Author: Maggie Shayne
Series: WINGS IN THE NIGHT/TWILIGHT VAMPIRES
Plot Type: Soul-Mate Romance (SMR)
Ratings: Violence—4; Sensuality—4; Humor—3
Titles in Reading Order:
Twilight Phantasies (Tamara & Eric)
Twilight Memories (Rhiannon &
Roland)
Twilight Illusions (Shannon & Damien—aka Gilgamesh)
Born in Twilight (Angelica & Jameson)
At Twilight (e-book
novellas "Born in Twilight" [Angelica & Jameson]
& "Beyond Twilight" [Cuyler & Ramsey])
Two by Twilight (e-book
novellas: "Run from Twilight" [Mary & Michael]
& "Twilight Vows" [Rachel & Donovan])
Twilight Hunger (Morgan & Dante)
Embrace the
Twilight (Sarafina & Willem)
Edge of Twilight (Amber Lily—daughter of Angelica & Jameson—&
Edge)
Blue Twilight
(Maxie & Lou)
Prince of
Twilight (Stormy & Vlad)
Demon's Kiss
(Vixen & Seth)
Lover's Bite
(Topaz & Jack)
Angel's Pain (Briar & Reaper)
Bloodline (Mira
print, e-book, audiobook, 2009) (Lilith & Ethan)
Twilight Prophecy (Lucy & James—aka J.W., son of Amber Lily & Edge)
"Vampires in Paradise" novella in Vacation with a
Vampire anthology (Anna & Diego)
Twilight
Fulfilled (FINAL) (Brigit—daughter of
Amber Lily & Edge—& Utana)
NOTE: Some of the early books are available only in e-book format or as used books, but they are
gradually being republished as paperbacks by Mira. Titles are listed in the original reading
order for the series as provided on the author's web site. Click HERE to view a WINGS IN THE NIGHT family tree on Shayne's web site. Click HERE to go to the WINGS IN THE NIGHT Facebook page.
This post includes a very brief overview of the series world-building along with reviews of the final three novels: Bloodline, Twilight Prophecy, and Twilight Fulfilled.
WORLD-BUILDING
In Bloodline, Lilith and Ethan have
spent their childhoods in an experimental program run by the DPI. DPI
operatives kidnap Chosen children and train them to be vampire soldiers,
brainwashing them into complete obedience. When Ethan and Lilith (both vampires
by now) get together after escaping from the DPI farm, they must decide whether
to escape for good or to go back and rescue the other captives. Complicating
their efforts is Ethan’s brother, James, who may or may not be working against them.
As the story opens,
archaeologist Lucy Lanfair is preparing to be interviewed on a network TV show
about her translation of an ancient Sumerian tablet. As she waits in the Green
Room with the another guest, he gives her a book that he claims contains proof
that vampires exist. To the shock of everyone in the studio, that same man is
shot and killed by mysterious Men in Black (MIB) just as he is going on camera
for the interview. As Lucy attempts to escape from the carnage, she herself is
shot by the MIB, but her life is saved by a gorgeous, angelic-looking man who
later rescues her from her captors only to move her to a different kind of
"prison." James (aka J.W.) Poe is the son of Amber Lily and Edge (Edge of Twilight) and the grandson
of Angelica and Jameson (Born in
Twilight). He and his twin sister, Brigit, are 1/4 human and
3/4 vampire, so they have a slightly different skill set than full vampires.
The siblings have the usual vampiric super strength and speed, plus they can
also day walk and eat regular food. Additionally, each twin has a special
talent. James is a healer who can even resurrect the dead, and Brigit is a
destroyer who can shoot explosive fire from her fingertips. They are, in fact,
complete opposites—the light and the dark. Both are ambivalent about their
gifts.
Getting back to Lucy...The vamps are just as interested in Lucy's translations
as the DPI because the tablets contain a prophecy about the possible
destruction of the vampire race. As the plot progresses, we learn that the
vamps are searching for the location of a centuries-dead Sumerian king so that
they can resurrect him and save their race. At first, Lucy isn't really up for
this whole vampire thing—as you can well imagine—but when she and James begin to
lust after one another, she changes her mind and steps up to the task.
