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Nightwalker (Dark Days #1)

by Jocelynn Drake (Goodreads Author)

3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 · rating details · 4,985 ratings · 364 reviews

For centuries Mira has been a nightwalker--an unstoppable enforcer for a mysterious organization that manipulates earth-shaking events from the darkest shadows. But elemental mastery over fire sets her apart from others of her night-prowling breed . . . and may be all that prevents her doom.

The foe she now faces is human: the vampire hunter called Danaus, who has alread

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Paperback, 1, 370 pages

Published July 29th 2008 by Harper Voyager

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Jun 29, 2011 MISS VAIN rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kick-ass-heroines, he-s-in-my-harem, urban-fantasy, dark-and-gritty, series-that-i-m-obsessed-with

"So I thought, " I murmured. I started to lift my leg from his lap when Danaus grabbed my calf with his right hand, holding me in place. His touch was warmer than I'd expected, almost burning through my leather pants. Shocked by his sudden willingness to touch me, I went completely still. Turning his head to look at me, my lips brushedhis cheek and we both froze. Danaus exhaled slowly and I found myself drawing in his breathe, holding it inside me. If one of us moved less than an inch, our l
...more

12 likes · like · see review

Aug 13, 2008 Julie (jjmachshev) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: queuemyreview, 2008-reads

An intricate work that's stunningly complex and compelling. Once I picked "Nightwalker" up, I couldn't put down Jocelynn Drake's tale that (hopefully) is just the start of a series about an alternate reality existing in today's world. This is a dark urban fantasy. It's not a romance even though it has some romantic elements. Even though I finished reading "Nightwalker" a few hours ago, I'm still having difficulty extracting myself from Ms Drake's world.

Mira has been a vampire for over 600 years....more An intricate work that's stunningly complex and compelling. Once I picked "Nightwalker" up, I couldn't put down Jocelynn Drake's tale that (hopefully) is just the start of a series about an alternate reality existing in today's world. This is a dark urban fantasy. It's not a romance even though it has some romantic elements. Even though I finished reading "Nightwalker" a few hours ago, I'm still having difficulty extracting myself from Ms Drake's world.

Mira has been a vampire for over 600 years. She's also known as Fire Starter which is echoed in her wild red hair. She has survived cruelty and acts of torture so horrific, her mind refuses to remember and they only occasionally resurface as nightmares. She left her maker and her rescuer/healer to create a home and existence for herself in the New World and she's content with her existence. She doesn't kill when she feeds. She does, however, kill any humans or supernatural creatures who threaten to expose or disturb the comfortable life she's carved out in Savannah. So when a slayer appears in her territory, she decides to extract all the information she can before she kills him. She doesn't know that this slayer is more than he seems, and that his appearance in her life will herald a quest that will change everything she thought she knew about her life.

Mira fascinates me. She's certainly no angel but she's also not quite a demon. She's one of the most human supernatural creatures I've read about in a long time. She really just wants to safeguard the haven she's created for herself. 'Live and let live' would be her motto if she bothered to have one. Her relationship with the slayer who intrudes into her territory is so complex. I still haven't figured out exactly what he is...and neither has Mira. He's sometimes a friend, almost a love, could kill her with a thought, has saved her life several times, thinks she's damned, and is apparently willing to go against the organization he works for to protect her! Fabulous!

If you like your urban fantasies a bit dark, with strong sexual elements but no real 'romance', at least not yet...I can't recommend "Nightwalker" highly enough. There are shadowy mysterious organizations that are only mentioned or hinted at and I can hardly wait until May 2009 for the next release in this series, "Dayhunter".(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Jan 15, 2012 E rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dark, favorites, kick-ass-chicks, vampires

This book was so good and super refreshing because lately I've read a bunch of books that suck! I love the powerful, seductive, sarcastic, fire starting vampire heroine, Mira. Mira kicks all kinds of ass and is pretty fucking ruthless, but she has her own set of morals and a sense of honor that she sticks to and fights for no matter the cost. I loved the tone and the dark gritty feel to this book, the writing style had me totally submerged in the story and the emotions of the characters without...more

6 likes · like · see review

Feb 25, 2010 Cher rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy, vampires

I really tried to get into this book, but it seemed to borrow every single cliche from every vampire TV show out there. The twist is that everything is from the POV of a 603yo flame-haired female vampire kicking bootie in her leather catsuit.

