Pray for Dawn

Dark Days #4

by Jocelynn Drake

Pray for salvation . . .

Pray for daylight . . .

Murder has pulled Mira out of the shadows and back into the living world . . .

As the fire-wielding enforcer of the nightwalker coven wrestles with the mind-destroying ghosts of her dark past, the slaying of a senator's daughter in Savannah threatens to expose her kind to the brilliant light of day. The dawn of chaos has come. The naturi have broken free of their eternal prison to feed on the defenseless and unbelieving of an unprepared Earth.

Mira and Danaus--vampire and vampire slayer--must unite to prevent the annihilation of their separate races. But for Danaus the challenge is intensified, for he must also fight the bori who covets his soul. And Mira, the nightwalker he must protect--whose power is the Earth's last hope--is rapidly going insane.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Fiction

367 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 22, 2010

About the author

New York Times Bestselling author Jocelynn Drake loves a good story, whether she is reading it or writing one of her own. Over the years, her stories have allowed her to explore space, talk to dragons, dodge bullets with assassins, hang with vampires, and fall in love again and again.

This former Kentucky girl has moved up, down, and across the U.S. with her husband. Recently, they’ve settled near the Rockies.

When she is not hammering away at her keyboard or curled up with a book, she can be
walking her dog Ace, or playing video games. She loves Bruce Wayne, Ezio Auditore, travel, tattoos, explosions, and fast cars.

She is the author of the urban fantasy books: The Dark Days series and the Asylum Tales. For gay romance, she has completed The Exit Strategy and Shadow Elite series, and is now working on a spin-off of her MM paranormal series, Lords of Discord. She has also co-authored with Rinda Elliot the following series: Unbreakable Bonds, Ward Security, Pineapple Grove, the Weavers Circle. In addition, she has co-authored with AJ Sherwood the following series: Scales 'N' Spell and Wings 'N' Wands. She can be found at JocelynnDrake.com.

Reviews

[Monty Cupcake ☠ Queen of Bloodshed ☠ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is all from Danaus' POV and it makes him unlikeable. He seems the strong, silent type in the other books. In this one he just seems naive, slow on the uptake, and super judgey. Not a fan of this book at all. I didn't think it was action packed like the other books either.

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books but if Mira and Danaus don't at least kiss in this one it may be too much for me to take! The progression of their relationship is at the perfect point to finally explore it...at least a teeny tiny bit, in my opinion.
EDIT FOR REVIEW:
WOW! This was a fun tense ride of destruction, death and madness, (with a bit of softness thrown in), but I am starting to think the only way this can end is for everyone to die! No I don’t hope that will happen, but poor Mira and Danaus cannot ever catch a break, and I doubt it will let up anytime soon!
Danaus POV is great insight into the normally reserved man, where we finally learn he has an ever growing soft spot for Mira, whether he likes it or not. (All I have to say is…Kissing, and touching!) We also learn a bit more about the man himself, and how he came to be the huge anger-ball we all know and love.
We do end with a major cliffhanger that leaves us biting our nails with worry, while scratching our heads saying,”WTF just happened?” Thank goodness, we only have to wait less than a month for the next book Wait for Dusk.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

And this is where the series lost me. The POV switches from Mira, the firestarting-vampire-bad ass heroine, to Danaus, the ancient warrior of relatively few words looking for redemption. In all fairness, I read plenty of other series where the POV changes as the protagonist changes. I don't mind that. Most of them however, change with each book.

But with three novels of this series already under my belt, I was used to Mira's POV. I had developed my own relationship, if that's not too strong a word, with Danaus based on what I had seen through Mira. Now I find myself in Danaus's head, his thoughts, and realize I really don't like him quite as much now as I did looking at him through Mira's eyes. Moreover, I've lost my connection with Mira now that I'm watching her from a distance.

Perhaps if the author had chosen to write the book from an omniscient POV I might have stayed along for the ride. But she lost me. I won't be reading the rest of the series to find out how Drake wraps things up.

