Dark Descendant

Nikki Glass #1

by Jenna Black

From the acclaimed author of the Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist books comes the gripping first novel in a new series about a private eye who discovers, to her surprise, that she’s an immortal huntress.

Nikki Glass can track down any man. But when her latest client turns out to be a true descendant of Hades, Nikki now discovers she can’t die. . . . Crazy as it sounds, Nikki’s manhunting skills are literally god-given. She’s a living, breathing descendant of Artemis who has stepped right into a trap set by the children of the gods. Nikki’s new “friends” include a descendant of Eros, who uses sex as a weapon; a descendant of Loki, whose tricks are no laughing matter; and a half-mad descendant of Kali who thinks she’s a spy. But most powerful of all are the Olympians, a rival clan of immortals seeking to destroy all Descendants who refuse to bow down to them. In the eternal battle of good god/bad god, Nikki would make a divine weapon. But if they think she’ll surrender without a fight, the gods must be crazy. . . .

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Mythology, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Adult, Supernatural

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 11, 2011

About the author

Jenna Black is your typical writer. Which means she's an "experience junkie." She got her BA in physical anthropology and French from Duke University.

Once upon a time, she dreamed she would be the next Jane Goodall, camping in the bush making fabulous discoveries about primate behavior. Then, during her senior year at Duke, she did some actual research in the field and made this shocking discovery: primates spend something like 80% of their time doing such exciting things as sleeping and eating.

Concluding that this discovery was her life's work in the field of primatology, she then moved on to such varied pastimes as grooming dogs and writing technical documentation. She writes paranormal romance for Tor and urban fantasy for Bantam Dell.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/jennab...

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid start with some intense characters and a fascinating world and mythology. I'll definitely be reading the next installment when it's released.

Nikki Glass is Black's smartest character yet. She's pragmatic and resourceful, and I just about cheered when she made choices that an intelligent person would make. Thank you for not making her too stupid to live, and for also not making her whiny, bratty, or a cliché. She doesn't trust people right away, she doesn't fall into bed with anyone, and after she ignores her gut instinct once and gets burned by it, she doesn't do it again. This chick learns. She's not just blindly running around and getting messed up in shit she can't handle. The shit comes to her unbidden and she deals.

This book isn't about vampires, werewolves, or demons; it's about the children of gods. That's right, multiple. Norse, Greek, Egyptian: so many different pantheons are represented and I wholly enjoyed this. I love it when beliefs twist and bend, but still manage to stay (somewhat) true to the original story. And a lot of these immortal children are fucked up and don't think like normal humans; which makes absolute sense. Sex, rape, torture, time, are all concepts that these characters either take for granted or embrace with vigor. Every single person in this series is just so grey, and you have to wonder exactly which side is the "right" one. I love it when things aren't so cut and dry, and you're left guessing about where things are going to end up.

This story had some actual shockers in terms of surprise reveals, and I have to say that these people have turned revenge into an art form.

Anderson, the leader of one of the factions, reminds me of Adam without the gay sex/bdsm, or better yet, The Erlking, with a slightly less malicious agenda. Take that as you will.

Even though I don't love every single one of Black's stories, I have to admit that I fly through them. Her style of writing is just so damn readable that I don't regret the time I spend with her books. To me, she's made up for the debacle that was the Morgan Kingsley series, and she's back to being an author I'll buy blindly. Hopefully this doesn't bite me in the ass.

My reviews of other Black books: Shadowspell, book two in her YA faerie series that The Erlking stars in, and the fourth and fifth books in Morgan's series, where Adam resides.

[Jilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty fresh story about a woman, Niki, who gets thrown into a world with demi-gods of mostly Greek mythology. But, there are others too, like Loki, who we know is a Norse god. So, if you are a purist, like a "Marvel & DC Comics characters may never mix", you might not like that. Or, if you are one of those people who can never allow their different foods to touch on a plate, this might drive you crazy. Personally, I'm okay with it. I don't care if my sweet potatoes touch my turkey during Thanksgiving dinner. Throw some gravy over the whole thing and I'll wolf it down in the name of thankfulness.


other than not being able to button my jeans...That's what yoga pants are for, right? Considering I've never done yoga in my life...

So, Niki is a private investigator who accidentally runs her boss over with her car and kills him. Yeah, "accidentally". I mean, who would purposely run over their boss? Surely no one I know...
(You know who you are!)


although some bosses deserve to be run over, backed up over, and run over again. Just sayin'

Luckily (or unluckily) for her, this means that her boss's immortality transfers to her and she is now immortal. Huh? Yeah, apparently he was some sort of demigod. (commence jokes on bosses thinking they are gods now) And, now she has found herself involved in a major god-war between two different demigod factions. How to choose? Does she choose the group that hates her and wants to kill her for killing their friend, her ex-boss? Or, does she choose the other group that wants to use her to help kill other people? Decisions, decisions. Which horrible scary group would be more fun at a company picnic, I wonder. That might as well be the deal-breaker or maker since they are all homicidal maniacs.


both teams want her for her sandwich making skills. Bitches make great sandwiches.

The thing I really liked about this book was that Niki was a really smart character. She carefully thought through all of her moves and didn't immediately jump on one side without all the facts. She did all of the things that one of us - normal people - would do in her situation. Also, she wasn't just suddenly all kick-ass when she got her super-power, and wasn't suddenly the most beautiful woman on earth. There weren't a bunch of guys in love with her, either. As a matter of fact, there was no romance, which was a nice change. Instead, we have a story where these crazy things happen and she does her best to figure out and adjust to the situation. It was also a good introduction to this world that I think will be very fun to read a series about.


and don't be hogging the hookah!

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 2 out of 5]

💀 DNF at 28%.

Time for an all-gif review! Yay! Because that's how much I don't give a fish care about this book! Yay!




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You're welcome!

