Afterlight (Dark Ink Chronicles Series #1)

Cultural Coopt

I hate that the author decided to take the culture of the Gullah's and use it as a vehicle for a girl with stick straight hair and lily white skin. It is offensive. I understand the obsession with white skin in vampire novels but it is narrow-minded to take a vibrant African-American culture and repaint it with this particular brush. It's not about race and it is at the same time. It's the use of my family's culture as a way to make this character different but not so different that she's ANY shade of brown. I myself am multiracial I would have taken 1/4 Gullah racially. Seriously.

2 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Everlight

I love this book. I probably read it a thousand times. It has everything: sexy hot tempered vampire, secrets, two evi brothers, fighting, a galiah priest, and a inked reformed bad girl. The only I have to warn is there is a few inapropreite scenes. I would not suggest anyone under 13 to read it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This Book Rocks!

What do you get when you combine a kick-ass female with a wild past and a two-centuries-old sexy male vampire originated from France? You get Afterlight, of course! Elle Jasper's debut is wicked cool! In this book, Elle shows readers the darker, creepier side of Savannah, Georgia, besides adding her own touch of Gothic elements in it. You can observe it in Riley's dressing code and fashion sense.

Riley Poe is an amazing heroine. She's spunky, badass, witty and loves her brother a great ...more What do you get when you combine a kick-ass female with a wild past and a two-centuries-old sexy male vampire originated from France? You get Afterlight, of course! Elle Jasper's debut is wicked cool! In this book, Elle shows readers the darker, creepier side of Savannah, Georgia, besides adding her own touch of Gothic elements in it. You can observe it in Riley's dressing code and fashion sense.

Riley Poe is an amazing heroine. She's spunky, badass, witty and loves her brother a great deal. I'd really like to see the dragon tattoo on her back and arms if she were a real person. She has a soft spot for her younger brother Seth, whom she cares for since her mother died. She always calls him "my baby brother" and I think that is cute, since I did the same with mine.

When Seth and his friends disrupts an ancient stone in Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery, they accidentally releases two evil, powerful vampires --- Victorian and Valerian, descendants of the Strigoi. Then, all hell breaks loose. The two evil vampires, Victorian and Valerian, are out for blood, and they are using Seth and his friends to do lure victims.

To save her brother from eternal damnation, Riley seeks help from her surrogate grandfather, the Preacher, who is a Gullah conjurer. His grandfather introduces her to the Dupre family, who agrees to aid her in saving Seth. But there's something strange about the Dupres. They possess amazing speed, and they can change into terrifying monsters in a blink of the eye. They are actually vampires. And Eli Dupre, one of them, has been ordered to act as her personal bodyguard. As time passes, the mutual attraction between them heightened.

Eli Dupre is like the perfect guy, he's hot, handsome and protective. But he can be pretty scary too, when he gets angry or hungry. He grows fond of Riley, and eventually falls in love with her despite the fact that they are two different persons from two different worlds.

Elle Jasper is a talented writer. She weaves the tale perfectly, and ends each chapter with a surprise. I was eager to continue reading and stopped only when my eyes cannot resist the urge to rest. The setting is written in detail, giving me a clear mental image of the charms of the historical sites in Savannah. There is a quote that reminds me of Twilight, but that's a small thing. I loved the book nevertheless. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the second book in The Dark Ink Chronicles, Everdark!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not so good

Well I have been waiting for this book for months. And what a disappointment. This has a feel of a YA book with adult content. The main character is a twenty-something year old with a mentality of a 15 yEAR old. No I did not like this book at all. I love the book cover but the book fell short. One word to sum it all up MEDIOCRE.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The first Dark Ink Chronicles romantic urban fantasy is a fast-paced thrille

In Savannah, Riley Poe reflects back to her wild youth as now she is raising her younger teenage brother, Seth. She is recognized as one of the city's best tattoo artists; always in demand.

Seth and his friends pull a teen stunt in Bonaventure Cemetery. Their prank backfires when it frees the strigoi vampires, who leave their "prison" taking the humans with them. A desperate Riley turns to Eli Dupre and his kin to save her sibling from the vicious Victorian and Valerian who plan to convert Seth and toast their victory by dining on Riley's rare blood. Eli, sworn to protect the city from the strigoi and to keep Riley safe plans to help her rescue her brother but also hopes to persuade Riley they belong together.

The first Dark Ink Chronicles romantic urban fantasy is a fast-paced thriller starring a kick butt heroine whose unique blood proves more in demand than her unique tattoos. Although Riley's personality and tattoo skills have been used in other series (see Karen E. Olson's amateur sleuth series The Tattoo Shop), Elle Jasper's rendition of the vampire Everdark underworld of Savannah provides a welcome addition to the sub-genre blood bank.

Harriet Klausner

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great Characters Great characters

I enjoyed all of the characters in the book good, bad, and neutral.

Great book could not put it down

I loved this book, it was fun and exciting, i could hardly put it down once i started reading it.

Great Book!!

I had bought this book specifically because i loved the cover. It sat on my shelf for awhile and i finally found the time to read it. It was absolutely wonderful! Riley Poe is a self sufficient 25yr old who takes care of her younger brother, Seth. When Seth starts acting differently Riley starts to worry that he's using drugs. If only. She finds out that something much darker and dangerous is happening to him. Set in Savannah, Georgia, the familiar streets she'd come to love now are home to two dangerous vampires who are using her brother and his friends to lure victims so they can gain strength after being entombed for a long time. Seth is turning into on of the creatures she just learned existed, vampires. Riley is introduced to the Dupre family, who just happen to be vampires. Eli Dupre is put in charge of protecting her and finds it difficult to resist her rare blood type and her body.
Elle Jasper did a wonderful job at writing this book, i am definitely putting it up there with one of my favorite series! Can't wait to read more of her books!! It's edgy and sexy!

loved it!

wow what a great book!

