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unikornreads's review
4.0
Read on your own risk.
4 stars are given because Nikki Glass is awesome, there are loads of action stunts, those boys are bastards and hardass, no romance whatsoever at least not with the main character and this book tells with different form of mythology.
Nikki Glass is a private investigator. She's a smart girl and she has a very good critical thinking. All this time, she thought she's just nobody, an ordinary woman, just like others but one night, one tragic accident, changes everything. Her life becomes complicated by then. She's having some hard times. She doesn't trust anybody. She's getting frustrated because she's being accused for a crime she didn't do. She has to protect her loved ones. She has to work with a bunch of bastard guys.
In this book, you'll learn about Lliberi Deorum - children of gods. They're immortals. The Liberi can have children too and thus, there are descendants. Nikki herself, she's a Descendant of Artemis and she's immortal. She's a very rare breed and therefore, people seek after her because of her rare talent, she's very useful and could be use as a vital weapon against enemy or other bad purposes. Then, you'll learn about descendants of Eros, Hades, Zeus, Tyr, Kali, Hermes, Germanic war god, and Loki.
These descendants thingy are so cool. However, I wonder why there's no character of a descendant from Poseidon? Pardon me for my liking to the ocean and sea. :) Anyway, the next sequel will be out on 2012. Wow, that's a long waiting, though but of course, I'm eager to know what's going to happen next.
Crossing my fingers for loads of actions and I pray hard for Nikki to not fall in love with Jamaal.
4 stars are given because Nikki Glass is awesome, there are loads of action stunts, those boys are bastards and hardass, no romance whatsoever at least not with the main character and this book tells with different form of mythology.
Nikki Glass is a private investigator. She's a smart girl and she has a very good critical thinking. All this time, she thought she's just nobody, an ordinary woman, just like others but one night, one tragic accident, changes everything. Her life becomes complicated by then. She's having some hard times. She doesn't trust anybody. She's getting frustrated because she's being accused for a crime she didn't do. She has to protect her loved ones. She has to work with a bunch of bastard guys.
In this book, you'll learn about Lliberi Deorum - children of gods. They're immortals. The Liberi can have children too and thus, there are descendants. Nikki herself, she's a Descendant of Artemis and she's immortal. She's a very rare breed and therefore, people seek after her because of her rare talent, she's very useful and could be use as a vital weapon against enemy or other bad purposes. Then, you'll learn about descendants of Eros, Hades, Zeus, Tyr, Kali, Hermes, Germanic war god, and Loki.
These descendants thingy are so cool. However, I wonder why there's no character of a descendant from Poseidon? Pardon me for my liking to the ocean and sea. :) Anyway, the next sequel will be out on 2012. Wow, that's a long waiting, though but of course, I'm eager to know what's going to happen next.
Crossing my fingers for loads of actions and I pray hard for Nikki to not fall in love with Jamaal.
noemi1010's review
4.0
Nikki finds out she's a descendant of Artemis when she kills another Liberi and gets his immortality. Forced into a fight between two Liberi factions, Nikki needs to decide for by which side to stand to protect her sister and find out more about her family background.
This book was full fo action from page 1, and I'm really curious to see how Nikki's story will progress.
This book was full fo action from page 1, and I'm really curious to see how Nikki's story will progress.
kathydavie's review
5.0
First in the Nikki Glass mythic urban fantasy series about a private detective and the tug-of-war between two different groups of Liberi determined to use Nikki's abilities.
My Take
Oh wow! This was excellent story-wise. Black has an interesting twist on the gods' descendants with a different and nasty rivalry that creates an extremely difficult situation for Nikki. One side believes that responsibility comes with great power while the other side believes that privilege comes with great power. And both want to control Nikki's unique Gift.
My irritation comes with Nikki choosing to keep Steph ignorant and her not being a tattletale. I realize that it's an honor thing, but…ya know…real life just keeps intruding.
I did enjoy Black's creative idea for Nikki's talent as well as the walk down memory lane used to reveal and encourage Nikki to pursue it.
The Story
Ooh, she knows her sister means well, but…must she continually set her up with these jerks! So when Emmitt contacts her while Nikki is on her date, she is eager to take on the request, if only to escape this guy. A choice she soon regrets when her car careens off the icy road as she attempts to avoid the smiling Emmitt, but who could have imagined how very wrong her life could go!??
An entire world Nikki could never have imagined existing. And now she's at the center of the conflict with Steph at grave risk with both sides wanting her, but neither side trusting her. One has already beaten her and threatened her with torture; the other has merely threatened her and her family.
The Characters
Nikki Glass (Artemis) is a foster child. A very lucky foster child in that the last family who took her in, the Glasses and their daughter Steph, loved her enough to keep her and provide her with a trust fund. Even as an adult, they fuss over her as their own.
Members of the "cult" include…
…Maggie (Zeus); Blake Porter (Eros) who uses his abilities to "drown" his victims in desire and lust; Jamaal (Hades) who cannot control his rage long enough to use logic and no lock can keep him out; Logan Fields (Tyr); Jack Gillespie (Loki), who tricks everyone; Leo (Hermes), a recluse and the financial wizard for the group; and, Anderson Kane (a minor god descended from Thanatos and Alecto; Death and Vengeance) who appears reasonable until anger heats him up — he heads up this "cult" of the descendants of gods. Liberi Deorum. Children of the gods. Emma Poindexter is Kane's wife; lost for 10 years. Discovering her whereabouts is the price of Steph's protection.
Emmitt (Hades) had a death wish when he inveigled Nikki into investigating the cult.
