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Dawn of Darkness (Daeva #1)

by Daniel A. Kaine (Goodreads Author)

4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 · rating details · 243 ratings · 82 reviews

Unburdened by the pain of loss and heartbreak, Mikhail is content with his life of solitude. But everything began to change the day he realised he has a psychic ability — the power to alter the emotions of those around him.

Ushered into the Military Academy with others like him — other Daevas — Mikhail does his part to help tip the scales of war against the vampires that de...more

Kindle Edition, 1st Edition, 290 pages

Published October 20th 2011 by Daniel A. Kaine via Smashword

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Community Reviews

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Nov 06, 2011 Experiment BL626 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: lgbt, mm-paranormal, dystopian-apocalyptic, paranormal, young-adult, reviewed

CAUTION: Long Review, Spoilers

At the time of writing this review, Dawn of Darkness combines the two most popular genres — Paranormal and Dystopian — of Young Adult fiction into one substantial read. This is the first time where I read a YA book that was both Paranormal and Dystopian, both genre that I read extensively of in my YA books.

DoD is told in the 1st POV from Mikhail's (or Mik as everyone calls him) perspective. The story follows Mik as he start off as a Daeva soldier-graduate of the cit...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Td rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, friends-to-lovers, military-soldiers, mystery-suspense, paranormal, shifters, vamps, favorites

To use a friend's word, this should have been a minefield for me. A post-apocalyptic world, humans with super abilities, vampires, werewolves, witches, magic, even some telepathy, usually a big no-no, but it turned out to be a very smooth and fascinating ride.

Mr. Kaine has wowed me with how he made this amazingly original story with different twists work by slowly unfolding the layers, keeping it balanced, focused and straight-forward. By having Mik tell it in a way I easily understood, made me...more

7 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2012 Joanie Mills rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just wanna say OMG!! That was freaking awesome I stayed up all night reading it and by the time I was done I was contemplating strangling mr. Kaine for not having the next one done and out it bowing down to his awesomeness I know that sounds cliche and all but I truly loved this story and am so looking forward to more ( are you sure it can't be an ongoing series like forever!) I truly loved every aspect of this story and I can honestly say if I'm asked this is the story I will recommend to any...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Ami rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mm-fantasy-paranormal-futuristic, mm-supernatural-power

My reaction I got to the end ... "GOD DAMN IT, I SHOULD'VE BOUGHT THIS BOOK WHEN BOOK 2 IS ALREADY AVAILABLE!!!"

Yeah, because while one big plot is finished, there is another kind of 'cliff hanger' regarding one of the characters, which makes me dying to read book #2 right away. Okay, my opinion will have some spoilers and retelling the plot because it helps me to remember what the story is all about (I have short term memory capacity)

What the plot is all about: HUGE SPOILER (view spoiler)...more My reaction I got to the end ... "GOD DAMN IT, I SHOULD'VE BOUGHT THIS BOOK WHEN BOOK 2 IS ALREADY AVAILABLE!!!"

Yeah, because while one big plot is finished, there is another kind of 'cliff hanger' regarding one of the characters, which makes me dying to read book #2 right away. Okay, my opinion will have some spoilers and retelling the plot because it helps me to remember what the story is all about (I have short term memory capacity)

What the plot is all about: HUGE SPOILER (view spoiler)

I don't discover much dystopian/paranormal story in male/male genre, so I totally welcome this. Especially with a gay male protagonist. That is one huge plus. The writing is SMOOTH, and unlike a couple of YA mainstreams I read, this is not just about a boy pining for another boy. Yes, there is sexual/romance element, but this is not just that. There's friendship (between Mik and the Twilight Resistance members, I especially adore his and Daniel) and mystery (about the real bad guy) and thrill and action.

The world building is captivating -- and it is easy to read, without some flowery words that usually come in urban fantasy/paranormal genre. Characters wise are also well-written. I come to love these people (except when I find out who the traitor is, DAMN YOU!) and when the cliffhanger happens ((view spoiler)) I just want to scream and demand book 2 to be released now.

