Nocturnal by Chelsea Cameron

Page Count: 232

Rating: 2/5

Seventeen-year-old Ava-Claire Sullivan’s mother is dying. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that her greatest solace comes from someone who’s already dead.

Peter Hart saves her one night in a graveyard from an attacker just as strange as he is, and now Ava can’t stop thinking about him. She wants to see him again – even after he warns her he’s dangerous, and she begins to realize what he is. Her best friends don’t know anything about death, but Peter does, intimately. He’s waiting for her the next night she comes to the cemetery, and the next…

But their growing bond comes up against a promise Peter made a long time ago, a promise that could destroy them both. Now Ava has to decide just what she’s willing to give up to hold onto the one thing that could last forever.

Nocturnal is a rather dark read that starts off with a rather hard hitting scene that sets the tone and really helps you connect to the main character. Ava is told her mother is dying of cancer and only has about 6 months left, and her world is immediately tilted on it’s axis.

This book had me really interested but it also had its issues that brought it down a few stars for me. The connection you gain with Ava in the beginning of the novel kind of faded slowly and left me trying to figure her out. I understood keeping her mother’s condition to herself and I understood the pain of having that knowledge, but I didn’t understand how she could let a boy (and a rather creepy one) cloud her thoughts so much during such a emotional time. I did enjoy the different lore given for the vampires, or in this case the Noctalis. It’s a fresh take and not really traditional so it’s something unexpected. The book slowly builds to the climax which is near the end and then kind of fell a part for me, suddenly everything was a rush and the quality fell lower.

Ava is a rather odd girl and initially relate-able but looses that in the course of her obsession with meeting Peter late at night. I say obsession because that is literally the only way I can see it because the guy basically admits he wants to kill her…and she accepts this, brushes it aside, and continues to meet him. I understand not being in a healthy mindset after finding out your mom is dying, but I don’t see this as a reason to become enamored with a potential killer who lurks in a graveyard and barely says anything to you. I found Peter to be a rather flat and stiff character which i didn’t really care for or find all that attractive. His POV excerpts were kind of boring and while they did give his character more depth it didn’t really do all that much to improve my already waning interest in him. Her friends Jaime and Tex are a bit more interesting though they were a tad one note as well. Tex is a party girl who only cares about having fun and Jaime is the protective guy member of the group. Ava’s mother is the only character I liked but sadly the whole plot revolving around her mother is slowly making its way to being swept under the rug. I enjoyed their time together but it takes a back seat and I don’t see it making a come back in the next book.

This book was a tad underwhelming to me and while I enjoyed the overall concept and the beginning it lost a lot of it’s appeal as soon as the love interest was introduced. Despite the unique lore it became a bit predictable and a bit sloppy toward the end. I’ve noticed that I’m in the minority when it comes to ratings so I recommend going and checking out other reviews on this one as well.

You can purchase Nocturnal here on Amazon:

Nocturnal: The Noctalis Chronicles, Book 1

Other books by this author: