Embrace the Night Eternal
Grade : B

Right now is a great time for those who love post-apocalyptic sci-fi. I am reading three different series with that theme and just finished watching the last episode of Dollhouse, which had a post-apocalyptic thread running through its season closers. I was surprised - and delighted - to find that romance has joined the bandwagon with Joss Ware's Night series.

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Simon Japp has never really had it good, so it is no surprise to him when he wakes up from a fifty-year sleep to find himself in a tough world after the Change. And things really have changed - for this time around Simon is not a hit man for a gangster, but a good guy fighting the Strangers with the rest of the resistance. More, Simon has found that he awoke with a strange but powerful gift that takes him from a darn good fighter straight to super-powered hero.

Sage Corrigan has never known any world but Nevada after the Change. Envy might not look like much to new resistance fighter Simon, but it is a world away - and a world better - than the one she left in the small community of Falling Creek. But when information she finds leads the resistance back to her old home, she knows she is the only one who can really penetrate the closed group of people there and find the clues they need to take them the next step in the battle against the Strangers. There's only one small problem: She needs a husband to be taken back in. She is surprised - and secretly delighted - when Simon is given the job. Will she have the courage to move more than the fight against the Strangers to the next level?

Ware has created an interesting world where strange creatures called Ganga hunt the night searching for a mysterious man named Remington Truth, humans with odd crystals attempt to control the rest of humanity, and a baffling new island which appears to have caused the apocalypse has appeared in the Pacific. Then there's a group of men lost in the caves of Sedona who find themselves in new world fifty years in the future and gifted with strange powers.

This is the second book in the series. I highly recommend you read Beyond the Night first, because the world is complicated and you might feel a bit lost without the background information provided therein. There is also some character buildup that takes place there that helps enrich the interactions in this novel. Just my $.02, but I think this is one of those series that needs to be read in order.

As far as this novel goes, I liked both Simon and Sage and their romance. Simon, for having such a difficult past, was actually a really decent guy who was extremely kind and compassionate with Sage. You could tell that he really cared about making a change for the better in his life and was anxious to treat all people more kindly; his interactions with Theo, his rival for Sage, are a case in point. But I also really liked that we have a reason for his being such an amazing fighter - it's not like the skills just appeared, he had a past where they were learned. His gift was actually an improvement on an already existing skill - very cool.

I also felt that Simon really furthered the story of the mysterious Change. His personal knowledge of a Stranger added a needed link between his past and the present fight.

Sage is a beautiful computer nerd who has always longed to see some action. Simon can pretty much provide that in every definition used for that word. She is smart and sweet - maybe not remarkable but interesting and intrepid. I liked her, liked that she was confident and aggressive in the choices she made and I liked the relationship she and Simon developed.

My big quibble with the book was that the world created involves so many different facets that the romances are in danger of being overwhelmed by the post- and pre- apocalyptic tale weaving. Here the couple held their own, but there were many times I found myself frustrated as a reader because I was yanked from one story line into another without a real transition.

I would recommend the books, though, just for the unique reading experience. For those looking for a romance set in a different time and place, this most assuredly fits the bill.

Reviewed by Maggie Boyd
Grade : B

Sensuality: Hot

Review Date : September 1, 2010

Publication Date: 2010/02

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Maggie Boyd

I've been an avid reader since 2nd grade and discovered romance when my cousin lent me Lord of La Pampa by Kay Thorpe in 7th grade. I currently read approximately 150 books a year, comprised of a mix of Young Adult, romance, mystery, women's fiction, and science fiction/fantasy.
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