Review: Other Side of Night: Bastian and Riley

This story takes the interesting idea of secrets and how much you should reveal to a potential partner.  We begin the story with college student Bastian who is coming to terms with the fact that his body is changing after a bizarre and frightening one night stand at a frat party.  He's suddenly developed a strong allergy to the sun, plus a craving for blood and he's desperately trying to avoid thinking about the V word.  As all this is happening he meets Riley and they start having coffee with each other.   Things are going well and they arrange a date but before it can happen Bastian's fangs grow in and he's unable to shy away from the truth any more.  Now Bastian is faced with a choice of being upfront with Riley about his 'condition' and risking Riley running a mile, or waiting until Riley gets to know him better before telling him the truth.

There was much to like about this book, especially in the genuine problems faced by Bastian and Riley.  They are both true to their age, as young men at college and so I found I couldn't judge them too harshly for the mistakes they make.  Bastian's promiscuity got him in the situation he is in at the moment, but that doesn't make him different from many college boys.  In fact, I found that Bastian is the character who grows the most during the story.   He changes from party boy to someone who is totally committed to his relationship with Riley, so much so that he would risk everything for them to stay together.  The baby steps that Riley insists on with their relationship would send some men running for the hills, but Bastian's patience with Riley was admirable.  It's not difficult to like such a man, who makes tough decisions out of love and stands by them even as things begin to fall apart.

I found that I didn't like Riley as much, in fact instead of becoming more mature and sensible, he seems to go the other way.  At first I liked that he was willing to listen to Bastian and to accept who he is, but as things go on he becomes more demanding, pushing Bastian into doing something he feels a little uncomfortable with - it's almost the opposite of how Bastian is with Riley.  Towards the end of the book Riley behaves in a way which is entirely selfish and reprehensible and I found that part of the story a little difficult to stomach, even whilst I could sort of understand why he was behaving the way he did.

Apart from  Riley's behaviour at the end of the book, the only other part I didn't like was the character of Cheryl who fit right into the characterisation of the Annoying Interfering Female Friend. I spent pretty much the whole time she was on page wanting to slap her for her uncalled for advice and the aggressive way she speaks to Bastian supposedly in the interests of Riley.

This book looks to be the first part in a series, and I was especially interesting in the foundations of world building which have been laid in this book.  The way that Bastian is introduced to the other vampires added a nice creepy tension to the story and I'm hoping that the smug Havva gets a comeuppance at some point in the series.  This aspect of the story certainly kept my attention and added an extra dimension to the romance, widening the scope of what was happening to Bastian and Riley.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, especially the character of Riley and the way that romance is blended with a touch of horror.  I'm looking forward to further books in the series and would recommend Other Side of Night: Bastian and Riley, with a grade of 'Very Good'.

This book is published tomorrow but you can get a 20% discount if you pre-order.  Get it HERE.