Series Review: Darkness Before Dawn by J.A London

DNF December Review Blitz — Day 3: I’m sharing my thoughts on some book series that I have marked as incomplete as I have never finished the first novel in the series. Find out why these weren’t for me:

Synopsis for Darkness Before Dawn (from Goodreads):
Only sunlight can save us.

We built the wall to keep them out, to keep us safe. But it also makes us prisoners, trapped in what’s left of our ravaged city, fearing nightfall.

After the death of my parents, it’s up to me—as the newest delegate for humanity—to bargain with our vampire overlord. I thought I was ready. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the monsters. Then again, nothing could have prepared me for Lord Valentine . . . or his son. Maybe not all vampires are killers. Maybe it’s safe to let one in.

Only one thing is certain: Even the wall is not enough. A war is coming and we cannot hide forever.

Series: Darkness Before Dawn
Author: J.A. London
# of Books: 3 (Full Reading Order Here)
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires, Romance, Dystopian
Heat Rating: cool
Point of View: First Person, Single
Publication Dates: May 2012 – June 2013
Source & Format: Public Library–eBook

Disclaimer: After completing the first novel, I have opted not to pick up the sequels. Find out why below…

My Expectations:

In the height of the YA vampire craze, this series crossed my radar. I mean, those covers are gorgeous (even if they look like they belong to the Fallen Series)! I briefly started the first book but wasn’t able to finish it before it had to be returned to my library but I managed to get it soon after and pick up where I left off.

I probably should have just left it unfinished. Here’s why:

The Concept / The World:

You could almost label this book as “Teen” simply because of the drama we get for the first half of the book. It’s that petty high school drama of “who is dating who”, Dawn dealing with her boyfriend, mean girls, etc.

From the synopsis I expected some gritty, dark drama about vampires and maybe throw in some grizzly vampire blood sucking or death scenes. And the sad part is that this book could definitely have this darker direction because J.A. London has created a world that could go to that level. Instead they (because it is a mother-son author duo) decides to focus on trivial things and that just didn’t work for me.

The Plot:

With about a third to go, the plot actually turns into something interesting that can get your attention. It’s almost too little too late by that point. Which is a shame because readers probably stopped reading way before this point–and I was nearly one of them.

The Characters:

Dawn wasn’t a thrilling heroine to follow around either; I found her to be a dull character. The worst part: I was completely indifferent to her as a character because she wasn’t overly angsty or anything so I couldn’t bring myself to dislike or hate her–instead I found myself indifferent to her.

I really loved Victor though and I wish he was more predominate or even had narration parts because his character actually interested me.

Will I Finish It?:

Despite the mediocre start, I was willing to give book #2 a shot given the way things were going. I also noticed that the sequels were much smaller in size as well so they wouldn’t be big time investments. But it’s been over 4 years since I read the first book and I haven’t thought about this series besides the time I did a big TBR purge. So, no, I will not be finishing this series at all.