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the boys in my class asked what I was reading. I explained I'd just finished a book so then I was asked to describe it. Difficult as the pupil is seven so it went something like:

There's a lady who is a detective, like a police man, she ends up discovering that her family are descended from Gods - like her great great great grandfather was a god. And there are bad people being mean to her new friends. Plus she has a sister who's in trouble. Was it good miss? Well, I couldn't put it down! But probably not really.

So there you are.

[Jeanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read audible version 6/16/16 3.5/4 stars
Pet peeve: what amounts to Rape as Blake's talent/power was disgusting & could be offensive:
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Kindle version read 4/16/13 *****5 stars

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Total brain candy.

[Melindeeloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

When PI Nikki Glass discovers that she's a descendant of the goddess Artemis, her introduction to the 'good' descendants of the old gods, and the bad Olympian descendant purists doesn't make her a fan of either faction. But as both groups grapple to get Nikki on their team, Nikki's going to have to choose sides, even if her choice is just the lesser of what may be two evils, or her loved ones will suffer the consequences.

Dark Descendants ended up being an interesting start to Black's newest series and in addition to the world inhabited by the great-great-great-grandchildren of the the gods of more than just the Olympian pantheon, part of what quickly won me over was that I really liked Nikki. She does have the prerequisite 'smart' mouth of a successful urban fantasy heroine, but she also has a very strongly developed sense of morality and is able to forgive those who do her wrong for misguided reasons - and she is even able to feel sympathy when karma catches up with the villains. Black also managed to deepen my interest in the supporting cast which included: a not always rational descendant of a death goddess, an Eros descendant who creepily wields sex as a weapon, and the leader of the 'good guys' who is something mysterious (and yay! we actually discover just what before the end of the book).

With Dark Descendant, Black has opened up a whole new world worthy of at least 3 books, and the next one, Deadly Descendant, is already in the pipeline - the rest, sadly, are not a sure thing, as Black's contract runs out after the next book.

ETA - there was a hiatus but book three did get released and the final book is also going to see the light of day.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am rereading this series since the final book has been released, which for a long time didn’t seem like it was ever going to happen. It wasn’t quite as good as I remembered it to be, but I still liked it. Even though I’ve read a lot of UF over the years, it stands out from other series because all of the supernatural people are descendants of Greek and Norse gods. A select few of their descendants are immortals called Liberi. Many of the them are power hungry bastards.

Nikki is a heroine I genuinely like which is a rarity in UF. She’s actually smart. After being thrust into the world of the Liberi, she’s cautious. Everyone either wants to use her or kill her, but she doesn’t blindly trust them. I love it that she stays level headed in tough situations. It’s refreshing to read about a heroine who doesn’t fly off the handle constantly and put herself in unnecessary danger. Her biggest fault is forgiving too easily, which definitely isn’t the worst fault to have.

The side characters needed more development. More was revealed about Anderson than any of the other side characters. He is interesting. Jamaal was a raging asshole. IDK why anyone treated him kindly. I really hate him. Maggie was nice, but beyond that nothing was known about her. Blake was an ass, but his actions were forgivable. The rest of the characters weren’t notable. The lack of character development wasn’t too aggravating because this was the introduction to this world and page time needed to be spent on other things.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

After an accident which at the very least should have left her hospitalised, Nikki Glass discovers that she is both immortal and descended from Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt. Unfortunately for her, she isn't the only one who has found out and two opposing groups of demigods want her in their camp –– and threatening her family is fair game if that's the only way they can control her.

Initially this book was a bit of a surprise. I didn't read the synopsis and after a few pages I'd decided it was another fairly typical werewolf story. No...this isn't about werewolves. It's actually pretty good. Good enough that I'll be ordering the next in the series.

If there is a downside, there is a strong undercurrent of violence in this book and violence for me is a trigger. Something I'm hyper-sensitive to. Even worse, that violence tends to be violence against a woman and it's quite in your face.

Honestly, it's a negative for me in an otherwise entertaining book.

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's quite fun. It requires little brain power and reads quickly. I kinda liked it though I'm not sure if I liked it enough to read sequels.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nikki is a descendant of Artemis and cannot in fact die. When she finds this out she gets ne "friends" who is also descendants of goods. From Eros, Loki and Kali. But the olympians is set on destoring them, but they haven't quite realised who they are dealing with and Nikki won't go down with out a fight. A quite the fun and entertaining first book in the series and I might continue on with the series. Didn't fall in love with the story or characters just yet but I enjoyed the concept.

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Greek mythology always fascinated me when I was a kid. Despite the fact that popular fiction will overdue any given trend, I have been interested in the recent flood of books that I've seen that feature Greek gods. So when I was conveniently sent a copy of "Dark Descendant" by Jenna Black, I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately the Greek myth that is supposed to be the backbone of this particular story isn't featured the way the back-of-the-book description (shown above) would have you believe.

Like most paranormal fiction "Dark Descendant" is told from a first-person perspective. Nikki Glass, our heroine, is a fairly common staple character in the paranormal genre in that she is a private investigator. The twist in this particular story is that she is a descendant of Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, which is supposed to make Nikki unusually good at her job-- so were frequently told. She is unwittingly pulled into the world of the Liberi Deorum, or "children of the gods" and the ongoing conflict between two groups of descendants.

Unfortunately I have more critiques of "Dark Descendant" than I do compliments. It is, like most books of its type, very readable, but it also has the most common flaw of lacking depth. Nikki is a likable enough character who, at first glance, has some decent character development. But the problem is that we're mostly told what kind of person Nikki is rather than shown. And we're told so often that Nikki is a good investigator or that she is a "bleeding heart" that it gets to the point where I wanted to yell at the pages I know, I know, I get it already. There are a couple of flashbacks that do a lot for establishing Nikki's character, but the overall trend was to let Nikki tell us in her first-person narrative who she was rather than let her actions do the talking for her.

But the biggest disappointment for me was the total lack of content concerning the gods the Liberi were supposed to be descended from. I was especially intrigued by the idea that the book wasn't only supposed to draw on the Greek gods, but instead include gods from all pantheons. I don't know much about Kali or Loki and I thought it would be fun to read about characters that drew from those mythologies-- except that "Dark Descendant" didn't include any mythology featuring those gods. At all. In fact there wasn't any mythology of any kind included in the book other than the notion that Zeus had a way with lightening bolts.