[Karen Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my least favorite of the Dark Days series, but still necessary to read if you are interested in the series itself. Ah, Danaus. Somehow, Mira's point of view made even his grunts seem intelligent. This book, unfortunately, is from his point of view, and he comes across as dense, dim witted, and even occasionally stupid.

For example in the first chapter Danaus is back to chasing down vampires and he meets up with a young one. Their fight is interrupted by three naturi and the vampire prepares to flee when Danaus notes that an energy flows toward the vampire who then appears "as if consciousness has been ripped from his grasp." He also notes that the vampire's eyes turn red, then watches as the vampire easily dispatches two of the naturi. However, none of this seems to sink in. Danaus insists this is a young vampire and nothing else, while I'm trying to figure out how he could possibly think he's facing the same entity.

Other times Danaus (actually, the author)repeats explanations already given or just makes rather stupid comments, such as "It was far too rare that I used my unique ability" when he had used it almost every day at that point, was having more difficulty controlling it, and still had made no connection between this difficulty and the bori. All of which adds to the impression he's not the sharpest tool. In fact, between this and the ugly artwork, he seems more caveman than Roman.

[Rashika (is tired) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things that didn't work (but even if they had this book wouldn't have gotten a higher rating... because in spite of these things I managed to enjoy the book.. or I am just being generous)

-1st POV. It didn't suit Danaus at all. It made him sounds just like Mira. His thoughts were clearly not 'Mira', but his voice sure as hell was.

-The kid angle. Now usually, I don't mind the kid angles in adults, so long as they are done right, which wasn't the case for this book. It was too rushed and I don't understand how a kid can feel so close to someone within a day when she is used to being on her own.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! Ms. Drake has outdone herself this time. I'm a fan of this series from the start and after reading each book, I cant wait to read the next, but after reading this book, I'm left BEGGING for the next. Wait for Duck cannot could out fast enough. I thought no other book would have a cliff hanger like Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning had, but Pray For Dawn did. July 27th, can't come fast enough!

If your a fan of this series, you must know how alluring this series can be. Mira is an amazing female vampire and Danaus is a powerful male who is only about half human, and the rest...well, it's a secret for those who haven't' read the series!
But what I loved most about this book is that we got to walk in Danaus's shoes. I didn't expect we would never have a full story through Danaus's perspective and first POV, but we get it in this book, and it's well worth the wait.
Danaus is a trouble character, and I never new how to take him when it came to Mira. I knew I had feelings for her, but I wanted to know which kind exactly. Although, he doesn't pour his feelings out exactly, he does open up more than ever..Even if it's just to himself. What was odd, was seeing Mira from someone else's perspective. She was different. Not bad, different, just different. I seen her more as a female, and less of a vampire. Just as Danaus starts to. And we get to see her fights and actions in a new light. I liked the change, and I also can't wait to be back in Mira's head and see Danaus's facial expressions being decribed again. I sort of missed how she takes everything he does into consideration and we get to read of it.

Danaus and Mira have been a favorite duo of mine for a while now. They have been building their relationship through each book, and I'm so happy what came of them. If you read these books, then you know what I'm talking about. They are an original pair, who will take over your thoughts, even days after reading about them. Danaus and Mira master the 'Love/Hate' phrase, and Ms. drake masters the vampire genre! She is one of my favorite authors and I will be first in line on the 27th for Wait for Dusk. You better not get in my way! ;P

[Kelsen Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

We finally have Danaus' POV. As a male reader I was looking forward to this. When it finally arrived, I must say I was a little let down. The fights are great in their realism. Danaus is not indescrubtible. But compared to the earlier books, I was expecting him to be much more confident and skilled. Mira respects him, through her eyes he has been portrayed as this unstoppable force of honor. Once we are in his mindset, he is plagued with insecurities. The one's about his role and Mira's relationship we expected and wanted to see. I applauded how he was being introduced to the vampire world, but his readily acceptance of anything Mira planned was stretching it a little. But the sexual tension between them, the chemistry was perfect as always. Her betrayal of Danaus with Ryan I found just cruel though.

