Night Life (Nocturne City, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jun 20, 2011 Kay rated it really liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the protagonist, Luna, with her impulsive, kick-ass ways; the universe with its out-but-not-accepted!supernaturals; the bloody, complicated magic that actually made sense; and, of course, the love interest Dmitri, who was such a bad catch, it's ridiculous.

And yet, there are a number of reasons why I shouldn't have enjoyed Night Life. For starters, a lot of Luna's erratic, stupidly fearless behaviour was blamed on her being a were. Same went for her love inte I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the protagonist, Luna, with her impulsive, kick-ass ways; the universe with its out-but-not-accepted!supernaturals; the bloody, complicated magic that actually made sense; and, of course, the love interest Dmitri, who was such a bad catch, it's ridiculous.

And yet, there are a number of reasons why I shouldn't have enjoyed Night Life. For starters, a lot of Luna's erratic, stupidly fearless behaviour was blamed on her being a were. Same went for her love interest Dmitri. One minute they are getting on just fine, the next they have nearly come to blows, and then they are jumping each other's bones. Unbelievable would be putting it lightly... or so one would think. It worked in Night Life - and so did a number of other things you'd think would have me rolling my eyes. For example, the book centres around an open-and-shut criminal case. I don't tend to like my Urban Fantasy overlapping too heavily with a criminal procedure novel - mostly because I think it illogical to have a character chose to risk their life (and the lives of their loved ones) for a stranger. And yet Night Life, for all its criminal fantasy elements, made it work.

I was also surprised by how much I liked Luna. Although she was erratic and had no sense of self-preservation, she was an enjoyable narrator that I could completely root for. Luna's fierce pursuit for justice, as well as her troubled past (which involves attempted rape and an evil grandmother), made her all the more admirable. And then there was love interest Dmitri... actually, I'm not sure I should call him a love interest. The guy is Bad. News. He has an extremely sordid criminal record and really should be everything I hate. And yet, he proves himself worth his weight more than once... and, well, everyone loves a proper bad boy now and again. Especially when partnered with a heroine who can more than take care of herself.

The only character I was less than fond of was Luna's cousin - and supposedly her best friend - Sunny. God, did I ever want to show her off a cliff. How could this woman profess to care for Luna whilst defending the man that attacked her and the woman that had kicked her out of her home? *makes stabbing gestures*

Bottom line? Night Life was a welcome respite from the mundane UF I've been reading lately. If you want a bit of a rough-and-tumble in your next fantasy, pick this up!

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Dec 10, 2009 Mrs. Badass rated it it was ok

2.5 stars if I am feeling generous.

Luna is just too bitchy and mean and self loathing for me to really like as a heroine. Also, Dmitri... sure he sounds good looking, but a pimping ex drug dealing biker Were Wolf Alpha does not make a good Hero... Sorry.
The world was sort of interesting, although I have no idea what year the story takes place in. I didn't really feel connected to any of the characters, I did sort of like Mac, but only mildly. The plot was OK, sometimes confusing, but mostly pred ...more

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Jan 04, 2010 Trish rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2011-reads

This was another great book. It was a typical werewolf story, it reminded me of the Mercy Thompson series. She's Insoli (lone wolf type) and Mercy is, as she thinks, the only coyote shapeshifter in existence. Her later love interest is the pretty much the exact opposite of Adam (Mercy Thompson series). He's an alpha, but he also has the persona of a bad guy. We learn later he's actually caring and good. There is a demon thrown in there but we learn that the demon isn't what he's made out to be. ...more

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