"Dark Descendant" was a frustrating book for me because there was really no back-story about Liberi Deorum. We're given a sketchy notion about the characters and what powers one or two of them have, but they are mostly outlines and caricatures that feel like they're there to give the main character something to do. The summary above makes it sound as if we're going to read a book that has something of an ensemble cast, maybe something like the X-Men series, but instead of having an intriguing set of characters with varying powers, most of them are merely mentioned by name before they disappear.

What could have been a unique book ends up being extremely pedestrian as Nikki ends up trying to prove herself to the good guys while trying to avoid capture by the oh-so-evil bad guys. The potentially interesting aspects of the story are virtually ignored. The characters are the stereotypical good vs. evil, though the "good" characters start off as extremely unlikeable and then make a very sudden-- and unlikely-- turn into much more benign personalities, which makes the narrative very uneven and not terribly believable.

I don't like to rip a book to shreds, so I hate to do nothing but knock "Dark Descendant." But the truth is that the book didn't really do anything for me. Perhaps it's a style thing. Maybe I'm unfair in that I expect paranormal fiction to have more depth than this. But I couldn't help but feel that "Dark Descendant" was over 300 pages of missed opportunities. It was okay, but not something I could recommend.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted at RabidReads.com.

Since the fourth book in this series is coming out this year and it has been three years since I read book three, I decided that i needed to revisit this series before I tackled the fourth book. I remembered really enjoying these series, but I started this series back before I was blogging, so I didn’t have more than a rating when I first read this book. My rating system has also changed a lot since then too.

Anyway, Nikki Glass is a private investigator. She was an orphan who knew her mother, but was left at a church when she was very young. She then moves from foster home to foster home until she is adopted by the Glass family. So, Nikki really doesn’t know much about her ancestry.

Nikki takes a case where she is to help get a girl out of a cult. However, when she is driving up to the mansion where all the cult members live, her client steps out in front of her car and she is unable to stop on the icy driveway and kills him. This is when things really go ary for Nikki. She learns that she is now Liberi. Liberi are mostly immortal. They are descendants of the gods. Only there are only so many of these immortals, and more descendants than immortal seeds. The only way to become an immortal is to kill one of the other immortals.

Nikki is a descendant of Artemis. She now has to convince the members of the “cult” that her client, Emmitt, killed himself and the she isn’t a spy from a different group of Liberi who are known as Olympians. The Olympians see themselves as much better than humans and have a very low moral compass. They also believe that only the Greek gods should be allowed to be Liberi. They will kill off entire families of non-Greek gods to prevent them from ever becoming Liberi.

I really enjoyed this story. I like watching Nikki learn how to maneuver through this new world of immortals. She is also very protective of her adopted sister, Steph, who plays a very big role in this story. Other characters that we have in this story include Anderson who leads the group of “good guys”, Maggie (Zeus), Jack (Loki), Jamal (Kali), Black (Eros) and a some others. There is also the Olympians, who we don’t learn as much about outside of Alexis and Konstantin the leader.

I will point out that there is a ton of action in this book as Nikki helps to search for missing member of Anderson’s team. She also has to defend herself as she convinces the others that she is not a spy. I will warn you. Immortals can take a ton of damage in this world. They can literally not die unless another descendant kills them. They can take a lot of abuse, which is proven several times in this book.

Narration
I listened to this book to revisit it. Sophie Eastlake is a great narrator who I’ve loved for a while. So it was no hardship to pick this up on audio. She does a great job with all the voices. Her ability to voice the sweet Steph and the hot-headed Jamal and the truly evil Alexis was just great. If you’ve never listened to Eastlake, I highly recommend her.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nikki Glass is a private investigator, and her latest job has her scoping out what her client tells her is a cult compound. When the job goes horribly wrong, however, she learns two things. One, the “cultists” are actually Liberi, the children of the ancient gods of mythology. And two, Nikki is herself descended (more distantly) from Artemis and has just accidentally stolen the immortality of one of the Liberi. Artemis, as you’ll recall from mythology, was far from promiscuous, so her descendants are rare and their talents much sought after. Now Nikki is caught between two rival factions of Liberi, neither of which she trusts. She’ll have to trust one of them, though, in order to protect herself and her beloved sister from the nastier of the two factions.

Dark Descendant is comparable to the origin story of a superhero. Jenna Black shows us how Nikki becomes powerful and reveals the world of the Liberi to the reader as Nikki discovers it. Infodumping is skillfully avoided; each piece of information is organically woven into the plot at the point when it becomes important.

Nikki is a refreshing heroine. Unlike some PI protagonists, Nikki actually does a ton of PI work, even the unglamorous parts such as snooping for information on the Internet. When she finds herself in danger, she takes steps to learn how to protect herself. She doesn’t become an invincible combat monster; instead she is really good at one particular thing but still vulnerable in other ways, such as her small size. Later, she reads up on mythology and uses that information to help her apply her inherited powers to her investigative work.

I was surprised by how emotionally raw Dark Descendant is. All of Nikki’s fury and frustration and sadness come right through the page. She’s been thrust into a dangerous world she never dreamed existed, terrible things happen to her and her sister, she still has some issues left over from her childhood in foster care, and there’s the incredibly frustrating lack of trust she receives from the other Liberi. By the time she’s been accused for the zillionth time of being a spy, I was ready to tear my hair out right along with Nikki — aarrrgggghhh, what would it take for some of these people to give her the benefit of the doubt?

Unusually for an urban fantasy, there is no romance for Nikki — at least not yet. She is attracted to several men, but that’s as far as it goes, and there are very good reasons why. I’m often frustrated with multiple love interests, but this time I’m genuinely curious about what Black will do with Nikki’s love life.

