Monday, December 12, 2011

Review: Dark Seeker by Taryn Browning

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Dark Seeker
Taryn Browning
Released September 27th, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.

*A copy was provided by Taryn Browning for review purposes* 

When I first glimpsed at this cover I was sure it was an adult UF book. It’s not. However, it would appeal to the older YA readers. You will find intelligent characters, engaging storylines and strong world building in Taryn’s Dark Seeker.

In the world that Taryn has built, we have Vampires, and these are not sparkly, dancing vampires either. They’re mean and they WILL bite you! We also have Daychildren which are demons turned to vampires (I know, right? Like, totally awesome!). As for Seekers, that’s what Janie is – our protagonist. Basically, if you’re dead and you’re still walking – Janie will kill you! She’s good at it too! Janie is a wonderful protagonist. She’s tough and she’s stubborn; she has known loss and is afraid to love. She’s a well rounded character with flaws and insecurities that make her incredibly likeable as well as realistic.

Kai is introduced shortly after the start of the book and he is one heck of a sexy male! He’s mysterious, protective and often irritating. I love the guy! He’s the perfect supporting character and fits really well with Janie’s personality. We do have a bit of a love triangle, however it’s not a typical “Oh my, who will I ever choose” triangle. It’s original and has a great twist to it that I really enjoyed.

Imaginative and well thought out, the world building in Dark Seeker is deeply satisfying, if a bit complicated at first. Entering a new world with new rules and new lore is often hard to grasp. I had difficulty differentiating between the Vampires and Daychildren at the start. Not what they were per say, but which was more evil, which wanted to rule over the other – those kinds of details always seemed to slip my mind. Fortunately, the politics of the world building are well spread out throughout the book so I was able to get a clear picture of it all fairly quickly. I was also happy to uncover that this first book in the series is most definitely NOT just a set up. It has a great plot, an exciting climactic ending and a glimpse of what is to come. All in all Dark Seeker is fantastic start to a very promising series that will adhere to fans of The Mortal Instruments series.

4 Hot Espressos
Want a peek at Dark Seeker?
Make sure to check out my Dark Seeker tour stop for an excerpt and a giveaway!

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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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24 Responses to “Review: Dark Seeker by Taryn Browning”

  2. Andrea @The Bookish Babes

    I agree, the author did a great job of world-building. The Daychildren concept was so cool. Kai was…yeah, I really dug him! And Janie is one tough chick. She’s making a mark in the Heroine Tourney.
    Great review!

  3. YA Book Queen

    Glad to hear that it’s imaginative and has good world building! Normally, I’m not too interested in vampire books, but you’ve got me genuinely curious about this one 🙂

  6. Jenny

    A love triangle with a twist? That sounds quite promising:) At first glance I thought this one was an adult UF story as well, but I kind of like that about it, makes an older reader of YA like me take notice:) Thanks for the review Giselle, this one sounds like it needs to make its way onto my list!

  7. Jay Noel

    New lore is a great thing, as I’m wondering just how long vampire stories can stay fresh and new.

    The cover doesn’t look YA at all. But there is no real “older” YA genre yet, so maybe it’ll be a new market as the Twilight readers mature and want something familiar yet more adult.

  8. Giselle

    Thanks guys!

    @Andrea: I thnk I had seen your reviews for this and the short story if I recall. I’m looking forward to book2! 😀

    @Alexa: the Daychildren lore was really neat I loved it!

    @Anna: I’m pretty sure you’d really like this one! There is no insta-love! Teehee.

    @Jenny: The love triangle was great and some may not even call it a triangle at all.

    @Jay Noel: I’m also still amazed everytime I read a vampire book that actually feels unique.

    @Ya Book Queen & @Roro: I hope you like it if you get a chance to read it! =)

  9. Taryn Browning

    Thank you Giselle for your wonderful review and for being part of the blog tour. I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on the the story! <3 Also, a HUGE thank you to everyone for stopping by and leaving your comments. It means a lot! Happy holidays and a wonderful New Year! All the best, Taryn :))

  10. Amy

    Great reveiw. This book is on my TBR list. I have seen a lot of different people talking about it lately and it wounds really good. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

  17. Jen

    This sounds so interesting! Good world-building is always a major draw for me, so I may have to look into this one. Great review, as always!

  18. Book Sake

    Glad that there is more than just a setup in this first book of a series. World building is so important and can be really hard to do right, glad it was done well even with a bit of confusion on the types of characters.

    – Jessica @ Book Sake

  19. Kristan

    Awesome review. Haven’t heard of this book before your review but I’m definitely interested. I’m always looking for YA books that would suit older audiences. And I’m a sucker for a good love triangle =)

    Kristan @ Lost Amongst the Shelves

  21. Giselle

    Thanks for all the comment! <3

    I agree world building is very important it can often make or break a book. It was well done in this one though no worries 🙂

  22. Rebecca

    This one sounds so interesting! I’m glad you liked it. And ohh, TMI fans, eh? That’s totally me! Lol. Now I have to hope even harder I’ll get a copy. 😉 I also miss the evil, biting vampires a bit… I loved Colleen Gleasons Gardella Vampire Chronicles because it had those too (that and vampire hunters during the 19th century.) Great review!

  24. Giselle

    @Rebecca: Ooh I’ll have to take alok at that series I’ve never heard of it – is that bad!? o_O

    @Shellie: It was in my IMM about a month ago or so.