The main reason this book didn't grab me was that it was primarily told in lusty action scenes, with the main character's conflicts and history lodged in paragraphs between. Since the 603yo vamp lady was pretty much invincible, there wasn't any tension to be...more

7 likes · like · see review

Jul 29, 2008 Perri rated it 1 of 5 stars

This is what happens when you buy books at Wal-Mart.

19 likes · like · see review

Mar 22, 2013 Carrie Penney rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, urban-fantasy, vampire, dark-fantasy, tower-team, 1st-in-a-series, new-to-me-author, fantasyland

I liked Nightwalker it was a good start to what looks to be an interesting series. I'm not going to lie, for the first part I couldn't keep focus on it. I'd pick it up read for a bit and find my mind going elsewhere. It was slow starting for me and I feared that it wasn't going to be as good as I had hopped it would be. But like little trooper I am and yes as soon as I typed the words trooper I put on Iron Maiden. But anyways back to the book :P

Mira is a nightwalker, a vampire, but she's not lik...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 27, 2008 slayra rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: in-english, uf-and-pnr

Mira é uma "nightwalker"... ou seja, Mira é basicamente uma vampira, mas tem um nome mais exótico. Ou não.

Ahem. Recomeçando. Mira é uma vampira com precisamente 603 anos de idade. Mas Mira não é uma vampira qualquer... não! Mira tem um estranho poder que impõe respeito no meio da sua comunidade: ela não só pode controlar o fogo, como é imune a esta forma tão tradicional de matar vampiros. É por isso que há séculos que Mira é a vampira-chefe da sua comunidade em Savannah, USA.

Mas a sua paz está p...more Mira é uma "nightwalker"... ou seja, Mira é basicamente uma vampira, mas tem um nome mais exótico. Ou não.

Ahem. Recomeçando. Mira é uma vampira com precisamente 603 anos de idade. Mas Mira não é uma vampira qualquer... não! Mira tem um estranho poder que impõe respeito no meio da sua comunidade: ela não só pode controlar o fogo, como é imune a esta forma tão tradicional de matar vampiros. É por isso que há séculos que Mira é a vampira-chefe da sua comunidade em Savannah, USA.

Mas a sua paz está prestes a ser perturbada pela chegada do famoso caçador de vampiros Danaus... que possui os seus próprios poderes tenebrosos.

E aqui temos mais um livro de fantasia urbana. Passa-se no século XXI, em locais que todos nós reconhecemos, mas inclui criaturas sobrenaturais como vampiros, lobisomens e fadas.

É claro que neste caso, tal como Filipe Faria (os que leram a obra deste autor português sabem do que estou a falar), a autora decidiu dar nomes diferentes a estes seres na esperança de os tornar mais originais. Os vampiros chamam-se a si próprios "nightwalkers" e as fadas não são realmente fadas mas sim os "naturi", ou os "guardiões da natureza". E, numa inversão de papeis, os "naturi" são os vilões (que querem destruir a Humanidade, yada, yada) enquanto os vampiros são os bons da fita... bem, talvez não seja bem uma inversão de papeis; afinal os vampiros são sempre os bons da fita na literatura de hoje em dia.

Em "Nightwalker" conhecemos Mira, uma vampira de 600 anos com o poder de manipular o fogo... o que normalmente lhe concederia uma imensa vantagem sobre todos os outros vampiros do planeta, que segundo as lendas ardem que nem galhos secos.
No entanto, ao contrário do esperado, Mira não conquistou a sua raça inteira e tem mesmo medo de alguns vampiros mais velhos, os "Antigos".