Dark Descendant is a really quick read; the pace is rapid and the book is not very long. Jenna Black introduces us to an interesting world and a terrific character who is strong without being over the top. The Descendant series promises to be a good one.

I originally wrote this review for FantasyLiterature.com.

[Mariya · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adult Urban Fantasy novel about Greek Gods? I have been waiting forever to pick up a book like this. And trust me when your read the first chapter of this book you will be hooked in a way you never thought possible.

I cannot express how much I love Greek Mythology, so the concept of there being immortals called Liberi that are the children of a Greek god was so fascinating and also this story is so very action packed at different times too. I mean every chapter you're at the edge of your seat wondering what's going to happen next? And we also develop strong feelings for characters we love and hate.

Nikki, our protagonist was quite an interesting character, but I took an instant liking to her immediately. She is your typical kick-ass urban fantasy gal. I think since the beginning of DARK DESCENDANT she has been through quite a bit and I look forward to her character growing more with each book.

Even though I loved this book, there was one thing that bothered me. There were a lot of trust issues throughout the whole book due to an incident at the beginning of DARK DESCENDANT and it really drove me crazy. I just wanted to shout out at some characters in the book, "haven't heard of until proven guilty, have you?" But I do think by the end of the book these trust issues have become a bit better.

"Anderson sent me to give you this," he said. "I believe the subtext was "kiss and makeup." This time I was sure I made a face. "I rather kiss a copperhead." I grabbed the envelop from his hand. He laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "Don't worry. It was only a figure of speech."

There's not really a romance in this story except for some secondary characters and I am okay with that. I love to read urban fantasy books only if they have romance, but this book rocked my world so much that I didn't mind that there was no romance and I think it would be awkward if there was a love story with Nikki.

Things do tend to get a little bloody in the world of the DARK DESCENDANT but these are immortals and they come back. I loved watching the threats, the "I'm a bad-ass" talk and the ass kicking. This was quite a crazy world, but also a fun one too.

I admit that this book is a bit darker than what I am used too, but I loved it all the same. I am completely new to author Jenna Black, and I like what I see. This is a definite read for urban fantasy readers.

[Naoms · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book from the library for awhile, but resisted reading it. I like Urban Fantasy, but I prefer Paranormal Romance and so I was all "I want to read a romantic book, I'm in a romantic mood." So I read a few other books before this one. Then I picked this book up around 4 hours ago and now I am done.

I could not put this book down. Maybe, because I am obsessed with mythology. Or, because Nikki is seriously badass. Whatever it was, I was absolutely enthralled, couldn't put the book down. Not even for sleep. It's 20 minutes to 4 and instead of sleeping I am on goodreads raving, that's how much I enjoyed the book.

Nikki is a private detective, who ignores her gut and ends up in a world she could never imagine. She's a descendant of the goddess Artermis, which is very rare and everyone wants a piece of her and her abilities.

This book has really great characters. Villains you love to hate and good guys that you are not too sure about. I have to say that I really liked Anderson and his Jekyll and Hyde personality, just as much as I hated Alexis and his boss.

This is my first Jenna Black book, but it is clear to me that she is great with characters. I understood Jamal even as I disliked him. Anderson made me extremely nervous even as I trusted him. Jenna Black brought to the table something that I have been missing in all the novels I've read lately, well rounded characters.

Added to the well rounded characters is the world. I loved it. The idea that gods and descendants of gods are out there. Fighting a secret war and trying to protect their immortality all while humans are clueless. These kind of books make me go, "imagine?!"

I'm excited to read the next book in the series. I hope that Nikki finds herself some romance. As badass and fierce as she is, she's just a normal girl who has insecurities and wants companionship and family. I liked that about her.

[Snarktastic Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this one up while in the reading doldrums and read through it in a couple days - it is short. :)

I really enjoyed it and immediately picked up the next - and the next - and finally the last one. (I haven't finished the 4th one - I think I burned myself out.)

The world is interesting and new - descendants of gods - no vampires and werewolves. I love the relationship between Nikki and her sister. There are burgeoning romantic entanglements - but they don't take over the story.

Nikki is a private eye and the story revolves around her finding people - rather than who will end up in the bed of whom. She is thoughtful and does not seem to do things recklessly.

It is a fast paced story with solid characters and relationships. Solid 4 stars.

[Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so not a bad start to a series. Had some issues, but overall not bad.

Review coming soon.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's a great concept for a book at the heart of DARK DESCENDANT. Unfortunately, the writing is terrible and the concept never really gets developed.

If I found out I were a descendant of Artemis, and people were trying to kill me, the first thing I'd do is go somewhere safe (which the heroine does). But the second thing I'd do is, oh, try to find out whatever I could about Artemis.

Of course, Nikki doesn't need to, because that would be a useful step in the real world, where gods and goddesses aren't limited to one or two characteristics. People aren't, either. Unfortunately, all the characters in DARK DESCENDANT get short shrift, as everyone is defined by one or two traits. Artemis was a goddess of the hunt, so Nikki is great at finding people and a sharpshooter.

But Artemis was also a virgin goddess. This gets touched upon, but only in the sense that it makes Nikki a Rare And Precious Snowflake, not in the sense of finding out who her mortal ancestor was, why Artemis decided to have a child, etc. Artemis was also the goddess of wild animals, but that doesn't figure into it at all, either in the sense of Nikki having an affinity for animals or them particularly liking her. Disease, childbirth, the moon and Artemis' other aspects never get touched upon.

Of course, Nikki is such a shallow, bland character that there's not really room in her personality for any exploration of what it would mean to be descended from a goddess, or what sort of responsibilities (besides surviving) that might entail, etc.

Jenna Black fills the book with on-the-nose, sometimes cringe-worthy dialogue, and violates the cardinal rule of storytelling (show, don't tell) at every turn. (How about letting us figure out that Alexis -- or maybe it was Konstantin; their personalities were so identical that I have a hard time telling them apart -- is evil by, oh, his actions? His facial expressions and reactions to what Nikki is saying? His attitudes toward other people? That's too much work, apparently, because she'd rather just tell us straight out that he's evil, and have him start right in on the evildoing forthwith.)