Very Good Read

The author keeps you entertained throughout the book. I definitely think the next book, coming out in June, will be better.

Good read

Overall, this book was a good read. I get that Riley is "original, unlike others" but I felt like the author just kept talling about how kick ass she was. That got kind of old. But the book moved along and kept me interested. It was a good start to a series.

Better than Twilight!

The story was slow at first but quickly gained the depth needed to maintain my interest. The characters are too derived and lacked originality. The story is simular to the Twilight series but more stimulating and mature. The plot's complexity slowly developes and I trust the second book will be more enticing.

you must check it out!!

Good read !

Pretty good.

I liked this book. I don't understand what was so special about the main character besides her blood and then there's her "dark" past that leads to her knowledge of the underworld of Savannah, but there is nothing that captivated me about the character. Her past was forced in your face throughout the whole book. Eventually, I got tired of hearing of it. Besides the main character, I liked everything else.

great read

great read

Vampires, the old South, and tattoos make for a great debut

The cover is nominated for its artwork so if that drew you in, you're not shallow, just possessed of good taste. Everything about this book is designed to suck you in (oops, I really didn't mean to start the vampire puns so early). We have a heroine with the melancholy but hip name of Riley Poe whose fantastically dark backstory proves that this chick can take a licking and still kick some major ass - and how she does it wearing 6 inch boot heels has got to be due to some supernatural talents. Her fiercely protective love for her lone surviving family member, her brother Seth, fuels the story when he falls prey to a majorly bad combo of dark magic, vampire brothers and all due to a seemingly harmless trip to the local cemetery. WILL YOU PEOPLE NEVER LEARN?! Needless to say, Savannah's genteel charm and Southern history lend this book a rich atmosphere, but when Riley has to head back into the dark underground of the city's clubs, we find paths that regular tourists have never trod. It's only with the protection of old African Gullah magic and an aristocratic family of Vampires that Riley can hope to save her brother...and perhaps the whole city. This paranormal urban fantasy packs in the fun with its goth clothes, tattoo art and some great characters. The Dupre' family with its totally yummy trio of Eli, Luc, and Phin, vampiric brothers who are totally hot in, you know, a cold-blooded way, their sister Josie, and their powerful parents all band together to teach Riley what she needs to know to stay alive, to put vampiric bad boys Victorian and Valerian back in their resting place, and to bring her brother back home. And that part where she says she'll do anything to save her brother...think before you speak to a roomful of vamps, honey. Think before you speak.

With a main character named Poe, goth clothes, killer tats & historic Savannah, what's not to like?!

I thoroughly enjoyed Elle Jasper's first book in the Dark Ink Chronicles. Savannah is one of those cities that on the surface (like Charleston and New Orleans)appears to be genteel, refined, and steeped in rich history. But any place that's seen that much life has seen equal parts death. And, boy, does Riley Poe, our reformed bad girl, killer-protective big sister, and tattoo artiste extraordinaire get a big lesson in that when her satisfactory life goes to hell in a handbasket. Her beloved brother Seth changes literally overnight from a trouble-free loving 15 year old to a sullen, disrepectful punk who sleeps all day and runs all night - no, it may seem like sudden onset teen rebellion, but it's oh-so-much worse.

Jasper does a great job of describing the loving us-against-the-world relationship between Riley and Seth, and that makes what happens to him so much more poignant...and so believable that Riley would do anything to save him. Yes, once again it's vampires, but really when stacked up against the drugs and violence and darkness that Riley embraced as a rebellious teen in the real underworld of Savannah, vampires don't seem quite so scary to her...until she gets a closer look at what's in store for baby brother if someone doesn't intervene.

Up to that particular plate steps the Dupre' family and the Poe's Gullah family guardians. It's this history-rich mix of old African magic and Southern French gentility which gives this nascent series a cachet of its own. Plus all the great tattoos...and the goth wardrobe worn by Riley and her assistant, Nyx...and the whole family of great looking vampires which includes 3 gorgeous brothers, Eli, Luc, and Phin, a crazy cool baby sister, Josie, and a powerful parental couple who help to train Riley for the battle to save her brother. Dang, even the wicked brother baddie vampires, Victorian and Valerian are hotly cold-blooded!

A promising and vastly entertaining, not to mention super sexy start to a new series that I can't wait to continue...book 2 coming in June, yay!!!

Let's go back to Savannah!!!

As a recent visitor to Savannah, GA, I cannot wait to go back and see if the sites are real. It was a terrific read that was very hard to put down and get back to work. I would definitely purchase another book written by Elle Jasper. Don't pass up this opportunity.

Not five star!

Not great, not bad, just OK. The character Riley wasn't my favorite, but Eli and the plot was interesting enough to keep reading.

Outstanding Debut

To be honest I picked this book up because of its cover since the summary didn't convince me to. I wasn't disappointed. Riley Poe is a popular tattoo artist in Savannah, Georgia who has had a rough life. You can't help but to like Riley after all she has been through, and for what she has made of herself. She has a interesting family and even more interesting friends that show up throughout the book. The best part of this book is how real it feels. Riley speaks like (I imagine) anyone in Savannah would speak, with an added snarkiness that will leave you laughing on many occasions. This book is a promising start to the series.