequent auf sämtlichen Ebenen enttäuscht.

Charaktere:
Bella: Sie schwankt zwischen kindlicher Naivität (und hüpft gerne mal vor Aufregung von einem Fuss auf den anderen) und absoluter Genialität (wenn sie gerade erst dabei ist, die "Damönensprache" zu lernen, sich 3 Tage im Archiv vergräbt und dort die alten Schriften ind er gerade erst erlernten Sprache mit den vielen Bänen voller Damönengestze vergleicht und ihr dabei auffällt, dass es Übersetzungsdiskrepanzen gibt, die seit Hunderten von Jahren unentdeckt geblieben waren.

Jacob: Viel gibt es über ihn nicht zu sagen, er fällt praktischerweise immer dann in Ohnmacht, wenn die Autorin Bella einen heldenhaften Moment verschaffen will. Ach ja und er ist eifersüchtig, sehr eifersüchtig, auch wenn der vermeindliche Konkurrent seine schwer verletzte Freundin ganz offensichtlich nur heilen will. Dafür ist er toll im Bett. Immerhin.

Liebesszenen:
Nein, wegen der Liebesszenen braucht man sich die ansonsten langweilige Story auch nicht antun. Die Vergleiche waren oft recht seltsam ("He opened instantly for the aggressive sweep of her tongue, groaning low in his soul as she fluttered like a soft, sensual butterfly within his mouth."). Nein, ein Insekt im Mund ist für mich kein besonders ansprechender Vergleich. Die Szenen animieren allesamt eher zum Lachen, als dass sie in irgendwiner Form ansprechend wirken. Allzu oft wollte ich den Charakteren zurufen: "Jetzt hört endlich auf, Euch sinnlich gegen den Hals zu atmen, das interessiert seit 3 Seiten niemanden mehr und tut es endlich!"

Geschichte:
Die Idee klang so gut! Wie man aus einer so interessanten Idee ein derart langweiliges Buch machen kann, ist mir unbegreiflich. Die erste Hälfte ist jedoch noch deutlich langweiliger als die zweite Hälfte, in der so etwas wie "Action" aufkam.

Spannung:
--_quasi nicht vorhanden---

Stil:
Wenn man ein "sinnliches" Buch schreiben möchte, reicht es nicht, permanent das Wort "sensual" zu verwenden. Höhepunkt: ..."... a heady flavor that sang like sensual music through her senses". Die Wortwiederholungen nerven schon nach wenigen Seiten ganz gewaltig.

Anfang Januar und ich bin mir schon sicher, den literarischen Tiefpunkt des Jahres hinter mir zu haben. Danke, Ms. Frank!(less)

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Jun 20, 2008 Anita rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy

I'm surprised I liked this book, but I did - quite a lot. It's a soulmate-type paranormal romance, and I'm not a huge fan of "soulmate" romances, but this one really worked for me. The affection between the lead characters felt real, the humorous reparte had me laughing out loud a few times, and the 'verse was interesting - lots of fun special effect powers to learn about.

Basic plot: Demons are a hidden subculture of night creatures inhabiting our world. (There are also vampires and weres out th...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Laura the Highland Hussy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

http://www.demonloversbooksandmore.co...

This was a really interesting start to what promises to be an interesting series.

Jacob is the demon king's Enforcer. That means he enforces their laws on any of his people found consorting with humans. Their bestial natures are too much for humans-especially at the Beltane and Samhain moons-May and October. They call it the Hallowed madness.

Enter Isabella.

She falls out of her apartment window and Jacob catches her...mid-air! He is instantly connected to...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Kelli rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review is for the audiobook version of Jacob, narrated by Xe Sands.

Warning: this review contains blatant preconceptions about the PNR genre, lots of exclamation points, phrases entirely in capital letters, some commentary on the sexy bits of the book, and a little bit of tongue-in-cheek. No offense intended if I insult your favorite book ever.