The only remotely interesting character is the head of the group of descendants that Nikki joins, who convincingly spins out the "evil or not" question until near the end.

What a waste.

[L-D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nikki Glass is a private investigator. Orphaned and raised in the Foster care system, Nikki was adopted by the Glass family. After running into members of a strange "cult", Nikki discovers that her birthright is something she never suspected. Nikki is a decendant of the Greek Goddess, Artemis. Because Artemis was the virgin goddess, descendants of Artemis are extremely rare. The "cult" that Nikki was investigating, turns out to be a band of Liberi, descendants of other deities, each with their own unique powers. Things do not go smoothly at first because there are two warring factions of Liberi and while both sides want the rare Artemis descendant to join them, both sides are also extremely paranoid and distrustful. Their initial suspicious aggression causes Nikki to run from both factions.

As a goddess-touched heroine, Nikki is surprisingly mundane. She has no super strength or any kick-ass fighting skills. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt so Nikki is good at "finding" things which was probably what led her to become a PI in the first place. She also becomes a great shot - like Artemis with her bow and arrow. But other than that, there is nothing spectacular about her. She is described as pretty but basically unnoticeable compared to her bombshell sister, Steph. I think I like the fact that Nikki is a "subtle" kind of superhero. Some authors feel the need to make their heroines overly amazing (like Cat from Night Huntress who gains even more ridiculous powers with every book). Nikki was kind of refreshing.

While I really enjoyed the premise of this book, I could've read about 500 more pages. The book wasn't short, but I did feel like I only got the smallest taste of where this storyline can go and I'm dying to read more about Nikki and the other Liberi. If I were to review this book again in about a month, I might give it 4 stars, but the ending of the book really got me amped up to read more about the Liberi. I'm glad that I had to read this book for a monthly challenge because otherwise I'm not sure how long it would've sat on my TBR shelf. There were also some scenes in the book that really had me tense. I'm excited for the next book and wish 4.2012 wasn't so far away!

[Cyp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool plot, cool synopsis, sool idea, and of course, cool heroine!

Nikki has been a PI for quite some time, but her friend comes to her one day and screw everything up for her, and now she's hated by whole hordes of powerful people(both pyhsically and politacally), and by both the good and bad people, which practically leaves her on no-man's land. She's also an outcast at the only safe sanctuary she was offered. All throughout the book, she has to prove her worth and loyalty to Anderson and co. cause otherwise they would not protect her or her family from the bad people who wants her desperately(away from Anderson,the head of the good people, anyway) cause she's the rare Descendent of Artemis, Greek goddess of the Moon, the Hunt and Patron Goddess of all virgin maidens. Anderson, the only one who could butt heads with the main protagonist Konstantin, asks her to find someone for him, and it somehow became a test to prove her loyalty, and someone was bent on thinking her the betrayer. So when Nikki's sister, Steph, was threatened and Nikki had to rush to save her, that annoying someone held her back, thinking to ambush her and give her a good beating HE thought was his right to mete out and HE thought she deserved. So yeah...poor sister... The ending was kinda a happy one, and it hinted at a little romance for Nikki and also a hell of a conflict brewing up(ok maybe not hinting for the conflict, but downright shouting it at us).

Nikki was the usual heroine-nice, intelligent, carried the rare and sought-after genes, but strangely, her looks were only average. Y'know, usually the main girl's all pretty and kind and gay and stuff? She sucked up all the misfortunes that befell her like a man and she's really independent. I was disappointed about her powers tho. You would expect the rare Descendent of the cool Goddess to be all "oooh here is my magic bow and self-refilling spiritual arrows" and no one ever being able to sneak up on her because of her uncanny tracking powers...But nooo, everyone, including and especially that irritating someone, Jamaal, kept getting past her rather laxed guard and ambushing her. And throughout the whole book, she only managed to track 1 person(if i remember correctly).

Steph, Nikki's sister, is too pretty and too kind to be true. And seriously, after getting brutalized and almost raped, i would expect more of a reaction from her; what with her pampered, sheltered life and all. This type of people is kinda too impossible so...yeah i didn't really like her. And i seriously don't think she's the girl for Blake.:(

Anyway, learning about Anderson's parentage had been a real kick. Haha it was kinda cool. I thought we could've read more about Logan tho...He seemed to have much potential to be an enteraining lead hero.:/

OK, i confess that i've been procrastinating doing this review up so the feelings are not fresh anymore, and i can only remember 2 of them clearly now, which are:

OK firstly, this book has some serious fighting mojo(is this how you use this word?) going on. It's literally one fight after another, like 接二连三 kinda thing, which is definitely a good thing. Also incorporated with those awesome greek myths, that is the total cherry on top of the freaking cake. haha. After readong the synopsis about how the protagonist is Artemis' Descendent, i started looking frantically for the ebook...and i think i half-spoiled my mouse in my haste:( Anyway, the action was totally jam-packed with cool moves and choreography. But it was kinda weird, but also kinda cute that Nikki apologizes after the first few times she shoots at someone who's with the good guys(not purposely, but rather in self-defence). It was like 'BANG!', the guy falls down with some crazy chest wound(he's an immortal Descendent so he'll heal) and she goes up to him with a chagrined expression(in my head anyway)and says,"I'm sorry." Hah! Oh oh, and i think the part where she accidentally stabs Jamaal's eye with the heel of her stilettos was just plain lame(hey, it rhymes). Haha, but cute at the same time. I don' harbor any sympathy since he was the one who cause Steph(Nikki's sis)to be brutalized by Alexis(bad guy's right hand man)by holding Nikki up. Totally uncool...

