I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Night Vision
by
Yasmine Galenorn
horror, urban fantasy in eBook edition that was published by Berkley on July 2, 2013 and has 297 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Hexed, Witchling, Changeling, Never After, Darkling, Demon Mistress, Dragon Wytch, Bone Magic, Night Huntress, Harvest Hunting, Blood Wyne, Courting Darkness, Shaded Vision, Shadow Rising, Haunted Moon, Night Myst, Night Veil, Night Seeker, Autumn Whispers, Night’s End, Priestess Dreaming, Panther Prowling, "Flight From Hell", Flight From Death, Souljacker, Legend of the Jade Dragon, Darkness Raging, Fury Rising, Murder Under a Mystic Moon, Ghost of a Chance, Once Upon A Curse, A Harvest of Bones, One Hex of a Wedding, Starlight Hollow, Moon Shimmers
Fourth in the Indigo Court urban fantasy horror series revolving around Cicely Waters, a young fae queen-in-waiting.
My Take
I had been so looking forward to this story, and ended up gagging my way through it. Galenorn can’t have it both ways. Either the girls are aware of the danger they’re in or they’re not. Because I can’t believe anyone can be this stupid. Cicely is supposed to be so street smart…is she in a coma?
It was like reading schizophrenia-mania with Cicely claiming that, ooh, Gregory, Leo, and Myst are all out to get them and they must take care. They cannot be allowed to prevent the queens from being crowned or their friends hurt or yadda-yadda-yadda. So, naturally, in the best of stupid moves, they’re constantly insisting on wandering off into danger. They go shopping in town and don’t get under cover when it gets dark. They don’t take enough guards with them. They wander off for a walk and insist on being unfettered. They don’t arrange for guards on Veil House. When they go off on one of their rescues, naturally, they wait until noon before they go out. God forbid they should have to wander in tunnels, etc. for more than four hours. Then there’s Crawl of whom Cicely is terrified. Does this help her choose to play it safe, to be practical. Why, noooo, what fun would that be. WTF?
Why would they think they’d be fine in daylight? They know the vampires have day-runners. Heck, Leo was one.
It got to a point where I was crossing my fingers and hoping they’d be taken. Genetic selection at its finest. What goes through an author’s or their editor’s heads when they allow this to slide by? It makes no sense and simply pisses me off. I didn’t want to speak for everyone…*grin*…
In keeping with the lack of intelligence, Cicely plays with her own wind magic and royally screws up the first few times only to “magically” get it when she really needs to use it. The scene in which Lannan finally gets Cicely into his bed is just lame. It feels like it was tossed in for sexual tension. Although, to be fair, it is consistent with the rest of this story. S. T. U. P. i. D.
Huge info dump some twenty pages in. For all Cicely’s supposed to be so street smart, I guess she must have lost it somewhere.
Why bring up the Lupa clan if you’re not going to go anywhere with it?
To be honest, it reads more like Galenorn had to rush this off to meet her deadline. There’s no finesse, no buildup, no thought involved. Try to borrow this from the library instead of wasting your money on it.
The Story
They will be crowned no matter what evil threatens.
The Characters
Cicely Waters is a Wind Witch and an owl shifter, about to be crowned Queen of Winter, an Unseelie Court of the Dark Fae. Ulean is a Wind Elemental bound to Cicely when she was young. Grieve is the love of Cicely’s life, but he was caught by Myst and is now Vampiric Fae and battles the blood lust every day. Krystal is her dead mother. Lord Strict will be Cicely’s chief adviser. The guards who have to cope with Cicely’s stupid childishness include Check who is an oath-brother to Wrath, Fearless, and Teral. Druise is Cicely’s maid.
Rhiannon Roland is Cicely’s cousin. Together they were known as Fire and Ice, Amber and Jet. Rhia will become the Queen of Summer, a Seelie Court. Chatter is also a Cambyra Fae and Grieve’s best friend and cousin; he will become Rhia’s husband and king. They will rule Lainule’s Court of Rivers and Rushes. The Veil House is where Rhiannon grew up with her mother; where Cicely had spent the best summer of her life. Lady Edge is Strict’s twin, and she will advise Rhia.
The Fae
Lainule, the Queen of Summer, has regained her heartstone and is fading. Wrath is her Consort, King of Rivers and Rushes, and Cicely’s father, one of the Cambyra Fae, an owl shifter. Shadow is one of the Cambyra maids. Tabera was the Queen of Winter assassinated by Myst. The Marburry Barrow is near New Forest and where Lainule and Wrath live. The Eldburry Barrow is the palace of Winter. The Snow Hag is one of the Wilding Fae and a conversation with her is terrifying.
The Moon Spinners
The Moon Spinners are a magical society put together by Cicely to conform to the Consortium’s rules. Cicely and Rhiannon are both members along with Luna, a yummanii bard whose song is magic, who wants to open a magic business at Veil House. Kaylin Chen, a 101-year-old martial arts sensei and dreamwalker possessed by a night-veil demon, is in love with Luna. Peyton Moon Runner is half-werepuma and half-magic-born and wants to open a magical private investigation agency that will operate from Veil House.
Rex is Peyton’s newly met werepuma Native American father. Anadey is Peyton’s shmanic witch mother who runs the diner and tried to keep Peyton from her father.
The Consortium
Ysandra Petros looks like a librarian until she puts on her catsuit. She’s the liaison between the Consortium and the Moon Spinners. The Consortium is ruled by the Elder Council and appear to be the hidden rulers of the world while the Reverend Mother appears to lead the council.
The Vampires
Lannan Altos is the current Northwest Regent of New Forest, a vampire who loves to humiliate. He ousted Gregory in Night Seeker, 3. Regina Altos is the vampire Emissary of the Crimson Court, and Lannon’s sister and lover. Sasha is her day-runner secretary. The Crimson Queen rules all vampires and wants the Queens of Summer and Winter safe.
Myst is Queen of the Indigo Court, a Vampiric Fae almost too strong to fight. A fae with ambitions, she was turned by Gregory who thought to have all her power at his command. Cicely was once her daughter, Cherish, many millenia ago who fell in love with Sly, a Prince of Summer, a.k.a., Grieve. Shadow Hunters are the Vampiric Fae forces.
Gregory, formerly the Great, wants his regency back, for he has a queen to overthrow. Leo Bryne was Gregory’s day-runner and is now a vampire with hate for Rhia. Crawl is the Blood Oracle, a seer who is highly esteemed — and feared — among vampires and wields blood magic, but closely guarded to prevent his ever leaving his prison. He’s also the sire of Lannan and Regina.
Cambyra Fae are the Shifting Ones. The Uwilahsidhe are the Owl People of the Shifting Ones. The Golden Isle is their homeland, home for all the Sidhe. The Vein Lords, a.k.a., the Crimson Court, a.k.a., the Vampire Nation, are the vampires. Yummanii are the fully human. The Consortium is a worldwide organization of supernaturals, who, along with the Vein Lords and certain officials, run the world.
The Cover and Title
The cover is cute and very fairytale-ish with its lavender tones in the wintry setting of low-hanging trees. Grieve is in his wolf form and a very hot looking Cicely, wearing her jeans, bustier, and crown, her knife held down by her side, looks back over her shoulder at us.
I have no idea where the title, Night Vision, came from. Once the queens are crowned, they become more fae. It may be a metaphor for what it yet to come with the threat of Myst.
