Nocturnal (The Noctalis Chronicles, #1)

by Chelsea M. Cameron

[littleread1]

Ok then. Talk about hitting the hard stuff right out of the gate. Chapter one has us out to dinner with Ava-Claire and her parents. They are there to tell her that her mother's cancer is terminal. In a public setting. Then they have dessert. I must say, props to this girl for not making a scene right then and there. I would have.

So obviously this sets the scene for Ava doing things most kids wouldn't. Like driving to the cemetery in the middle of the night for some fresh air and peace and quiet. Of course this night it is anything but; she is almost killed, yet somehow wakes up in her car, safe minus some bruises on her neck. She must obviously go back to investigate, and meets Peter. And at that point I must say YAY NO INSTA-LOVE!!!! She is intrigued, and the more she gets to know him, the more she wants to (and the more I want her to!) Of course, things happen that make them have to be around one another, but by that point it is great. They don't really need an excuse.

She also has two great friends, Jaime and Tex, who she can't confide in about her mother's prognosis. My theory is that would make it too real. She has known them both since grade school, and have been BFF's ever since. P.S. Jamie is a guy. At first I wanted there to be a love connection with him, but now I don't think so.

And her parents ... how opposite could they be? Her mother is a SAINT. Her dad ... lets just say I wanted to kick his teeth in every time he spoke with her. Great with his wife, horrible to his daughter. I hope he gets his shit together; they are going to need each other. Very soon.

When I was first asked to read this book, I was nervous and put it off for weeks because I HATE crying. I must say, I almost didn't read it because I thought I might cry. But I jumped in one night figuring, "What the hell?" Boy am I glad I did! I did not cry, but there are some scenes where those more sob-inclined might. Like when Ava's mom makes a list of things she must teach her before she dies. Yup, that choked me up a bit and made me want to run and give my own mother a hug. I can't because she is several states away, but I wanted to.

Before I get too gushy about this book, I must admit there were just a couple of things that distracted me. First, and biggest, there are several editing errors. Not spelling errors, but words in places that didn't make sense. Which is usually a big turn off for me, but the story itself carried me through. Second, and only a personal preference, what is with everyone having 2 different eye colors? (Explained in the first part of Nightmare, book 2). That is just weird. One person, ok, that makes the unique, but all of them? And lastly, though it makes for a neat story, it is still somewhat cheesy how he died. Not gonna spoil that for you, just keep that in mind when you get to that part.

Those (what I consider minor) complaints aside, I thought this book was amazing. Cameron takes a typical girl-meets-vampire type creature, and adds a whole new element to it. And the only way for them to die ... man that is some more deep shit. This story made me feel things, and not just for the character, for myself. It takes an event we all fear and brings it to the forefront. The looming death of her mother colors everything Ava does, and in turn makes you think how you would handle the similar situation.

I could go on, but you will just have to read this for yourself. Nocturnal gets 4 1/2 out of 5 stars, and the only reason it isn't 5 out of 5 are the editing issues I mentioned. I immediately acquired book 2, and am already half-way through it.

This book took me less than 24 hours to get through. As I was finishing it, I was also tweeting the author about how mad I was because the book was coming to an end. She said it was all part of her evil plan and laughed! She is one funny lady, and if you get the chance, you should talk to her. I will leave it up to her if she wants to share her twitter handle with you. ;-)