NIGHT WORLD Volume 3

Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters -- they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.

The apocalypse is drawing near. But four Wild Powers can save the world from the impending doom. Circle Daybreak, an underground organization with both Night World and human members, is searching for the four who can stop the darkness.

This omnibus contains books seven-to-nine in L.J. Smith's Night World series, and once again introduces a bunch of new characters and expands on the world and myth.

Huntress: Jez Redfern is a powerful vampire who leads a gang of fellow vamps in the hunt for humans. However, her existence is thrown into chaos when she finds out that she's actually half-human. Unable to continue her life now that she knows the truth of her origins, she contacts Circle Daybreak (via her uncle) and starts living her life as a human. However, that plan is ruined when the first Wild Power is discovered and she's sent to protect them...

I enjoyed the nature of this story and felt that the inner battle raging inside Jez gave this book something the others before it didn't have.

Black Dawn: Maggie Neely is a human who finds herself caught in the Night World the night that her brother disappears and is feared dead. In her quest to find out whether her brother really did die, she finds herself captured and thrown into an old secret kingdom.

Another interesting tale that throws the reader into an unexpected facet of the Night World. I definitely didn't expect it, but enjoyed it anyway.

Witchlight: Keller is a shapeshifting panther who is hired by Circle Daybreak to guard the third Wild Power. However, this Wild Power also happens to be a lost witch that is supposed to marry the son of the First House of shape-shifters. This will unify the shapeshifters and witches. But Keller also happens to be in love with the shifter who is supposed to marry the Wild Power... which complicates and could destroy everything.

Another great installment that gives more of an insight into the shapeshifters, while putting the heroine into a really sticky situation of heart versus duty. Cool story!

After reading the three Night World volumes, I can safely say that these YA stories aren't just interesting, full of intrigue, interesting characters, with a good dose of romance, but they also introduce and keep you lost in a magical world where all is certainly not what it seems.

Night World, Volume 2, September 2009, ISBN 9780340996645, Hachette Children's Books