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    Carpe Noctem
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    Carpe Noctem
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    Carpe Noctem
    Ebook335 pages7 hours

    Carpe Noctem

    By Katie Salidas

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Becoming a vampire is easy. Living with the condition...that's the hard part.

    Newbie vampire Alyssa never asked for this life, but now it's all she has. Rescued from death by Lysander, the aloof and sexy leader of the Peregrinus vampire clan, she's barely cut her teeth before she becomes a target.

    Kallisto, an ancient and vindictive vampire queen – and Lysander's old mate - wants nothing less than final death for her former lover and his new toy. She's not above letting the Acta Sanctorum, and its greatest vampire hunter, Santino, know exactly where the clan can be found.

    With no time to mourn her old life, Alyssa's survival depends on her new family. She will have to stand alongside Lysander and fight against two enemies who will stop at nothing to destroy them.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRising Sign Books
    Release dateFeb 23, 2010
    ISBN9780984419623
    Unavailable
    Carpe Noctem

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    Reviews for Carpe Noctem

    3.5/5

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    • 4/5
      Walking back to her campus dorm alone one night, Alyssa never imagined that her life would change so drastically. Approached by several men along the way, she was sure she'd die from her inflicted injuries. Until a mysterious stranger steps in and gifts her with a second chance at life. If life is what you could call what she's now become.Turned against her will, Alyssa tries to accept the new life she's been given. The thought of ingesting their very essence sickens her, even if she knows that it's the only way she can survive. Yet try as she might, she has a hard time adjusting to her new circumstance.Attracting the attention of Lysander's maker and former companion, Alyssa begins to realize there's a lot that Lysander isn't telling her. He begins to teach her about who they are and what they must do to keep safe, while also trying to remain out of sight from those who seek to them do them harm. The arrival of several new friends doesn't make things any easier.When things to heat up, Alyssa and her new companion band together with the weary travelers in hopes of staying alive. Encountering trouble with every step they take, they know time is running out. Evil forces are closing in, intent on wiping out their very existence. While there's now a price on all of their heads, it's one none of them intend to pay.This was quite an intriguing and very fast-paced story. Quite enjoyable to read. I admit that Alyssa's petulance was annoying, at times, but it allows the reader to understand and relate with what she was going through. She didn't choose the gift that she'd been given, as Lysander burdened her with it in hopes of saving her life. I look forward to reading the next part of the series soon.
    • 3/5
      After a bad day at work where Alyssa lost her job, she waits at her regular coffee shop for her best friend Fallon who ends up canceling on her. Doing the one thing she knows she shouldn't, she walks home; alone, across campus, at night. Being a petite pretty young woman, trouble finds her. Two men attack Alyssa, beating her within inches of death. Her savior shows up, a handsome stranger ~ Lysander. Lysander can tell she is to far beyond saving with her injuries, so he does the one thing he can to save her... makes her a vampire. Alyssa, unknowingly, has a new life to live; leaving her old one behind. Alyssa now has to find a way to cope with losing everything she had, no matter how small it was, it was hers and her dearest friends.I have to say the author did a great job of creating Alyssa as a character set in her ways and morals along with struggling in herself with the changes to a vampire. Alyssa has her morels and mind set of the world and now it's all changed. Her biggest challenge, accepting she needs to drink human blood for her own survival. Then she will be hunted by the Acta Sanctorum for now being a vampire. Alyssa started off as a weak character for me and I wasn't as pulled into the book until about eighty-five pages in. Alyssa had started to get to me a little as she didn't want to be treated like a child, but she had her childish reactions. Lysander was the one who pulled me in some, by his caring nature and the mystery of him. By the end of the book Alyssa lost her whiny-ness to me and started to become a stronger character. But I still enjoyed Lysander the most. I found myself being pulled into the potential love interest between Alyssa and Lysander and the draw between them.At about