As always the writing was superb and the plot moved and flowed. The precense of the hidden Naturi in the Conservatory was never really explained to any satisfaction though. They seemed to be there seeking asylum and no one even listened to their words. The bori was a heart clenching plot twist and added more questions. Danaus not having any defense against it or especially Mira seemed a bit too much. I see the need to have an adversary they couldn't handle alone, but Mira always being the puppet others can control borders on just being disrepectful to the character for me. Its the same plot use over and over. Everyone new can just reach in and control her. It's making the bond with her and Danaus less special each time.

[Kira · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was kind of weird. The POV suddenly switches from Mira to Danaus. It was odd to suddenly do that on the fourth book in the series. I don't think it was necessary either. I didn't gain any deep insight into Danaus from having his POV. I didn't like the characters as much from Danaus's POV.

[Lillie Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've rated this book with a 5, it should be a 10.

Mira, Nightwalker, Keeper of her domain, Coven member, Fire Starter.... She's one of the most powerful creatures to have ever strolled upon the face of the Earth and she's is slowly losing her mind. What happens when one so powerful can no longer be trusted? What happens to her world and those who existence in it? What happens to the soul of this being?

Mira is haunted by her past... the ghosts of those she couldn't protect, the ghosts of her tormentors, the ghost of a life she once knew. She's lost and only one person can save her, bring her back to her reality. But does she want to exist in the life she had been forced into more than 600 years ago? Is her time on Earth spent?

Ryan, warlock and leader of Themis, wants her to believe he is the all powerful force that can save her. He wants her to become his instrument, to be played and used according to his sick desires. Another person to pull her strings.

Jabari, her one time mentor, wants Mira to play the role of Coven member, enforcer, his weapon to wield. He can force himself upon her, but when will he do so, because it's only a matter of time. Just another puppet master.

LaVina, the witch, sees a great presence with the soul of Mira, is she another who is going to try to steal a piece of this weary Nightwalker's soul? Another string puller?

Gaizka, bori fae, also wants a piece of the Nightwalker. Does she have the strength to deny him? The bori are the ultimate master of the vampire, will she be his marionette as well?

Danaus, vampire hunter and the last person on Earth who should be her savior, is her last hope. When Danaus and Mira combine their powers, their foes don't stand a chance. He doesn't want to be the puller of Mira's strings, though he has with devastating results. But, the bori already owns a piece of his soul. He can either be her protector or her murderer.

Danaus has lost the faith he once had in the brotherhood contained within Themis, he's come to realize through Mira that not all nightwalkers are the evil beings that brotherhood has made them out to be. They're basically the same as everyone else, the good and the bad. This means the last few centuries of his life have been a lie. And Mira has become more than just another nightwalker. She's become a friend, family, maybe even a lover. Can he destroy the last piece of humanity who has the ability to touch his own tortured soul?

Pray for Dawn by Jocelynn Drake is the story of what happens to a vampire who meets her ultimate creator. Not the creator that forced her into the vampiric existence, but the ultimate maker of all the vampires, one who can control their bodies while the soul screams for release. And this is where the next addition to the Dark Day Series takes our story. Mira, 600+ year old vampire, different from any other vampire ever born, is having her sanity slowly striped away. The Naturi, Earth fae, are wreaking havoc where ever they go. Though they're a nasty lot, Mira and Danaus can make short work of them if they have to. What scares Mira is her inability to sense them and for that she needs Danaus. What she doesn't know is there's something scarier than the Naturi could ever be and it's trying to make it's home in her Savannah. It will and has killed, and it will continue to kill unless Danaus and Mira can seal it away, and it's going to start with anyone and everyone important in Mira's life. Danaus has come to see Mira as part of his life, once he swore to kill her, now he wants to just keep her, hold onto her last piece of humanity, the last shred of evidence that he can and does love. And he may be forced to kill what has become dear.

