Elaine White's Life in Books

Book – Pendulum (Kingdom of Night #1)
Author – L.C. Davis
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 434
Cover – Nice
POV – 1st person, 1 character
Would I read it again – Yes
Genre – LGBT, Dark, Paranormal, Vampire, Shifter, Wolf, Romance, BDSM


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine


*Warnings (from the author): contains violence, BDSM, historic sexual assault
My own – cheating, love triangle, mind control*


Wow! This was a rollercoaster of a ride. Highs, lows, f'd up moments where I couldn't even figure out how I felt and a very hot, spicy love triangle.

Sure, this was an unedited, unformatted ARC, so there were some editing issues, but I am sure that the skill of this writer would have them cut out during the final editing process, with no problem. Because this author has skill! Through the world-building, the plotting of events that seemed innocuous or unimportant at the time, to the complex emotions that we the reader are put through as well as the main character, it's all a mass of genius!

Normally, 1st person POV isn't my thing. I admit that up front. It takes a special kind of indefinable something to make me fall into a 1st POV. This book managed that. I was hooked right from page one, intrigued by Remus as a main character. I loved him immediately for his charm, his shy nature, his wit and the sweet way that he was so oblivious to things that should have been obvious. Arthur was a great character, too. I loved him from the start, because he was Remus' friend and had a great sense of humour. That didn't change, even after the big revelation at the end of the book. Which I am most definitely NOT telling you about.

I was intrigued by Prentice, as a character, who I thought might have been another love interest at first, but then because suspiciously absent from the story early on, so that never happened. When the reveal came at the end, it all suddenly made sense and I was pleased to know that at least my suspicion of how important he would be turned out right.

As for the twins – Gosh! – they were something. Right from the start of the story, I liked Victor more. I found Sebastian to be a little creep, stalkerish and loved the way that Victor took a step back whenever things got tense. For me, the love triangle was a little Vampire Diaries – the bad brother is by far the more intriguing and attractive, but he gives up everything to his brother, even the love interest, despite having the “I got there first” argument in the bag. I think that only made me love Victor more. Sebastian, for me, had that innocent, childlike quality for a while. He was charming and fun, as he and Remus were friends and hanging out, but as soon as their “mate” connection was presumed (as I saw no real proof that it was secure). If these guys weren't twin brothers, I'd definitely have been waiting for a threesome, because together these two guys make up the one perfect guy.

There was great tension and anticipation throughout the story, alongside the great writing. It was in the way that Remus told the story, by letting us see the real struggle of which brother he liked best, through the dreams, the thought process and even the awkward interactions with both. The way they lived in the BDSM house and interacted with the other Wolves and family there was a great addition, giving Remus a little more company but another side to the story.

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Overall, it was a fantastic paranormal romance, with tension and some super sexy hot scenes. Though it's only the first in a series, that didn't bother me at all. It had everything I wanted from a novel in this genre.

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Favourite Quote

““You can be the brains, I'll be the brawn.”
“Brawn?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
He patted his slightly pudgy stomach. “Hey, there's a lot of it under here. Underneath this flab beats the heart of a warrior.””

““And here I thought werewolves were all about howling at the moon and running around the forest. Who knew your real passion was bureaucracy?”