Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Promises to Keep by Amelia Atwaters-Rhodes


Series: The Den of Shadows (bk. 9)

Genera(s): Paranormal/Fantasy

Subjects: witches, shape-shifters, vampire, magic, supernatural, empathy, psychic ability

Setting: A secret vampire run place called Midnight, and modern day Massachusetts

POV/Tense: 3rd person POV, past tense: Jay Marinitch

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 236 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $16.99

Publisher: Random House: Delacorte Press

Summary/ product description: “The compendium of creations (SingleEarth, the Bruja guilds, the Midnight empire) intertwine in an exciting, unsettling plot featuring happenings both accidental and deliberate that will forever change the alternate landscape inhabited by vampires, Tristes, shapeshifters et al. It all begins with a wrong turn and a crashed party, and from there it's an epic clash of elements and the promise of more chaos still to come. At the center of the storm is Jay, a young vampire hunter that no one would ever have predicted might be earth's best bet to thwart the rise of a vampire-controlled slave empire called Midnight. Teens will find themselves drawn to Jay, who struggles to prove his worth even while he has his own fears that those who have written him off may be right to do so.”




My Review:  Promises to keep is the ninth book in the Den of Shadows, and is connected to the prequels, the Kiesha’ra series. There are vampires and witches that were in the Den of Shadows series. Lady Brina and Jeshickah and Jaguar were all first introduced in Midnight Predator. There are also some shape shifters. Lynx the cat is back, and the main character is a young male witch with empathy name Jay. I had a hard time remembering where other characters came from, so I was mostly confused reading this book.

Jay goes to Lady Kendra’s Heathen Holiday, the Yule Party and meets a guy named Xeke, and Lady Brina there. He appreciates art and tries to dance with people. Something happens to Lady Brina’s Pet, who’s a shape shifter. Jay leaves the party and comes back and some other crazy stuff happens. Brina become human. In this book, the character I enjoyed the most was Lady Brina. She’s an artist and vampire. I did not care for Jay at all.

I did like the fantasy elements from all of the authors other books. I learned that Bloodwitch, a book by her that came out recently, is actually a prequel set in the early 1800s in the old city of Midnight. I like the magic stuff and shape-shifter mythology. Amelia’s world building is awesome, but not all her characters are well flushed out.  I prefer when she writes in 1st person because it gives the characters a lot more depth. 3rd person has a lot less emotion. The book was pretty short and not much really happened in it. There wasn’t really room for character development, I guess. There was some adventure, but only towards the end of the book.

If you never read anything by Amelia, then give it a try. Her series is similar to Cynthia Leith Smith’s Tantalize and Eternal, or Feral Nights, or L.J. Smith’s Night World series. There are a lot of reoccurring characters and the books usually read as stand-alones or companion novels.


Cover Art Review: The cover is kind of creepy and like the other book covers in the series. Not the greatest cover though.




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