This is the fourth and final instalment in Melody Johnson’s Night Blood series. This is the final book in the series, so I strongly suggest that the four-book series be read in sequential order otherwise you may feel lost.
We join the story where Cassidy has begged Dominic to turn her into a vampire to save her life. The book follows Cassidy as she adjusts to her new life as a vampire and the changing dynamics in hers and Dominic’s status.
There is an abundance of intriguing characters and there are plenty of twists and turns hat keep you guessing. I am going to have to track down the earlier books to fully enjoy the story the author has crafted.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. For more reviews please visit my blog:
http://www.wonderfullyweird88.com/

I have a confession to make. When I agreed to review this book, I had no clue it was the fourth in a series; a series I’d never heard of, much less read. Negligible research notwithstanding, I forged on. A commitment is a commitment after all. Despite my completionist tendencies, I delved into the fantastic world of NYC vampires besieged by enormous, zombie-like creatures ravenous for aortic blood.

This book was a gripping, action-packed urban fantasy from start to finish. With only scant background information, I was quickly brought up to speed on the characters’ present peril and complicated relationships. The dynamic between the book’s fierce main, Cassidy DiRocco, and master vampire Dominic Lysander is excellent. I regret not being privy to the sensuous buildup of their romantic relationship. But even without this background intel, I appreciated the explosive nature of their connection due to some skilled storytelling.

Overall this was a pretty rockin’ read. Johnson’s writing brought me directly into the action while also navigating me through past key components of a complicated and carefully constructed story. Squeamish readers might want to steer clear as Day Reaper is incredibly violent. While I appreciated the grit such heart-ripping violence added to the story, more sensitive readers might not.

I have not read anything from this author and this is my first book in this series. I loved it! I am not sure I should have read these books out of order. I still enjoyed the book as a whole and it was exciting to read. There were twists and turns in this book I did not see coming. *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

Day Reaper is full of exciting events and thrilling twists and turns that keeps readers on the edge of their seats along with some electrifying chemistry and sizzling attraction that heats up the pages. All of the characters are fascinating and have strong personalities which the author brings to full vibrant life which makes it easy for the reader to become caught up in their story. Cassidy and Dominic are especially charismatic and really hold readers hostage as they try to hold their world as well as their relationship together during a world that has fallen into chaos.

Anticipation continuously builds throughout the story with lots of twists and turns keeping readers on the edge of their seat as Cassidy and Dominic fight bad guys and try to rescue some characters who may or may not be on their side as well as dealing with betrayals and emotional turmoil that stems from choices being made and of course all of that adds to the chaos and turbulence of the events taking place.

Despite not having read all the books, I certainly enjoyed the thrilling and exciting conclusion to the Night Blood series from beginning to end and the events that take place in this story as well as the characters have really caught my attention and ensure that I will be reading the other books. This is the final book in the series, though, so I feel that I must strongly suggest that the four book series be read in sequential order because I felt as though I missed out on a few things and that the events leading up to these were extremely important, but I was able to understand what was taking place and why without having read them, I just feel it would have made the book even better.

Dominic Lysander was the Master Vampire of NYC and had been a vampire almost five hundred years. . Cassady his night blood remembers Jullian tearing out her throat and then Dominic healed and turned her into a vampire but she also became a Day Reaper who weren’t allergic to the sun as most vampires were. and it was forbidden for anyone but High Lord Henry to change vampires into Day Reapers. The blood. The burning. The transformation. Cassady could hear ronnie speaking and then jeremy spoke then keagan added “ Lysander said he would try, his priority was Cassady and our safety”. He won’t take unnecessary risks, like remaining above ground away from Casady longer than absolutely necessary. Then Cassady realized she was feeling panicked. Then Cassady actually felt the door slamming and his footsteps and found new sounds hurt hre skin. Dominic then came in the room and Cassady could tell he had recently fed but now now she could smell the spice of the blood on his breath and hear the nourishing of it to dominic’s muscles. Cassady knew that she looked like a monster as she had seen what Dominic looked like in all his stages including when he had just woke and had not yet fed. Dominic told Cassady to relax he was there and he should have been there when she had first woken Then cassady growled that she wanted a mirror , all Dominic said was that she needed to calm down. Anger blasted through Casady as well as shock and sorrow Cassady took a swipe at Dominic and the fight was on soon the room was totaled. Any strong emotion could fuel Cassady’s easily provoked temper now. Cassady’s talents lay in her interviewing, witnessing, and writing articles always seeking the truth. Now cassady was a force in both mind and body But above all cassady still loved Dominic. Then Dominic took Cassady in his arms as she sobbed then she calmed and her tear dried . cassady tried to apologize and Dominic grinned and so did she. For above all cassady wanted to survive. Dominic encouraged Cassady to drink the blood in the wine glass he handed her as he didn’t want the hunger to overcome Cassady when she was with others like Greta who won’t forget or Meredith whose death she would never forgive. Dominic told her the first time the hunger hits it’s all consuming. Dominic told she had to drink as she hasn't fed in seven days and Cassady immediately asked if Dominic had killed Jillian and gained control back of his coven. She also asked Dominic if he had regained his strength and abilities and about the Damned. . Dominic told Cassady the longer the transformation the more powerful the vampire. Day Reapers have increased speed, strength, mental acuity, and natural resistance to silver and sunlight all necessary skills to enforce council law and execute those who broke it like Dominic had to save Cassady. Dominic said he had regained his strength and power but he was no longer the Master Vampire of NYC that Jillian had taken over that as well as his coven they had given their hearts to Jillian. The day Reapers were trapped under the coven in underground caves. Jillian was not strong nor had the ability to turn vampires correctly and had created a bunch of the damned who fed on human hearts and they were running rampid in NYC and the city had been basically destroyed. Jillian also made sure it was recorded so humans now knew about vampires. Cassady wanted to meet up with greta and did as she and others had made the morgue a bunker for safety. Cassady’s brother Nathan had been damned but they did manage to bring him partially back and now he was in a cage but he could get out and was having tests run on him. Walker came in and was ready to shoot cassady but Ronnie stepped in front of her. Ronnie talked to walker and he put his gun down. Dr Chunn was also there and Meredith. Greta and the rest of the people there agreed to work with Dominic and cassady and the rest of the people with him.
I loved this book. It had action, romance, battles. Vampires, the Damned, Day Reapers , High Lord henry from the council, NYC decimated, betrayal. Suspense, intrigue and so much more. I loved Dominic and Cassady together. I loved the ending. I loved how Greta in the end completely trusted Cassady and followed her and Dominic and even walker saved Cassady’s life as she had his. I loved the pace and plot. I didn’t want to put this down. I do recommend you read this series in order so everything runs smoothly as you read this book. This book had my interest from the first page until the last. I could find nothing to criticize and loved that also. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I highly recommend.

