This was pretty impressive for a 13 year old. As a 25-year-old who has been trying to get published since 13, I admit to some jealousy! I was impressed with the way the author took the myths about vampires and changed them all--she didn't just disregard them the way another young author might; she actually took the time to explain them and why they weren't true.

The format of the book, alternating between the present struggle with Aubrey and her past, was nice. It flowed well, and gave an intimate picture of Risika and her family. Alexander's fate was handled well, and there was some nice foreshadowing. Aubrey is a classic bully, and I did wonder why she persisted in believing for 300 years that she HAD to fear him, but the building conflict was interesting to read.

One problem I had with the book, which kind of flawed everything for me, was why her mysterious visitor waited 300 years to get in touch with her, when that person should have been able to contact her at any time since her transformation. I haven't read Amelia's other books, though (have Demon in My View checked out for my next read) and perhaps that's a question that will be answered later.

I read this book in a couple of hours, and enjoyed it. I'm not going to go out and buy it, and probably won't reread it, but I will read the author's other books. I think she's a promising voice in YA fiction, and I'd love to see her mature into writing adult fiction as she gets older. I'm not dissing YA fiction, because I'm technically a real adult but still love reading YA; I just look forward to seeing her handle darker themes in a longer format.

I read this book at the insistence of my 12 year old daughter Sarah. I was impressed with the young author's ability to tell a compelling and interesting story which I have to say grabbed me from the first page and which I did not put down until I had finished it. Ms. Atwater-Rhodes shows great promise and is to be congratulated for her fine debut effort. I have taken that fact into account in giving the book a 4-star rating, along with its clear appeal to teen readers, which I think is excellent. I certainly plan to read the sequel "Demon in My View". Ms. Atwater-Rhodes, by the way, has some interesting ideas about vampires which you can discover by reading the book (note to adults: it will not harm you!) and all in all the book was very entertaining, interesting, and enjoyable. My daughter, by the way, has read the book 5 times and its sequel 4 times. Attention parents of teenagers looking to buy a book for them they might actually read - buy them this one, not the horribly over-rated Harry Potter!

To think that a thirteen-year-old could write a novel to be published is astounding. But add to it the facts that it had wonderful dialogue, a dark atmosphere perfect for the genre, and great vocabulary unexpected of a teen, and you have a book far beyond astounding.

IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT is the short but well written story of Risika, a 300-year-old vampire who is still struggling against the battle between her human "morals" and her vampiric apathy. Then there is Aubrey, an even older and stronger vampire who threatens both Risika and her beloved tiger, Tora. IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT alternates between the year 1701, when Risika was changed, and the present.

The story is full of unwavering suspense, though some may say that the author's style is following the ways of veteran horror novelists like Anne Rice and Stephen King. But overall, an amazing debut from Amelia Atwater-Rhodes!

For seventeen-year-old Sarah, the world has always been a black and white place, where a distinct line exists between good and evil. The humans are good. The vampires are evil. And in between exists the witches, who use their powers to protect humanity by killing vampires. As the youngest daughter of the Vida line, Sarah has been trained nearly all her life as a vampire hunter. On her first day at a new school, Sarah recognizes a brother and sister, Christopher and Nissa, as vampires, but the pair, who no longer kill to feed, are too weak to sense who she is. At first, she views the pair as dangerous, but she comes to realize that they have managed to keep some part of their humanity. But in the process of hunting down Nikolas, an evil vampire the Vidas have sworn to destroy since the day he killed one of their own over a hundred years ago, she discovers just how dark Christopher's past is. Fans of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes previous two books are sure to enjoy this one as well.

This book unfolds around Sarah, youngest daughter of the Vida Line. In this story, vampires are bad, humans are good..and witches are in between. The witches job is to slay vampires to protect the human race. Sarah, has been trained nearly all her life to slay vampires.Tthe first day of school she senses two people as vampires. Nissa and Christopher, who are too weak to sense Sarah's powers. She first takes the impression that they are dangerous but soon she realizes then are not. As this book continues you'll realize many things. Although this book seems confusing from time to time, the plot is awesome and will have you guessing. I think if you enjoyed other books by this author, like I did...you'll find Shattered Mirror just as great!
I highly recomend this for the Atwater fans, and I know there are plenty. Other books that are awesome, written by Amelia Atwater Rhodes are : In the Forests of the Night, Night Predator, and Demon in my View. I can't wait for this author to write and publish more!