I am tempted to give this one a 4 star rating but my rational brain might make me stick to 3. I may even come back and change it after some thought.

In...more This review is for the audiobook version of Jacob, narrated by Xe Sands.

Warning: this review contains blatant preconceptions about the PNR genre, lots of exclamation points, phrases entirely in capital letters, some commentary on the sexy bits of the book, and a little bit of tongue-in-cheek. No offense intended if I insult your favorite book ever.

I am tempted to give this one a 4 star rating but my rational brain might make me stick to 3. I may even come back and change it after some thought.

In my usual repertoire of listens, this was the chocolate sunday of audiobooks and it was exactly what I was in the mood for (cue Barry White soundtrack). Quite frankly, and for reasons best left to the nebulous regions of my hind-brain, this book made me a little giddy (that’s not a euphemism). I’ve read a decent amount of PNR and while there are series I love, I have found a large portion of it to be not to my taste in terms of characterizations (Carpathians, I am looking at YOU!). I skipped reading this book in hard copy but decided to give the audiobook version a shot and I really benefited from having someone else set the tone for the book rather than letting my brain apply its own prejudices.

This book was a lot of fun. Yeah, I did get some of what I was expecting (She’s a virgin! He’s a beast inside and must stay away from her! They are destined to be mates! The sudden appearance of super healing power and ninja skills! And OMG, he calls her LITTLE FLOWER ALL THE TIME (at least it wasn’t “little one”). Rationally, I can recognize the absurdity of a plot where a librarian accidentally finds herself falling out a window, killing a demon, and being swept away to a castle where, given immediate access to the ancient archive of demon scrolls and texts, she is suddenly able to read Demonese and interpret the great prophecy the king has been laboring over. You know what? My rational brain can take a hike because this book was amusing, sweet in spots (I think it gave me a cavity), and oh, yeah, smokin’ hot sexy. About the only thing this book turned off was my rational brain.

The writing, while not purple of prose was occasionally a bit florid but often quite well phrased and the humorous banter sprinkled throughout was absolutely delightful. The relationship between Jacob and Isabella was endearing, the heroine had more backbone that I expected, and I love the combination of humor and heat in the bedroom…or the library, or the forest, or the….

The narration was straightforward and not over dramatic, which had the effect of sending my narrow mind to its room and allowing me to immerse myself in the story, the delicious accents, the romance, and the world the author created. The characters were almost always easily distinguishable from each other in conversation and although Isabella had a very girlish voice, it suited her since the number of descriptions that label her or her actions as kittenish are significant and don’t even get me started on the number of times (and the variations with which) she puts her hands on her hips and occasionally even stamps her foot.

Even a few proofing/production issues such as the sound of a few page turns and a deep breath and my favorite mis-read ever “She rolled his eyes…” (although they were in bed at the time so maybe…) were only the most fleeting blips in my enjoyment of the narration.

This audiobook was total ear candy – little nutritional value but delicious none-the-less.
(less)

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Jul 09, 2011 Brenda Audiobooks Only rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2-audible-com-books, paranormal-romance, audio-i-ve-listened-to

Narrated by Xe Sands Narration 5+*s

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Feb 01, 2011 Natasha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Fantastic read!
I've had Jacob sitting on my shelf for a while now, and just the other day it caught my eye. I wondered why I didn't start it, and after re-reading the backcover I couldn't understand why. It sounded so good, espeically for the mood I was in that day.
I started reading to see how the opening chapter was and was immeadity drawn into the world Mrs Frank has created for us.

I couldn't help but want to know why Jacob is the only Enforcer and what his story was. The word enforcer pa...more A Fantastic read!
I've had Jacob sitting on my shelf for a while now, and just the other day it caught my eye. I wondered why I didn't start it, and after re-reading the backcover I couldn't understand why. It sounded so good, espeically for the mood I was in that day.
I started reading to see how the opening chapter was and was immeadity drawn into the world Mrs Frank has created for us.

