Review: Jacob: The Nightwalkers, Book 1 by Jacquelyn Frank

Title: Jacob: The Nightwalkers, Book 1
Author: Jacquelyn Frank
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Grade: C
Reason for Reading: Jane over at Dear Author made a throwaway comparison between Jacquelyn Frank and Meljean Brook over here, which inspired me to check out this series.
Synopsis: Jacob is the demon enforcer for his people. He keeps the human population safe from
those of his people that would do them harm. He knows his duty and does it well.
But, when it comes time for him to face his weakness in the form of human named Isabella
all bets are off. His heart awakens for the first time in centuries and only when
he holds Isabella does he feel completed. But, how can that be? It’s not until he
brings her back to his demon world that they learn the truth of Isabella’s existence
and its importance to Jacob as well as his people. But, will Isabella accept the
love he has to offer or will a mutual enemy destroy all?

My Thoughts: This is a difficult book to grade, because there were things I loved and there were things that irritated me. A lot of my problems with the book stemmed from the fact that I felt I was reading Christine Feehan-light. We have the demons, who are all seriously old-school, live in Gothic castles in England, have amazing powers, and eschew such things as contractions. And Isabella is a petite, delicate woman with masses of long, silky hair. There’s even the fact that Bella can’t be deprived of Jacob for too long because otherwise she’ll die.

Also, speaking of Bella, she very much has an April O’Neil vibe. Once she is immersed in the demon world, she is accepted wholeheartedly, with every other demon falling in love with the perfection that is her. And Jacob calls her his “little flower” and thinks of her in terms that were borderline squicky, describing her as small and delicate and soft and trusting, making her come across as more childlike than perhaps was meant. Jacob also refers to Bella, at one point as his “little enforcer” which completely undermined any sense of equality I thought might be achieved in their relationship, since statements like that come across as patronizing to me.
Another thing that bothered me was Bella’s easy acceptance of suddenly being thrust into demon culture. I suppose it shouldn’t have, since there is little indication that Bella has much of a life before she meets Jacob, except for her sister, who gets a few throwaway mentions now and then until the end of the book. At any rate, I would have liked for her to have been slightly less OK with the situation and suddenly developing this whole new life.

But there were things about the book that made it something more than a complete waste of time. For a delicate little flower of a Mary Sue, Bella’s OK as a character, and I liked Jacob, though I have read similar characters dozens of times. I also thought there were some interesting secondary characters, and was intrigued enough by the sequel bait presented here that I will eventually seek out the rest of the series. The prose is also blessedly normal, and the sex scenes are hot. And Bella does get some funny lines, though sometimes I did struggle to imagine people actually talking the way she did.

Overall, you could do worse than read this book. It’s a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours, provided you don’t analyze it too much.