And secondly, most YA books, if not all, would have a little romance in it and this one only just subtly hinted at it in the end-for Nikki anyway. And let me tell you, i am so not happy with the way things are developing. For all the things that he had done and caused,like bashing and choking Nikki and causing her siser to be ruffed up so badly and all, Nikki actually started developing, i don't know, a soft spot for Jamaal! Ew. Gross. He was my least fave character because of his unstable mental condition and hater-attitude, and she just goes traisping off with him? That's just wrong dude. And...ok this is probably gonna sound racist, but i kinda prefer the same races of people being paired up, and this is like Darke Academy by Gabriella Poole all over again, which is just plain weird. And why pair someone of her calibre with someone at the bottom of the food chain?>:/

Not as interesting as Percy Jackson, but definitely worth a shot. Try it. I mean, i don't regret picking it up, but it just wasn't the best book that i've read and with PJ as a comparison, that's tough cause PJ is just plain unbeatable. Haha. For greek myths anyway.

[Shera (Book Whispers) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Jenna Black is the reining queen of gray morals.  Whether she's dealing with a possessed exorcist or a teenage girl who can bring fairy magic into the human world or technology into the fairy world.  Moral grounds are never black and white in her tales, and Dark Descendant is no exception.  In Black's latest world descendants of gods walk among the general populace, never really knowing they are descendants other then a few heightened abilities.  The first children of the gods where given immortality, but all of there other descendants were not.  What the gods didn't anticipate was that if an immortal is killed by another mortal descendant they loose there immortality to the murderer.

The good guys are only good guys because they have a few higher moral fibers then the Olympians, who believe that they are the ultimate power as descendants of Greek Gods.  They kill humans with out shame or guilt, then hunt other descendants so that they can't steal there immortality—even though the murdered descendants have no idea what they are.  They kill all descendants that aren't from the Greek Gods and any young children are then brain washed so that they can be weapons against other immortals who are not part of the Olympians.

Maggie is tricked into killing a immortal who is part of the "good guys" faction.  Unfortunately, the other immortals don't see it that way and believe she's working for the Olympians.  After getting gravely injured, she's then brutally battered, strangled, and hurt again and again.  Only once is she actually injured by the Olympians. 
As many of the descendants are from savage time periods and see society today as being soft.  Getting your head chopped off, being hanged, and burned at the stake to repent wrongs to your leader is nothing to them.  They can go from stabbing someone's eye out, to having a nice cop of coffee in the next scene.  Like I said, Black is the queen of gray morals.

This book is too fast paced for a romance and Nikki is a strong female lead who doesn't have the stupidity to look for a boyfriend while she needs to protect her loved ones.  She's strong and can cope with a crises while still holding on to her moral basis. Even though there's no romance for the main character there is a possibility of two very different guys that give me chills.  Not only are they hot, they're right on that moral gray line of being bad boys to evil psychopaths.  Much like Chloe Neill's Chicagoland vampires, there is a side character romance going on that just makes me go "ahhhh."  The better part about this side story romance is the two aren't just jumping into bed like the aforementioned book.  This is one that is going to grow, and I like a good romance with foundation.

Jenna Black has clearly created a fantastic new world for her fans.  Greek myth is something I've always loved.  The best part is that this feels like a combination of Highlander meets modern day Xena.  Children of Zeus are walking around throwing bolts, picking up heavy suitcases, and our leading lady Nikki just happens to be a descendant of my favorite goddess Artemis.  The good guys aren't easy to spot, the power plays are surely going to be something to keep readers guessing.  Still, the plot manages to be too predictable to be called anything but average.  Black has clearly created a fantastic new world for her fans to fantasize about.  Sadly this book is just an average introduction. 

Sexual Content:  A child of Eros who uses sex a weapon, rape, and hints of sexual abuse.  Dirty talk and humor.

Rating - 3/5 Adored it, just a few minor details held it back.

Originally posed at Book Whispers.

[All Things Urban Fantasy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

The ancient gods of Greek, Norse, and Hindu mythology are portrayed as capricious, fickle beings of immense power who often inflict extreme acts of cruelty on humanity. So you can imagine what kind of parents they would make. There are hundreds of myths about the Greek gods of Olympus, in particular, absconding with women or seducing virgins. The children resulting from these unions are called demigods (Hercules is arguably the most famous). Millennia later, in DARK DESCENDANT, these descendants of the gods have formed two rival factions with diametrically opposing goals. Neither one can really be described as ‘the good guys’ but ‘the bad guys’ are truly monsters. This is the world P.I. Nikki Glass is thrust into.

Talk about a smart, resourceful, and resilient character. Nikki Glass was made for the urban fantasy genre. She doesn’t ever shrink or shy away from reality once it’s shown to her. She has a few momentary mental freak-outs, but she never lets that keep her from doing what needs to be done. Her thought processes are very pragmatic and once she’s made up her mind, she doesn’t dither around indecisively; she acts. She’s the kind of character you want to be friends with, no matter how dangerous her life becomes.

One thing I had to keep reminding myself while reading was that most of these characters are immortals. They can’t kill each other, at least not easily. So they are crazy violent. Nikki herself get savagely beaten on more than one occasion and on only one of those times is it by ‘the bad guys’. Basically, few things—or characters—are black and white. There is a whole lot of gray in DARK DESCENDANT, which is just one of the reasons that I found it so interesting. Somebody can get their eye stabbed out one night and then share a cup of coffee with the perpetrator the next morning. It’s a crazy world and it was immensely fun watching Nikki get thrown into it.

Don’t pick up DARK DESCENDANT expecting a romantic plotline, there isn’t one, at least not for the protagonist. This is one that develops between two of the supporting characters, much like Mallory and Catcher in the Chicagoland Vampire series. There are actually two very strong potential love interests for future books, but given the breakneck speed of the plot in this debut, it wouldn’t have made sense for Nikki to have a romance. She does have a couple very interesting encounters with a descendant of Eros(aka Cupid) that brought to mind a certain death-by-sex Fae…

DARK DESCENDANT reminded me of a mythological a mash up of the Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill and The Dissillustionists series by Carolyn Crane. A character who refuses to let the new circumstances of her life beat her down, has to embrace a brutal and terrifying future among the descendants of the gods, half of whom want to kill her and the other half want to use her to kill others. The pace is furious, the characters volatile, and mythological meets modern world is one not to be missed. There are no hard details about the next book in the Descendants series except for the happy news that there will be one.