Pray for Dawn is one of the best of this series I have read. I have enjoyed each and every one of the books so far, but Pray for Dawn surpassed my expectations, leaving me to hang upon the last word of the last page of the book. I have always praised Ms. Drake for her imagination, her world building skills, and her ability to weave this dark urban fantasy into twisting, turning tale. But, in this book, it's all starting to come together, and it's spectacular. I'm left almost speechless, yes, Pray for Dawn was that good. While I was reading, I kept coming up with scenarios that would save Mira and Danaus, my mind working overtime trying to capture the ending (and remember, I've already read the blurb for Wait for Dusk), and it caught me by surprise. I never saw it coming until it hit me between the eyes. If you haven't tried the Dark Days Series, and you're a lover of dark urban fantasy (and I'm hoping major romance comes into play cause otherwise, I might go insane myself), give this series a try. I loved, loved, loved Nightwalker (2008), I loved the additions of book 2 & 3 (Dayhunter and Dawnbreaker 2009), and now, we have Pray for Dawn and shortly, Wait for Dusk, and I'm still so engaged with the series, it just gets better and better. I highly recommend this series to dark urban fantasy lovers, vampire, fae, vampire hunter lovers, it doesn't get much better.

I purchase this book for my own enjoyment. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

*******Book 4 in the Series - Series Spoiler Alert*******

Pray for Dawn offers us, Drake's loyal "Dark Days" fans with a delish treat, Danaus' POV! Danaus has spent nearly all of his 1866 years hunting down vampires, his half-breed ancestry making him nearly as fast and as strong as those he fights. Since meeting Mira, the 600 year old fire-wielding vampire, he's troubled by the realization that not all vampires are "mindless killing, feeding machines". He never expected to find a vampire that "not only cared about other creatures, but that also had a sense of honor and responsibility".

Danaus has also begun to question whether Themis is still the place for him. He questions Ryan's motives and begins to wonder what the warlock really has planned.

He's been fighting in Europe for the past three months and now Ryan wants him to head to Savannah, Mira's domain, to investigate the suspicious murder of a young girl that has sparked world media attention.

Together again, they battle the naturi that have moved into Savannah. But, now they also have to fight against the threat of the bori.

"The bori were called the guardians of the soul, while the naturi were the guardians of the earth. The two races had been born to create balance on the Earth, but from what {Danaus} understood, the two seemed to be locked in a permanent power struggle over who truly ruled the Earth. Centuries ago, the bori and the naturi were imprisoned in separate, alternate realities. For the most part, the naturi had succeed in escaping from their cage this past fall..."

** I enjoyed the were bits and hope that we will have more of Barrett and Nicolai in the next book.

OMG Moments:
"...her hand slid down my face to rest on my chest over my heart. Reaching up, I covered her hand with mine and gave it a little squeeze, needing to hold on to that moment just another second longer. If anyone knew what it meant to be alone and an outcast, it was Mira. She was my enemy. She was my friend. She was the only one who would understand that chasm of emptiness that threatened to consume me each night when I awoke. Hunting her kind was all that I had to keep me sane through the endless years. But standing there, holding her hand, I knew that those days were slipping from my grasp. The time was coming when I would have to choose between killing her or facing the life that she was offering me."

This book was filled to the BRIM with action, sexual tension (which we all know Jocelynn Drake does well), and a sneak peek inside the heart and mind of Danaus. This is one of my favorite UFs this year. I am SO happy that we don't have to wait long for the next book. I hope that it isn't long before we are served another delicious "Dark Days" from Danaus' POV. It was a most welcomed twist to the story of these two who were once enemies, say they still are, but have a connection that is felt even after the book closes. LOVE IT!

[Jen Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jocelynn Drake really shakes things up with the fourth installment in the Dark Days series, by changing the first person narrative from vampire Mira to vampire-hunter Danaus. I have to say, I loved it. Having Danaus tell the story, allowed us to finally find out what's going on inside the stoic warrior and it helped heighten the tension and mystery of the storyline.

