Wednesday, December 5, 2012

After Dark (19th Year #1) by Emi Gayle




In exactly eight months, five days, three hours and thirteen minutes, Mac has to choose what she’ll be for the rest of her life.

She has no choice but to pick. As a Changeling, it’s her birthright. To Mac, it’s a birthchore. Like going to school with humans, interacting with humans, and pretending to be human during the pesky daylight hours.


Once darkness descends, Mac can change into any supernatural form that exists—which makes her as happy as she can be. That is, until Winn Thomas, the biggest geek in her senior class figures out there’s more to what hides in the dark than most are willing to acknowledge.


In this first of the 19th Year Trilogy, Winn might know more about Mac than even she does, and that knowledge could end their lives, unless Mac ensures the powers-that-be have no choice but to keep him around.


Type: YA- Paranormal
Heat: 1 out of 2
Rating: 4 out of 5

I read a lot of paranormal and absolutely adore finding an author with a fresh take on the world of magical beings. After Dark had my attention from the very first page with the rather anti-human minded heroine, Mac, who is a Changeling and can turn into any type of mythological being with just a thought and a breath of air, until her 19th birthday when she'll be forced to pick a race once and for all. There's a good bit of humor, some suspense, and a sweet little romance that all mixed together to provide a highly entertaining "couldn't put it down" read. 

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One of the things I enjoyed most was that the book didn't give up all of it's secrets at once. You get just enough to pull you in and get you interested but that still left you wondering what the heck was going on with Mac and her world as she starts getting randomly attacked and pieces of her heritage start coming to light. You really get to go on the journey with Mac as she tries to figure it all out which I loved. 

I really liked Mac even if she was a little...ornery? Sarcastic and stubborn, frustrated and tired of being pushed around by the council she's quite the handful but still manages to be sort of endearing. I really loved watching how her feelings towards the "stupid humans" changed over time and how the connections and interactions affected her especially after her paths cross with Winn who may be kinda geeky but holy cuteness is a fantastic hero. Totally fell for him. Things do get a bit heated up between them (and yummily so) so probably best for older teens. I'm really looking forward to more of them. They're so, right, together and have some really sweet moments that just made me smile.

The secondary characters were pretty entertaining. From vampires and fairies (Mac's "parents") to a destroyer demon that was rather...quirky and unpredictable. They added a nice support cast and had me smiling more often than not. 
"Now. Time is wasting."
"But--"
Lucas stared back at me. "Do it, or I will bite you."
"Ooh. You're scary." I'd have waved in his face like I often did, but he jumped up and put said face right in front of mine.
His teeth slid from their depths until the fine points gleamed under the lamp light.
At least three-fourths of my body shivered. "Okay."
"Good." He didn't retract the fangs.
I dumped the contents of the drink in my mouth and swallowed.
So, the one thing that pissed me off to no end was the ending. And so not because of the writing. The writing is excellent and I enjoyed it but damn if I wasn't ticked off on Mac's behalf and ready to start thunking people on the side of the head. Gah. The girlie really held her own and came out on top in the end, though, so definitely proud of her but man alive I was ready for a serious smack down and some very unladylike words.

In the end After Dark was one of those books where as soon as I finished the last sentence I was ready to grab up book two and dig right in. It's going to be absolute torture waiting six long months to find out what happens next for Mac and Winn. If you're looking for something a little different it looks like it's going to be a great series and one I'd definitely recommend. 


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Emi Gayle just wants to be young again. She lives vicariously through her youthful characters, while simultaneously acting as chief-Mom to her teenaged son and searching for a way to keep her two daughters from ever reaching the dreaded teen years.

Ironically, those years were some of Emi's favorite times. She met the man of her dreams at 14, was engaged to him at 19, married him at 20 and she's still in love with him to this day. She'll never forget what it was like to fall in love at such a young age — emotions she wants everyone to feel.

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What do you think when a non-YA author you reads tries their hand at writing YA? 
Do you check em out? Have a favorite "cross-over"?

Do you have a favorite "take" on paranormal beings/worlds? You know, something a little different?

38 comments:

  1. Whoah Anna you really made this book seems to be a must read! it sure is original that she can choose and in the same time hard ( but choosing is always renouncing)for her. I would be happy to give it a try

    if i really love an author and he he/she tries a new genre ( ya or not) i will give it at least a try ^^ i'm too loyal for my own good sometimes^^ ( my wishlist is going to explode one day)

    As do i have a favorite take in paranormal romance hum... i don't think so but perhaps if i thought longer on it i would see that there is something^^

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    1. oki i have a serie i love The bloodhound file by DD Barant is more urban fantasy than paranormal and what i loved in it was the mix of genre urban, investigation and romance too (progressive one) it was kind of a mix between urban fantasy, criminal minds and ncis les experts ^^ i loved this new approach ( but theseries isn't finished yet so i hope the level and quality will stay so good as in teh first book)

      a human lost in a parallel world where human are an endangered species...where werewolves, vampires and golems are the majority ^^ it was intriguing and i really love the first books!

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    2. Oh that sounds really neat! I've never even heard of DD Barant! I'll have to find a copy soon :)

      I think it would be kinda neat to be able to pick but would have such a hard time. It'll be interesting to see what she decides on in the end!

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  2. This book indeed sounds intriguing. I admit I don't read a lot of YA however there are a couple of authors that I like that write YA. One of the authors used her paranormal series and started a YA series from them. The other writes YA and has other adult series as well. I have read them both and like both genres however I don't usually purchase the YA books but realize it is popular especially with 2 of my teenagers who are 19 and 17.