eighty-seven pages into the book we have an appearance of another Vampire, Edmond, who comes across as a long time enemy of Lysander's. Edmond comes baring a message from the ancient Kallisto regarding Lysander a lone vampire turning someone with out permission from her and the clan. This is where the characters all started to change and a few additional ones added as well. And the story began to pick up for me. The secondary characters helped balance out the book for me, and bring the main characters around.At the beginning of the book I was a little nervous, but the pages kept turning easily and quickly for me. And this ended up being a nice light HEA read for me. In the end I did enjoy the book and the characters. I will be reading the next book in the series as well, which I look forward to ~ Immortalis: Hunters & Prey.
    • 3/5
      KATIE SALIDAS' "IMMORTALIS CARPE NOCTEM" (A REVIEW)Even though this wasn't really a story I hadn't heard before it was still a well-written supernatural novel. The heroine is smart, and at times humorous. The pace was good and the Katie's writing skills are phenomenal. I will definitely read more of her work in the future. -Kitty Bullard / Great Minds Think Aloud Book Club
    • 4/5
      Cover: I'm digging the cover. I like the purple sky with the darkness of the night with the cityscape in the background ... it's interesting to look at. Makes me wish I was there.Plot: *WARNING: SLIGHT SPOILER* I loved the fact that Alyssa (main character) was turned into a vampire within the first chapter. It gave the author time to explore the character's vampiric newness throughout the remainder of the novel. Many of the books I've read seem to drag out the turning of the human into a vampire and then rush through the rest of the plot ... Not Katie. This was definitely an adult version of a somewhat standardized vampire tale (i.e. vampire sees human in life-threatening situation, human almost dies, vampire turns human out of kindness, old vampire and new vampire fall in love).Characters: Alyssa, the new vampire, has a stubborn streak a mile wide that tends to get her into some shady situations. She is strong-willed and slightly petulant.Lysander is the vampire that turned Alyssa. He is introverted, thoughtful, stubborn and overbearing. He is artistic with an attention to detail. He has strived to maintain his independence from living in a coven and would like to keep it that way.Kallisto used to be Lysander's mate ... until he began ignoring her, at which time she found Edmond. Kallisto is the Mistress over a very powerful and large coven. Even though Lysander and she have been apart for centuries, Kallisto has a hard time letting him go and ends up finding him wherever he's living ... which can cause some unwanted tension between Lysander and Alyssa.Overall: This was a very entertaining book. It started off well and proceeded to get better as the pages turned. I would recommend this for adult reading only as there are some sexual situations depicted within the story.
    • 4/5
      This book was a very quick, enjoyable read. It had all the elements I love in a good Urban Fantasy novel (remember these are all the elements I love not necessary what makes a good Urban Fantasy novel in general). It had horror elements, strong world building, a good solid story, and romance (ok, not really romance but straight lust turned into romance but that is just a small technicality). The author spends a large amount of time world building (can we use “world building” as verb, if not, pardon my poor use of the word) and she does an excellent job of it. I would say that I was sufficiently placed in the world Katie Salidas created. The rules in Salidas’s vampire world were clearly laid out, very logical and very interesting. In fact, I was so deeply entrenched in this world, when Ms. Salidas failed to follow her own rules, I noticed. It probably was because I read fast (like many people on book sites). If an author is creating and explaining the world and rules the book is set in (for example on page 3), when I get to page 300, I still know all those rules vividly. Nevertheless, the gaps are not huge; they were small blips that had me thinking 1+1 was not equaling 2. I would have liked to see a bit more character development at the beginning. Alyssa came across as a whiny bitch at the beginning and Lysander came across as an overbearing dictator. It was hard to feel anything for the two of them and it was until additional characters were added into the story that I began to warm up to the two main characters. The interaction with the other characters allowed Lysander and Alyssa to show their true personalities. Another strong point in the book was the sexual tension. It was very interesting that when the act finally did happen, it was almost a letdown. Overall, the book was a very good 1st in the series and even with the flaws in the character development and the discovered holes in the story, I will be reading book 2. