Books4Tomorrow: REVIEW: "NIGHT MARCHERS" (Night Marchers #1)

Title: Night Marchers

Series: (Night Marchers, #1)

Author(s): Rebecca Gober & Courtney Nuckels

Publisher: Self-published

Publication Date: October 14, 2011

Genre: YA Paranormal

Reviewed by: Books4Tomorrow

Source: FREE download

My star rating: 3/5

SUMMARY

This new Young Adult paranormal series will have you averting your eyes for years to come!

NEVER, EVER lock eyes with a Night Marcher! Everyone in Hawaii has heard this warning, except for seventeen-year-old Emma Townsend that is. For most Hawaiians know that looking into the eyes of Night Marcher can strike a curse that will end in death or eternal servitude.

Even though her father, who is a paranormal investigator, solely raised Emma, she has little experience in the realm of the supernatural. When she is forced to move with her father to Hawaii, only months before her graduation, Emma finds that her world as she knows it, is shaken when she starts seeing the unexplainable: fire balls in the distance, beating drums in the middle of nowhere and strangers who vanish into thin air. Then one day when she has a run in with a procession of Night Marchers, ancient Hawaiian spirits wandering from their burial grounds to their locations of battles past, Emma has no choice but to believe that the unbelievable does exist.

Now Emma must go on the run with the help of a mysterious stranger, as they seek out how to free Emma from the curse of a Night Marcher, who will stop at nothing to get her soul.

REVIEW

I’ve had this book in my TBR pile for somewhere close to ten months now, and I was really looking forward to reading it as I’ve read the first book in their Project ELE series and loved it. My impression of the blurb was promises of mystery, intrigue, suspense, and maybe a few chills. At least, that’s what I thought I was going to find in this story when I read the blurb before I downloaded this book. Alas, what I got instead was something completely different.

***spoiler alert***

Let’s see. First half of the book details Emma falling in love with Tristan. Yes, it takes 50% of the book for Emma and Tristan to meet up and fall in love. Now, y’all know I’m not a fan of romance, right? I was curious to read about the Night Marchers though, so I persevered and kept reading. Another 30% then details Emma and Kai falling in love. Sigh. OK, we’re past 80% and the Night Marchers got a few pages mention, but only as an intro for Kai to save Emma so they can fall in love. The last 20% of the book is where it picks up and gets interesting (but still interspersed with Kai’s romantic overtures and Emma berating herself for being in love with two “cute” guys at the same time). The only interesting part about the last few chapters of the book were the Menehues – a city built inside a cave with little people as its citizens. That was a really nice touch and I applaud the authors for their creativity with this.

***end of spoiler***

The characters – specifically Emma, Tristan, Kaylee, and Kai – were pretty standard characters. I kind of liked Emma, but the sappy romance really just wasn’t for me. The colorful backdrop and setting in which the story takes place, was lush and well-described. I could clearly see every single detail of the island and this made it easy for me to place myself in the story right beside Emma. Overall the writing was okay, but it’s definitely in need of some editing. A lot of the time, the dialogue felt forced and awkward, especially between Emma and her father, and made me want to cringe. Although Night Marchers ended with a cliff-hanger ending, it wasn’t enough to get me curious about the conclusion in the second book titled Redemption. From the blurb I was expecting something different, but instead had to sit through a romance novel, and the Night Marchers were a mere mention in the background and used as filler to transition between scenes.

Fans of books loaded with summer romance and “cute” boy-next-door type of characters to make your heart go on a wild gallop, will absolutely love this book. Readers who, like me, expect a plot with twists, dark magic, secrets or legends, voodoo or some kind of island witchery, will be disappointed. My recommendation is that you download this book (it’s free, after all) for when you’re in need of a light bedtime read.