WELL-DONE, Mr. Kaine!! Especially to think that this is your first novel. Hats-off.(less)

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Oct 30, 2011 Tj rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a wonderful read. I'm shocked it's the author's first book! The world created is extremely rich and well detailed. The characters are just vivid and so detailed. Mik is a very troubled soul but so easy to sympathize with. He has lead a troubled and difficult past. When Mik and Ash get together Mik finally seems to have something he has so needed. That is only the beginning though. I'm so looking forward to the next!

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Dec 09, 2011 Vicktor Alexander rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: thorny, matt, brad, cherie, kat, luci, pati, rach, heather, damon, heidi, everyone

Recommended to Vicktor by: katharina

Shelves: gay-pretty-boys, gay-supernatural, gay-vampires, gay-will-read-again, hot-gay-men, m-m-bittersweet, m-m-disaster, m-m-emotional, m-m-futuristic, m-m-paranormal, m-m-series, m-m-sexy, m-m-smexy, m-m-supernatural, m-m-violence

I'm just going to lay this out there at the beginning:

The Epilogue Whore was very ANGRY by this book. Because it's a series and it's the first book and it was SO good that by the end of it I wanted it to keep going and it didn't.

Why?

Because there's another book coming.

I seriously want to give this book a 4.95 because of the fact at one point I did want to slap the shit out of Mik, but then I realized that means that Mr. Kaine did an EXCELLENT job writing this character and honestly by the end I...more

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Jan 09, 2012 whitney rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a very good read. I was worried about the cliffhanger, but I kind of loved it. I'm not looking forward to waiting for the next book because I want to know more!!!! I don't really get why this is considered YA beyond it doesn't have the amount of sexual situations most m/m books do. It did have a couple of scenes, so yes there is some smexy. The focus was more on the romance and holding onto that love. I'm totally invested in the couple. From the moment I started this book I had a feelin...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Pixie Mmgoodbookreviews rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: post-apocalypse, vampire, shifters, magic

5 Hearts

Review first posted at MM Good Book Reviews

http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.co...

Mikhail is a Daeva, a human who has some sort of powers; these powers give the humans an edge over the other supernatural beings inhabiting the world. After the plague that nearly wiped out humanity, the Silver Dawn has reshaped what is left and have taken over. Mikhail starts to look for answers when he notices that vampires have the same gifts as the Daeva, but it puts him in grave danger as the Silver D...more 5 Hearts

Review first posted at MM Good Book Reviews

http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.co...

Mikhail is a Daeva, a human who has some sort of powers; these powers give the humans an edge over the other supernatural beings inhabiting the world. After the plague that nearly wiped out humanity, the Silver Dawn has reshaped what is left and have taken over. Mikhail starts to look for answers when he notices that vampires have the same gifts as the Daeva, but it puts him in grave danger as the Silver Dawn has secrets that it doesn’t want discovered.

Whoo hoo!! a great story that is both entertaining and enjoyable. Mik is a young man who has always felt like he has been abandoned in the past. Now, he keeps people at a distance until Ash. Ash has snuck his way past his wall and now he’s burrowed in deep and Mik finally lets him in the rest of the way. As their new relationship progresses , Mik begins to question why Daeva powers are similar to vampires and it isn’t long before someone tries to silence him.

An interesting twist on humans, vampires, werewolves etc. They had, at one time, lived happily next to each other. mingling and getting on fine despite the warnings of the Silver Dawn… until the plague strikes humanity. Okay, so even though you can see where it’s going, you still don’t uncover the full story until much later and the truth of the Daeva’s origins is just wow and eww. The characters all add something great to the story and each character we get a brief background on.

Now, even though I liked all the characters, I must admit that Mik is the character that I could relate to the most. Trying to protect himself from harm. When he does give in, he loses it almost straight away. the fear of rejection because he no longer believes in the Silver Dawn, the new fear that he might have to fight or kill the man he loves etc., so he has a bit of angst and lots of dwelling on what could happen. Now the ending leaves you with HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN because although I’d hoped it would happen there wasn’t an inkling that it would and it was WTF when? Who? Why? And it’s the very last sentence.