I couldn't help but want to know why Jacob is the only Enforcer and what his story was. The word enforcer packs a punch, and being as fantastic as an Enforcer as Jacob is, the name suits his perfectly. Although, Jacob doesn't excatly love what he does. He has to punish all Demons who get out of line and try to interact with Humans. The Demons are extremely dangerous when in contact with a human. (For reasons I won't tell-) They have laws against it, so they won't harm humans, but it's comes with a price, and it certianlly isn't easy.
The Hallowed moons are the most difficult for Demons, and they put even more pressure on Jacob, being the only Enforcer has many downsides.

The characters were spot on. Jacob is your powerful, strong, handsome, mysterious and lonely male Demon. He's different from a human male, but not too different.
Isabella was also a great character. I didn't feel as attached to her character as I usually do to female leads, but it wasn't because of lack of good writing. This novel was written around Jacob, his thoughts were number one. We'd get regular glimpses into Bella, Noah, Leana, Giedon and even Kane's thoughts and through there perspectives, but I feel the only one I truly connected with was Jacob.
It didn't matter though, because I truly enjoyed how it was written.

If you've ever read J.R Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series, then you would LOVE this series. It has the same male perspective and it introduces a good emount of the next novels characters, so you get pumped for the next book. I was begging to know what happened between Giedon and Legna.. I can't wait to find out what their history is, and if they have a future?!
You won't find another series as close to Wards' BDBH, yet excitenly original. Jacqueline Frank did to demons as J.R Ward did to Vampires!

If your in for a paranormal romance filled with suspence, horror and the occaionally quirky humor, then this is the book for you!

(less)

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Oct 31, 2008 Nichole (Dirty H) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, 2008, demons

This was a book that required some patience. I read the first hundred pages or so and pretty much hated it. There was no story and the characters were all extremely flat and stereotypical, borderline annoying. I was ready to throw in the towel, but it just so happened that I had no other books over the weekend and I would find moments where I just wanted to read something, even it was crappy, so I continued.

I was glad I did. While I didn't end up absolutely loving this book, it got much better....more

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Aug 13, 2008 Lesa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this book up at the 2008 RWA National Conference. I read the first chapter to find a quote for a contest the author was having for the latest ARC in the series... And then I could not put it down.

The introduction of the charcters and inner conflict of the hero grabbed me immediatly. The Nightwalker race of Demons was real the instantly, and their difference from the other night races was sprinkled through out the story so I didn't feel like it was a huge history lesson.

The introduction...more

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May 02, 2008 Tricia rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No one

I had heard good things about this author, but sadly I was disappointed. I understand the need to "describe" in order for the reader to paint the picture, but this author OVER does it. I found myself flipping pages just to get past her blah blah blah's, and back to the story.

Her sex scenes are dry, and boring. It's like she copied and pasted each one, and just changed the characters according to the book she was writing.(Jacob, Gideon, Elijah) All tormented, and undeserving of love and family....more

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Feb 04, 2008 Meredith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance

In this book, Jacquelyn Frank sets the stage for a slew of beings known as the nightwalkers and begins the series by focusing on one particular race of nightwalkers known as Demons. Frank's take on Demons is very refreshing and gives it a whole new, and very yummy, meaning.

This series starts off with Jacob's story, a Demon Enforcer. While going after those who attempt to do the forbidden during the time of the Hallowed Moon (a time when Demons are the most susceptible to giving into their basest...more

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Dec 19, 2007 Samantha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is very good. I'm shocked that Ms. Frank created such a detailed and intricate world in her first book. She has a lot of details and history about how Demons are different yet similar to humans and introduces Druids into the book. Because this is the first book of the series, she takes her time to introduce different characters that will be geting their own books in time. I loved how the main and secondary characters are connected and how the interact with one another. I enjoyed the st...more

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Feb 09, 2009 Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, real-book-in-box

Well, it's not a big surprise that I really liked this book. It was filled with paranormal romance, action, and lots and lots of sexy stuffs. This book was almost identical to the first Black Daggar Brotherhood book, if you replaced the vampires with demons and took away the cop angle. I'm probably going to read the second book of the series, but I really hope they touch on these characters again.

