Smith, L.J. - Daughters of Darkness and Huntress (rereads)

Since I'm back in Taiwan, I took the opportunity to reread old LJ Smith books lying around. Sadly, I cannot seem to find Dark Visions 1 and 2, or any more Night World ones. Why did my sister and I not buy more way back when?

For those of you who don't know, LJ Smith was a fairly prolific YA horror/romance writer, along the lines of Christopher Pike and RL Stine, only with much more romance. My sister, my cousin, and I used to read her like crazy in bookstores during summer vacations in the US. Her books are probably best read as a teenager, but on rereading, either my fondness for them remains blinding, or they actually hold up fairly well.

Daughters of Darkness and Huntress are part of the Night World series, in which vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, and witches exist in a sort of underground society. There are only two rules to the Night World: don't tell humans about it, and never fall in love with a human. Unsurprisingly, most of these books are about the latter. The first few books are loosely connected and have recurring characters, though the hero and heroine of each book changes. The ones beginning with Huntress have an arc about an upcoming apocalypse that is still not finished, argh. But the good news is that Smith seems to be putting out the final book (only ten years late!).

Also, there are soulmates! Of course! As signaled by pink sparks and telepathy when they touch!

Daughters of Darkness is my favorite of the NW books. It's about three gorgeous vampire sisters, Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade, who decide to move in with their Aunt Opal in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately for them, their evil brother Ash is trying to bring them back into the fold, and even worse, Jade falls for next-door-neighbor Mark. Worst of all, Mark's sister Mary-Lynette thinks something's up when she spies the three burying a suspicious object in the backyard.

I was particularly amused by the many descriptions of the three vampire sisters and how they are all different-looking but gorgeous nonetheless. And by Ash's multicolored eyes! On the other hand, he quotes Jane Austen and my fifteen-year-old self is still completely in love with him.

I think DoD works best for me of all the NW books because under all the paranormal trappings and soulmate bits, it's a comedy. I love all the bits about the sisters trying to figure out life outside their Night World island, and Mary-Lynette and Ash never cease to amuse me. Also, I remain fond of how the book deals with the issue of soulmates and romantic relationships, especially the acknowledgment that the latter can be work and that the former isn't a guarantee of a happy ending.

Links:
- rachelmanija's review

Huntress is my second favorite NW books and has my favorite heroine, Jez. Jez used to be the leader of a renegade group of teenage Night Worlders, but after she discovered she was half-human, half-vampire, she abandoned them to join the vampire hunters. Unfortunately, now that an apocalypse seems to be upcoming, she's got to rejoin her old gang.

This has got an awesome, fighty girl with flame-red hair and dazzling silver-blue eyes; a tough guy who is actually a giant lump of pudding underneath (honestly, him as a threat to Jez is the least believable thing ever) (he has black hair and silver-green eyes. I know you were all dying to know); millennial apocalypses; prophecies in verse; calling people back from the brink of death with the power of True Love (that is SO not a spoiler); and True Love as expressed through fighting with big sticks. It is AWESOME.

I am so looking forward to buying all these and rereading them when the reissues hit the stores.

Knitting + Taiwan trip pictures

( Giant knitting pictures )

( Giant trip pictures )