Taryn Browning
Released September 27th, 2011
Goodreads / Purchase
For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.
*A copy was provided by Taryn Browning for review purposes*
When
I first glimpsed at this cover I was sure it was an adult UF book. It's
not. However, it would appeal to the older YA readers. You will find
intelligent characters, engaging storylines and strong world building in
Taryn's Dark Seeker.
In the world that Taryn has built, we have Vampires, and these are not sparkly, dancing vampires either. They're mean and they WILL bite you! We also have Daychildren which are demons turned to vampires (I know, right? Like, totally awesome!). As for Seekers, that's what Janie is - our protagonist. Basically, if you're dead and you're still walking - Janie will kill you! She's good at it too! Janie is a wonderful protagonist. She's tough and she's stubborn; she has known loss and is afraid to love. She's a well rounded character with flaws and insecurities that make her incredibly likeable as well as realistic.
Kai is introduced shortly after the start of the book and he is one heck of a sexy male! He's mysterious, protective and often irritating. I love the guy! He's the perfect supporting character and fits really well with Janie's personality. We do have a bit of a love triangle, however it's not a typical "Oh my, who will I ever choose" triangle. It's original and has a great twist to it that I really enjoyed.
Imaginative and well thought out, the world building in Dark Seeker is deeply satisfying, if a bit complicated at first. Entering a new world with new rules and new lore is often hard to grasp. I had difficulty differentiating between the Vampires and Daychildren at the start. Not what they were per say, but which was more evil, which wanted to rule over the other - those kinds of details always seemed to slip my mind. Fortunately, the politics of the world building are well spread out throughout the book so I was able to get a clear picture of it all fairly quickly. I was also happy to uncover that this first book in the series is most definitely NOT just a set up. It has a great plot, an exciting climactic ending and a glimpse of what is to come. All in all Dark Seeker is fantastic start to a very promising series that will adhere to fans of The Mortal Instruments series.
In the world that Taryn has built, we have Vampires, and these are not sparkly, dancing vampires either. They're mean and they WILL bite you! We also have Daychildren which are demons turned to vampires (I know, right? Like, totally awesome!). As for Seekers, that's what Janie is - our protagonist. Basically, if you're dead and you're still walking - Janie will kill you! She's good at it too! Janie is a wonderful protagonist. She's tough and she's stubborn; she has known loss and is afraid to love. She's a well rounded character with flaws and insecurities that make her incredibly likeable as well as realistic.
Kai is introduced shortly after the start of the book and he is one heck of a sexy male! He's mysterious, protective and often irritating. I love the guy! He's the perfect supporting character and fits really well with Janie's personality. We do have a bit of a love triangle, however it's not a typical "Oh my, who will I ever choose" triangle. It's original and has a great twist to it that I really enjoyed.
Imaginative and well thought out, the world building in Dark Seeker is deeply satisfying, if a bit complicated at first. Entering a new world with new rules and new lore is often hard to grasp. I had difficulty differentiating between the Vampires and Daychildren at the start. Not what they were per say, but which was more evil, which wanted to rule over the other - those kinds of details always seemed to slip my mind. Fortunately, the politics of the world building are well spread out throughout the book so I was able to get a clear picture of it all fairly quickly. I was also happy to uncover that this first book in the series is most definitely NOT just a set up. It has a great plot, an exciting climactic ending and a glimpse of what is to come. All in all Dark Seeker is fantastic start to a very promising series that will adhere to fans of The Mortal Instruments series.
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| 4 Hot Espressos |
Want a peek at Dark Seeker?
Make sure to check out my Dark Seeker tour stop for an excerpt and a giveaway!