As a side note, I think my favorite lovey dovey part of the book was when he referred to his chick...more

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Apr 09, 2009 Stamatia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's sometimes too verbose for comfort. Why the 4 stars? I like the world she has built and it's interesting parameters. So I will probably buy the next book in the series and roll my eyes at that one too.

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Sep 14, 2009 Lady Valee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pnr-romance, favorites

I started this book thinking that I would like it, but I never expected to found another awesome series. This book was so good that I couldn't stop with it until it was over.

I loved this book. The bond between Bella and Jacob was so strong and sweet that I felt like sentimental the whole time I was reading this book.

And this new world of druids and Demonds! so good.
Also I felt like I wanted to know more about the other characters. I loved this book and I can't wait to read the nexts. If you hav...more

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Dec 10, 2012 StrangeBedfellows rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I finally read it, this book that has been loitering around my home for months. Am I glad that I did? Well, sort of. The concept for the series, "The Nightwalkers," is interesting. Demons with elemental powers who are really a seperate species -- like vamps, lycanthropes, and other spookies in the underworld. In this first book we meet Jacob, the enforcer of Demon laws. Jacob has done the forbidden, involved himself with a human, Isabella Russ. But there's more to Isabella than even she knows, e...more I finally read it, this book that has been loitering around my home for months. Am I glad that I did? Well, sort of. The concept for the series, "The Nightwalkers," is interesting. Demons with elemental powers who are really a seperate species -- like vamps, lycanthropes, and other spookies in the underworld. In this first book we meet Jacob, the enforcer of Demon laws. Jacob has done the forbidden, involved himself with a human, Isabella Russ. But there's more to Isabella than even she knows, especially her role in the Demons' war against necromancers.

Like I said, Frank presents an interesting concept and I enjoyed the story. I had a consistent problem with the actual writing, though. In general it's just too poetic. As in good poetry -- her descriptions of the characters feelings is often beautiful and vivid and she sure knows how to pick her verbs. But in several instances the price for beauty was urgency, and a 7% tax of cheesiness. Also, there were holes in the story, which I see as Frank taking the easy way out in her writing. Her transitions between scenes basically suck. Three days go by all of a sudden with only disjointed comments to fill in the blanks, nothing so orienting as "Isabella sighed and looked around the dusty archive where she'd spent most of the last few days, though Noah had set her up in one of the guestrooms." Frank seems to forget she's got an audience. And [spoiler alert] the whole set-up with Bella's sister, Corrine, was poorly done. Summary: they find out Bella's a Druid, never stop the realize her relatives are most likely Druids as well, and stumble across Bella's sister near the end of the book and everyone's frantic to bring Corrine into the fold. Bella's all, "oh, I can't believe I never thought about it, and me supposedly the really smart Druid." And Jacob's all, "oh, I can't believe it never occurred to me either." Rinse and repeat for several characters. Which leads me to say, "I can't believe it, either. And since even your characters can't understand this breach in logic, clearly you need to go back and rework the story."

So now I'm left with a problem: I like this series, I just don't like the way it's written. There are three books out currently, with two more released this summer. I'm very tempted to read the second book, despite my misgivings, because Gideon is an interesting character and his and Magdalena's relationship has that love-hate thing going on, which is always a party. What to do, what to do.(less)

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Jul 24, 2012 M.V. Freeman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: misc-urban-fantasy

Jacob is an enforcer for a long-lived race called "Demons". His job is keep his people from hurting humans who they stalk during certain times of the year, when their control is thin. What he doesn't expect is to be drawn to a human himself--Bella, a librarian with a surprising abilities that surface when she meets him.