No começo da história, Mira persegue silenciosamente o caçador Danaus com o intuito de o matar. Mas depois de se conhecerem, ela percebe que ele tem informações sobre os "naturi" (ou "fadas", mas não são mesmo fadas só se parecem com fadas em todos os aspectos) e que estes últimos são mais perigosos do que um único caçador. E assim, Danaus e Mira unem forças para começarem uma luta contra as fadas, perdão "naturi" que promete durar vários livros... para nossa infelicidade.

Uma vez que me debrucei longamente sobre a história, acho que vou acabar esta "review" com uma breve enumeração das características negativas deste livro. Primeiro, a história é pouco original; vampiro junta-se a caçador de vampiro que entretanto percebe que vampiro não é tão mau como parece e ambos têm que enfrentar um inimigo mais poderoso e mais mauzão do que o vampiro. Segundo... a sinopse prometia que a história se desenrolava em locais exóticos como o Egipto... mas não é verdade os protagonistas só estão no Egipto durante umas vinte páginas. Terceiro, a escrita não é cativante o suficiente para compensar as outras faltas.

E quarto, as personagens são demasiado cliché: a heroína e heroi torturados e poderosos, o amigo que se transforma em traidor, os maus da fita previsíveis (incluíndo, e não estou a inventar, o riso maléfico e a pala num dos olhos) para não falar da história inacabada que sabe a pouco, especialmente se não tencionarmos ler mais nenhum livro da série.

Apesar de tudo, "Nightwalker" tem algum valor em termos de entretenimento. Não é uma leitura má de todo para os amantes de fantasia urbana (que, suponho, devem ser poucos aqui na terra de PT, dada a quantidade de literatura do género traduzida para o português. Mas pronto).(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 30, 2008 Geoff rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Laurell K. Hamilton

Vampire Fiction is a fairly well explored genre. With such heavyweights as Ann Rice, Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison and Charlene Harris each 'staking' their space in the genre it's difficult to imagine a lot of room for another author to get a significant piece of the Vampire pie. Jocelynn Drake's Nightwalker tries to squeeze in to this packed genre with a book that falls somewhere between Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter and Meredith Gentry Faerie series. Drake has a nice fla...more

5 likes · like · see review

Aug 10, 2011 Stella rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, urban-fantasy

I'm still under its spell. Jocelynn Drake's writing style is simply amazing, her descriptions are evocative and poetic, she is a true writer! Another series I will have to add to my TBR list!

Nightwalker is the first novel in Jocelynn Drake's Dark Days urban fantasy series, and despite the fact that at the beginning I could only progress slowly, that didn't keep me from falling in love with Jocelynn Drake's poetic writing. So persevere, because after the initial 80-90 pages the novel's pace picks...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 24, 2013 Thaddeus Nowak rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was something I decided to try. I must admit, I am not much for the first person perspective; I tend to prefer books written in third person. I also tend to avoid most of the vampire and werewolf books, though I have read a few of them over the years that normally tended to be outside the normal mold.

With that said, I found I enjoyed this book. The main character, while always being a step behind her advisories, was a driver of the plot through most of the book and working to catch up with...more

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Dec 04, 2012 My Urban Fantasies rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark-days

Originally published on my blog, My Urban Fantasies

I love the mythology behind the Dark Days series. After humans were created, two guardian races were created to maintain the balance. The naturi are guardians of the earth, while the bori are the guardians of souls. The bori existed as a single clan with their own dark side. From the bori came the legends of angels and demons. The naturi existed in five clans; earth, water, wind, light and animal. From the naturi grew the stories of elves, fair...more Originally published on my blog, My Urban Fantasies

I love the mythology behind the Dark Days series. After humans were created, two guardian races were created to maintain the balance. The naturi are guardians of the earth, while the bori are the guardians of souls. The bori existed as a single clan with their own dark side. From the bori came the legends of angels and demons. The naturi existed in five clans; earth, water, wind, light and animal. From the naturi grew the stories of elves, fairies and other magical creatures.