Our story begins with Danaus fighting vamps and the naturi solo in Europe. But for the first time, he comes face-to-face with the entity that controls part of his soul. That bori now wants to cash in on his investment in Danaus by inhabiting his body fully. Of course, Danaus is not on board with the plan.

Themis summons him back to Savannah to help solve the mystery of a murdered senator's daughter. She was killed by some other-worldly creature. So he teams up with Mira to figure out who and what killed her --and why. In the course of the story, we see Mira start to fall apart. (And by that, I mean she goes bat-shit crazy.) Yet, in her moments of clarity, she is pulling Danaus more and more into her life. We finally get some movement on the chemistry between them. But due to Danaus' lingering reticence, they still don't seal the deal. (Grrr.) So Danaus must figure out what is wrong with Mira, while he slowly faces the truth about who killed the senator's daughter. Oh, and did I mention he sort of adopts a street kid in the middle of all this?

So, like I said, I loved finally hearing Danaus' voice in this story. I loved that he and Mira finally started moving towards each other. There were some hard knocks for Mira before the book came to a close. Namely, the street kid Lily is killed by poor Tristan... and Tristan is nearly killed by Danaus. Oh yeah, Mira's friend Emma is killed too. It really sucks to be Mira. I didn't see any of it coming and I'm sad and kind of pissed off to see Mira kicked in the teeth yet again. The book ends on a pretty substantial cliffhanger, so be prepared. Have Wait for Dusk on hand to start as soon as this one is finished. 4 stars.

P.S. I love this book cover.

[Kt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yesterday, Pray for Dawn by Jocelynn Drake was released, so of course I had to read it immediately even though I am in the middle of another series. This is the fourth book in her Nightwalker series. This series is about vampires who are called Nightwalkers, but also werewolves and witches. There also are two races called the Naturi and the Bori who are both intent on destroying man kind as well as the rest of the supernaturals. The books center around Mira and Danaus. Mira is a 600 year old nightwalker and also is a fire starter. Normal vampires are extremely flammable, so Mira is the only one of her kind. Danaus is a 2000 year old half human half well, something else that cannot be said without being a spoiler. He has spent his entire life hunting nightwalkers convinced they were the root of all evil. He tries to kill Mira and fails and because of extenuating circumstances must join with Mira to battle the Naturi. As the books progress their fragile truce starts to develop into something more as the two fall for each other but both refuse to admit it. Pray for Dawn is told from Danaus' prospective. At first I was a little gun shy about the perspective change from Mira to Danaus. However, after reading it, I am really glad to have gotten a chance to see how he thinks. This book shows who he is at the core and made me understand his hesitation towards Mira a little better. The sexual tension between the two is amazing. This book also lived up to it predecessors in the fact that Mira is always going to find herself in the middle of major trouble. She wins and loses, but the question is how much can she lose before it becomes too much and she snaps? The book ends on a major cliffhanger that really left me wanting more, but the fifth book is being released next month, so it isn't too long of wait.. but..

[Suspense Magazine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take Mira, a vampire who is a fire starter and
Danaus, a half human and half vampire, but a vampire hunter nonetheless, put them together as some odd duo and you have the beginnings of a fantastic story!

From vampires, to lycanthropes, necromancers, werewolves, bori and countless other “beings”—including some old…old witch—this story keeps you captivated from the first word to the bitter end.

With situations and characters too numerous and bizarre to mention, Mira and Danaus—along with others—must save the city of Savannah from being taken over by bori, creatures that survive by taking the soul-energy of those who are killed. The bori wish to “help” the coven and others to be saved from the naturi, little creatures who are the size of children with long, sharp teeth and claws.

Without knowing exactly how to explain things—this is my very first vampire book that I enjoyed—I can only say it was awesome…something I never thought I’d say. Each time I turned the page, I found myself enthralled in the moment all the while anticipating what the next page would bring me. It was like a drug; I couldn’t get enough! Each time I thought Drake had taken me to the highest rung possible, the very next page found me going yet another rung higher making me even more excited as I read on.