This was an interesting Paranormal--the world was wonderfully built, the secondary characters intrigued me as well as the main hero and heroine. I found myself wanting to know mor...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Asaviel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Meine Meinung:
Die Romantasy-Bücher sind oft einfach zusammen zu fassen: Ein hilfloses kleines Mädchen wird von einem ach so bösen Mann, vorzugsweise Vampir oder Werwolf aufgegriffen. Sie verlieben sich in einander, aber das Schicksal steht ihnen im Weg.
So ähnlich ist es auch hier. Der Mann ist ein Dämon, das Mädchen hält sich für hilflos, was sich aber relativ schnell als Trugschluss herausstellt. Und das ist einer der Punkte, der wirklich Spaß macht an dieser Geschichte: Bella muss nicht ständi...more Meine Meinung:
Die Romantasy-Bücher sind oft einfach zusammen zu fassen: Ein hilfloses kleines Mädchen wird von einem ach so bösen Mann, vorzugsweise Vampir oder Werwolf aufgegriffen. Sie verlieben sich in einander, aber das Schicksal steht ihnen im Weg.
So ähnlich ist es auch hier. Der Mann ist ein Dämon, das Mädchen hält sich für hilflos, was sich aber relativ schnell als Trugschluss herausstellt. Und das ist einer der Punkte, der wirklich Spaß macht an dieser Geschichte: Bella muss nicht ständig beschützt werden, sie kann ganz gut auf sich selbst aufpassen. Sie hat gewisse Aufgaben, die Zukunft der Dämonen liegt auf ihren Schultern. Es macht Spaß zu sehen, wie diese Dämonen, die im allgemeinen sehr von sich überzeugt sind, von einer jungen Frau in Grund und Boden geredet werden oder auch im Kampf mal eins auf die Nase bekommen.
Die Idee, die hinter dieser Geschichte steht, ist wirklich gut. Dämonen und Druiden werden zusammengeführt und bekommen eine gemeinsame Vergangenheit verpasst. Leider geht diese Idee über weite Teile etwas unter, weil sie mit wenig Handlung unterfüttert wird. Vieles von dem, was geschieht, was die Verhältnisse und die Sichtweisen ändert, passiert im Dialog. Das ist generell nichts Schlechtes, aber dadurch gibt es relativ wenig echte Handlung, in der etwas passiert. Verstärkt wird das noch durch den Umstand, dass Jacob und Bella über ihre Gedanken miteinander kommunizieren können, die Gedanken des anderen lesen. Dadurch muss keine Handlung zeigen, was man denkt, was man fühlt. Das Gegenüber weiß es sofort einfach so.
In einer Romantasy dürfen die Erotikszenen nicht fehlen. Das legt schon das Cover nah und wird auch in der Handlung das eine oder andere Mal aufgegriffen. Natürlich immer mit unseren beiden Protagonisten Jacob und Bella. Diese Szenen sind gut geschrieben, eindringlich aber dabei nicht zu plump oder gekünstelt.
Den Lesespaß deutlich erhöht hat die humorvolle Note, die im gesamten Buch mitschwingt. Eine Spur Sarkasmus ist scheinbar jedem Dämon zu Eigen. Dazu kommt Bellas ganz eigene Naivität und Unerfahrenheit, die zumindest dem Außenstehenden doch Heiterkeit beschert.
Welche Frage natürlich aufkommt ist diese: Ist die Namensgebung ein Zufall? Bella und Jacob, Isabella und Jacob. Dann ist Jacob noch extrem gut aussehend und erinnert in weiten Teilen an einen Jacob aus einem anderen Buch. Einem Buch, in dem Bella und Jacob nicht zueinander gefunden haben. Das kam mir etwas merkwürdig vor.
Wirklich nervig war aber, dass dieser gut aussehende Jacob dauernd beschrieben wurde. Schon nach den ersten dreißig oder vierzig Seiten weiß der Leser wie heiß dieser Kerl ist, zumindest aus Bellas Augen. Das hält sie aber keineswegs davon ab, dass alle paar Dutzend Seiten wieder ausführlich zu beschreiben. Diese Absätze habe ich dann irgendwann nur noch quergelesen, weil sie einfach überflüssig sind.
Erzählt wird die Geschichte aus Jacobs und Bellas Sicht. Dabei wechselt der Erzähler ohne erkennbaren Rhythmus und auch ohne für den Leser erkennbare Markierung absatzweise zwischen den beiden Protagonisten. Das kann manchmal etwas verwirrend sein, weil man nicht immer sofort weiß, wessen Gedanken das nun sind. Bellas oder Jacobs?