So, I will recommend this to those who love Post-Apocalyptic, Vampires, Shifters, Magic, Dystopian, gentle love, a bit of angst, danger, twists and an ending that leaves you begging for more.(less)

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Oct 03, 2012 Gloria rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, m-m-romance, vampire, paranormal, 2011, lendible-pm-me

Pretty disapointing.

The book had a good, strong start. Watching Mik finally bond with his team, their first missions, and watching him and Ash fall in love was nearly pitch-perfect. The flaws of the novel begin soon after, however. I have a hard time buying that digging into apparently publicly available information (or at least information that someone with Mik's security clearance would have access too) would result in Mik getting kicked out of the city just a week later. There's more to it th...more Pretty disapointing.

The book had a good, strong start. Watching Mik finally bond with his team, their first missions, and watching him and Ash fall in love was nearly pitch-perfect. The flaws of the novel begin soon after, however. I have a hard time buying that digging into apparently publicly available information (or at least information that someone with Mik's security clearance would have access too) would result in Mik getting kicked out of the city just a week later. There's more to it than that, but as a cover story it's terrible. There's some interesting stuff with Violet's team, and I really like Daniel, but Mik trust them waaay too much. He'd just been betrayed by his people and tossed out, and the very people he'd been taught to fear and hate from birth take him in, and he trusts them just like that? Frankly I spent sometime thinking that Violet had done a mental whammy on him, but nope, they really were the good guys. Things progress from there, there are parts that are really good (like hunting horses, fighting the trio of vampires, the tunnel, and basically every scene with Daniel), but it starts to fall apart again with the info-dump from Marcus and the really easy breach of the city walls during the final invasion. And old, powerful spell like that shouldn't have been that easy to break. At the end the Big Bad even reveals all his plans to Mik, apparently because there's some rule of the universe that Evil must gloat over our hero. No cliché must be left unwritten. And Nate... sigh. What can I say about Nate, other than the fact that I called it the first time Mik caught him talking to himself? So obvious I thought it was a red-herring. It wasn't.

So, like I said, I really wanted to like this book, but the clichés kept getting in the way and bonking me on the head. Too bad.

Edit: yeah, called that too. God, the clichés in this book.

Final take: If you were to take out all the horrible clichés in this story it would be a decent read. Unfortunately they are such a glaring part of the story that I cannot ignore them. If the author manages to drop them in the next book it might be a good novel. For that reason I'll check out Origin of Darkness, but if it's as cliché-ridden as this one that'll be it for me and this author. (less)

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Aug 15, 2012 Isaac rated it 2 of 5 stars

Okay. This book left me torn in two. The dystopian setting was inspired, brilliantly described and topical. Well researched and totally fascinating.

The first half of this book is brilliant - compelling and hard to put down. Mik is intriguing and beautiful, Ash is gorgeous and slightly cheeky.

BUT, I was left slightly disturbed by the way Ash hit on Mik while he was drunk. Although I became more comfortable with it when Mik didn't regret a thing, it still felt kind of...off.

Also, this book needs...more

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Aug 06, 2012 L.M. Murphy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires, friends-books

** Review copy-pasted from my original at See Murphy Write **

Dawn of Darkness is, as the author himself puts it, paranormal dystopian fiction with elements of romance. I freely admit that it's the first book of its kind that I've read, but this doesn't bother me in the least, because I enjoyed it immensely from beginning to end. It's not a long read at just under 200 pages, but by the end of it, I was cursing, and I swear, Daniel, once you get across the pond, you're not so far from me, just you...more ** Review copy-pasted from my original at See Murphy Write **

Dawn of Darkness is, as the author himself puts it, paranormal dystopian fiction with elements of romance. I freely admit that it's the first book of its kind that I've read, but this doesn't bother me in the least, because I enjoyed it immensely from beginning to end. It's not a long read at just under 200 pages, but by the end of it, I was cursing, and I swear, Daniel, once you get across the pond, you're not so far from me, just you see if I don't smack you for that ending should we ever meet face to face! You're lucky that this was book one of a trilogy, or I'd be gathering up the torches and pitchforks.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The novel is told in first-person POV by Mik, the lead character. Typically, I'm guilty of not enjoying these books (either writing them or reading them) because I always seem to find some little nagging area where a change in viewpoint could have made everything go so much better. Mik, however, shines as a narrator. His voice is very clear, distinct and snarky, and consistently made me laugh throughout the book, and nor does the description suffer as a result of having a first-person POV narrator. The description given is as clean and concise as the writing itself and doesn't detract from the storyline.

