Night’s Honor (Elder Races, #7) by Thea Harrison
PNR
September 2, 2014
Berkley
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “My beloved is mine, and I am hers.”
Tess has made a powerful enemy among the Elders and needs protection fast. She decides to apply to be a human attendant to a Vampyre of the Nightkind in hopes that whoever chooses her is strong enough to defend her from what’s coming for her.
Xavier del Torro is the right hand man to the King of the Nightkind. The legends that surround this man scare even the most cautious of men and women. Tess’s audition to be a vampyre attendant intrigues Xavier so he offers her a trial period. One year to prove to him her loyalty and commitment.
Xavier frightens Tess but his old world charm and integrity appeals to her. As she learns to deal with the dangers of her new position, she begins to fear for the danger to her heart.
Night’s Honor is the seventh book in Thea Harrison’s Elder Races series. Harrison turns her sights onto the Nightkind and the vampyres who control it. We first met Xavier during Serpent’s Kiss. As the right hand man to the now King of the Nightkind, he was instrumental in helping to force the Queen of the Nightkind to abdicate her throne. Though touted as a bit of a villain in Serpent’s Kiss, Xavier proves most assuredly that he is not. Everything he does is to protect his king and his people.
I enjoy Thea Harrison’s series, The Elder Races. Set in modern times, we are submerged into a supernatural world filled with eccentric deadly shifters, intelligent humans, sneaky vampires, snobby elves, and all manners of in between. Suspense, intrigue, humor, and seductive romance makes for an entertaining series that keeps readers happily engaged.
A smooth storyline and intriguing characters immediately locate you back into Harrison’s world as though you never left. Heavily character driven, the world building continues to expand and evolve in this installment, veering off and taking us along a different path. This installment is what I would call a bridge. It seems to run simultaneously with Lord’s Fall and offers us insight into the Nightkind and the troubles the race is experiencing; opening up new plotlines while giving readers a softer romance than normal.
Tess is all human with a smidgen of telepathy. A former accountant and talented hacker, Tess worked for a powerful genie in a gambling casino. Seeing and hearing something she shouldn’t have, she puts her life at risk to save another and garners her boss’s wraith. Choosing flight instead of flight, Tess leaves everything behind and goes on the run, hoping to find protection in the supernatural world. I liked Tess in that she was aware of her limitations and reacts realistically to things happening around her. She questions the wisdom in approaching and hiring herself out to a vampyre, but her circumstances demand she find safety so she deals with it the best she can.
“Tess, you are good for my soul,” he said. He gave her a completely serious look. “If I ever feel that I am suffering from an overabundance of pride, I shall look for you immediately so you can trample all over it.”
Xavier was a former priest and was betrayed during the Spanish Inquisition. His family and lands were taken from him but a deal struck with Julian, King of the Nightkind, gave him the means in which to extract his revenge. Now centuries later, Xavier has a stable of attendants that he protects and provides for with care and consideration. They are his employees and friends. He is more patient than most in his race that this helps him to deal with Tess.
While I enjoyed this visit back into Harrison’s world, this particular story is extremely low key compared to what we have seen in previous installments. I found myself more intrigued by the subplots concerning the fae and their interactions with the Nightkind. Light action and suspense rallies my interest but on the whole, I wasn’t bowled over by this one.
A majority of the book focuses on Tess, her journey into the Nightkind world, and her growing attraction to Xavier. A soft connection between them hums through out the story, gaining in strength each time Xavier and Tess come into contact. Xavier proves to be a romantic and a penchant for quoting the Songs of Solomon when he is feeling amorous. :P Their attraction seems to morph into love rather quickly, especially after Tess proves her loyalty in a most dangerous way.
The conflict is resolved far easier and with less fanfare than I expected. It was a lightweight plotline that left me wondering if Harrison plans to revisit and divulge deeper into it in the future. We are left with a small epilogue and cliffhanger that clues us into the next book involving a couple with an explosive history. Though the tone and presentation of this book wasn’t quite what I had hoped for, I am looking forward to see what Harrison has in store to come.
RATING: C
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One thing I love about Harrison’s series is that she re-visits characters to bring us up-to-date on what’s been going on. I like the fact that we got a glimpse into the Nightkind and the Light Elf demesne; as much as I love Dragos, all shifters all the time would become boring after a while.
I wouldn’t mind revisiting some other couples too!
Agree. I love seeing previous characters. I would love to revisit Grace and Khalil. I loved their story.
I have really enjoyed the books in this series about Pia & Dragos but have tried (some never finished) the other books in this series. The story of Tiago & Tricks was a major disappointment for me (the sneak peak she gave us lead me to believe it would be just as enjoyable as Pia & Dragos…. but I was bored to tears with it. I trust my reviewing ladies at smexybooks.com so I will pass on this one…
I in general have enjoyed her books involving other characters but this one was a bit…off.
Agree as well. This book – and I’ve read all of the Elder Races – didn’t have the snap and humor I’ve come to associate with the series. The tone reminded me more of Harrison’s Rising Darkness.
Yes, I agree. Too somber and laid back for the overall tone of this series. I was really dismayed by the the lackluster conflict resolution. Maybe it will be revisited in future books.
Oh, sadness. I really loved this one. But it’s definitely tonally different than the other books.