Fazit: Trotz einiger Kritikpunkte an Charakteren und Handlung bleibt doch viel Lesespaß übrig. Die Geschichte lässt sich leicht verfolgen, der Schreibstil ist flüssig und so kann man diese Buch gut mal zwischendurch oder in Bus und Bahn lesen. Man lernt außerdem in Band 1 schon beinahe alle Dämonen kennen, die dann in den Folgebänden die Hauptrolle übernehmen, was die Neugier auf die nächsten Bände weckt.(less)

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Nov 09, 2011 Kati rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romantasy

Isabella führt ein einsames Leben und sucht nach dem Sinn. Als sie eines Abends direkt in Jacob´s Arme fällt, verändert sich plötzlich alles. Er nimmt sie mit in das Reich der Schattenwandler und eine mystische Liebesgeschichte nimmt ihren Lauf.

Ohne viel Schnickschnack und Vorgeplänkel beginnt die Geschichte. Ich habe dunkle, berauschende Leidenschaften erwartet - ähnlich wie in den Lara Adrina Romanen. Und genau das bietet Jacquelyn Frank hier auch. Wilde, starke Männer mit einem weichen Kern.....more

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Aug 14, 2011 Holjo rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jacob is a demon Enforcer, meaning he polices his species in the same way an Internal Affairs department might police the police. His job is to make sure his fellow demons are not placing humans or any other species in danger. Intimate relationships between demons and humans are absolutely forbidden, but demons are often physically drawn to humans during certain times in the moon’s cycle. It is Jacob’s job to catch and punish those who would break the demon rules. As a result, he is despised and...more Jacob is a demon Enforcer, meaning he polices his species in the same way an Internal Affairs department might police the police. His job is to make sure his fellow demons are not placing humans or any other species in danger. Intimate relationships between demons and humans are absolutely forbidden, but demons are often physically drawn to humans during certain times in the moon’s cycle. It is Jacob’s job to catch and punish those who would break the demon rules. As a result, he is despised and feared by most of his community. His one friend is the demon King Noah, with whom he shares a trusting and loyal (although subservient) relationship.

Jacob’s world is turned upside down when he meets a young woman named Isabella (Bella). Having never been tempted before to break the demon laws, he finds himself uncontrollably drawn to Bella. To further complicate matters, he discovers that Bella has the ability to kill demons, something that humans should not be able to do.

After bringing themselves before the King, Jacob and Bella become a subject of study and speculation. Demons believe in destiny, as well as their ancient prophecies, and the King believes that Bella is meant to be part of their world. As Bella researches the demon library, she discovers more and more information to tie her fate to the demon species. Discussions with one of the demon elders confirm their suspicions.

I had a hard time getting through this book. In fact, there were times I didn’t want to finish it. After careful consideration, I think the audio book format was the main reason I wanted to stop. The story might have been more palatable if I had read the actual book. Don’t get me wrong, the book itself had a lot of problems. But nothing in the book itself was quite as bad as listening to the ridiculous voices the narrator used on the audio book. The voice of Jacob sounded like Count Chocula, which is exactly what I pictured every time he spoke. Bella’s voice was permanently breathy/sleepy, as if she was trying to seduce someone every time she opened her mouth. Seriously? Do women really walk around talking like that? Not any women I know. The narrator was Xe Sands, and I intend to avoid any audio book read by her. Ugh, it was terrible.