The storyline itself is an interesting creature. When I first started reading, there seemed to be a fairly clear plot laid out in front of me, but I found that wasn't at all the case. I won't go into details as I know I for one hate spoilers, but GAH! How Daniel came up with some of that, I don't even know. As suits the type of novel this is, the plot moves along at a steady pace, with both action and romance starting early on, and managed to neatly tie up most of the loose ends in the story by its conclusion (except one giant one, which I can't complain about here because *insert dramatic sigh* spoilers).

Setting is another element that I thought Daniel handled extremely well. Although, in keeping with Mik's narrative, the description was never stifling, it was very effective at conveying an image of what the novel's dystopian France looked like. The mention of the Eiffel Tower in particular is something that struck me as eerie and brought the novel's setting home to me though I've never been to France.

Main characters Mik and Ash are both very unique and Daniel did an excellent job of making them come to life on the page. Mik's snarkiness and Ash's laidback approach to life make them, in my opinion, an adorable odd couple that I greatly enjoyed reading. When I said this is the first book of its kind I've read, I wasn't kidding; thanks to one book, I can now check dystopia and M/M romance off my list. Don't think that I haven't read it because I'm against it just because I'm a straight female; it's more that it's never really actively piqued my curiosity. No longer the case after reading this. Mik and Ash are adorable, and I want more of them! Now please! I didn't mention this fact any sooner because the type of romance found within a novel's pages shouldn't be the focal point, nor the judging criteria, of any novel. And with this one, it isn't, which I enjoyed to no end. These characters are attracted to each other, and a relationship develops out of that. It really can be as simple and lovely as that.

The characters themselves, in addition to being cute together and highly amusing to the reader, also showed great development throughout the plot. The characters learned, from the world around them, from the people around them, and from each other. Everything did not come easily to them, and yet, they didn't have to fight tooth and nail for everything, either--in fact, both Ash and Mik have rough spots in their pasts, as do we all. By the novel's end, neither was the same person they had been on starting out, which, to my mind, is always the mark of a good novel.

So, in conclusion, all I can say is that I had a great time reading this book and would recommend it to anyone and everyone I thought might be interested. The entire thing was great fun to read, and I can now add myself to the number of people on Twitter urging Daniel to write the sequel faster. I enjoyed the book very much and can't wait to read more! (less)

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Jun 17, 2012 Elisa Ramblings added it

I think the main reason of this novel was to prove how stupid the war is and how rigid the military structure can be, above all if they try to see the world in Black and White.

The main characters of this novel are a group of kids with special powers. I say kids, even if they are probably in their twenties, since I had the feelings all these guys were taken from their family when they were still teenagers and they didn’t have the chance to grow into real adult and above all soldier. When the stor...more I think the main reason of this novel was to prove how stupid the war is and how rigid the military structure can be, above all if they try to see the world in Black and White.

The main characters of this novel are a group of kids with special powers. I say kids, even if they are probably in their twenties, since I had the feelings all these guys were taken from their family when they were still teenagers and they didn’t have the chance to grow into real adult and above all soldier. When the story starts they are approaching graduation day from the Military Academy, and to me it was like reading of boys approaching the last day of high school.

The story is told in first point of view by Mik, a misfit among them; Mik is an orphan and so he has no bad experience in his past with his family; all these boys have supernatural powers but this is not a bonus in this futuristic society, on the contrary you are considered an abomination, and most of the time your own family disown you… I think there is a parallelism here between being gay and having supernatural powers, like in today society you are disowned for being gay, in that futuristic society it happens the same when approaching adulthood you find out you have special skills people fear.

