What would you pay for your freedom?Caught by a powerful lord from the alternate realm of Arkavia, Taya’s offered the chance to avenge the dead, save her home world, and win her freedom.Her days of stealing supplies and surviving among the remnants of Earth are over, but can she afford the price of Lord Thane’s deal?
The Night House
By jcmckenzie
This standalone fantasy romance is an exhilarating and stunning read that readers can’t put down! The characters are powerfully strong and demand attention from the very beginning and readers won’t be able to get enough as their romance burns slowly getting hotter and hotter which works great for this brilliant and creative world. The story is kind of an alter-realm invasion story that masterfully blends familiar story elements with unique elements in a bubbling cauldron of intensely suspenseful & emotionally gripping events while the setting of which is a sort of a historical world full of magic adds to the ambiance of the story although the story can’t really be labeled as historical because it feels more like a futuristic or apocalyptic setting.
The fast pace ensures that readers never have a chance to become bored and steadily builds adrenaline pumping expectation throughout the story as Taya and Thane strive to uncover the culprit behind a magical conspiracy. While the romance may not be the biggest part of this story, there is an HEA and readers can’t help but be awed by the female heroine, magic filled swords and the gratifying blend of elements that makes a wonderfully entertaining reading experience.
This is incredible. I don’t even know how to describe what I just read. I haven’t been enthralled with a book this much in a long time.
Have you ever been so into a story you resent your family for wanting your attention? It’s a good thing I read fast or they might have starved. I found myself standing up and walking around the room occasionally to catch my breath, though. The story hits that hard and fast. Just when you think it may slow down a little—bam—something else happens.
Scene setting? You can smell the smoke from the campfires and shiver from the wind and snow.
Character development? Absolutely. The main characters, Thane and Taya help each other grow and expand farther than the magnificent people they are in the beginning.
Story flow? It flows like a swollen river and you struggle to keep your head above water for the next chapter.
This book has it all—Murder, mayhem, magic, and romance. In a nut-shell…I’m blown away.
Taya is the only survivor in her group when the Blue Wave hits and she watches her friends disappear right in front of her. She swore vengeance. Now she just has to figure out what happened, why it’s happening and make the bad guys pay.
But there are men on horseback wearing armor and rounding up survivors. She’ll need all the skills she ever learned just to live. And there is more involved with the men on horseback than she can ever imagine and when she is captured and taken with them she uses this as a way to continue getting her revenge.
But she’s more than a prisoner and she’ll find there is more to the disappearance of her friends that she can ever imagine and she’s an integral part of the whole story.
Great book. I was waiting eagerly for it and it did not disappoint. There is action and romance and sword fights and evil wizards – yes it all works. I was going to read half one evening and the other half the next night – unfortunately, I was unable to put it down. I did try—I put it down and turned off the lights and 10 minutes later I was reading” just one more chapter” until it was finished. My recommendation is don’t miss this book, it’s a ton of fun, but plan enough time to read it in one setting. (I voluntarily reviewed an ARC).
Taya is out camping with her girlfriends when the Blue Wave hits, killing everyone she loves in an instant. Her friends are nothing but piles of ash but Taya appears to be none the worse off. Eerie. She packs when she can fit in her backpack and heads off for the nearest town. She appears to be alone but then she sees what’s she discovers later is the invading force known as the Arkavians. She’s captured by Lord Thane and he gives her a choice: become a slave in his house or bond herself to him as his own personal bodyguard. Once her choice is made, she’s thrust into a world she’s never known with powers she never knew she possessed. Her hatred of Arkavians and what they did to her loved ones burns bright but so does her attraction to Lord Thane. One way or another, she’ll survive because she’s her father’s daughter.
The Night House is one of those novels that straddles genres but readers don’t notice because they’re so engrossed in the story. From the beginning, one word echoes in the background: survival. The isolation Taya feels resonates is countered by all the lessons her father taught her. The action is intense, especially when she and Thane meet. He sees something unique in her and offers her a deal. Taya and Thane are a classic enemies to lovers couple yet with plenty of snark to make things interesting. The plot moves at a quick pace and the world-building is exceptional. I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like this before.
If you’re a swords and sorcery fan and looking for something completely new, I recommend this book. If you’re a fan of strong heroines and an equally strong hero, this book is for you. If you love dystopian fiction with a bit of romance thrown in, this is your next read. Highly recommend!
My Rating: 5 stars
A mysterious blue wave of magic rolls across the earth killing almost everyone. With well-honed fighting skills and survival instincts, Taya stays alive. She learns that warriors have come from another dimension to reap the world of its resources. They are called Arkavians. She calls them, “ … a civilization of good-looking locusts.”
Thane, a member of the royalty in Arkavia, is attracted to Taya’s Arkavian-like features, integrity, and personal power. Using a non-permanent, magical bond he ensures her service for a year as his bodyguard
On the first day of the invasion she promised herself that she would avenge the death of her friends, but as she spends time with Thane her feelings become complicated. “Guilt stabbed at her chest. Guilt for surviving. Guilt for living among the enemy and not trying to slit their necks at every opportunity. Guilt for actually liking the men on Thane’s team and guilt for … guilt for Thane.”