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      Imortalis Carpe Noctem by Katie SalidasGenre: Vampire, RomanceISBN: 9780984419609Rating: 4Alyssa never asked to become a vampire, but when handsome Lysander changes her in order to save her from two brutal rapists and murderers, she is forced to live with his decision. She soon learns the history of her new kind, her new abilities, and starts falling head over heels for her handsome savior. But just when things look like they can't be all that bad, the strongest known coven--whose leader has been holding a grudge against Lysander--and the most dangerous group of vampire hunters on earth show up. Now Alyssa has to use her newly found skills to save herself--and the man she loves.I really enjoyed Imortalis Carpe Noctem. I tore through it in a few hours, and regretted having to put it down. It was very addicting and fast paced, especially the action scenes at the end, quite entertaining, and not to over-dramatic.Imortalis was, in some ways, a typical vampire novel: having to escape would-be-vamp-rulers, running from vampire hunters, falling in love with a handsome vampire. The thing that made it worth reading was the characters and their emotions. They had so much character to them, and Alyssa's feelings were so real and—pardon me, human—that they were incredibly relatable. I felt like I was Alyssa, I could feel her pain and her joy, her love and her loss.The writing was pretty good, except there was some careless editing and misuse of comas. They were everywhere they shouldn't be for some reason, as if the computer put them in willy-nilly. It wasn't so much of a distraction that I couldn't enjoy the book, however.I am anxiously awaiting the sequel Imortalis: Hunter & Prey as well as Salidas' other upcoming novels.Content: little language, some sex.Recommendation: Ages 18+
    • 5/5
      Most excellent! This book had me hooked from the first sentence. I devoured this, and was left wanting more.The mythology around the vampires was really intriguing. It felt right that they could be tracked to some Netherwoldy Ancient Gods. I mean, if I had to write a story based on vampire origins, that's they way I would go. It just makes sense.I was really sucked into this story line, and felt emotionally for these characters. You could really feel their pain, hatred, and passion for one another. Which I find lacking in some other series, and was quite pleased to see actual emotions and connections from characters.The character names I found to be fun to say, Alyssa, Lysander, Rozaline, Kallisto. The names really made me feel like I was part of an ancient godly, vampire war. As for the characters, I do not know why some reviewers are saying Alyssa is so annoying. I mean, if I went through the crap that she did, in the 2 weeks that this took place, I would be a little annoying/freaked too. The fear that she has is real, and that would not go away in the spawn of a few weeks. It will take time for her to get fully into her powerful, vampy new life, and I feel that will just make the 2nd book that much better.Another thing that I liked was the Las Vegas setting. I found that rather interesting as they described the downtown, casinos, and the old Vegas. I hope the author gets further into the seedy downtown, artsy areas of Vegas as I am weird and like to adventure in those parts myself. LOL.Overall, I found this book to be unique. The vampire clans, and families I thought was really nice to see. You could really feel the family vibes with Lysander's brood. Definitely a vampily that I would love to be part of. I recommend this book to anyone that love vampires, urban fantasy, and hints of mythological ancient gods.**I was given this ebook in exchange for an honest & unbiased review.**
    • 2/5
      I'm going to be honest, the first 30% was 1 star. I struggled against the awkwardness of the writing and really wanted to put it down and read other things especially when Lysander, the 2000-year-old vampire and leading man, openly admitted to his newly sired vampire child that he'd watched with curiosity while she was tortured, almost raped and about to be dealt a death blow.
      'I regret that my fascination with the brutality of their attack prevented me from stopping them before they had done too much damage.[...] She was an innocent. A young woman. Too young to die.' ~An excerpt from Lysander's journal.
      He only stepped in once she'd been stabbed and lay badly beaten waiting to be raped and murdered. I think in all the time he'd been alive he'd seen women beaten, stabbed and possibly raped before -why would he be curious about it now? Had he no feelings about it at all? I understand he was disconnected from the world but that stuck with me through the whole thing.