At the beginning I didn’t feel the attraction between Mik and his roommate Ash, but thinking at it twice, I noticed how Mik was jealous of his best friend; in any case it’s not Mik who does the first move, but Ash, almost taking advantage of Mik’s almost breakdown after he has to kill for the first time. Ash brings to bed a drunken Mik, and he has his way with him, tighten the bond between them that will last for all the novel, with some bumps on the road.

Dawn of Darkness is the first book in a series, and that is the reason why there is no a wrapping up ending; moreover, after the blow the author decided to give to the reader at the last chapter, he also opted for giving hope and the very last word will help many readers who maybe wanted a different ending.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1466423714/?...(less)

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Apr 13, 2012 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: f-sf, m-m

A nice little post-Apocalyptic fantasy here. I liked the characters (at least, the ones you're supposed to like) and the setting was interesting -- most of these stories I'm seeing are set in the US (as if the crash of society is going to be centered here, which I can believe, or more probably it's just because that's what I see most of in the US, but I know the author of this is British) but this is set primarily in France. My biggest quibbles are with the technology: there's still a lot of rel...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Eugenia Lynn rated it 5 of 5 stars

I first saw this book on Goodreads as the book selected to read for the month of Jan. on the M/M group.
After reading the blurb, I thought it sounds very interesting and decided to give it a try, even though I'm not one fore futuristic tales.
WOW! You would never know this was Daniel's first book. The world he created was amazing and the character developement was great. It was one of those books you can't stop reading because you want to find out what happens next. There were never any dead sp...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alt-u, fantasy, glbt, m-m, paranormal, series, speculative-fiction, supernatural, vampires, weres-shifters, ya

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” – William Shakespeare

Nearly a century ago, humans and vampires lived together peacefully, even amidst the religious prophesying that their integration would most certainly bring about Armageddon one day. When a great plague swept across the globe and decimated nearly all the world’s population, it appeared the prophets were right and the vampires were indeed a scourge, and the resulting demise of the human race. It’s now the year 2105, vampires and hu...more “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” – William Shakespeare

Nearly a century ago, humans and vampires lived together peacefully, even amidst the religious prophesying that their integration would most certainly bring about Armageddon one day. When a great plague swept across the globe and decimated nearly all the world’s population, it appeared the prophets were right and the vampires were indeed a scourge, and the resulting demise of the human race. It’s now the year 2105, vampires and humans are once again predator and prey, but within the dystopian landscape of what had once been France, one civilized community still exists among the ruins, Rachat, a stronghold in which an army of young men and women with supernatural abilities become lethal weapons in the fight against the vampiric enemy.

Mikhail Hart and Ashley White are two newly minted soldiers in the Silver Dawn Battalion, two young men with powers that give them an advantage in this war against the undead. They, along with their preternatural comrades, have been spoon-fed from the propaganda vessel, taught to believe that the course of their history was directed and dictated by the nightdwellers who have the power to control their thoughts and feed on them like human cattle. But the truth is that the truth is still out there waiting to be discovered. And when Mik gets a little too close to those truths, life as he knows it becomes something more like a small corner of hell, where the devil he knows is every bit as dangerous and the devil he doesn’t, and some of the worst lies are the lies he tells himself, for those are the lies that convince him the one person in the world he loves is lost to him forever.

The battle lines are drawn, and Mik has chosen sides. It’s the invisible line of warring ideology that has separated him from Ash, and now they’re on opposing ends of the personal and political agenda that has sprung from the deception and manipulation of the puppet regime. It is the fine line they both toe but cannot cross until they learn to trust that their love is the most powerful weapon they have in this battle between good and evil, and that survival can mean the difference between living or merely existing.

If you’ve read any small amount of paranormal fantasy over the past few years, you may feel, like me, that vampires have been done to death. After reading everything from Bram Stoker’s original to those of the sparkling variety, I feel like I’ve seen every possible permutation of the bloodsucker theme in between, but I have to say I was very pleased with Dawn of the Darkness, Daniel A. Kaine’s self-published debut. Mr. Kaine’s vampires are a mixed bag of daywalkers, nightdwellers, those who have striven to hang on to a bit of their humanity and to prove they’re not all the soulless monsters they’ve been made out to be, as well as those who are very much the monsters vampires have always been. There’s no attempt to bend or break the roles and rules, no sensationalizing for the sake of introducing something different. These vamps are sometimes horrific, sometimes entirely humane, and I liked the contrasts.