Up until this point, I was fine with the story, but with the introduction of Utanapishtim
(aka Ziasudra,
aka Noah, aka the first
Immortal), the story started to fall apart for me. I can't really go into too
much detail without spoiling the suspense, but let's just say that Utanapishtim
is quite a character and that there are a number of inconsistencies in the way
his character and his intellect are portrayed. It's the usual problem that
occurs when an author bestows magical talents on a character and then isn't
consistent as to how those talents manifest themselves. If, for example, a
character can simply touch a book and immediately commit its entire contents,
to memory why does he continue to speak in barely understandable Pidgin
English? Why doesn't he pick up on the language just as quickly as he absorbs
the contents of a book? Maybe someone should have handed him a grammar book
with a pronunciation guide!
The story ends with an HEA for Lucy and James (as we knew it would), but there are lots of loose ends regarding Utanapishtim and the prophecy, all of which will be dealt with in the next book. Also left hanging is the situation with the vigilante mortals who are burning down houses left and right in the belief that vampires are real and must be destroyed. In Twilight Fulfillment, Brigit, the destroyer, will be going after Utanapishtim (now nicknamed Utana) and meeting her true love along the way.
The story ends with an HEA for Lucy and James (as we knew it would), but there are lots of loose ends regarding Utanapishtim and the prophecy, all of which will be dealt with in the next book. Also left hanging is the situation with the vigilante mortals who are burning down houses left and right in the belief that vampires are real and must be destroyed. In Twilight Fulfillment, Brigit, the destroyer, will be going after Utanapishtim (now nicknamed Utana) and meeting her true love along the way.
BOOK 18: Twilight Fulfilled
Twilight Fulfilled resolves the story arc that began in the previous
book and concludes the series. As the book begins, the small group of vampires
who have survived both the vigilante attacks and Utana's fatal energy beams
have gathered together to mourn their dead and plan Utana's destruction. The
world now knows that vampires exist, and Utana is still on their trail so the
future doesn't look good. They send Brigit (aka the Destroyer) after Utana when
he turns up in Bangor, Maine, and murders a police squad that tries to capture
him after he invades a restaurant. A second, related plot thread follows the
actions of the dastardly Nash Gravenham-Bail, the evil DPI operative who is
gathering up the Chosen—those mortals who have the Belladonna antigen—and
imprisoning them in St. Dymphna, a gothic mansion that formerly housed a
psychiatric hospital. After Brigit and Utana have their first violent
encounter, which results in a draw, Utana meets up with Nash, who offers him a
palatial home, gourmet meals, and plenty of dancing girls if Utana will just
kill all of the vampires left in the world. Although Utana suspects Nash's
motives, he goes along with Nash because they both have the same end goal. What
Utana doesn't know is that Nash plans to kill him, too, after he kills the
other vamps.
As the plot progresses, Brigit masquerades as one of the dancing
girls to get inside Utana's luxurious mansion. She plans to take down Utana,
but gradually the two begin to—Wait for it!—fall in love. Further action
centers on Nash's plan to use the imprisoned Chosen at St. Dymphna as bait to
lure the remaining vampires to that remote location. Then, Utana will kill
them. Nash sets his plan in motion, and as Brigit and Utana take their own
actions to counteract it, Utana reveals some shocking information to Brigit
about her magical powers. As is true in many soul-mate romances, one of the
lovers must make the ultimate sacrifice to save the life of the other, and in
this case, to save the Chosen, as well. The epilogue has the small group of
surviving vampires moving to Romania and the people of the U.S. believing that
vampires are now extinct.
At the beginning of Twilight Fulfilled, I still didn't much like the character of Utana.
After all, he has murdered a lot of innocent humans and vamps since his
reawakening. Also, his cutesy grammatical errors continued to be annoying. When
Brigit fell in love with him, it took me a few chapters to accept that she
could overlook all those deaths and forgive him. But, by the end, the romance
seemed right—a perfect way to end this venerable series.
This is a classic paranormal romance series that Shayne has been writing
for a long time. Don't be fooled by the publication dates. Many of these books
were written in the early-to-mid 1990s and have been reissued in recent years.
Shayne has definitely mastered the art of writing top-notch soul-mate romance.
The characters have just enough complexity and angst to keep our interest, and
the story arc adjusts seamlessly to the various victories and defeats on both
sides. If you love sexy paranormal romance, you'll enjoy this series.
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