There was a constant power struggle between the bori and the naturi. The power and strength of the two races were dependent upon what they protected. As humanity grew the earth became weaker. A war started between the bori and the naturi. Tired of fighting each other, each side created foot soldiers using humans. The bori created nightwalkers, also known as vampires, using blood magic. This also left the nightwalkers dependent on blood magic, the reason they need to feed on blood to survive. The naturi created lycanthropes using earth magic. Lycanthropes can take on the gifts of the animals that they shift into.

The naturi wanted nothing more than to rid the earth of all humans and nightwalkers. The naturi think the only way to protect the earth is by removing it's greatest threat; mankind. The nightwalkers exiled most of the naturi and their queen into another world. One that was similar and connected to this world, but different. The nightwalkers sealed the door between the two worlds. I have no idea how the bori were exiled, it was never mentioned.

Now the few naturi the were left behind are trying to unseal and open the door between the two worlds and release their queen. Mira, a kick ass 600 year old nightwalker, is now forced to work with Danaus, a vampire hunter who is not exactly human, to stop the naturi and save mankind. And worse yet, the return of the naturi means the bori might return as well. For nightwalkers the naturi represent extinction, but the bori represent an eternity of slavery.

While I loved the mythology of the series, my feelings for Nightwalker are not as strong. There was this monotone feel throughout most of the book and some sections were a little slow. The characters also seemed a little flat. There were moments when everything seemed to have a little depth to it. These moments were usually between Mira and Danaus. They have this special flirtatious bickering, love-hate, cat and mouse, I want to rip your heart out kind of relationship. You're wondering why I gave Nightwalker 3 stars, right? Because it gets better! I don't know what changed, it was very subtle, but the last third of the book seemed to be more... animated. You notice the action scenes and the characters seem more real.

This is a series that you have to read in order, which means you're going to end up with annoying cliffhanger endings. On a high note the series is finished so you will not have to wait a year for the next book. Yay! Based on the last few chapters of Nightwalker I think the rest of Dark Days will be worth checking out.(less)

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May 27, 2012 Naoms rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-urban-fantasy, read-in-2012, library, vampires

Nightwalker is a pretty solid read. Not the best UF I've ever read, but this is the first book in the series.

Nightwalker, introduces us to Mira. A firestarter Vamp, who controls the domain of America. Mira comes across a human vampire hunter called Danaus, who has already proven to be a powerful and a killer of her kind. In the end, the Vampire and Hunter must work together to stop a powerful force that wants to wipe out humans and Vampires alike. Along the way, the run into ancient vamps, booki...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 08, 2012 Felicia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: vaginal-urban-fantasy, urban-paranormal

This was a really interesting book, I enjoyed it for many reasons, most of which it doesn't read like all the other Urban Fantasy out there. The lead female protagonist doesn't have self-esteem problems, doesn't apologize for being a badass, she has problems that are totally justifiable and there's some extremely interesting world building here.

We're talking Vampires of course, but for once they aren't the top of the food chain, it's the naturii (a hybrid of elves and faerie lore) that are the b...more

