Zen is a darkling — half human, half dark elf — in a world that hates him, protected only by having been raised by the Order of the Sun to become a priest. He continues to fail to rise above being an acolyte despite having come of age and longs for a different life, one he only glimpses in dreams when he is with a mysterious, beautiful man he wishes was real.

After encountering an adventuring party made up entirely of other half-races, Zen is drawn to accompany them on their quest to find and destroy a fabled vampire lord. However, the pull he feels toward those lands might be more fated than he realizes.

Purchase: Amazon.com

Goodreads: Courting Nightfall by Amanda Meuwissen

Review

Rating: 5 stars

*I received this novel for free in exchange for an honest review*

Being half-human and half dark-elf, Zen is shunned by most around him including the priests that took him under their protection. Never fitting in, Zen secretly longs for more than the life that he has and when he meets a band of adventurers, Zen decides to accompany them on their quest to kill a vampire lord. However, there are other forces at work, including a mysterious man haunting Zen’s dreams and soon his reality too.

I really enjoyed reading Courting Nightfall. It has action, adventure, paranormal, romance and fantasy – all of which are favourites of mine – in one novel. Zen and his friends’ adventures take them across the land, and you learn so much about the world that the author had created along the way. This is done by cleverly weaving it into the plot, so you learn a little at a time and are not overwhelmed by too much information.

I loved Zen’s character from the start. Despite never being shown much kindness himself, he is a compassionate individual who always strives to do the right thing. Given his treatment by most others, he could have easily gone down another path and even when this is offered, he stays true to himself and the goodness inside of him. The supporting cast are great. Each have their own motivations for going on the quest, but the one thing that unites them is how much they care for each other. True friendship is something that Zen has never experienced before and having this gives his character more strength. Strength that he will need when he learns the truth about vampire lord Gaian and himself.

If you enjoy any, or a combination, of the genres that I mentioned above then you will love reading Courting Nightfall!