Today I have lots of goodies for you. A review of Nocturnal, a deleted scene from Nightmare, and I may or may not share my scavenger hunt word with you under the giveaway section of this post.
Nocturnal by Chelsea M. Cameron
Pages: 232
Publication Date: February 11th 2012 by Createspace
Age Group: YA
Source: Blog Tour
Series: The Noctalis Chronicles #1
Challenge(s): Ebook challenge, Young adult reading challenge, 150+ reading challenge, ABC challenge
Buy this Book: Amazon
Summary(from Goodreads):
Seventeen-year-old Ava-Claire Sullivan’s mother is dying. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that her greatest solace comes from someone who’s already dead.
Peter Hart saves her one night in a graveyard from an attacker just as strange as he is, and now Ava can’t stop thinking about him. She wants to see him again – even after he warns her he’s dangerous, and she begins to realize what he is. Her best friends don’t know anything about death, but Peter does, intimately. He’s waiting for her the next night she comes to the cemetery, and the next…
But their growing bond comes up against a promise Peter made a long time ago, a promise that could destroy them both. Now Ava has to decide just what she’s willing to give up to hold onto the one thing that could last forever.
This is another one of those series that I read books 1 and 2 back to back. It’s great for instant gratification, not so great for writing reviews. It’s hard for me to separate the two from each other. (oh, the problems oh book bloggers. 😉 haha)The Noctalis Chronicles is a very promising vampire series; one that I am enjoying a lot!
It is a pretty typical portrayal of vampires with a slight twist. Not only are they ok with sunlight- they actually need it to process the blood. I thought that was fascinating! Other than that, they are your average everyday blood-suckers. There are a few main vampire players in this book, but the main one is Peter. As you may guess, Peter is more compassionate than the other vampires but I loved that he was so devoid of most emotions. Maybe that isn’t the best way to describe him. He is more detached from emotions as we know them. It made him realistic actually. I could picture him as a vampire, because of his detachment. Ava, if likable too- but she has no self preservation mode. That bugged me a little at the start. She almost was killed but she still went out to the woods. In the middle of the night. Alone. Who does that?
But other than this behavior that I could not relate to, I thoroughly enjoyed the story! The vampires are creepy enough, and I look forward to getting to know more about all the vampires, and the world that Chelsea Cameron is creating in The Noctalis Chronicles. The writing is good, the description of the vampires is interesting and I really liked that the vampires were all kind of different. I love the mother daughter relationship between Ava and her mom. I love the dynamic between Peter and Ava, and right when I finished the first book, I immediately wanted to start the second one.
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| 3.5/5 gavels |
Deleted Scene:
This is a scene from Nightmare that I ended up cutting because it broke the flow of the book. I saved the beginning of this scene for use in Numb because it actually works there. But since events in Nightmare prevent the rest of this scene from happening, I couldn’t use this specific part. So I’m sharing it with you! It features the double date that Ava, Peter, Tex and Viktor go on, but they have an unexpected visitor. — Chelsea M. Cameron
“Is this lovely?” A British accent that I’ve come to despise pops our shiny date bubble.
“Ivan.” Peter doesn’t grit his teeth or spit out the name, but the sentiment is there. He shoves me behind him. Typical guy. Viktor takes a defensive stance in front of Tex. I know we’re human and women and all, but it kind of bugged me in weird way. Peter and I had gone through all this Claiming business so that Ivan couldn’t touch me. And he was still trying to be all manly and protective.
“Come now, there’s no need for that. I’m not here to ruin your little get together. I just wanted to make a little visit.”
“You already did that. You came, you saw, you conquered. Why are you still here?” I can’t help the words that spill out of my mouth.
“Who’s that?” Tex mouths at me from behind Viktor’s back. God, I never wanted to get her into this. I told Peter I thought we were tempting fate by pretending like everything was normal. And I was right. I didn’t want to be right. It sucks to be right, right now.
“You need to leave.”
“But I just got here, and I have not met this creature yet.” He tries to sidle around Viktor, but he doesn’t get very far.”
For the first time in her life, Tex keeps her mouth shut and doesn’t make some sort of comment. Her wide eyes behind her glasses tell me she’s really freaked out. Well, join the freaking club.
“Interesting. Are you now flirting with mortality?”
“Ivan.”
“Come now, I just wanted to see. You can’t blame me. Not when something delicious wanders so willingly into your arms. She looks like Adele.”
Viktor is silent. The chatter of the other passengers fades, as if there is a wall around us.
“How did you get here?”
“I followed you.” Obviously. His hair and clothes are drenched. God, I hope no one saw him getting on the boat from the ocean. Which is not really the biggest problem we’ve got on our hands.
“What do you want?” I would rather eat glass than plea with Ivan, but that’s exactly what I’m doing. I just can’t deal with it anymore.
“You will see, my dear. You will see.”
“Enough. I’ve totally had enough. I was fine with it when we just had to worry about Di and her nefarious schemes to get around the bind, but I can’t deal with you trying to be all charming when you’re really just going to stab us in the back.” He laughs and Tex covers her ears. I’ve heard it before, but am able to stand the sound. It’s a cross between what a male goblin who’d smoked his whole life and the squinch of Styrofoam. And something else. Something that makes you want to do anything to stop the sound.
“You are right about one thing. I am charming. But I’m not trying to stab you in the back. I would never stab anything so enchanting in the back.”
“Yeah, I’m done.” I try to walk away, but Peter holds onto my arm.
“Ava.” Just one word. Just my name. And for the first time I see it. Fear. I feel it, snaking down my arm like hot liquid. It flows from him to me and I’m forced to drink it in. Peter doesn’t get scared. Ever. This is bad.
“I shall leave you to your lovely little ride. Until we meet again, my lady.” He bows to me, steps onto the railing and shoots so fast into the water, that I only see him because I know he’s doing it. I doubt anyone watching from belowdecks would have seen it. Tex gasps and leans over the side of the boat, but I know he’s not going to come up for air.
“Who the hell was that?”
“Our brother,” Viktor and Peter say at the same time.
“That was your brother? Dear god, there are some good genes in this family.”
“That’s not how it works, Tex.”
———————————————-
About the Author:
Chelsea M. Cameron is a YA writer from Maine. Lover of things random and ridiculous, Jane Austen/Charlotte and Emily Bronte Fangirl, red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world’s worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car and tweeting. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.
She has two books out now, Nocturnal and Nightmare, the first and second books in the Noctalis Chronicles about a girl with a dying mother who meets an immortal boy. The third book, Numb will be out this August, and the fourth in the winter. Her other book, Whisper, about a girl who is alive, a boy who isn’t and the complications that go along with their relationship, released June 16 and is the first in a trilogy. Follow her on Twitter: @chel_c_cam, her blog, or on Facebook.
This tour has a scavenger hunt with it. Fun, right?? All you have to do is gather up one word from each blog and once you have all the words, you can enter the full phrase HERE
But I am not going to make it easy for you. In fact, I’m not going to tell you ANYTHING. Nope, not a single thing. I’m evil like that 😉
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Summary(from Goodreads):
This sounds interesting and i cannot read books in a series back to back..i find i rush them, and don’t enjoy them as much. Awesome review and loved that you shared a deleted scene.
I am burned out on vamps right now, otherwise I wokld read this. I enjoyed the deleted scene but I am with you, what kind of girl goes out alone in the woods in the middle of the night? I won’t go out in the woods behind my house in the day, I don’t want to step on a big slug!
Ack, a heroine with no self-preservation?! YIKES. That would probably make me “meh” but other than that this one DOES sound kinda fab. Thanks for the review, Michelle!