14 likes · like · see review

Jan 11, 2012 Sarah Jordan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Nightwalker was originally published in 2008, and I am very happy that there are several more books in the series, because this was a great read. The heroine/protagonist is Mira, a 600 year old vampire who is unique among humans and vampires because she can start and control fire. Mira is living in Savannah as Keeper of the City, a position she enjoys for the relative peace after centuries of politics and power struggles among the Ancients in the Old World. But the vampire hunter Danaus has arri...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Fangs for the Fantasy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Though this book was written in the first person, a style I really don't prefer for a story, it had a very large world. Drake takes care to include lycanthropes, vampires, witches/warlocks and the fae. The fae in this story are called the naturi and as a group from the antagonist, though they are split into several different clans like animal, and earth for instance. Nightwalker is essentially the story of an ongoing war between the fae and all other supernatural creatures. The fae have the abil...more Though this book was written in the first person, a style I really don't prefer for a story, it had a very large world. Drake takes care to include lycanthropes, vampires, witches/warlocks and the fae. The fae in this story are called the naturi and as a group from the antagonist, though they are split into several different clans like animal, and earth for instance. Nightwalker is essentially the story of an ongoing war between the fae and all other supernatural creatures. The fae have the ability to control lycanthropes essentially turning the into slaves and there goal is to open a door to a dimension that was previously sealed by the vampires. Their goal is to rule the earth and eradicate the Nightwalkers.

Mira is alone in her own kingdom ensuring that the vampires obey the rules and keeping peace between the vamps and the lycanthropes. She is 500 years old and is the oldest vampire in the Americas. What sets Mira apart from all the others is not only her age, but her ability to start a fire with her mind. As long as she can see someone, or an item for that matter, she has the ability to incinerate it. Mira is also one of the few nightwalkers to win her freedom from an ancient. Her fragile world is ripped asunder when a hunter named Dannus enters her territory killing vampires, and bringing the news that the Naturi are back.

Having once been captured and tortured by the Naturi, Mira suffers from PTSD. It manifests in things like night terrors. I think that this is key, because far too often in urban fantasy, characters suffer absolutely traumatic events and then walk away as though the event itself was as harmless as taking a nap. Drake does an excellent job of making the reader feel Mira's pain and her fear. There is no rising above to conquer the past, it is simply something that Mira must negotiate throughout the story.

We also have a budding romance between Dannus and Mira, though they have sworn to kill each other. At this point, we have no idea what Dannus is, though he belongs to a sect who have been studying the supernatural for centuries. Dannus was alive during the Roman Empire, and is even older than Mira. He is an extremely interesting character. Dannus begins the story seeing the world in a simple binary of Black and White having had much of life's path influenced by religious figures but once meeting Mira, he must consider that the world is filled with greys he had not previously considered. Their relationship suffers set backs of trust and respect is something that slowly earned rather than given. Unlike many authors, Drake avoids the whole love at first woo woo and takes the time to build a relationship.

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Oct 19, 2011 Sheyla rated it 3 of 5 stars

Mira is a Nightwalker, a 600 year old vampire who can manipulate fire. She is the Keeper of Savannah. She has made this city her home. She maintains the peace between other Nightwalkers and Lycanthropes. Much to her annoyance a slayer has been killing inside her keep. She meets the vampire hunter Danaus who surprisingly is not there to try to kill her but needs her help with a worse evil.
Her gift to her is a Naturi who helped tortured her years ago. Some of the torture remains a mystery to her....more

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Sep 19, 2011 Kate rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: supernatural, vampires

I really did not enjoy the first half of this book. The second half was decent, but more because I got used to the issues I had with the first half than because it was actually that much better.

The premise of the story sounds original, but replace naturi with fae and nightwalkers with vampires, and it's not particularly. The plot was actually reasonably interesting, but my interest in it was overwhelmed by other things annoying me.

First, Mira acted very young, which would be fine if she were no...more

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 13, 2011 Jen (Red Hot Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark-days, urban-fantasy

Jocelynn Drake has created a dark and fascinating new vampire world with this first installment in her Dark Days series. It features Mira, a 600 year old nightwalker. She is special among her people because she can wield fire and is impervious to its effects. She lives in Savannah and serves as the de facto head-vampire in the United States. As our book opens, there is a mysterious vampire hunter in her territory. She is fascinated by the man and finally meets up with him. She realizes that ther...more Jocelynn Drake has created a dark and fascinating new vampire world with this first installment in her Dark Days series. It features Mira, a 600 year old nightwalker. She is special among her people because she can wield fire and is impervious to its effects. She lives in Savannah and serves as the de facto head-vampire in the United States. As our book opens, there is a mysterious vampire hunter in her territory. She is fascinated by the man and finally meets up with him. She realizes that there is something unique and powerful within him. Danaus is not there to kill her, but instead is seeking her out to help deal with an even greater threat to humanity than the vampires.

