Title: Darkness Before Dawn
Series: Darkness Before Dawn #1
Author: J.A. London
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Supernatural Fiction, Dystopian Fiction
Elements: Vampires
Publisher: Harper TEEN, Harper Collins
Format: Paperback, 342 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-06-202065-9
Release Date: May 29, 2012
Source: Borrowed from Wentworth Library
Rating: 3.5/5
Tagline(s): Only sunlight can save us.
Summary: We built the wall
to keep them out, to keep us safe. But it also makes us prisoners,
trapped in what's left of our ravaged city, fearing nightfall.
After the death of my parents, it's up to me--as the newest delegate
for humanity--to bargain with our vampire overlord. I thought I was
ready. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the
monsters. Then again, nothing could have prepared me for Lord Valentine
. . . or his son. Maybe not all vampires are killers. Maybe it's safe
to let one in.
Only one thing is certain: Even the wall is not enough. A war is coming and we cannot hide forever.
Review:
Dawn Montgomery lives in a world
ruled by Old Family vampires. As the delegate between the citizens of
Denver and Lord Valentine, Dawn negotiates the blood supply to the
vampires, and ensures the protection of the people living behind the
wall. The VampHu Treaty was created to protect the humans within the
walled cities, but it also serves to imprison them in those cities. Any
vampires within the city are fair game and can be killed by the Night
Watchmen. But when Dawn meets Victor, she learns that not all vampires
are the monsters she thought they were.
Darkness Before Dawn depicts a
world ravaged by war, a war that has left the vampires in charge, and
the humans broken, fearful, and angry. Most dystopian worlds I've read
about were brought to that state by a zombie attack, so the use of
vampires in Darkness Before Dawn was new for me. Another interesting
thing about the vampires in this series is that creativity eludes them.
In every vampire books I've read the vampires have always been extemely
talented ans creative, but not so in this one.
The deaths of Dawn's
parents and brother have influenced her view of vampires. She doesn't
know how her parents died exactly, only that they were ash by the time
the Agency got to them. Her brother Brady's death was more traumatic. A
vampire attacked their home and Brady put Dawn in a closet to protect
her. His final words to her were, "Don't be afraid of the dark," and
then all she heard after that was his screams. So you can see why Dawn
views vampires as bloodthirsty monsters. But Victor slowly shows her
that not all vampires are like the one that killed her brother.
In the prologue we see
Dawn's parents before their eventual deaths and the assassin asking,
"Does your daughter have any idea about her true heritage?" This leaves
me wondering, is Dawn more than human? Dawn mentions how the sunset
calms her. This makes me think that she has some vampire in her. Lord
Valentine mentions his other son turning her into what she was always
meant to be. What is Dawn meant to be? These questions aren't answered
in Darkness Before Dawn, but I hope that was get even just a little hint
in the sequel, Blood-Kissed Sky.
Stand Out Quotes:
"You're not what I thought"
"I think you're the closest thing to a sunrise I'll ever see."
"You're not a monster, Victor."
"I think I can actually hear my heart breaking. Once again because of a vampire."
About this Author:
J. A. London is the mother-son writing team of Rachel Hawthorne and her
son, Alex London. Rachel has written many novels for teens, including
the popular Dark Guardian series. Alex, a recent graduate with a degree
in Historical Studies, enjoys combining history and fiction to create
unique worlds. The Darkness Before Dawn series is their first joint
project.
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