This book is the best Amelia Atwater-Rhodes book ever! And maybe even on the top 5 list of my all time favorite books!

Sarah Vida is a young witch of the Vida line, the strongest and cruelest of all daughters of Macht. All of the Vida line are sworn never to befriend vampires, and to track down vampires to kill them. But however she tries to be like her self-controled mother, or her sister, she never can be a true cold blooded killer.

When she moves into a new neighborhood, she meets two vmapires and her school- Christopher and Nissa Ravena. They are highly artistic, kind, and weak; the kind that would never be a danger to her. When her sister, Adianna, finds out, her problems get worse. And to all that, she must tell Christopher that he must desert her, even though they love each other.

But the worst is yet to come. Hunting Nikolas, a infamous vampire, murderer of Elisabeth Vida, and totally deadly; she finds out the terrible secret. Nikolas is Christopher's brother. Happenings with a tormented teenage girl, a Halloween dance, and a couple of bashes in between, leads to a choice that might change the course of the Vida line forever.

I loved this book so much because mainly two characters: Nikolas and Christopher. Nikolas is sort of like Jaguar, deadly and icy-cold, yet loyal and caring. I was also fasinated by his apperence-black and white. His tenderness to his brother and Christine, and his deadly coolness towards Sarah and witches.
Christopher is a totally different person altogether. People at first sight think he's weaker than Nikolas, but his iron self-control and devotion towards Sarah make him a great character.

Jessica is a teenage girl who writes novels under the pen name Ash Night. Her inspiration for writing comes to her in spouts- usually in dreams. Yet when a new guy, Alex, visits her high school, he uncannily resembles the main character of her novels-a vampire Abrey Jessica finds out that what she writes is true, and she has offended many because of her books. Soon, Jessica is enveloped in a paradoxical world of realism and fantasy, and she finds out that she no longer has control over whether she lives or dies.
Overall, I found the book easy to read and the content easy to understand. The plot was interesting, and I enjoyed how it seemed the book would be about a loner teenage writer, and then another story formed within that. So it is something of a story in a story. However, there are not any clues of her past preceding the climax of the story. Jessica finds out why she is like she is by simply asking someone and connecting it with a dream- not very exciting. The book was too unsurprising, even if it was a good read. At times, the author just fed the reader the facts, and at other times she led up to them. Overall, a good book for a quick read.

Jessica Allodola recently published a book, Tiger,Tiger, under the pen name Ash Night. Jessica doesn't know how much trouble the book gets her into until two people step into her life. These two people are Caryn Rashida who is secretly a witch, and Alex Remington who is really a vampire named Aubrey that Jessica has written about in her books. The reason Caryn and Aubrey seek Jessica is because everything Jessica has written in her book is true. Jessica writes about the world in which vampires and witches live. Caryn must protect Jessica from Aubrey because he is trying to kill Jessica so she can not write anymore. After meeting Jessica, Aubrey falls in love with her and will not kill her although he is pressured to by another vampire named Fala. Fala dislikes Jessica because Jessica wrote about Fala's weaknesses. As the story goes on, Jessica learns the truth about her life while dodging death. In the end Jessica does die but it's not the death you would expect. Jessica's inner strength is amazing and she is very sure of herself and very confident. Her actions are never influenced by others. Jessica doesn't dwell on what she wishes would happen, but looks reality in the eye and glares right back. I definitely recommend this book, but I would read the first book, In the Forests of the Night before reading this one.

After reading forests of the night i searched for more books by Amelia but finding none i gradually gave up my search, but when i found Demon in my View i was thrilled. Amelia is an excellant author and makes the carachters feelings and themselves very realistic. she almost had me convinced in vampires. Jessica is a dark, angry senior in Ramsa High and although none of them know it she has written a book which many of them have read under the pen name Ash Night. Most of the students try and ignore, her but when sunny Caryn Smoke and dark, mysterious Alex Remington arrive they both seem very interested in her both in very differents ways. When Jessica discovers that in fact Alex is Aubrey from her book she deepens into his and many other vampires lives causing mayhem where she goes as she is attacked by Fala an age old vampire and drawn to Aubrey in a way she has never felt before. As the plot thickens Jessica is lead into the lifes of the vampires she has written about and the dangerous game of cat and mouse with Aubrey/Alex. Aubrey not sure whether he wants to kill or love her has to choose and in it he drastically changes hers and his life.