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    1. Oh that's interesting. I always wonder how they end up trying the new genre. I kinda like that it's a spin off from the PNR series.

      Isn't it great there are so many books targeted towards teens now?

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  3. Sounds like a great book! I read a lot of YA. :)

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  4. I wanna read this book!!!
    Live the review and like the cover book. I must have this book!!

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  5. O great review. And yes, when an author I love to read branches out into YA, I do read those as well. For example: Gail Carriger, Lynn Viehl, Jennifer Estep.

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    1. Thanks Aurian :) I've not read any of those yet but Viehl and Estep are on my tbr list! Glad to hear you like them!

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  6. I think one of my favorite YA series is House of Night by P. C. Cast adn Kristen Cast. I love the world they created for vampires!
    This sounds like another great book that creates a new world for me to love!

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    1. Oooo thy're on my tbr list Penni! I've got a couple of their books on my shelf right now!

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  7. I haven't read any YA books but I think if an author wants to write in that genre then I'm behind them 100%!

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    1. Same here. I like when they go out of their comfort zone and try something new :)

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  8. For a unique take on paranormal worlds, I like Lynsay Sands' Atlantean "Vampires."

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    1. Hmmm. I'll have to try those out. I've not read her yet but heard so many good things!

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  9. I love paranormal reads...have for decades. My teen is also loving paranormal but finding good books for her that aren't childish but aren't heavy on graphic sex, is hard. So I do like reading YA paranormal books, especially by authors I know write good paranormal adult books, in hopes that I can find books for my teen to read!

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    1. So glad they're starting to have more and more appropriate reads for teens these days. I've been really impressed by all of the ones I've read so far :)

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  10. I haven't read a YA paranormal, but my 20 something niece enjoys them.
    I've found Lauren Dane's Bound By Magick series to be a bit different.

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    1. Oooo she's on my tbr list now :)

      That's great your niece is reading!

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  11. I do explore YA paranormal romance and this book looks great. I would be very interested in reading this book. sdylion(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Thanks for coming by SdyLion :) Hope you find some good YA reads this year!

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  12. I haven't given it much thought. I don't think any of the authors I'm currently reading have tried to write in YA genre. I haven't read any YA's myself, although there have been several that have grabbed my attention just by their covers. It's good that younger people have the opportunity to read this genre.
    luvfuzzzeeefaces at yahoo dot com

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    1. Agreed! I was surprised when I started looking how many of my favorites had dipped their toes into the genre. Very neat :)

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  13. Seems like a must read thanks for sharing

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  14. I enjoyed the review and I think After Dark sounds like an interesting story.

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    1. I forgot to answer the question asked: My favorite series with a unique take on paranormal worlds is Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin series.

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  15. I don't usually read YA anymore. However if a "Must Have" author writes a YA novel (as seems to be happening quite a bit), I will check it out and see what it's about.

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    1. It's hard not to give em a try. One of my favorites, Kresley Cole just came out with one and I'm having a hard time resisting it :)

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  16. I am usually not into YA series but the twists in this one and the characters along with this review makes it sound like one I could definitely read. Thanks for introducing me to another amazing author and series!
    Nicole.nobles@aol.com
    I read so many paranormal series that I am not sure which series threw me into a different world entirely. I go into each of the book's worlds and to be honest, all of them are different in some way or another.

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    1. Very true. I love getting lost in each and every one I try :)

      Happy reading Nicole!

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  17. I love it when an author can pull off a good twist on the old ideas. Tried and true too often is tried and boring. And I love paranormal, but there are only so many ways one can write vamps or shapeshifters, etc. I even stopped reading paranormal stories for a while because they all seemed to be along the same few lines (sweet romance, redeeming but angst, or Anne Rice). We finally got away from that before Twilight became so popular and pulled us back to tween angst redeeming the Hero. So I love a new twist at old ideas.
    As for Adult writers trying YA, I'm willing to try them, esp fav authors of mine but they have high standards to measure up to. Someone already mentioned PC Cast, she did great with the House of Night series, with a wonderful twist as well. An unusual choice, who few seem to know, is Charles de Lint. He calls his work "Urban Fantasy," but many of his books have fairies or Native American creatures, and I would classify most as paranormal. I always recommend him to anyone that likes fantasy flavored paranormal.

    vickykerr(at)sbcglobal.net

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    1. That's one of the reasons I try to keep my reading very varied from pnr to uf to historicals and contemporaries. Otherwise they can tend to blend a little.

      Alright PC Cast has moved up the list with yall all mentioning it :)

      I've never heard of Charles de Lint. Interesting. I've read a few with NA elements and always enjoyed em. Thanks for the heads up Vicky!

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  18. I love when my non YA authors try something YA, and i love reading all genres (except horror *irk*) I love Kim Harrison´s the Hollows, not YA but that´s the first AU world that came to my mind =)

    Happy New Year!
    //Linda

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    1. Oooo she's coming to my town this winter! I've got to give her a try before then :)

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  19. If I am already reading their books I do check them out. I already know I like their writing style. So it ends up all about the story.

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  20. My favorite YA author is Amelia Atwater Rhodes but my favorite crossover author is Kresley Cole.

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I always enjoy hearing what YOU think so come on and leave a comment. Everyone's welcome :) And feel free to leave comments on old posts. I'll check in on you there too :)

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~Anna

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