I don’t want to ruin the end for anyone, but I will say one thing…I hope there’s another that continues from the end of this one. Until reading Jocelynn Drake I had absolutely no desire to read a book about vampires. Now that I have, I’m so happy I did. I don’t know if what I read is what all vampires are about or how they act; I only know that I loved this book! Go out and get yourself a copy, you’ll be riveted.

www.suspensemagazine.com

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dark Days series follows each book closely in it's time-line, because of this I recommend that a reader start with the first book in this series Nightwalker so you don't miss out on the terrific buildup that happens with each book.

Pray for Dawn takes up few months after the ending of Dawnbreaker and is told from Danaus's point of view. It was refreshing to see things through his eyes and get his take on what's been happening between him and Mira. Like the previous books, Pray for Dawn was full nonstop action and the mystery surrounding who Mira is or will be, has only been intensified.

There is one word that comes to mind when I think of this book, tension. There is so much tension and many tense moments that outcome makes you feel like you were snapped with a rubber band. Yeah, it's that surprising and intense. The ante was definitely raised in the overall story arc of this series and ending left me dying for next book Wait for Dusk.

[Jeanny · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.0 out of 5 stars Oh SHUT IT already Danaus., February 9, 2011

Danaus Danaus and more Danaus makes this book painful to complete. However being a BIG fan of this series I suffered thro it.
First the obvious diffrence between Books 1-3.
In this volume Danaus' thoughts, emotions and point of view take center stage. Danus came across as a whiny bipolar child.I had a difficult time imagining an alpha male, a hero. Instead he came across as living in a bubble of his making. An altrernate reality. He seemed to question everything he saw and felt. He was unrealistic, selfish with information and the "mystery" was solved early on. He knows who the "killer" is. The killer announces to Danaus exactly how he will hurt him due to his not agreeing to join. Yet this book unfolds as if there was some kind of mystery. Why investigate when you can use that time and effort to figure out how to destroy your evil nemesis?! Hopefully come book 5 Mira will take center stage again. Needless to say i developed a major dislike for this 1/2 Bori 1/2 Human. IMO Danaus is all liabiliy and dead weight.

From begining to end while reading this book one feeling continued to pop... "GET ME OUT OF THIS MAN'S HEAD!"

[Alina · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it was a nice change to read the things from Danaus perspective, the overall novel still had the same faults I already mentioned in my last reviews. No closed plot and new secondary characters that were only there for a few pages but for those, we treated as if they'd always been one of the more important ones. I mean, take for instance the girl they pick up. Mira only knows her for one night and already thinks of basically adopting her, thinking of her as her surrogate daughter. Come on! And on the other hand, the relationship between her and Danaus is one of the slowest I have read so far, yet the way it is developed also doesn't really give the characters much space to grow into it.
I just feel like the overall development of the plot-parts really shows the weakness of the novels and the lack of ability of the author. I do like the overall plot idea but I think it would have been much better to create one longer, but awesome book instead of a drawn out series of 6 books.

Now it's only to more to go and then I'm finally done. I do want to see how it all ends.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this 4th installment in the Dark Days series, the POV switches from Mira to Danaus, which took some getting used to at first (especially since I happen to think Mira is the much more interesting character out of the two). Despite that, I quickly got sucked back into the story, which continues with the fast pace and lots of action and magic. Thanks to the (eeevil) cliffhanger ending, it definitely won't be long until I pick up the next book! One thing I didn't like was that Lily was killed off at the end - I really liked her and would have loved to see her story continue...

[Gardavson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't love that this was done in Danaus' POV. It was ok at first, but I was used to the characters as they were. You kinda need to be Mira to understand and like Mira. And I preferred Danaus' character from the outside. For someone old and strong, he's kinda wishy washy in his thoughts. I prefer my men strong in mind and body. He seemed kinda...normal. If I wanted a normal hero, I'd read contemporary. But that's me. Otherwise, the book was good. It just took a bit getting used to reading about the storyline from someone elses POV.

