REVIEW: Nightfall by Ellen Connor

Title: Nightfall
Series: (Dark Age Dawning, #1)
Author: Ellen Connor
Format: paperback, 327 pages
Genre: Post-apocalypse Dystopian, Paranormal Romance
Source: won from the author
Published: June 2011 by Berkley Trade

First in a stunning new post-apocalyptic paranormal romance trilogy.

Growing up with an unstable, often absent father who preached about the end of the world, Jenna never thought in her wildest nightmares that his predictions would come true. Or that he would have a plan in place to save her-one that includes the strong, stoic man who kidnaps and takes her to a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest.

The mysterious ex-Marine named Mason owes a life-debt to Jenna's father. Skilled and steadfast, he's ready for the prophesied Change, but Jenna proves tough to convince. Until the power grid collapses and mutant dogs attack-vicious things that reek of nature gone wrong.

When five strangers appear, desperate to escape the bloodthirsty packs, Jenna defies her protector and rescues them. As technology fails and the old world falls away, Jenna changes too, forever altered by supernatural forces. To fight for their future, she and Mason must learn to trust their instinctive passion-a flame that will see them through the bitter winter, the endless nights, and the violence of a new Dark Age.

Why I Read this Book: The first thing that caught my attention about Nightfall was its cover – this cover is hot! I had no idea who Ellen Connor was at first but when I read the blurb for this book, I knew I wanted to read it. While Carrie Lofty is a new-to-me author, when I found out that Ann Aguirre was the other author behind the Ellen Connor pseudonym, I knew I had to read it. I’ve read some post-apocalyptic novels before but never an ‘adult’ one nor one with a paranormal romance element.

What I Liked: The world-building in Nightfall is fantastic. It’s creepy. It’s dark. It’s grim. It’s intense. The wolves scared the shit out of me. Those are some ruthless, nasty creatures. There’s a very interesting paranormal element captured in this book. The failure of technology aspect was a unique ‘end of the world’ scenario.

There was a great cast of characters in Nightfall. Tru was one of my favorite secondary characters. He’s only 15 but he grows up really fast after the change. Penny was an interesting character. She doesn’t talk much but the eerie thing about her is that she never shows fear, no matter what happens. I think there’s more to her than the reader is lead to believe, at least in this book. There’s definitely more to her character and hopefully we’ll get to find out more about her character in the upcoming books.

The scene in the abandoned hardware store was hot!

Waiting a year in between books can hinder my reading experience because of forgotten details. The books in the Dark Age Dawning trilogy are being released 3 months apart. The second book in this trilogy, Midnight, comes out on September 6, 2011. Daybreak, the third and final installment in the trilogy, comes out on December 6, 2011. So thank you to the authors and the publisher (and whomever else is responsible) for making this happen! It makes a BIG difference in my reading experience.

What I Didn’t Like: Jenna’s stubbornness – she put up this huge wall with Mason. It was a difficult power struggle between these two alphas. And I didn’t like how she sexually teased him.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed reading Nightfall and the unique post-apocalyptic world it portrayed. It was an interesting read, one I haven’t experienced before. I can’t wait to read the next two books in this trilogy. If you’re looking for an ‘adult’ post-apocalyptic dystopian read, Nightfall is the one you should read.

 

The Book Vixen’s Rating: