Pray for Dawn (Dark Days, #4)

by Jocelynn Drake

[Angie]

Dark Days is proving to be an up-n-down kind of series for me. Pray for Dawn is easily my least favorite of the books. I did still like it, but it had plenty of problems which kept me from enjoying all of it. It picks up a couple of months after the previous book, but instead of immediately finding out why Ryan wanted to see Mira, we're thrust into Danaus' head! This was a bit of a jarring change, but I did find it interesting to be inside his head.

I liked seeing Danaus' struggle with his feelings toward nightwalkers and his growing fondness for Mira. He is truly conflicted, since he's spent several centuries believing vampires are evil. No if, ands, or buts about it. It's his job to exterminate them, protect humans, and in turn save his own immortal soul. However, he's quickly learning that not everything he's learned about vampires is true and Mira is a prime example of that. He also can't help but be attracted to her even though he fights it when she comes on to him. I wanted to shake him and tell him to open his eyes! But I suppose after two thousand years of being the same person, change must come slowly.

While I did like some aspects of Pray for Dawn having a new narrator, I also struggled with parts of it. For starters, Danaus and Mira have the same "voice," so even though I knew it was Danaus telling the story, he still sounded like Mira to me. It also got majorly confusing when they were together, since I would mix them up, forgetting that Mira is no longer narrating. Danaus also has a lot of repetitive thoughts. He keeps mentioning how he may be wrong about nightwalkers, and that Mira isn't all bad. Over and over and over. I get that this is a huge step for him, but I didn't need to read it every other chapter.

The plot of Pray for Dawn was also different. It read more like a murder mystery to me, since Danaus and Mira are investigating a murder. It's not even the murder of a supernatural, but of a human woman. They visit the scene of the crime, talk to the police, even visit the morgue. Meanwhile, the naturi threat is the background, but not much happens involving them. However, there is a new supernatural introduced. Well, we've learned about them before, but now one is actually on the loose and causing bigger problems than the naturi ever could!

Pray for Dawn was good, but certainly not great. It was a change of pace from the previous three books, but I appreciated getting to know Danaus better. I just wish he had a more distinctive narrative.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.