Taya struggles with her feelings as she helps Thane uncover layers of betrayal in his elite society and the true history of the portal connecting their realms.
This book is truly a flashlight-worthy read. J.C. McKenzie pulled me into the story on the first page and never let me go. There’s lots of plot, lots of action and hot romance coiled with emotion. Taya is easy to relate to and Thane is a memorable hero with a heart of gold and a body of steel. While the fight scenes are detailed and emotionn-drivenn, McKenzie’s trademark humor lightens the darkness to create a well-balanced tone of adventure, love and fantasy.
I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy post-apocalyptic stories, or paranormal romance.
I would give it 5 stars!
New to me author.
What a thrilling story this was.
Taya is not your typical female, she is rough and strong.
Out on a camping trip with friends, and literally, all goes to hell in a handbasket.
Enter one sexy warrior from where? What?
When all choices are taken from Taya what decisions will she make?
Gripping, action-packed, and wickedly good reading. I truly enjoyed this book.
If you love books with loads of action, fighting, a slow burn romance and a kick-ass heroine then you won’t want to pass this book up! The story is fast paced and a pretty short read. I really enjoyed the story and can’t recommend it enough. Plus I adore that cover!
I voluntarily received and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.
Final Rating: 5 Stars
THE NIGHT HOUSE is a standalone post-apocalyptic fantasy romance that seamlessly blends medieval knights and sword-play from a different planet with current day earth.
This was a fantastic read, ticking most of my boxes. Thane and Taya have sparks flying aplenty when they are meet and these continue throughout the book. I loved not only Thane though, but his whole team. They were all strong characters with a strong sense of duty and loyalty. Once Taya was part of their team, that was it. No stupidity or senseless behaviour, just helping the newbie out where possible.
If I could give out half stars, this would be a four and a half! The reason for that half star being knocked off would be the ending. It felt very quick to me, almost as if the author was running out of available words in her word count. Big build-up followed by events happening very quickly and not taking up much page space. Still, I loved this book anyway, so perhaps that’s why it seemed to end too quickly!
If you like fantasy and contemporary genres merged together, then I would definitely recommend this book!
Taya from earth and Thane the invader had a very rocky beginning. But the sparks flew from the moment they met. The journey they took only made them that much closer. Great read for a great HEA.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Fabulous!!! This one is on my favourite shelf for sure! It can be dark , there are moment wonderfully written but sad and some right at the beginning but the story is simply great! Taya is caught in a situation not even nightmares could have prepared her for but fortunately for her, her family wasn’t like every other so she isn’t completely helpless.
Still we see a young girl loosing everything but with a mind strong enough to keep fighting for her life and freedom. I really loved this heroine.
The invaders are not so easy to understand, there are divisions in their world too and some are not as bad as others. Thane is a noble but second son but since the beginning he show some honour…then he act with Taya giving her choice because he does detect something in her but it goes deeper than that. He really understands her and he is a good soul despite the family he has.
That reflect also in his choice of companionship: Axel, Lokni and few others are more like brotherhood than servants and they do include Taya in their rank without consideration of her being female, she is part of their group thus get the same protection as any other from said group.
There are intrigues as we discover the Arkavia world, romance, lot of action as we follow Taya when she is trained then acting as bodyguard. there also have some funny moment.
Really the rhythm is perfect! a real page turner. It’s a standalone and we can appreciate that fully as when we finish the book we do have all our answer, we can have a feeling of satisfaction and still we are open to imagine a sequel we don’t need it, it probably not be written but we can easily imagine it ourselves.
It’s really a ” coup de coeur”, i recommend it without hesitation
Well this book totally blindsided me. I looked at the cover and expected urban fantasy then I started it and thought oh it’s going to be dystopian. Well let me state here and now that I was totally wrong as our very accomplished heroine Taya stepped into a world that felt both magical and medieval. If I had to categorise this book it’s probably fantasy but done in a very unique way.
There is romance but it’s a slow build up which works well although as a reader I could see it coming. Taya is pretty awesome although I did find her change from normal everyday young woman to bloodthirsty assassin a little odd. Something was pretty obvious and the ending confirmed it but actually I didn’t mind because I was thoroughly enjoying guessing what would happen next. The end and epilogue to my mind felt a little too quick but I guess it’s left in such a way that if the author ever decided to revisit these characters she could. So in conclusion I really enjoyed my first book by this author and I’m struggling to rate it but as the ending did feel a little too rushed and trite I will go with four but honestly it’s well worth your time.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
The Night House
J. C. McKenzie
This was a great story. I loved the characters, and the storyline. Taya was a great heroine. The story really pulled you in, and made you want to read the it as fast as you could. Loved it!!