      Anyway, after that first third of the book, the writing changed, new characters were introduced. The book lost that cabin-fever feeling with both Lysander and Alyssa getting at each other's throats and avoiding embarrassing lust-filled moments with only moderate success. The visiting clan of vampires brought with it 3 characters which made a true impact on Alyssa and the story: Jessie, Rozaline and Crystal. Jessie as the reckless youth and the others as wise elders.

      Alyssa struggles with her new life as a monster killing people every night to survive. She even tries blood from a butcher which proved she had to have fresh blood from the living. She can't stand Lysander being right all the time and ignores his warning: "Immortality does not mean invincibility" defies him and follows another vampire's example leading to an unintentional death which preyed on her conscience because he was innocent and she meant to only kill criminals just as Lysander does.

      Longing for her old life Alyssa imagines telling her best friend Fallon what she is and 'That I must feed every night, and because of that, I choose to feed from those who do harm to others? Even to myself, it sounded stupid. I sounded like some bastardized superhero.' I like how this was addressed because that's exactly how it sounds.

      The adversary, Kallisto, was a woman scorned and we all know how that works. She's Lysnader's ex and believes herself worthy of worship and unending fealty as a sort-of queen of the vampires, as one of the eldest in existence. She's power-mad, selfish and cruel. No one matters but her own needs and survival. Lysander was her former king and mate though she never let him go, he walked away. She's given him every chance to re-join her and now she wants him dead because if she can't have him, no one can.

      The people to be even more afraid of were the Saints, men of the Roman Catholic Church who came together to specifically hunt vampires. They even turned a dying warrior, Santino, into the very thing they condemned in order to kill more vampires, promising automatic entry into Heaven. He fails to acknowledge that lie, no matter how many times Lysander presents him with it:
      "I know the commandments you are supposed to live by. There is no fine print in 'Thou shall not kill'."
      The love or rather lust-becoming-more was borne out of a lack of other options, for Lysander in particular. I couldn't understand what he saw in 25-year-old Alyssa other than her youth and beauty. For Alyssa, on the other hand, she was presented with a knowledgeable older man who obviously wasn't hurting for money -that much was clear when their financial situation was contrasted with the gyspy-like travelling vampires. Of course, she would be infatuated by him, he was her teacher. He had power and authority over her. Her forgiveness of his hesitation to save her life at the beginning came too easily and quickly. It was brushed aside as something that didn't matter. No grudge, no fights over it. No disgust. Unrealistic.

      I was surprised by Edmond's actions towards the end, honourable though they were. He worshipped Kallisto but he meant nothing to her which she delighted in telling Alyssa with Edmond in the room. I'm not sure how Lysander trusted what he claimed when he divulged the whereabouts of his life work and I'm unsure of what Edmond had ever really done to Lysander to provoke the death sentence he demanded but I found myself liking Edmond's character much more than Lysander.

      Overall, I'm not particularly fond of the main characters. I liked the travelling vampires, Kallisto, Santino and Edmond. The writing was shaky and awkward to start with but improved as the author seemed to gain confidence in what she was doing, and the book became more interesting as a result.

      *Although this was a free e-book from the author this did not impact on my rating or review.
    • 5/5
      Alyssa was fired from her job, and her best friend Fallon has been stood her up, so she decides to walk to her apartment by herself. While walking to her apartment she's brutally attacked by two men, and she knows she is knocking on death’s door. She is saved from death by a stranger with the hypnotic eyes that are gray with flecks of blue. Alyssa has learned that she is no longer a living mortal, but she is now a vampire, and the man that has the hypnotic eyes is name Lysander, and he is her sire. Vampires are not real are they? Alyssa has a hard time dealing with her new immortal life. One of my favorite lines in the book is “Becoming a Vampire was easy, Living with the condition-now that's the hard part.”Lysander teaches Alyssa how to hunt for her food, she does have problems with killing humans, so she decides that she will only drink from human’s that are bad. Lysander also teaches her how to use her new powers.Lysander is over 2000 years old, and he tells Alyssa how he was turned. He was turned by a vampire by the name of Kallisto. Kallisto is beautiful and power hungry, she makes herself the queen of their coven, through the years Lysander is no longer agreeing with Kallisto ways, and he parts ways with her and her coven.Lysander tells Alyssa that she has to always be aware of her surroundings, never bring attention to yourself while you are on a hunt, and also to watch out for vampire hunter’s called the Acta Sanctorum.I really enjoyed this story because it was told from a newborn vampire’s POV, you felt her heartache as she longed for her former life, her friends that she would never see, the smell of coffee and listening to bad poetry. You also see her struggles with her new immortal life, and her acceptance with her new life. I will enjoy reading the rest of the series.
    • 3/5
      KATIE SALIDAS' "IMMORTALIS CARPE NOCTEM" (A REVIEW)Even though this wasn't really a story I hadn't heard before it was still a well-written supernatural novel. The heroine is smart, and at times humorous. The pace was good and the Katie's writing skills are phenomenal. I will definitely read more of her work in the future. -Kitty Bullard / Great Minds Think Aloud Book Club