DNF.

I love a good story with vampires. Unfortunately, this one didn't grab me. The world building was trying to do something new and interesting, but I can't say for sure whether it achieved that, since I only read about 30 pages before deciding I wouldn't continue. The few characters I met felt flat, and I wasn't interested in the plot. There were also a surprising number of places where I was confused by basic sentence structure; to try to tell what or who the sentence was referring to.

Lightfall introduces a refreshingly original fantasy realm—an Everlands devoid of humans, where vampires, werewolves, and sorcerers forge uneasy alliances and rivalries in a layered, post-human society. Ed Crocker deserves credit for ambition: the lore is rich, the setting evocative, and the themes of power, rebellion, and identity are thoughtfully seeded throughout.

The book’s strength lies in its atmosphere and premise. The city of First Light is vividly imagined, almost gothic in tone, and the class tensions between ruling vampires and the rest of the supernatural world create an undercurrent of tension that adds depth. There are moments when Crocker’s prose feels lyrical, brushing against something truly captivating.

However, that potential often gets bogged down by pacing issues and uneven character work. The plot moves in fits and starts, and while Sam, the palace maid-turned-unwilling-heroine, is intriguing, her arc feels rushed and occasionally muddled. Some supporting characters blur together, making it hard to feel fully invested in their fates.

Still, for fans of dark fantasy looking for a new world to sink their teeth into (pun intended), Lightfall may scratch the itch. It’s not without its flaws, but it shows enough promise that I’d consider picking up the next installment—hoping it finds a stronger rhythm as the series unfolds.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book but found the execution to be a bit messy. There’s a lot to establish at first with the worldbuilding, which keeps you from getting fully invested in the characters. I also found the first person perspective just a bit grating.

Complex fantasy world of shifters, vampires, and magic - politics, manipulations, power plays, and insurgence create a dynamic and rich world. For those that loke epic fantasy in imaginative worlds, you will like this one.

This novel brought a concept that I never even thought of before. It's too good and too unique for me to just tell you. It's something you'd have to read to understand the repercussions of. I do believe that there were some areas in the book that seemed a bit out of character. But the concept is good enough to overlook most of that. Try to answer the question: what is the most dangerous thing that vampires could come up against?

This book was just so easy to get lost in. I completely got lost in the story and I just loved getting to see these new characters come together. I just absolutely love this story and I just didn’t want to put it down. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

This book wasn't for me. It's for somebody, but I could not stand either one of the narrating characters. One of them was just too special for this world, and the reason she was just too special was because she is so special. Just the absolute worst kind of person, except for the more absolutely worst kind of person, the guy who does things for exactly the right reasons but you wouldn't understand if you're not as honorable as him.

The writing was good, plot and pacing were fine, but I can't stand these two and I hope bad things happen to them

I tried more than a few times to pick this up and start it. I just couldn't get into it. I'm not sure if it was the writing or just me... but unfortunately I had to DNF.

I was not able to read this book and review it before its publishing date but now that I read it I have given it 4 stars.

I wanted to like this but I just did not think the writing was good. The story and atmosphere was cool, but I needed better writing.

I’ve sat on this for a while because I thought if I sat with for a little while I might be able to put my finger on why I didn’t love this. All of the ingredients were there, dystopian setting, vampires… the story caught me at first, but then the characters ultimately lost it for me. They were sort of just one dimensional.

I wanted to love this so badly. I love vampires. I had set it aside, and came back to it because I thought perhaps it was just my mood, but alas, I just did not enjoy this one unfortunately.

I enjoyed the very beginning, it felt promising, but then I ended up a bit bored. A few things that pulled me out of the story... The dialogue felt odd, I couldn't put my finger on it - perhaps all the "First Lord" repetition. Of all the cool names - Beth...Beth is literally my 67-year-old mortal mother's name. PLEASE give me all badass names! In the beginning, the "assassin" doesn't even come close to actually trying to assassinate them. It was not believable at all. A few things were just "too easy". The foreshadowing was a bit too clear, so I saw the "twist" coming and wasn't surprised at all.

This was an interesting and unique fantasy that started off really strong! I liked the world building and character development and found myself really intrigued for the first half but then it slowed down in the second half to the point where it made me feel less invested in the story and characters. There just seemed to be a lot going on with vampires, magicians and werewolves that it made it hard to follow the story.

Oh Boy..this was a fail for me. When I read the snyopis I was very excited but I SLOGGED through this..I mean it took me 45 days to get through it. Oh my.
I truly don't know why this was such a fail for me - it really had everything I normally love. It had vampire society, it had intrigue, it had assassins, and mysteries and tons of action scenes but I just couldn't get invested in this book. I truly think the switching of POV's was a tough thing for me. I kept going back to see how I was reading. I think the only character I truly liked was Sam. She was complex and exciting to read about as she had the most potential for Arcs but all the other characters seemed very set.
I also struggled a lot with the world. I kept getting the words, and places confused. It flipped from almost old timey historical but then threw in made up words that just didn't flow - LIike Bloodflute..I am sorry..why couldn't we just call it a glass - every time I came to these types of words it pulled me right out of the story again.
I also felt a lot of the places and wording was too similar - Light fall, Last Fal New Fall ...we all fall I still am clueless of where this was taking place. There were too many wars, too many time lines that I was trying to keep track of...I felt like a needed a cheat sheet - Twin War, Grey fall, last light.
Ok that is what I didn't like...what I did like, what made me want to actually finish was the mystery - I am always a sucker for a good "lets get the gang altogether and solve the problems" type story and as the story moved along we were getting there. I actually think the next book is set up really.
I also really really think this would make an amazing TV series. I just feel like the descriptions of the characters, and costumes and imagery of the city with the vampires and all the action scenes would play out amazing on screen. The different POV's work well with that type of story telling and I could really see this story working well in that medium.
So while this is not for me I think a lot of people would really really like it. It had tons of good qualities.

I feel this story has potential, but I had a hard time following the plot, even as things were explained. The ending was not surprising to me. I am not interested enough to continue the series.

Lightfall is the first book in a trilogy and I will definitely be reading the next two books.

This book is about immortals- vampires, sorcerers, and werewolves- and all of the secrets that come with years of immortals existing. I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did, but it had such great characters all wrapped up in an excellent story.

Fantasy fans and horror fans will find something to love in this book.

Just couldn't get into this book. It sounded so good, but it didn't hold my interest. Didn't connect with the characters.

A beautiful story that includes all of my favourite creatures from folklore, and told in the best way, from multiple perspectives.

It’s part murder mystery and part critique on society, and how we’re all better off when we play the long game.

I thought it was a bit rushed at the beginning- but the pace mellowed out towards the end and I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would.

I’m surprised I didn’t enjoy this, because it started off so promising. I found the cast of characters to be extremely flat, the mystery at the heart of the story to be uninteresting, and overall, I was just bored.

I like this novel because of the intricate world building as well as the rich characters and dynamic plot. The author manages to convey a multitude of parallels and metaphors while keeping the propulsive plot interesting and engaging. I can’t wait to read the sequel!