Today’s Team review is from Judith W, she blogs at https://readandreview2016.wordpress.com/
Judith has been reading When Darkness Falls by Ellen Chauvet
- Title: When Darkness Falls
- Published: 2016
- Author: Ellen Chauvet
- Started: Sunday 7th August 2016
- Finished: Friday 12th August 2016
When Darkness Falls follows Lexi Miles, an American woman living a glamorous lifestyle with her friend Emma in Paris, France. When Emma is horrifically attacked and murdered by vampires, and Lexis’s world is turned upside down as she makes numerous shocking revelations. She meets Etienne, an enigmatic vampire she can’t help but fall in love with. However, betrayal leads her to seek revenge.
When Darkness Falls was definitely an interesting, but short, read for me.
I liked the use of vampire iconography, like vervain and compulsion, elements of vampire tales first introduced to me through The CW’s The Vampire Diaries TV show, the adaptation of the books of the same name by L. J. Smith, which I’m really enjoying.
The frequent use of violence and bloodshed felt genuinely horrific and dark, making the “bad” vampires seem truly monstrous. However, I thought the logic behind the “good” vampires’ ability to resist human blood (by taking an anti-serum) didn’t seem wholly convincing.
I also thought the story was reminiscent of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, but despite the similarities between the two stories, I found nothing wrong with Chauvet’s narrative, and it was an enjoyable vampire storyline.
However, When Darkness Falls is not just a vampire story, it is an erotic vampire story, and that was my main issue.
Furthermore, I understood the link Chauvet created between the feelings of lust and vampire “bloodlust” –connotations of uncontrollable urges, which even traditional Gothic stories included – and I thought this was cleverly done. However, Chauvet takes these connotations and turns them into sex scenes, which just didn’t add anything to the plot, and the explicit sexual language genuinely shocked me.
Excluding the sex scenes, I thought When Darkness Falls was an enjoyable and interesting book (and still a better love story than Twilight!)
Star Rating: 3/5 Stars
When Darkness Falls is available to buy as an e-book or paperback from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.
Rosie Amber 
Reblogged this on meatdoesntgrowinmygarden and commented:
Another reviewer who doesn’t like ‘unnecessary’ sex scenes
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Yes, I have the same issue with some novels. I never know if I’ve misread the description or perhaps it wasn’t that clearly stated (or it is expected…)
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I hate them, unless they’re necessary for the story, ie, to illustrate the chemistry between two people, and even then they’re embarrassing to read, all too often. After the Fifty Shades explosion I think too many writers thought that every book should have its explicit sex scene, with cringe-making results.
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I have to say, it takes talent to write a good sex scene. I enjoy writing them myself, though I’m not nearly as good as some.
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I prefer romantic sex in novels. However, erotica is a big seller right now, especially in the paranormal genre. Well-expressed review, Judith. Thanks for sharing.
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