Dawnkeepers – Jessica Andersen

Andersen, Jessica. Dawnkeepers. (New York: Signet Eclipse, 2009). ISBN – 9780451225751.

Main Characters: Nate Blackhawk and Alexis Gray

Related Works: This is part of Jessica Andersen’s series about the Final Prophecy. Other books in the series include the following:

• Nightkeepers – story of Leah Daniels and Striking Jaguar
• Dawnkeeepers – story of Nate Blackhawk and Alexis Gray
• Skykeepers – story of Sasha Ledbetter and ? (maybe Michael Stone) – to be released on August 4, 2009

Description from book:

The countdown to the end of days has begun. According to ancient prophecy, on December 12, 2012, Maya demons from the underworld will trigger an apocalypse. Only the Nightkeepers, mortal descendants of a race of magic-wielding warrior-priest, can prevent the annihilation of all mankind.

Nate Blackhawk can’t help but resent the demand of his bloodline. Unlike his fellow Nightkeepers, he isn’t about to let the gods determine his destiny – especially when it comes to love. Which means he refuses to submit to the unquenchable desire he feels for Alexis Gray, the shockingly beautiful trainee who first appeared in his visions. But that’s easier said than done, considering that Nate needs Alexis’s help in uncovering the seven Mayan artifacts inscribed with clues on how to defeat the demons.

Alexis is willling to do whatever is necessary to prove herself as as Nightkeeper. She believes in the life she was born into and the future the gods have written for her – even when it comes to Nate, who seems intent on ignoring the intense passion between them. But as she and Nate test their powers in a race to recover the seven statuettes before before the demons do, Alexis finds it impossible to deny her feelings for the one man who’s destined to be hers.

My Thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed Jessica Andersen’s Nightkeepers, and had been anxiously awaiting Dawnkeepers for several months. I do find the books themselves to be a bit daunting. They are rather thick with small print and lots of long paragraphs. The world of the Nightkeepers is complex. The Final Prophecy itself is daunting. Using Andersen’s glossary is a must in order to be able to follow along with the story. However, I love the characters that she has created in this series. Strike and Leah were the reason that I loved the first book so much – and I was in no way disappointed with Nate and Alexis’ story either.

Nate is a rather reluctant hero. He does not want his destiny to be mapped out. He resists Alexis for almost the entire book because he can’t believe that she would want him if destiny hadn’t mated them. He doesn’t want to buy into the Nightkeeper mythology, nor do something just for the sake of that mythology. Again and again, he hurts Alexis with his determination to avoid his fate. Unlike Nate, Alexis believes in the Nightkeeper way of life. She is coming into her own, finding her magic and her powers. And, she must do it without the support of her mate. I admired the way that Alexis coped with Nate and his personal demons – which definitely added to her own struggles.

I will say that the most difficult part of the book for me was following the events surrounding the battle with Iago. The mythos involved is complicated, and in this book, the Nightkeepers are losing ground in their battle to prevent the Final Prophecy from happening on December 12, 2012. There is a great deal of magic, and I had trouble keeping track of which people had which abilities – and what those abilities meant. At then end, I felt a bit as if I was hanging, but I think that is because this is a series – and this book only tells of one of the battles in a much larger war. I am anxiously awaiting the next book in the series, Skykeepers, which will be out in August. Hopefully, the Nightkeepers will starting gaining some ground in this next installment!

Read first January 13, 2009