Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski

Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski

Release Date: May 1, 2016

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Rated: YA 13+

Format: Paperback

Source: Pansing

Buy: Available at all good bookstores!

Goodreads ● Website (Halpern) ● Website (Kujawinski)

The sun is a sliver of light on the horizon. The weather is turning cold. The dark is rising. And soon it will be night.

On Marin and Kana's island, sunrise doesn't come every twenty-four hours–it comes every twenty-eight years. The twins and the rest of their village are making preparations to leave, but Marin finds the eerie rituals frustrating. Locks must be taken off doors, tables must be set as if for dinner–but no one will tell her why.

And then, just as they are about to sail, Marin and Kana's best friend Line goes missing. They know where he has gone, and that they're the only ones who will risk saving him. But will the ships wait?

Night is falling. Their island is changing. And something is stirring in the dark.

I'm someone who can't stand horror films, unless they've got some sort of awesome psychological twist or backstory to them. Books on the other hand? I love the ones that can intensely creep me out. Nightfall definitely did that–so much so that I couldn't continue reading this one at night. I enjoyed the original concept and dove into this one after hearing quite a bit about it.

For me, this book felt a lot more plot driven rather than character driven. The only character I could really see with an internal struggle, who also made the book more complicated and interesting, was Kana. Marin and Line didn't seem to have that much depth to their characters, and I couldn't really connect to them as I did with Kana. While normally I wouldn't enjoy a book if I didn't have a grasp on the characters or feel invested in them, the story really pulled me along, which made this a worthwhile read, in my opinion.

❝My parents are on the boats. Okay. Me, my brother, and Line are still here. She could feel the panic rising again as she built to the final truth. 

Night has fallen. And it will last for a very long time.❞

–p. 108, paperback.

Butttt....here comes my problem. Most of the book was strong–it held up that thrill, that suspense. The last quarter of the book, however, was kind of a let down. There's not really an explanation for things, and just as you feel as if there's more to this world, the story lets go of it. I'm just hoping there's going to be a sequel, because there's absolutely a lot more that can be done with the series. If there is, I'll definitely be picking it up.

Besides my issues with the last part of the book, Nightfall was bewitching and spine-tingling levels of creepy–it had me on the edge of my seat. Halpern and Kujawinski's collaboration reads like a twisted and wonderful fantasy of horrific proportions that will have readers starving for more.

▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Sasha at Pansing for sending me a copy for review! ▪ ▪ ▪

If you like this, try...

• Shutter by Courtney Alameda ● Goodreads
• Survival Colony 9 by Joshua David Bellin ● Goodreads