[Stefanie S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finsihed the 3rd book of this series and I am already 100 pages in the fourth book. The suspence bewteen the two main characters is choking the life out of me. IF something doesnt happen soon I'm goin to scream. LOL

[Mary Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been great

This installment was my least favorite and it wasn't because it was from Danaus' point of view. That was actually one of my favorite parts of the story. It suffered from many issues. First, it's cover was awful. I spent the entire book seeing our guy with this ugly wig on his head due to that atrocious thing on the head of the cover guy. It's amazing how much cover artwork influences our visualization during reading. Next we had characters in almost every scene pushing their fingers through their hair. It's nice once or twice, but it was non stop this story! Now we are on to the fifth book and still no sex or relationship between these two. All those co stand, she's a killer blah, blah every time they could have was such a fake plot point it was ridiculous. Is this guy really this stupid? Seriously, he knows her by now. This was obviously a plot point to keep them apart a little longer and it's gotten tiresome. I could have understood it half the book, but even by the end he is still barely accepting her as not an evil thing. I like slow burn, but this is just getting ridiculous and truth, I really would have loved to see these two characters come together from his poi t of view, then maybe picked up the next book with her remembering it from her point of view. That would have been wonderful, but instead nothing happens on that front and it ends on a cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers and if the series wasn't competed, I would not have been a happy camper. I hated the character that got killed off. That was a great character and added real heart to the story instead of our constant bombardment by evil or at least morally ambiguous characters that fill this series. They again spent most of the book bumbling around not being honest with each other and putting themselves in great danger because of it and really it made no sense to keep the secrets they were keeping. It was just an author creating drama in a way that disingenuous and not well done. In the end, there were some great moment. Loved the First Communion and that scene of those two. It was the best real honest and emotionally charged scene of the book. Too bad we didn't get more of those. Well, we got one and he was just ugly to stop it. Come on already. This is just too long to drag it out. Ha e neither of them once thought that his blood in her and them coming together might not make them both powerhouses that can take on all that confronts them? Nope, they just stumble around avoiding intimacy. Yep, you can say this is really start I g to irritate me. Well, it started last book, but this one took the cake. Ridiculous. You need to read this book as it does show the lo g drawn out right for Danauses body, but if it weren't for that, I would say pass it by.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read a new installment in the Dark Days series I can't help but wonder how much more can the main character, Mira endure? Yet, @Pray for Dawn " is the first book in the series written from Danaus' perspective. We get an insider's view of how the vampire hunter feels about his life as well as his history.

After all of the games the warlock, Ryan had played both Danaus and James begins to question their future with Themis. However, for now they continue to work as instructed. Yet, Danaus is aware that something is wrong with Mira. She is now awake during the day and temporarily unable to use her fire abilities.

Danaus has bigger issues at hand. It seems that with the nature broke the seal, they were not the only ines who invaded our world. A bori escaped and he wants Danaus in the worse way. As he increases in power and influence there is a very real threat that the Great Awakening will happen sooner versus later when a conservative senator's daughter is killed.

Once again I enjoyed this read and the cliffhanger ending was a doozy. I have some questions that I can't ask without revealing spoilers and I won't do that. However there is one comment I have to make, why did they put the model on the cover in that god awful wig? I have never seen a wig that looked more like a wig than this one. Hasn't anyone heard of photo shop? If you haven't read this series you are in for a treat! Put it on your "To Read" list.

[Kat Mandu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kat Mandu says...

One of many things Jocelynn Drake is good at is the ability to leave you craving more. Pray for Dawn is no exception to this and with every page, I find myself rooting for Mira and her ragtag group of supernatural creatures as they face down their worst enemies – and each other.