There are two ancient forces once thought eradicated from the world: the naturi and the bori. And it looks like naturi, which are something like an evil version of the fae, are trying to make a comeback. Mira has stood against them once before and survived... though barely. So Danaus is hoping she can help stop the new threat. Together, they venture to the Old World, seeking ancient vampires to help with their cause.

The very best thing to me about this book are the two main characters. Mira is strong, sexy, and smart enough to know her place in the world. And Danaus is the perfect blend of smoldering power and mystery. The sexual tension between these two is off the charts. Every time they got close to each other, I gripped my book a little tighter, waiting to see if this would be the moment they would give in to temptation. Don't misunderstand. This isn't a romance novel. It's firmly Urban Fantasy, but what's going on between these two characters can't be ignored.

I also found myself very interested in the secondary characters. Jabari is an enigma, showing fatherly instincts one minute, passion the next, and then later cold calculation and fury. Who is he really? Then, there is fragile vampire Tristan, the self-serving warlock Ryan, and the evil naturi Rowe. Each was clearly fleshed out and left me wanting to know more about them.

The book's not perfect. There is a little too much exposition for my taste. I could do with fewer words to describe the setting and background. --Another small peeve was serious overuse of the word "angels" when Mira refers to her bodyguards. Yeah, I get the reference... Michael and Gabriel... but it just felt forced and the more often the word was used, the more it annoyed me.

Drake's not afraid to make bold choices with the course of events. There's a surprising death before the story is over --and there are other heartbreakers as the series progresses. But it says something about the author's abilities to draw me into the world, that the events weigh so much on me as they unfold. In all, it's a solid book and worth reading, because it kicks off a unique and powerful series. 4 stars.
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Dec 05, 2010 Robin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires

I was reluctant to read this at first because of the title. Since 'nightwalker' is another word for 'prostitute', I was worried it would be another porn novel by some middle-aged woman in America trying to make herself money. Turns out there wasn't all that much sex, which is good.

We are introduced to the main character, Myra, and her wierd power very early on. And there is no beating-about-the-bush about it either. She's a vampire that can make fire, which is pretty cool since they are mortal e...more

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Aug 29, 2010 Monica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

I recently got the fifth book in this series and decided I need to start from the beginning of the series in order to truly appreciate book five. So…that is why I started this book and I was very very glad that I did. This book has that kick-ass, high speed action, thrill-ride feel. I couldn’t put it down from page one. I was actually quite surprised and amazed at how much I enjoyed this book.

I enjoyed the characters of this book immensely. They are all very vibrant and the type of characters th...more

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Aug 22, 2010 Ann aka Iftcan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, magic, series-book, urban-fantasy, vampire, were-wolf

surprisingly good for a "first book of a series." As most people do, I tend to give a first book a good bit of lee-way, since the author always has so much world building to do, as well as introducing the main characters, having to have a plot etc. With this one Drake has done an excellent job. The world building isn't laid on quite as heavy as with some series, but it is still fairly heavy. There are twists upon twists upon twists. A bit of mystery to keep things interesting and a series of cha...more

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Aug 17, 2010 Tynga rated it 4 of 5 stars

Before getting to the core of my review, I think some definitions are required. All the quotes are from Jocelynn's website.

Nightwalkers: “Folklore has called them Nosferatu, Langsuir, Strigae, Upir, the undead, and finally, Vampire, but among their own kind, they are simply known as Nightwalkers. Humans by birth, nightwalkers are created when a nightwalker of significant age takes a human past the edge of death and brings him or her back with an infusion of nightwalker blood.

