Review: Noah by Jacquelyn Frank

Noah by Jacquelyn Frank

Series: The Nightwalkers #5

Publication date: September 1st, 2008

Pages: 471

Synopsis (according to Goodreads):

The Nightwalkers have lived in the shadows of our world for centuries, gifted with abilities few humans can comprehend. For Noah, duty is all--until he meets the woman who is his destiny...

SHE WILL TAKE HIM BEYOND HIS WILDEST DREAMS.

As Demon King, Noah is dedicated to protecting his kind from their human and Nightwalker enemies. Yet for six months he has struggled with vivid dreams that threaten his very sanity. Every night he's tormented by images of a woman both achingly real and tantalizingly beyond his grasp. And his bone-deep need leaves him no choice but to force her to leave the life she's known and enter a world beyond her imagining...

Every day, Kestra risks her life in perilous missions that veer just shy of the law, but she instinctively knows that the imposingly sensual figure before her is a danger unlike any she's ever faced. Kestra has sworn never to trust or need another man, but Noah's lightest touch scorches her with fevered desire, branding her as his mate, blinding them both to the terrifying truth. For within the ranks of their own people lies an adversary growing in number and power. And nothing and no one will be safe again...

Desire awakens at night...

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Review:

Noah was by far the most hefty book in the series. I was completely expecting the fight between the Nightwalkers and the Demon traitor to finally come to fruition in this book. I was expecting Noah to find his way to his true love and mate, as does everyone in the other books did, and then find his way into defeating the enemies of his people and his allies. I was bouncing in my seat when I dug into the book, but was a bit surprised at what the material actually encompassed.

Noah has been becoming increasingly antsy around all the mated and Imprinted pairs surrounding him. He can't help but wonder what has become of the mate he was promised by destiny. Then the dreams begin. A woman enters his thoughts and refuses to let him rest fully any longer. Her face is obscured but the body he craves is not. She always begins each dream trying in vain to fight him off, but ultimately their connection and feelings for each other always ends up overwhelming them both before they can't help but touch and be close to each other. It is only after the dreams immediately stop that Noah starts to worry and seeks help from Corrine, the druid mate of Kane who has the ability to track Druid mates for Demonkind. To Noah's shock and dismay, his dream woman who calls herself Kestra, has perished. It is up to Noah and his 2-year old daughter of the Enforcers and Demon of Time to fix this situation before it can even happen.

Kestra likes to make things explode. She likes her life how it is. No complications, no loyalties except to her coworkers, and no difficult relationships... except for the one with the infuriating dream stalker. As a mercenary she is born to be skeptical of the motives of all around her. The mystery man is no exception. To her surprise he comes to her rescue and saves her from what she knows was a very close brush with death. However, now that he is physically within reach she seems to continue to have issues keeping her distance from him. She feels inexplicably drawn to him and can't figure out why.

All the while, Vampire rogues are on the loose and they are a threat to every Nightwalker in existence. They are killing, feasting, and become more powerful every day. Noah knows it's only a matter of time before he comes for him and his reluctant mate. He needs to convince her to believe in this new world she has been brought into as well as in him as her mate. With Kestra's emotional baggage and Noah's fiery temper, will these two ever see eye-to-eye and find peace in their bond?

Out of the entire series that I have read up until this point, this one was the one I least liked. Noah, while a very prominent character throughout the rest of the books, did not come as a character I was anxious to get to know. I know that him being the Demon King should have held appeal over Gideon, the no nonsense medic, but for some reason he didn't. Add to that the fact that Kestra was frustrating, even to me, and it makes for a mediocre book in my eyes. As with any paranormal romance book, there is sex. Whereas in the other books it was kept to a scene or two, Noah's seemed to be riddled with it. That is something I would expect more out of erotica than paranormal romance.

But there were some good points. It was nice to take a little break from the evil that is the Demon traitor for once. Most of the books are all about the great love overcoming all the obstacles that the "big baddy" put in their way. This one has a little off-shoot evil that they had to handle. I liked getting away from Ruth for a bit. Every bad guy needs a vacation or some time to regroup. Nice to see she got it in Noah.

If Noah were not such a prominent fixture in the story line of the Nightwalkers, I would describe the book as a nice, erotica companion novel. Still worth reading, especially if you like lots of sex and lots of fighting.