With that out of the way, I’ll move on to the book. In a word, it was boring. With the exception of the last 2-3 chapters, the whole book was about the feelings/attraction/draw between Jacob and Bella. There was no identifiable plot, no subplots, no adventure, no excitement, and no one else’s point of view. There weren’t even villains in the story (except in discussions between the characters) until the very end. Lastly, there were no description of the settings, so it feels like the characters are just standing in empty rooms the whole time.

The ONLY redeeming quality of this book is that the idea was interesting. Demons walking the Earth among us as the good guys, each with different powers based on their element and age, here to protect humans from darker forces while falling in love along the way…. well, it sounded like something new, and it was. It’s too bad that the interesting idea was written so poorly.

What wasn’t original was the main character’s names…. Jacob and Bella? Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight and New Moon were both published before this book was. Out of an endless supply of name choices, the author chose to use two of the three primary names from one of the highest selling paranormal series of all time? It was a poor choice.

Sorry readers, I can’t recommend this one. Perhaps one of Jacquelyn Frank’s other series would be more worthwhile.

(less)

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Jun 11, 2011 Ade-chan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I gave it a 2star because of the characters.

on one hand you have the surrealy beautiful/handsome male demon(top points for that, as i'm a sucker for demons in general), Jacob, but who is so emo that i'd like to torture him psychologically just to see how long he'll last (and at the rate he's self-chastising himself, i wouldn't really have to do much to break him. don't get me wrong, a little angst never hurt nobody, but he's taking it to a new level.

so, now imagine this big, bad, omfghe'sgorgeo...more I gave it a 2star because of the characters.

on one hand you have the surrealy beautiful/handsome male demon(top points for that, as i'm a sucker for demons in general), Jacob, but who is so emo that i'd like to torture him psychologically just to see how long he'll last (and at the rate he's self-chastising himself, i wouldn't really have to do much to break him. don't get me wrong, a little angst never hurt nobody, but he's taking it to a new level.

so, now imagine this big, bad, omfghe'sgorgeous male meeting what should've been a small, too-plain-to-be-taken-into-consideration librarian... ok, no problem with the librarian part, but excuse me if i don't believe for one second the plain part. especially when the said librarian has a description along the lines of: heavy locks of raven hair, that when touched are like the finest silk (omg girl, what products do you use? me wants some), hugging a face with no imperfections (again girl, what do you use for your facial?), with lush lips and - get this - violet eyes (Liz Taylor in Cleopatra much?). but it does not end there! the said plain-librarian, who during childhood had been ignored by the rest of the world, has 'incredible curves' in all the right places. now that makes me wonder if all human-male species is so blind, that it takes a demon to see the perfection of such a 'plain' woman. moving past that, Bella is also incredibly smart *eye roll*, a fast learner, and has such a forgiving soul one could mistake her for mother Theresa *double eye roll*.

I also didn't like this ping-pong of lines between the two: i love you - you are so perfect - what did i do to deserve you - you are my life, etc. sappy much?

so, in the end, why a 2 star instead of 1? because it was not all that bad. there were action scenes, and smutty scenes, and those were written ok. it was not a total epic failure. if you really want to read this book, just don't start reading it with sky-high expectations.

will i read the following volumes? well, yes, i'll at least read Gideon's story, because i'm curious to know what happened between him and Legna.(less)

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Feb 04, 2011 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've had this one for I don't even know how long. It caught my eye at the book store but then got shelved on my to be read shelf and I just never got to it until after a conversation with a fellow book blogger. She said she loved this author and I also found out she is going to be at the Romantic Times Convention that I hope to attend. So off the shelf it came and I have now found a new series that I cannot wait to continue!

The World Building

When I read the synopsis I assumed it was going to be...more I've had this one for I don't even know how long. It caught my eye at the book store but then got shelved on my to be read shelf and I just never got to it until after a conversation with a fellow book blogger. She said she loved this author and I also found out she is going to be at the Romantic Times Convention that I hope to attend. So off the shelf it came and I have now found a new series that I cannot wait to continue!

