Title: Night World Vol. 2 (Dark Angel, The Chosen, Soulmate)

Author: L.J. Smith

Publisher: Simon Pulse 2008

Genre: Vampires

Pages: 688

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Vampires

How I Got It: I own it!

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.In Dark Angel, Gillian is saved from drowning by her guardian angel. Only visible to Gillian, Angel will fulfill her heart's every desire. But when Angel starts making strange and sinister requests, Gillian must question who he truly is and where he came from.

Armed with a wooden stake, martial arts, and the will to resist a vampire's mind control, Rashel struggles to avenge her mother's death in The Chosen. Then she meets Quinn, her soulmate, who is part of the world she has vowed to destroy.

Hannah receives notes warning her of incredible danger in Soulmate. But if death is her destiny, is the Lord of the Night World's love strong enough to save her?

I have a confession to make: I didn't actually finish this book.  I read the first two stories, but then I got upset and stopped reading the book.  Let's discuss the first two stories and then I will get the issue that stopped me reading.

Dark Angel -- I liked how this story started.  I liked Gillian and her radical change.  I also liked Angel.  His character was very interesting.  You start thinking he's the best thing that's ever happened to Gillian.  But then little things started happening.  And you start thinking that there's something wrong with this whole story.  I liked the story.  And then we find out that Gillian's soulmate is David and the ending felt way too formulaic and a cop-out.  On to the next story...

The Chosen -- Right away, this story struck me as wrong.  The beginning flashback of how Rashel became Rashel the vampire hunter was so clichéd.  I knew that the vampire that killed her mother would come back and guess what... he did.  Of course.  And then she met Quinn and of course they're soulmates.  It just seemed so clichéd.  I finished the story, but that was it.

So my problem with the Night World stories... soulmates.  In the first volume, we are told that people finding their soulmates is incredibly weird.  Very rarely do people find each other.  And yet, in every story in the volumes, characters find their soulmate. And the soulmate is always from the wrong world.  One human, one Night World.  Therefore, I am done with this series.  I can't keep the formula going.  So I'm done and moving on to something else.

Night World

1. Volume 1: Secret Vampire/Daughters of Darkness/Spellbinder
2. Volume 2: Dark Angel/Chosen/Soulmate
3. Volume 3: Huntress/Black Dawn/Witchlight