CRIMSON NIGHT (Night #1) by Marie Hall-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 5, 2013

Welcome to Carnivale Diabolique ― or what I affectionately like to call the circus of the damned.

My name is Pandora, and though my face might not seem familiar to you, you do know me. I’m a Nephilim. What does that mean? I’m half demon, what’s my other name? Lust. I’m the dark craving that drives you mad, makes you want, makes you reckless and stupid. I’m the drug you’ll do anything to get your hands on. But I’m not all bad. I fight for light, for goodness and truth. I love my job, killing vampires and werewolves, zombies, and freaks… it’s what makes me happy.

But people are starting to disappear and lately I’ve felt a dark presence lurking around me. I think it might be a death priest, that’s not good. There isn’t much a demon like me fears, but I fear them. This should have been easy, me killing the fanged freaks, getting rid of my pesky priest problem, but I’m about to be betrayed by the one person I thought I could trust with my life and before the night is through I’ll be covered in crimson..

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REVIEW: CRIMSON NIGHT is the first storyline in Marie Hall’s new Night urban fantasy series. The series focuses on Pandora –a Nephilim- the offspring of angels and humans-and her family of fellow Nephs aka demons hiding behind the guise of a travelling carnival for the Goth. Hiding in plain sight, the demons prowl the carnival looking for their next victim or prey. But our heroine Pandora has a difficult time accepting the beast within and it will be her reluctance to let her inner demon free that could end her life.

The storyline follows Pandora as she is ordered to uncover the mystery behind the appearance of a lair of vampires and their connection to a group of missing children. As she delves deeper into the horrors, she will uncover the truth and with it, the hurt and betrayal that will break her heart and shatter her soul.

The storyline is awash in graphically detailed violence; we follow as Pandora and her fellow demons are set up to fail when a cult demands a sacrifice of its’ youngest victims. This is a story of satanic worship, human sacrifice and demon worship. But this is also a story of one woman’s struggle to fit into a world where she believes she doesn’t belong-and a woman who once loved but was spurned by the very person to whom she must owe her life.

The world building is colorful as the sights and sounds of the midway pull the reader into a world of our nightmares and fantasies. The characters are a mixture of good and bad; caring and aloof. We are introduced to a group of fellow Nephilim who in the end must come to the realization that not all is well in the world of the supernatural and with it, they will lose one of their own before the fight is through.

Marie Hall writes a story that will break your heart when you realize that our leading character can no longer trust the people that she has grown to love as her family and with it comes the realization that to survive she may have to fall deeper into the darkness where the demons want her for their very own.

Reviewed by Sandy

Copy supplied by the author