This novel is introspective speculative fiction, a blend of horror and young adult romance. It’s a story of betrayal and of healing and forgiveness, at once altogether gory, then utterly poignant in its portrayal of the broken pasts that have shaped who Mik and Ash have become. Though the going was a bit slow at times, and there were some rough edges to this gem, I was thoroughly invested in the journey and am looking forward to its continuation in Origin of Darkness, book #2 in the Daeva series.

TNA (less)

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Jan 14, 2012 Kaje Harper rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4.5 stars. It's difficult by now to write a book with werewolves and vampires that feels unique, imaginative and fascinating. In this first book of his fantasy series, Daniel Kaine has achieved exactly that. The narrator, Mik, is a wonderful character, a young man who will grab your heart from the first page and not let go. This book is more fantasy than romance, but the thread of Mik's feelings for his lover Ash carry the reader through the book. Although this book is written for adults, the st...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Leigh rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: All PNR/UF and m/m lovers

Recommended to Leigh by: Heather M.

Wow!!!! I got this as a freebie from Amazon, and I am shocked that it was offered that way. This is much too good to be free!!!

Dawn of Darkness is set in a post-apocalyptic time, where vampires and werewolves are abound and to be feared. Or are they? Vampires are to blame for the apocalypse, and surviving humans have created a city in which they can live free of the dangers posed by these paranormal creatures. Some of them, however, have special powers. Think X-Men-like qualities. They have join...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Terri Pray rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Dystopian fans

Shelves: paranormal, science-fiction, first-reads, dystopian

I won Dawn of Darkness via a Goodreads giveaways.

This is one of those books that grew on me, though it was a little bit of a struggle at first. First person is very difficult to pull off without becoming repetitive, and there are places - especially early on - where the book drags a little.

That being said, for a self published book (which I'm presuming this is due to it being a Createspace copy with no publisher), it is a good book. The world building and background are fairly solid, and the st...more

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Jan 24, 2012 L-D rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires, paranormal-abilities-superpowers, m-m, shifters-weres, military-soldier-spec-ops, lend-lynn, series, armageddon-apocalypse-dystopia

Essentially this book hit all my hot buttons. I'm a big fan of apocalypse-themed books, but throw in paranormal/psychic abilities, shifters, vampires AND soldiers? What more could a girl ask for?

Mikhail is a Daeva that just graduated from the Military Academy with his team. Daeva's are humans with psychic abilities. Mik's own ability is to alter the emotions of those around him. Ash, the team leader, is an empath and is one of the few who is immune to Mik's power.

The other team members are Kat,...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Kimsandara rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: gay-books, it-s-not-you, meuh-read, will-not-finish, ya-books

Okay, I did not like Daeva...Upon seeing the raving reviews about it,I'm starting to wonder whether it is a typical "It's- not -you,it's -me syndrom"

It took me 10 minutes to know I would not like this book. The writing felt to amateurish for me. Daniel Kaine relies too much on infodumping.
Mikhail was for me all talk ...He described himself as a cool-a** warrior, while he succumbed to his friend's advances in record time.Dude it takes me more time to eat a Mars chocolate bar (and I LOVE the stuf...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Adara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can see why Vick's epilogue whore was angry now. =)
This is 4.5 stars, rounded down until I determine its rereadability.

This is an amazing story. It felt just a touch at its core like the first Matrix movie: there's an alternative to the reality that we know, and once you know, you can't go back to being who you were. The setting and world were thoroughly detailed and the characters and story were the important focii, as they should be.

The main character, Mikhail Hart, goes through so much from...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Dianne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Completely enjoyed this dystopian/fantasy world created by Daniel Kaine and found all of the characters engaging. It's always nice as a reader to find a "fresh" approach to portraying vampires, werewolves, magic and other fantasy elements, and I found that here. The strong bond that MC Mik (this story is told in his POV) maintained for his best friend and lover, Ash- and without the aid of charms, powers, etc - was compelling. I was really rooting for Mik and was hoping he would not be feeling b...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Byron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, m-m-read, paranormal, ya-recommended

WHERE'S BOOK 2??? O_O

Damn, but this is Daniels first effort at writing.. and it's gripping.. An emotional roller coaster ride in places.