The Olympians are…
…the opposing cult. Alexis Colonomos (Zeus) has the temperament of a thug and works for Konstantin, their leader. Peter is a lesser descendant. Dean is a Liberi who works for Alexis.
The Cover and Title
The background is a nightlit downtown city center with Nikki facing us down and a gun held straight out at us.
The title reveals to us what the story reveals to Nikki, who has been in the dark about her family heritage, as a Dark Descendant.
My Take
Oh wow! This was excellent story-wise. Black has an interesting twist on the gods' descendants with a different and nasty rivalry that creates an extremely difficult situation for Nikki. One side believes that responsibility comes with great power while the other side believes that privilege comes with great power. And both want to control Nikki's unique Gift.
My irritation comes with Nikki choosing to keep Steph ignorant and her not being a tattletale. I realize that it's an honor thing, but…ya know…real life just keeps intruding.
I did enjoy Black's creative idea for Nikki's talent as well as the walk down memory lane used to reveal and encourage Nikki to pursue it.
The Story
Ooh, she knows her sister means well, but…must she continually set her up with these jerks! So when Emmitt contacts her while Nikki is on her date, she is eager to take on the request, if only to escape this guy. A choice she soon regrets when her car careens off the icy road as she attempts to avoid the smiling Emmitt, but who could have imagined how very wrong her life could go!??
An entire world Nikki could never have imagined existing. And now she's at the center of the conflict with Steph at grave risk with both sides wanting her, but neither side trusting her. One has already beaten her and threatened her with torture; the other has merely threatened her and her family.
The Characters
Nikki Glass (Artemis) is a foster child. A very lucky foster child in that the last family who took her in, the Glasses and their daughter Steph, loved her enough to keep her and provide her with a trust fund. Even as an adult, they fuss over her as their own.
Members of the "cult" include…
…Maggie (Zeus); Blake Porter (Eros) who uses his abilities to "drown" his victims in desire and lust; Jamaal (Hades) who cannot control his rage long enough to use logic and no lock can keep him out; Logan Fields (Tyr); Jack Gillespie (Loki), who tricks everyone; Leo (Hermes), a recluse and the financial wizard for the group; and, Anderson Kane (a minor god descended from Thanatos and Alecto; Death and Vengeance) who appears reasonable until anger heats him up — he heads up this "cult" of the descendants of gods. Liberi Deorum. Children of the gods. Emma Poindexter is Kane's wife; lost for 10 years. Discovering her whereabouts is the price of Steph's protection.
Emmitt (Hades) had a death wish when he inveigled Nikki into investigating the cult.
The Olympians are…
…the opposing cult. Alexis Colonomos (Zeus) has the temperament of a thug and works for Konstantin, their leader. Peter is a lesser descendant. Dean is a Liberi who works for Alexis.
The Cover and Title
The background is a nightlit downtown city center with Nikki facing us down and a gun held straight out at us.
The title reveals to us what the story reveals to Nikki, who has been in the dark about her family heritage, as a Dark Descendant.
halynah's review
4.0
Four solid stars! I liked the characters, the plot, style of writing and mythology. If you expect romance - that's not your book - it focuses on action. All in all - pretty good!
amybraunauthor's review
5.0
Very, very cool series. A strong female lead, complex and interesting story, awesome action, great characters, and awesome mythology references. Can't wait to keep going! :D
samrushingbooks's review
5.0
This was a really quick and entertaining read. Nikki as a narrator was easy to relate to and it was nice to watch as she was basically forced to accept that woo-woo stuff is actually real. I was really curious about Anderson and whose descendant he was, and I was grateful that we found out by the end of the book. The only half-negative thing I can say about this book is that the back cover summary makes it seem like certain characters would have a larger role than they actually did. Still, I look forward to seeing what happens in the sequel.
beastreader's review
4.0
Nikki Glass is a private eye. Her latest client needs her help to rescue a woman who is part of a cult. The woman, Melissa is ready to leave. Nikki has a bad feeling but she ignores it and agrees to help anyways. Things quickly go from bad to worse. First Nikki has a car accident that kills her client and the next thing Nikki knows, she is now immortal. Soon Nikki is caught in the middle of a battle between the Olympians and Descendants.
Dark Descendant is the first book in a brand new series, Descendant from author, Jenna Black. I have read Jenna’s young adult Faeriewalker series and am enjoying it. The Descendant series is so different from the Faeriewalker series and I like this. Right from the beginning I was hooked on what was happening in the book. I like Nikki. Though, here new powers of immortality would have scared someone else and they did a little to Nikki, she instead decided to embrace them and learn all that she could about them. Even in the face of danger, Nikki was still standing up to the bad guys. To be honest I really don’t know who I am for…the Olympians or the Descendants. They both have great powers that I want to get to know more. I can not wait to read book two.
Dark Descendant is the first book in a brand new series, Descendant from author, Jenna Black. I have read Jenna’s young adult Faeriewalker series and am enjoying it. The Descendant series is so different from the Faeriewalker series and I like this. Right from the beginning I was hooked on what was happening in the book. I like Nikki. Though, here new powers of immortality would have scared someone else and they did a little to Nikki, she instead decided to embrace them and learn all that she could about them. Even in the face of danger, Nikki was still standing up to the bad guys. To be honest I really don’t know who I am for…the Olympians or the Descendants. They both have great powers that I want to get to know more. I can not wait to read book two.
annaclaire's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
adowling's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It's a different take on Urban Fantasy; Greek Gods instead of vampires, werewolves, and the like. Very well paced, zero romance though there were a few graphic points, and a very interesting heroine. That's all I have time to say, there's a second book in this series that's calling my name.