The World Building

When I read the synopsis I assumed it was going to be about vampires, one reason I held off on reading it since I was vampired out, but it turns out the Nightwalkers are actually demons. What I loved about this concept was they weretn' the evil, stereotypical demons with just a few members here or there who are redeemed by love of some special woman. Instead they are a species with their own culture, laws and families. They do not rampage across the country murdering innocent humans. There are only two days in which the nightwalkers are a real danger to humans and it's not by choice that they end up harming anyone. The Enforcer's job is to prevent any of these incidents from happening and he is responsible for disciplining any of their people that attempt to harm a human being. Talk about a whole new way of viewing demons.

The Characters

I loved Jacob's character. He's a combination of macho, super strong male but he also has a vulnerability that he tries to hide from others, he's lonely. His role of enforcer causes those around him to always walk around with a slight fear and reservation that one day he will be called upon to punish them or their children. He's even faced with the fact that his own brother subconsciously fears him. I love when a guy has a little bit of softness to him and admits it to himself from the beginning instead of trying to deny its obviousness. His sense of humor as he teases Isabella is wonderful to see and makes you just love him all the more and want him to find that perfect partner.

Isabella is also a great female heroine in her own right. First off she's a librarian! Plus she is an interesting mix of shy, soft heartedness and her irreverent thoughts makes you laugh as you read what she is thinking. As she comes into her own powers she also becomes totally kick ass and I love that although Jacob is madly in love with her until in a lot of other romance stories he does not try to lock her up and keep her away from the fight. He acknowledges that she will be able to hold her own and in some cases can even do a better job than himself.

The Story Line

There is a little bit of everything for the paranormal lover in this series. Demons, druids, necromancers, etc. The story started off a little slow for me but that may have been because I was sleep deprived but by halfway through I could not read fast enough. I kept wanting to turn the pages faster and faster to find out what happened and yet wanted to savor some of the great one liners and the little details about the nightwalker world. The nightwalkers aren't an entirely peaceful race. They have had epic wars with the druids that have had devastating consequences as well as another war with the necromancers that decimated a great number of the nightwalkers. Both wars are coming back to haunt them as a new group of necromancers are hunting them and the nightwalkers find that the druids might actually be their salvation. This book definitely starts to set up future story lines that leave you wanting to pick up the next book right away. Definitely a fun new series to add to my list.(less)

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Jan 23, 2011 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, all-that-is-awesome, buckets-and-buckets-o-blood, demons-demons-demons, down-and-dirty-sex, forbidden-love, girl-power, it-was-destiny, jacquelyn-frank-books, nightwalkers-novels, magic-and-spells, men-i-want-to-lick-all-over, of-course-she-ends-up-pregnant, powerful-warlocks, powerful-witches-and-covens, sexy-shape-shifters, sexy-vampires, tormented-male-souls

Jacob is an incredibly sexy demon given the task of enforcing the laws of his own kind amongst his own people. This includes keeping them from harming humans especially during the night of the Hallowed and Beltane Moons. The story begins when one of his kind is Summoned by necromancers (the bad guys) and he has to find and kill the creature before it cause any harm to itself or anything else after it has become one of the Transformed (a demon stripped of it's civilized nature by spells done to i...more

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Oct 04, 2010 Georgina rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dnf

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Jacquelyn Frank - Night Walker Series	6	47	Dec 28, 2011 12:11pm
A New Nightwalker Story From Jacquelyn Frank	1	20	Oct 24, 2011 10:39am
A New Three Worlds Novel From Jacquelyn Frank Just Released	1	13	Jul 26, 2011 08:17am
New Release Kicks Off Jacquelyn Frank's New Three World Series	1	15	Mar 22, 2011 06:17am
Jacquelyn Frank's Sexy New Paranormal Just Released	1	8	Oct 26, 2010 07:15am

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Jacob (Nightwalkers #1)

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