REVIEW Afterlight (Dark Ink Chronicles #1) Elle Jasper

Author: Elle Jasper

Pages: 316

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Signet
AMAZON - Afterlight: The Dark Ink Chronicles

From the Blurb.

Savannah's most unconventional tattoo artist, Riley Poe, lives on the edge. Now she's put over the edge when her younger brother is taken by a sinister cult led by vampires. Her only ally is the hot-tempered vampire Eli Dupre, attracted to Riley's beauty and rare blood type. To save her brother from certain un-death, Riley faces dangers she's never dreamed of, ruthless bloodthirsty enemies, and an evil of endless hunger that wants to devour it all.

REVIEW: 3 out of 5 stars

 

Afterlight is the debut novel in The Dark Ink Chronicles saga by Elle Jasper.

I am not quite sure how I feel about Afterlight, I enjoyed it, It was a book that kept me thinking about it for days after (which for me is a good thing) but I can’t pinpoint in any way how it was different from any other Vampire story I have read recently.

Afterlight is in first person narration by Riley Poe, a once troubled teen that is now living and working in Savannah as a tattoo artist as well as raising her younger brother Seth. They have lived a relatively normal life until Seth unknowingly releases two ancient evil powers whilst playing about with friends in the local cemetery.

With this interruption starts the ‘quickening’ for Seth and his friends, the transition from mortal to vampire.

Eli Dupre is Riley’s love interest, a Vampire and the eldest and most powerful of four siblings; he has a sense of honor, is brooding and intense, I was curious to learn more about him and his mysterious past. He has been entrusted along with his family to protect Riley from harm which may come to her because of her rare blood that is potent to vampires; a tea given by her adoptive Gullah grandparents who have looked over her most of her life helps to dilute her blood of its potency allowing her to work alongside the Dupre’s.

Riley and Eli have to go where Riley thought she would never have to venture, the dark underground of Savannah; a part of her past she thought she had left far behind but is the only way to save her brother from certain undeath

I enjoyed the intense romance between Eli and Riley, he was protective and passionate about her but still held back because of the harm he could cause to her. The love scenes were written well.

I wanted to love Riley but I at times found her to be quite annoying, she tended to talk herself up, but she never seemed to be able to deliver on these words and constantly had to be saved; she also seemed to dwell a lot on her past and the mistakes she had made, it was a tad too repetitive and all woe is me for my liking. I would have also liked more detail about why her blood was so potent to vampires.

Also, the action at the end seemed to be glossed over, one minute Riley was in the thick of things and the next she is being told of what had happened, I would have liked more of a visual description of what was going on.

The description of Savannah and its surrounding area made it easy for me to visualise, the world detailed and vivid.

The secondary characters were likeable and generally believable.

Gullah characters were presented in accented speech which I at times found extremely confusing.

I love the cover! It was what originally drew me to want to read Afterlight and I am looking forward to reading Everdark to find out what becomes of Riley & Eli, and of course Victorian Arcos.

A good start to a new series.