I think Drake loves to torture us as we eagerly await the time when Danaus and Mira finally have sex. She’s hinted at the idea many times, and although she’s given us several romantic scenes with other characters, I’m really begging for these two to shack up at last. There are so many moments that I think, “oh…oh, I bet they’re gonna do it,” and then I just get my hopes up. This is the most complicated relationship I’ve ever rooted for, I swear. But since I know Danaus becomes her consort, it implies some sexy times upcoming. I really enjoy this kind of romance blended in with the fantasy genre.

Also, I love how much Danaus gets beat up. Man, the author really beats the shit out of this guy. I feel like even though Mira gets beat up a lot, she takes more emotional damage than Danaus, so it puts her in this weird category in my head that’s different from Danaus getting stabbed multiple times and shot with poison arrows. Being “slightly” human has its disadvantages.

But being slightly human also delivers you some fun times. We finally get to see more into what’s happening inside Danaus’s head and are introduced to Gaizka. I’m not sure how you would pronounce that – but I love how he appears as an angel. I’ve always thought it was cool that the author has fairies being evil but now you have a bit of a twist as the bori enter the picture and more angels, demons, and gods will enter the picture. It makes me very excited how lush and full this world is.

The only thing I’d have to say negatively about this book was my mixed thoughts on the ending. It wasn’t so much that bad things happened (with Lily, Tristan, LaVina, etc.) but I kind of had to reread the action scene a few times to completely understand what was going on. There was a lot to take in and I was losing track of who killed who and what was happening sometimes. But I loved the cliffhanger.

This gets another five stars from me.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seriously? Two more big bads? And this time the book is not done in Mira's POV, it's done in Danaus'. I'm not sure how I liked that, simply because each character acted completely out of their norm. In the beginning what happens between Danaus and Mira is really off. Mira has just never thrown herself at him like that, and then the shit with Ryan.. Meh it ends up being a open ended SL.

I felt like this book was wrote by a completely different author or she was drunker the Cooter Brown the entire time she wrote the book.

Yes the relationship "kinda" moved forward. And I say kinda in so much as their was awkward heavy petting scenes to where Danaus was pretty much a twat waffle right after kissing and hugging. But at least we now know they really do both care about each other and are pretty much in love, without actually saying the big L word.

And I gotta say, my heart hurt at the end. Not only do we lose someone I was growing fond of, but the book ends with another big bad having a hold of Mira. -_-

For those reasons it still hasn't reached 4 start status. This series and author frustrates the hell outta me, but I'm still reading. Bully for you Ms. Drake.

[Lexicon Aficionado · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know that people didn’t like that this book is in Danaus’ POV but I thought it it refreshing to be able to view Mira from another perspective. We don’t often get that opportunity when a whole series is written in the main character’s POV. It is also nice to get a glimpse into Danaus’ thoughts and understand what drives him.

Plot-wise, this is an engaging progression to the story but i am really tired of the blows that Mira has to take. It’s like she can’t catch a break. I cut off one star for the unnecessary loss of life at the end. The author doesn’t seem to put much value into preserving the lives of the secondary characters, especially after endearing them to the reader.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved getting inside Danaus’ brain!!!

This is the fourth of the series so my best piece of advice for anyone reading reviews is to go to the beginning and start there. This series is excellent! It’s like a Jeaniene Frost, Kim Harrison or EARLY Laurell K. Hamilton. Fun, addictive, scary, and sensuous without delving into the grotesque. 💚

[Woolvegirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nach wie vor finde ich die Geschichte von Danaus und Mira und ihren Kampf gegen ihre ganz eigenen "Dämonen" sehr spannend. Dennoch mochte ich die anderen drei Bücher lieber, weil mir einfach die Erzählung aus Miras Perspektive wesentlich besser gefällt.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

see book #6

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My library doesn't have books 5 and 6 so I guess I'm just left off on one hell of a cliffhanger!

[Audrey Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this series was pretty interesting and original but it did seem to go on a little long. I enjoyed the whole series.

[Caroline Baxter · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the whole series and read several times