Sexual Content:
References to rape.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the book description for "Dark Descendant" I thought it sounded interesting but cheesy. Although I've seen the name Jenna Black and recognized she is a literacy force to be reckoned with, I decided to give the book a try. Boy, am I glad I did.

Nikki Glass is a P.I. who can track down anyone.However, after a client calls her to assist him in rescuing his girlfriend from an occult clan, Nikki is thrown into a world of the gods literally. She discovers she is a descendant of the Greek goddess Artemis (the Huntress) and she as well as others have unique abilities.

Nikki's mother abandoned her in a church when she was a little girl and she was moved from foster home to foster home until the Glass family adopted her and made her a part of their family. It seems the Glasses has a bit of money; but Nikki has never accepted their generosity. Her stepsister Steph seems to adore her and Nikki reciprocates.

Two factions are attempting to get Nikki to join forces with them, the Descendants and the Olympians. She must determined just who she can trust and who she cannot if she and her foster family are to survive.

Ms. Black does a wonderful job creating characters you both love and hate. Often times heroines of today are tough but not too feeling. Nikki is struggling to be herself. She is a self professed "bleeding heart" but she is also intelligent, shrewd, skillful and extremely protected of innocents.

By the end of the story, Nikki became one of my favorite heroines because of the strength she shows in her empathy for others. Thank you Ms. Black for portraying a woman who is strong but kind as well. She is a persona that needs a voice in this day of corporate "b-----s." Read this book, you will not be sorry. My only hope is that there will not be a year before the next book comes out!

[archdandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whhhooooo-eeeeee! This book was awesome! This was my first time reading Jenna Black and I am definitely going to be coming back for more.

The book follows Nikki who we find out is a descendant of the god Artemis. Nikki has the tough girl vibe that most UF heroine's have but she isn't so tough that nothing phases her, she really seemed human and I loved that about her. I cheered her on throughout the whole book and got really invested in her. Her decisions don't make me want to smack myself in the head the with book repeatedly which is a nice change!

The secondary cast of characters were all really interesting. There were a lot of characters that I hated at first because they were huge assholes but as the book progressed I found myself forgiving them a little bit as we learned more about them and why they are the way they are. I loved reading the scenes with Jammal and Nicki and I felt like they had a chemistry between them (not necessarily for romance but just as two characters interacting).

I admit I kept trying to figure out who was going to be her love interest(s) in this series and I must have went through every single character as a possible suspect but at the it turns out it was no one! You heard me right folks, no one! I think that was the biggest shocker of all to me while reading this book. It's a tribue to Black's writing style that she can pull off an entertaining, fun UF read without having her heroine want to bone everybody around her.

So now I have to wait patiently for my library to get this book in their system so I can get my greedy little hands on it!

[Danielle (Danniegurl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm that ending. It was like a non ending though they accomplished their short term goal I didn't like how the book just ended like that. I didn't feel the story was complete, which it's not which is why there are more books but in terms of this book I felt it was an odd place to end it. Nikki was kind of annoying and likable at the same time. She often repeated the same reasoning, now I've done some training but not nearly enough to fight so and so and as that person is going to punch her and basically says she didn't do that much training but this happens quite a bit early on in the book. So much so it's like when a person says "you know" or "like" every 2 seconds.

I don't like the situation, I don't like the way everyone treated Nikki. This wasn't a happy book, I am not sure if she will ever have a love interest and I don't know what the overall objective of the series is. I'm not sure what to think at all. The plot was loose, it was there but not wrapped up as well as it could be.

However I was enthralled with the story the writing compelled me to continue to read, and I read it with a sense of urgency and when Nikki was upset I was upset. Though in some points I really just wanted someone to show her compassion. To be nice to her. I will also more than likely continue this series.

[Lisa Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★☆ I liked this one a lot. This was the first time I’ve read this author and she held my attention; I’ll be reading more of her and more of this series. I like that the female protagonist, who is a private investigator, didn't do anything TSTL. The story is very well written, well-paced, and flowed nicely, making it a fast read. (Warning: It gets a bit brutal at times.) I liked that it involved various Gods and Goddesses, not just Roman and Greek. However, I wish there was a bit more about them, and their descendants; nevertheless, I’m willing to see what is in store for all of them in the next installment of the Nikki Glass series coming out this year.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Rating: 4.0 stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy with mythological creatures

Dark Descendant, by Jenna Black, is the first book in a new series featuring Nikki Glass. Nikki is a 25 year old private investigator and a one-time orphan who unwittingly enters into a world she had no clue even existed. She is lead there by a client named Emmitt Cartwright, who is anything but human and had asked her to look into a so called cultist group that is holding his girlfriend Maggie.

This is a warning to anyone who while thinking about reading this series, expects gratuitous or erotic sexual scenes between the characters: not happening. Yes, this is the same author who gave us the Morgan Kingsley series that was deep into erotic sex scenes, as well as well as the Shadowspell series which is primarily a YA novel and leans toward having three way relationships as its main story line. I guess that is why I enjoyed this book so much.

I enjoyed the fact that this is not your normal Urban Fantasy release, or PNR. It could be considered as Dark Fantasy if you want to get technical about it. It is the story about the Liberi Deorum, or Children of the Gods, and how Nikki struggles to understand that she too is different from others and that her heritage goes back to the Greek God Artemis. Artemis is the God of the Hunt, and was also supposed to have been a virgin. You have got to love Greek Methodology and the tales they twisted.

Nikki, as a descendent of Artemis, is a valuable quantity to anyone willing to push her into working for them. That includes kidnapping and torturing any relative she may have that is living. The Olympians, the evil dudes, want her to hunt down the descendants of the Gods for them so that they can be eliminated. Another group called lead by Anderson Kane wants her to use her skills for more productive work like saving as many as they can, while also searching for his wife Emma who has been missing/captured/prisoner of the Olympians for 10 years.

