Nightwalker by Jocelynn Drake

Nightwalker
Jocelynn Drake
Dark Days, Book 1

Half a millenium ago, the naturi tried to use Mira to help them open a gate to their world so their queen could return.  The nightwalkers succeeded in stopping them then, but now they're back, and they're after Mira again.  Only with the help of the vampire hunter Danaus can Mira prevent the naturi from destroying the world as she know it, and she'll have to leave the comfort of the home she's finally managed to establish to do it.

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

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

First, Mira acted very young, which would be fine if she were not supposed to be (a) a 600-year-old firestarting vampire and especially (b) the leader of nightwalkers in her domain.  I did not find the latter at all credible based on her behavior.  She was uncertain, uncontrolled, and occasionally timid, none of which are traits traditionally valued in vampire leaders.  I get that the naturi tortured her, but it was five hundred years ago.  If I'm supposed to believe she's a successful leader, she'd better act the part, and she doesn't.

Her early actions made no sense to me.  She decides to let Danaus kill however many nightwalkers in her territory without doing a single thing about it until she finally follows him, but she still doesn't kill him because, what, she's bored?  If Mira thinks some of the vamps in her domain are too weak, fine, but the hunter murdering in her territory with impunity is more a testament to her weakness than theirs.  I didn't buy Mira as powerful or a leader in the slightest.

Now that that's out of the way, it wasn't all bad.  Once they left the US, I was able to enjoy the book a little more.  There was the requisite action and intrigue and ill-advised sexual tension.  But it wasn't nearly enough to make up for the disastrous characterization.

I apologize for the rant.  If the issues I mentioned with the characters don't bother you, it's probably a decent book.  But for me, characters are crucial, and Drake's were simply not believable.

Plot: 3 cupcakes
Characters: 1 cupcake
Style: 2 cupcakes
Overall: 2 cupcakes (1 for the first half, 3 for the second)

p.s. For your reference, this is what power means.