By Jill Archer
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ace
ISBN: 978-0-425-25715-9 Number of pages: 384
Word Count: 123,000
Buy Links: Barnes & Noble Amazon
Book Description:
Armageddon is over. The demons won. And yet somehow…the world has continued. Survivors worship patron demons under a draconian system of tributes and rules. These laws keep the demons from warring among themselves, the world from slipping back into chaos.
Noon Onyx grew up on the banks of the river Lethe, daughter of a prominent politician, and a descendant of Lucifer’s warlords. Noon has a secret—she was born with waning magic, the dark, destructive, fiery power that is used to control demons and maintain the delicate peace among them. But a woman with waning magic is unheard of and some will consider her an abomination.
Noon is summoned to attend St. Lucifer’s, a school of demon law. She must decide whether to declare her powers there…or attempt to continue hiding them, knowing the price for doing so may be death. And once she meets the forbiddingly powerful Ari Carmine—who suspects Noon is harboring magic as deadly as his own—Noon realizes there may be more at stake than just her life.
Failing is not an option...
“I’ve been watching you, wondering, waiting to see where you’d end up. After all, there are other demon law schools,” Seknecus said, making a moue of distaste that made it clear exactly what he thought of them. “But I was happy to see that you chose St. Lucifer’s.”
Technically my mother chose St. Lucifer’s . . . But there seemed no reason to interrupt just to clarify that bit of misinformation. Seknecus wandered around the room, picking through papers, flipping open and quickly shutting the front covers of various leather-bound books, never meeting my eye. I had no doubt, however, that his attention was fully focused on me.
“So, you see, seeing your name on my List wasn’t exactly a surprise, although it appeared much later than I would have liked.”
He did look at me then, with a frown of disapproval. I did my best to look expressionless because none seemed appropriate. It wouldn’t do to look amused, bored or, Luck forbid, rebellious. Seknecus stared at me with narrowed eyes and then went back to wandering.
“You’ve got some catching up to do,” he said, addressing a copy of Sin and Sanction: Codification & Case Law. “It doesn’t matter why or what excuses you’ve got for yourself. You will be held to the same standards as everyone else, regardless of whose daughter you are. And you’ve missed a lot of class already.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off with a wave.
“Manipulation class,” he clarified. “You’re going to have to work ten times as hard as everyone else just to pass. Quintus Rochester doesn’t go easy on students and he’s likely to see your absence during the early part of the semester as a challenge. You know, failing is not an option. Not if you want to live.”
Dark Light of Day is the first book in a new urban fantasy series where the Apocalypse happened and the demons won. Now millenia afterwards, Noon Onyx is trying to hide her destructive magic from the world while she and her best friend Peter try to find a reversal spell. On top of this, Noon is forced to attend St. Lucifer's school of demon law. While there, she meets the seductive and dangerous Ari Carmine, who seems to be hiding secrets of his own. Will Noon be able to find the reversal spell before it's too late and her magic is discovered?
I found this to be a really well written and fast paced urban fantasy with unique characters and a multi-layered plot. The storybuilding and history described throughout the novel is intricate and gives a wonderful insight into the world the author has built. I found the history of the Apocalypse as well as the different races of demons and their ways to be really intriguing. It definitely sucked me into the story. Noon is a great main character and a strong female lead for the series. The romance in the book is a perfect distraction, but doesn't overshadow the main narrative. There is a lot going on throughout the book and I'm glad that there were some storylines left open for the rest of the series to explore. Overall, I found this to be a fantastic first novel in a great new urban fantasy series that readers won't be able to get enough of.
Jill now lives in rural Maryland with her two children and husband, who is a recreational pilot. Weekends are often spent flying around in the family’s small Cessna, visiting tiny un-towered airfields and other local points of interest.
Author Links:
Twitter: @archer_jill
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