I have always been a fan of Atwater-Rhodes since I read her first book, In the Forests of the Night. In my personal opinion, this book was well-written, but, like all books, it has but a few flaws and therefore, unfortunately, I am unable to give it 5 stars.

Turquoise Draka was taken into the Midnight Slave Trade when she was Catherine and at the age of 18. Her master, Lord Daryl ,beat and abused her and soon gave up trying to train the girl. Two years later, Turquoise is in the hunters guild, Bruja, and one of the top hunters in Crimson, a house of Bruja. She and another woman, Ravyn, are fighting for the title of the Crimson leader when Ms. Red comes along and proposes the job of killing a powerful vampire. Both women are sent back into the trade to kill Jeshicka, the cruel vampire who ruled the first Midnight. Now, Jeshicka has come back to the new Midnight because she is unhappy with the way things are being run there. Turquoise and Ravyn become slaves of Jaguar, the kinder ruler of Midnight. Jaguar is the one who hires the girls but must keep them uncer control so Jeshicka does not take them and train them herself. Lord Daryl is constantly trying to get Catherine (Turquoise) back from Jaguar by hiding behind Jeshicka, although he threw her away years before. A little romance is added between Jaguar and Turquoise as well. Turquoise leaves Midnight for awhile, but takes Jaguar's personal and favorite slave, Eric, with him to protect her. She also enlists Jaguar's help to train her for her upcoming Crimson battle with Ravyn. Will Turquoise put a knife in Jeshicka, become free of Daryl, and win the Crimson title? All shall be revealed in: MIDNIGHT PREDATOR!

Turquoise Draka is a member of the Bruja mercenaries hired along with her rival Ravyn to kill a vampire named Jeshikah. This vampire is a cruel master who once ruled Midnight, an empire of human slaves run by vampires. To kill Jeshikah, Ravyn and Turquoise must be sold into the Midnight's dark realm of human slavery by their friend Nathaniel (who is himself a vampire). Once they arrive, memories of Turquoise's previous slave life with the abusive vampire Lord Daryl make an appearance in her dreams. She befriends Jaguar, the master of the new Midnight as Ravyn becomes reaquainted with Gabriel, a vampire guest at Midnight and the favorite of Jeshikah. In becoming a slave, Turquoise remembers life with Lord Daryl who killed her family. She soon finds out that Lord Daryl is at Midnight and Turquoise thirsts for revenge.
I liked the book a lot because of the characters.
Gabriel, Jaguar and Nathaniel were probably my favorites for different reasons:
-Gabriel in some remote way reminded me of Aubrey (In the Forests of the Night, Demon in My View), a dark, cruel, but extremely likeable individual.
-Jaguar was more of a soft version of Christopher (Shattered Mirror) who is trying to get away from the cruel master figure that Jeshikah wants him to be.
-Nathaniel was something completely new to me and was like a brother to Turquoise who gives advice and is there whenever she needs him--for the right price of course.
In general, I thought the book was well thought out and I enjoyed it very much.

I bought this book recently and according to me, it's the best one yet. (There's always sumthing about the fourth books, righte) It takes you on a journey into another world, where sunlight is nothing, slaves are kept and humans are useless. This world is Midnight and the city lives up to its name. Turquoise Draka is a famed human hunter and within each chapter is a memory of her family or Lord Daryl, her former master. She is part of Bruja now, and is assigned to assassinate Jeshickah, one of the most cuel and violent vampires who run Midnight. She must do it within a week and with another Bruja hunter, Ravyn Aniketos. The big question of the plot is: will they complete the mission without getting themselves killed? Midnight Predator is a facinating book which loosely focuses on the different characteristics of vampires and, like the last two books, love with lethal vampires. The writing was esquisite and I couldn't put the book down. All in all, it was an amazing book with detailed fight scenes.