Characters are well formed with good back grounds. They fit into the plot as required without coming across as filler. The main character is very well formed from the outset. I found it quite easy to be caught up in everything happening.

Story has no lag, jumps or plot holes that could easily have annoyed or detracted from the journey.

My one criticism of the stor...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Sammy2006 rated it 5 of 5 stars

First let me say how incredible is this world that Daniel Kaine has created in his debut novel Dawn of Darkness. The level to which Mr. Kaine creates this new world is nothing short of amazing. I felt like I was visiting--seeing his world as the pages of his novel unfolded. Set on the planet earth, Kaine creates a place inhabited by both human and supernatural beings. Mikhail, the MC, is one of the "super" human military who have been born with supernatural powers while still retaining human for...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Julesmarie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m, young-adult, nook, paranormal-urban-fantasy, vampires, dystopia

4.5 stars

Fascinating dystopia/vampire/special powers book. Intriguing and like-able characters. Can't wait for the sequel!

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Jan 21, 2012 Daisy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: m_m, m_m_series, m_m_sf-fantasy, owned

3 stars because...
... characterization, sometimes it didn't feel to me as if the MC was actually a man, same thing with supporting cast.
... story. It's a good story, but drawn out too long, and not enough romance for my liking.
... writing style: this was excellent, though sometimes edited poorly.
... setting: that was great, I love post-apocalypse things, though it could've been more angsty.

That said, I did enjoy most of the book, even if the ending was dragging and I skipped to the end to see if...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Troy rated it 4 of 5 stars

As far as gay romance books go, I was pleasantly surprised this didn't venture down a stereotypical, seedy path that so many do. I also appreciated that this isn't just another vampire romance novel and the plot is an original and intriguing take on the supernatural.

I do have to echo other reviews and mention that though the author is clearly very talented in creating 'a universe' and wonderful characters, he needs an editor to tidy up the story somewhat, particularly towards the end. I found...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Patricia Lynne rated it 5 of 5 stars

I also got to beta read this story and fell in love. Read it one setting and a few times felt really guilty because I was enjoying the story too much to stop and critique it. Which isn't a bad thing.

The story has everything I love, vampires, werewolves and a bit of magic. There were twists at the end I didn't see coming and I nearly strangled Daniel when it ended because I wanted it to keep going. Fortunately there's two more books. Mik's character was interesting and the way he developed throug...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Vixen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was more than right when I thought that this book sounded interesting. Actually... interesting just doesn't do it justice! Amazing, awesome, incredible, kick-ass, addictive are all words that are more likely to describe it! I was hooked from the first chapter, dying to read on.

The story was told in 1st person POV--which is my favorite POV to be reading in--by a guy named Mikhail who is a Daeva. Basically a Daeva is a "human" who possess supernatural powers that either are physical or psychic,...more

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Aug 10, 2011 M.B. Mulhall rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read a beta version of this and loved it! It's not a typical vamp/supernatural story so it was nice to feel like I hadn't read it before (as I do with many other vampire books out there these days).

There's action, romance, suspense, and some sexy time scenes that may very well leave you needing a smoke when you're done reading it. The characters are well rounded and likable. You'll come to care what happens to them.

I can't wait to read the final product and you should definitely mark it on you...more

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Genres

Fantasy > Paranormal

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Romance > M M Romance

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Paranormal > Vampires

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Fantasy

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Young Adult

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Science Fiction > Dystopia

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Science Fiction

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Glbt

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Romance

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Fantasy > Urban Fantasy

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About Daniel A. Kaine

Daniel Alexander Kaine, born and raised in England, makes his living working as a customer service advisor.

Daniel started writing in 2009 to alleviate boredom while searching for employment. He started out writing a cheesy fanfic for his favourite anime, Naruto, in which he paired our hero with the gorgeous Sasuke in an Anita Blake-esque world of vampire hunting. To this day he still cringes at th...more

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