Nikki is continually fighting off challenges by both sides in this book. Jamaal, a descendant of the god Kali (death magic), is one of the more ruthless characters in this book, and he is supposed to be on the good side! He blames Nikki for purposefully killing Emmett at the behest of the Olympians. By killing Emmett, she became an immortal. Then you have the sick and absolutely twisted Alexis Colonomos, a descendent of Zeus, who goes after Nikki’s older sister Stephanie in order to force her into working for Konstantin, the leader of the Olympians. I was so very glad to watch him get what is coming to him in the end.

Nikki is actually a private investigator, and not just in name only. She actually does the work necessary to look into the disappearance of Emma, Anderson’s wife, and she is very good at her job. She actually scouts out locations where Emma might be found, until she finally comes across her with some much needed help from her ancestor.

She also has a very heartbreaking background that the author explores minimally to get an idea of who we are following. The sub characters: Stephanie, her older sister, Maggie Burnham, Logan Fields, Blake Porter, and especially Anderson, were definitely a good addition to the storyline and worth reading about.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who follows my reviews, as well as friends and family alike. It is a breath of fresh air after finishing the Morgan Kingsley series and being frustrated at each and every turn. I will definitely be on the lookout for the next book in the series called Deadly Descendant when it comes out next year sometime.

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve never read Jenna Black before so when I noticed Dark Descendant is the first book in a new urban fantasy series, I decided to give it a try. Nikki is just a normal girl who has a special knack at tracking down people. Her latest job was to find a girl whom her client, Emmitt claimed to be messed up with a cult. After Nikki finds her, Emmitt asks Nikki to go with him to bring her home. Wary, Nikki tags along and her life changes.

What Nikki doesn’t know is that she is a Descendant. She in particular descends from the goddess Artemis, but there are many people walking around whom have descended from ancient gods. It is at this “cult” where her powers are transferred to her and she becomes immortal. The others that live at this house are also immortal and each have a special power. They don’t take too kindly to Nikki, and she has no desire to be around these people who claim immortality and other powers. Fleeing, she soon finds that there is another group of immortals, the Olympians who want to use her tracking skills for devious purposes. Nikki has no idea who to trust or what her next step should be.

What I really like about this book is that at first there are no “good guys.” When Nikki first comes up to the house where the Descendants live, she is mortal. The only way an immortal descendant can die, is if a mortal one kills them. Once that kill happens, their immortality gets transferred to the once mortal descendant. I know it is a bit confusing and I was definitely confused in the beginning of the book. But the more you keep reading the more it makes sense. She unknowingly kills Emmitt, and his immortality gets transferred to her. At this point the Descendants think she is working for the Olympians. So they don’t trust her. In the big scheme of things, the Olympians are the really evil ones (or so I have deduced so far – there is still much to learn in this world). But that is not to say the Descendants are pure innocent. Bad things happen in this book, and even by the end, Nikki still doesn’t trust all of the descendants and they all don’t trust her.

So the world is a little confusing to start – but we also have much to learn and I like that. There isn’t really any romance in this book. I know it is urban fantasy but I do like my UF to have at least a little sexual tension but that doesn’t happen here. Hopefully in book two Nikki will find a love interest, or maybe waggle those eyebrows a bit!

The supporting characters play a big role in this book. Anderson, the leader of the Descendants has lots of secrets and a missing wife. Jamaal doesn’t like Nikki from the start because she killed Emmitt who was his best friend. Really, no one likes Nikki and she has a tough time convincing them of her trust.

The ending wraps up nicely with some gruesome scenes, but they fit the book well. I’m interested to see where we go from here.

Rating: B-

[♥ Ashleigh ♥ Contrary to popular belief I'm not actually mad! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, not bad at all. I would actually rate this book 4 stars if it didnt seriously go against some of my core moral beliefs, yea those pesky morals ruining a good book.
still deciding if i should knock off half or a whole star for that.

Anyhoo..... the rest of the book was pretty good, Nikki has a fantastic sense of humor that had me cracking up with laughter on multiple occasions, shame she has so much freaken baggage though! its insane how much she carts around especially when it comes to the whole family/sister thing.
Chicks thinks the sun practically shines out of her sister ass when any outside viewer/reader can see it doesnt, dont get me wrong the sister is wonderful but she does in fact have flaws.
The rest of the characters for me were....iffy. I highly dislike blake - i cant stand it when a bad guy, particularly one as vile as this - is secretly made out to be a good guy all along, you cant threaten/attempt the vileness of that magnitude and its just disappears from everyone's mind just because you say you where only pretending, or wouldnt actually go through with it. not when you threaten that!. not cool dude, not cool.
The rest of the characters are okay but i wouldnt say anything special. My favorite would probably be Emmit or Jamel - though i kept picturing Jamel as an African American, when he's clearly not, i think its a combination of things, the Rastafarian braids dont help either, lol.
No idea why i would like Emmit when he was barely there and by the end everyone was pretty convinced he set Nikki up to begin with, but i do. I like Jamel because he's honest and up front - and i cant say that about any of the other characters, though i am intrigued by Jack (the trickster/loki descendant) and am hoping to earn more about him. i think Emma will also turn out to be interesting.

The rest of the world.... well thinking back on it, besides setting up the scene we dont hear much about it. nearly all the focus was on the characters and what they where up to, i didnt mind. i'm under the understanding the world is like our current world with secret paranormal beings running around. so i can let my imagination run wild pretty much.

the 'bad' guys where bland and not anywhere near as interesting as the supposedly 'good' guys.

okay one last thing i need to bring up is this book was brutal . Rape was brought out frequently as a bludgeoning weapon and used/threatened at every opportunity. if i wasnt so disgusted i would have laughed at how commonly it was mentioned.
either way if you have a slight sensitivity/trigger to the topic STEER CLEAR! there was also violence/beatings but nothing as server as the rape mentioning's.

otherwise not a bad first book.


Rated: 3 1/2 stars