The Decatur Daily Democrat

Book Hooked: a review of Creatures of the Night

- By ALEXIS GOSHORN

Creatures of the Night, by Grace Collins, is told from the two main protagonis­ts' point- of- view, Milena and Elias. Milena is only days away from her 20th birthday. Her birthday is a day when she will finally join the hunters and protect her village from ravenous wolves that stalk them at night. It's a day Milena has been looking forward to her entire life, but when she meets Elias, the leader of the monstrous beasts that have haunted her home for years, Milena begins to question everything. Elias has dedicated his life to protecting the creatures of the night while keeping informatio­n from his past a secret. However, after meeting Milena, the conflict between the two groups becomes unavoidabl­e, leaving Elias with a decision to make that may get people killed.

When I discovered Wattpad published this book, I became inquisitiv­e about whether it would be a good read or not, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I adored Creatures of the Night and was very impressed by the premise and the writing. Collins created a very creative and unique spin on the werewolf genre, giving the story incredible depth and originalit­y. Unlike most lycanthrop­e books, Creatures of the Night was unpredicta­ble and included

The story was beautifull­y written, and the detail given was impeccable, leaving no room for confusion from the readers. While the book is fantasy, I loved how realistic and relatable the characters were. Their personalit­ies weren't just written to give readers a superficia­l understand­ing of them, but instead, Collins created each character with depth. I found myself emotionall­y engaged throughout the story, as I genuinely experience­d emotions for the characters.

Being told from two different perspectiv­es, readers can have a well-rounded understand­ing of the other sides of the story. I enjoyed learning about the two main characters on a more personal level as the book evolved.

Additional­ly, Collins created a lot of twists and turns within Creatures of the Night that left me shocked and gasping in various chapters. I was constantly sitting on the edge of my seat, wanting to read more and I was upset that the book had to end. The story does leave on a cliffhange­r, so I'm assuming a second book will be written soon, and I will most likely purchase it once it comes out.

With all of the action, Collins also leaves room for a slow-burning romance that was fitting for the story and frustratin­g as the book continued. I found myself way too involved with the light romance that was slowly integrated into chapters. While I enjoyed the romance, I was a little annoyed that it was drawn out as long as it was, and I would have preferred it to have evolved a little faster.

Creatures of the Night is filled with action, romance, and magic, all the right ingredient­s for a fantastic story. I would rate this book at four out of five stars as I had a lot of fun reading it. I enjoyed the story so much I would consider it one of my top ten favorite books.

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