The Black Year Series #1: Black Fall by D.J. Bodden

My name is Jonas, and until last week, I thought I was human. My parents are vampires and were enforcers for the Agency; my mom is one of the most feared vampires in centuries, but she's been kidnapped. The Agency controls all of the supernaturals in the world, but there is unrest. My vampire abilities are slowly developing, so I've started training at the Agency. My new training partners consist of a young vampire and werewolf. The werewolf is learning to control his anger, but I can sense there is something special about him. The Agency Director is friends with my parents, but he's struggling to control the demon trapped inside his body. It will be disastrous if the demon takes over the Director's thoughts, since supernaturals will be unleashed on humanity. My family name is usually enough to keep the peace, but my abilities will be challenged by werewolves, vampires, and other creatures.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley, and it quickly captured my interest. It will probably be more appealing to tween-age readers. I don't read many vampire books, but the author added creative twists to the plot. Many of the confrontations were set inside Jonas's mind. I don't mean they were imagined; I mean there were actual battles being fought in his mind. He spent much of his time building a fortress to defend his thoughts against the mental attacks of other vampires, and it became a major factor in the climax of the story. He even had a mental character named Sam who was left in charge of Jonas's defenses when the setting moved to the "real" world. The plot's movement between these two settings was sometimes tricky to follow, but it's what made the book great. So many vampire books have been written that it's hard to find ones with fresh ideas. The author indicated this book is supposed to be the first in a four-part series, and I can't wait for the second one to be published. Check it out if you're looking for some imaginative reading!