Fallen Dawn

City of the Dead, Volume Two

By: E.W. Roberts

Narrated by: Lisa Negrón

Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

“Find the stolen goods or die.” This is the ultimatum the Council of Elders gives reluctant vampire and former police detective Iliana Dawn. Murdered while investigating a crime scene involving a substance the Council wants in its possession, Dawn was “made” into a vampire, but “unauthorized” vampires are illegal.

Now Dawn, not the most trusting of souls on her best days, must band together with her former police partner Kershaw, her vampire mentor Knight, and his mysterious assistant Ava, and others she feels are highly suspect in order to save her own (un)life by retrieving the stolen goods, while protecting her sister Jeana and others dear to her and trying to navigate her way in her new and often confusing world.

©2022 E.W. Roberts (P)2022 E.W. Roberts

Sassy, alternative, and surprising.

*Please note; I have not listened to Volume 1, so this review is stand-alone, with no preconceptions. No spoilers are included in this review.

Summary
A recently unemployed Cop turned Private detective. Iliana Dawn had to leave the force due to her being murdered whilst investigating an unusual crime. Now. Usually, that's the crescendo of a book or the twist at the end, especially with the protagonist in mind.

But no, this is where our story begins. You fumble and fall through this dark new world with Dawn. Learning how to navigate her new existence and survive, even beginning to thrive in it.

All the while, she's coming to terms with the fact that she's dead (well, undead), dealing with her new life, trying to look after her younger sister, paying bills, and keeping the inevitable thirst at bay.

The plot thickens further when Dawn is kidnapped and placed on trial by the Council of Elders for reasons, she doesn't understand...Helped along by her ambiguously trustworthy friend Knight.


Writer's style
E.W Roberts style was enjoyable and nicely paced. I enjoyed the sassiness and nonchalance of the main character, with a hint of 'devil may care'. Nice.

Additional characters have their backstory, which you give glimpses after each encounter until Roberts wishes you to know more. Again, nicely done.

The book's narration was excellent and added nicely to the world created by E.W Roberts.

Finding a new take on a mainstream horror genre is difficult, especially with the Vampiric one. But this is tackled nicely and gets you thinking about how you would survive in this environment, not to mention entertaining you along the way.

Would I recommend this book?

The listener finds out very early on that this is a vampire-based novel. Now, personally, this could have been a quick delete out of the audio library, as this genre has sooo played out. As a result, this path had to be carefully trodden; otherwise, stories can become hammy and predictable.

Fallen Dawn: City of the dead Vol2 gave a great alternative to the genre, which I didn't think could have been tinkered with anymore.

I love Vampire books and films, but I am picky with the ones I choose to listen to/read. Fallen Dawn: City of the dead Vol2 is a pleasant surprise and a book I'd gladly listen to again. It was entertaining, gritty, and with a few unsuspecting twists and turns.

You couldn't ask for more!

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.

Love the story

This was a great story. I look forward to the next book. Keep up the great writing.

Awesome continuation!

Loved it! Perfect second book to pick up after Descending Dawn. The story picks up right after the first book and delves quite deeply into this world of vampires. Narration was excellent again with even more characters to voice. I also really enjoy the writing style and pacing. Definitely recommend this book. Now to re-listen to see if I missed anything the first time around.