Nightwalkers are dep...more

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Dec 13, 2009 Kiki rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: readers who like having their guts ripped out of their noses

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I need to start by saying that the summary goodreads has supplied is the absolute worst one I've read. It's completely misleading and says nothing about what the novel is really about. Bad site, goodreads. No cookie.

I swear, reading this book almost killed me. I bawled non-stop through the last parts of it. It was one of those books in which the main character's lot in life is so miserable I can hardly stand to keep reading, but am so invested in that character that I can't stop.

I can't remember...more I need to start by saying that the summary goodreads has supplied is the absolute worst one I've read. It's completely misleading and says nothing about what the novel is really about. Bad site, goodreads. No cookie.

I swear, reading this book almost killed me. I bawled non-stop through the last parts of it. It was one of those books in which the main character's lot in life is so miserable I can hardly stand to keep reading, but am so invested in that character that I can't stop.

I can't remember another urban fantasy I've read in which the heroine starts out the novel as a six-hundred-year-old vampire with fully-formed powers. This is no ingenue who has no idea how powerful she really is. In fact, by the end of the book, Mira realizes how helpless, how powerless, how out of control of her own fate she really is. Mira's relationship with Jabari was brutal to read. I love student-mentor relationships, and to watch that break down really hurt. I loved her with Michael, and even though I know Danaus is her intended love interest, it still sucked to find out that all was not as it seemed with Michael, and of course he can't stay, because he'll always be in her way (hahaha).

All of that said, there were certainly some novice mistakes. As other reviewers have mentioned, there were repetitious phrases, as well as some icky sentence construction and tired cliches. On the other hand, there were some absolutely beautiful passages. One chapter ended on a rhyming couplet, my all-time favorite poetic device, that actually made me tear up (because I am such a sucker sometimes).

Predictions for the next novel in the series (though I need to take an emotional break before starting it): Mira and Danaus are both descended from Naturi (an easy one, I know), and therefore, it is not the natural order of things for them to kill each other. Jabari will bite it (yay!) and Gabriel's the traitor (boo!), because he's in love with Mira and has been manipulated into thinking they'll be together in the new world order.

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Nov 26, 2009 Ailsa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I’ve lent my copy of Nightwalker to a friend at the moment, so I hope this review is still ok!

Nightwalker begins with Mira stalking Danaus through Savana, her city. You see straight away how skilled a hunter she is, and her feisty personality come through very strongly. Very quickly, Mira is forced to postpone Danaus’s death and trust him as he shows her an enemy from her past who she thought was long dead. The feared Naturi are back. Mira and Danaus must head to Egypt to warn vampires & oth...more

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Jun 10, 2009 Jocelyn Zombie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, gave-up

All the bad things about Anne Rice without any of the lovely descriptive passages that make her work worth reading. The whole book was introduction of new character after introduction of new character, with nothing really happening until the last 20 pages. In addition, the fight scenes were weak - no one did anything that would actually harm another person physically aside from magic (and the majority of the fighting was hand-to-hand or hand-to-sharp-object). At one point, the heroine protects s...more

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May 20, 2009 Jacqie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I dip into urban fantasy here and there and definitely have my favorites: Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Kim Harrison. Recently discovered Jeaniene Frost. So I'm always looking for another good author in that genre-God knows there are enough bad ones.
I may have jumped too quickly with this author- I saw her second book and ended up buying that one and her first one too- Nightwalker. That'll teach me to buy two books in a series without having read the first one.

Not that this is a horrible book. Dr...more

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May 07, 2009 Brooke rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mira is unique among her fellow vampire Nightwalkers, because she has the ability to control the element of fire. The Naturi, are an ancient race, and are an enemy of humans and vampires that have come back to finish what they started centuries ago, which is making the human and vampire races extinct. Danaus, a vampire-hunter, shows up in Mira's sector in an attempt to get her help in stopping the Naturi. The first time Mira went up against the Naturi is a memory that has been locked away inside...more

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Apr 15, 2009 Sabrina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-series

This book was given to me while I was bored at work, looking for something to read while I sat on the phone all day. With that said, I'm just glad I didn't spend any money on it.