Before I read Day Reaper I went and purchased the first three books in this series and i’m really glad I did. It is a great paranormal series and Melody Johnson’s writing improved as the series went on.
Definitely an author to keep your eye on and one that I know my customers will enjoy.

Day Reaper,  Melody Johnson

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Sci-fi and Fantasy

I loved the first three in this series, but this final novel was a real disappointment for me.

Its a complex cast of characters, not just the usual Humans and Vampires, but Night Bloods, Day Walkers and The Damned too. At times they overlap a lot, and I had to keep reminding myself of the differences between the groups. Its not always a s clear as it seems with Walker being a Night Blood who is out to kill Vampires ( and The Damned and Day Walkers), Ronnie who's a Vampire but can't seem to thrive on blood, and Cassidy's brother Nathan transformed to one of The Damned back to Something Else....he still has the same characteristics of The damned, but not the murderous impulses and rages.

The friendships that were such an integral part of the early stories take a battering, with Cassidy fighting her friends to convince them she, Dominic and co can work with them, that they are on the side of good despite being vampires. At times its hard seeing which way either side will go. Harsh too that bonds of friendship were stretched, that Cassidy's friends were so ready to just dismiss her, write her off a Vampire=Bad. It's difficult too, to know who is going to help and who is just going to take advantage of the situation and change sides, or revert back to their history of preservation at all costs, or killing non humans, believing they are all evil.

The thing that really got me from this book was the credibility. Dominic has been so strong throughout, loyal to his coven, a great leader ( though I'm not sure why when the Levelling is a regular event he wasn't more prepared...) but in this book I felt he became emasculated and that Cassidy became what I hate in fantasy reads, one of those recently transformed characters who have endless new powers popping up to save the day. It just doesn't feel real that someone who only weeks earlier learned about vampires, gets transformed and becomes The Great Savior, so to speak, not struggling with her days only transformation but able to think clearly, adapt and do what Dominic and the others with their combined thousands of years experience can't. I know part of it is the friendship she has with the humans but its just a step too far for me. A per hate, one that I guess won't bother many readers, but for me which always spoils novels when it happens. :-(
I felt much of this story was dragged out just to fill pages, and perhaps the books would have been better condensed into three. Dominic could have been left as the strong, intelligent character he's been for hundreds of years, with his quick, strategic thinking, The focus could have stayed on the Levelling, which as a huge part of the early books seemed to fizzle out into a non event really, and less attention put on Cassidy as the Saviour of Everyone! No New Girl saves the Day, keep my pet peeve out.

Stars: Three, a really disappointing ending for me, still a good read but this final book lacks the special qualities that the earlier ones had, the thing that made it such a perfect read.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

A big thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is number 2 in a series, and I do not think it reads well as a stand alone. It builds upon what happened earlier. So my review is not the same as someone who has read the first book. I found the book confusing, but once I figured out who was who and the background (which took a while) I did actually enjoy the book and the dynamics between Cassidy and Dominic. I think an intro chapter would have been great. I rate this a 3.5. Read them in order! If you do I think most paranormal romance readers will enjoy.

Enjoyed this immensely, but I would recommend starting with book one of the series, it was a bit hard to follow as a stand-alone.