This is the point where you ask, "Why, Sabrina... you sound bitter, as if you didn't really like this book at all. Why on Earth did you give it three stars?"

Well, dear... I gave it three stars, because yes, I did like it. I wouldn't have kept reading the thing every day had I thought it was boring. But like most of the o...more

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Feb 07, 2009 Rhianna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Nightwalker, the first Dark Days series novel, is the debut of author Jocelynn Drake. With acknowledgements to Kim Harrison and Rachel Vincent it should be no surprise that this book falls into the vein of such juicy paranormal fantasy fare of Harrison's Hollows series and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake.

The dark days are coming and Mira is the kick-butt heroine taking on the world. A vampire enforcer, the guardian of her U.S. domain, she is the one the nightwalkers call the Fire Starter. Ble...more Nightwalker, the first Dark Days series novel, is the debut of author Jocelynn Drake. With acknowledgements to Kim Harrison and Rachel Vincent it should be no surprise that this book falls into the vein of such juicy paranormal fantasy fare of Harrison's Hollows series and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake.

The dark days are coming and Mira is the kick-butt heroine taking on the world. A vampire enforcer, the guardian of her U.S. domain, she is the one the nightwalkers call the Fire Starter. Blessed with the gift of controlling fire before she was turned she retains this ability and won't hesitate to use it to protect the secret that is the world of the nightwalkers. When a hunter called Danaus comes into her territory seeking her she's quick to seek him out for a confrontation.

Danaus brings with him news of the naturi, an elfin race that wish to wipe both nightwalkers and humans from the face of the earth. Five centuries ago the naturi were locked away on another plane of existence by the vampires and those left behind are trying to break the seal that binds them. Mira and Danaus must join forces if they are going to save the world from destruction at the hands of the naturi. Their adventure takes them to Egypt and Britain, meeting up with members of Themis (the group Danaus is part of) and the Coven (the vampire heirarchy). With lots of action and suspense expect to be sucked into the world of the nightwalkers and dragged along for a bumpy ride!

While Drake makes some annoying first time author mistakes (ie. repetitive comments) she has done a great job of reviving the tough-as-nails heroine. Mira is no wilting flower or gushing romance-stricken maiden. She can dish out a butt-kicking and take one in return. While she has obvious attractions and sensuality she puts her duties first. If you're looking for a paranormal romance this isn't it. I felt the story dragged a little at times and far too many side characters were introduced and then never mentioned again. But overall I loved Mira because she is what Anita Blake once was and Rachel Morgan might have been. If you're a fan of either series you will most likely enjoy this one enough to be interested in further installments--I sure am! (less)

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May 19, 2013 Teri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

This book is everything I want in urban fantasy and I think all fans of the genre would like it. There's:

- A great heroine: While at the beginning I didn't like Mira very much, her voice really won me over. She really does act like she's half a century old - and that includes cynicism, but also she's really smart, knows how to navigate the politics of her world and is comfortable with who she is. She doesn't jump to conclusions, but instead thinks really logically, she isn't judgmental but accep...more

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About Jocelynn Drake

The oldest of three kids, Jocelynn grew up and continues to reside in the Cincinnati, Ohio region. She started writing when she was 12, spending all of one summer re-writing the story of Robin Hood in the battered remains of a notebooks. While life has brought many changes and surprises, the love of writing and a good story has been constant. When not writing, she can been found with her nose buri...more

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“I wished for my fairy godmother, the good witch of the north, or some other bitch with a wand.” — 96 people liked it

“You're not the only one who wants my head on a pike at the moment. Take a number and get in line.” — 35 people liked it

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Nightwalker (Dark Days #1)

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