Creatures of the Night by Grace Collins

 

Title: Creatures of the Night
Author: Grace Collins
Publish Date: July 13th, 2021
Publisher: Wattpad Books
Source: Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC for review!

Make your way home at five. Be in the tunnels as the sun begins to fall. Seal the entrance. Leave enough room for malfunction. These are the rules I grew up with, the ones I never dared to break. Until now.

Milena’s twentieth birthday, the day she would join the ranks of her village’s hunters, should have been the most exciting day of her life. Being a hunter meant she would be able to help protect her village from the murderous wolves who take human form—the creatures of the night. But a chance encounter with Elias, the enigmatic leader of the creatures, leaves her questioning everything she has ever believed to be true.

Up until now, Elias has managed to protect the creatures of the night and keep the secrets of his past well hidden. Now, as tensions between the groups grow, Elias is forced to make hard decisions: ones that will cost lives. Nobody is safe, especially Milena, the person he is inexplicably drawn to even though it could destroy them both.

Penelope's Review

Creatures of the Night is a great debut by Grace Collins. It features a unique premise, and some great characters! The book follows Milena, a 19 year old girl who lives in tunnels with her people. All she wants to do is go out and hunt with her fellow villagers, but has to wait until her 20th birthday. Milena was actually a really great character. She took everything in stride, and didn't always rely on others to protect her. She was able to take matters into her own hands, and do what she felt was necessary. My only complaint about her is that she was, at times, a little too "woe is me" and "everything is my fault" for my taste. I mean I got it, but I felt like maybe she could have stopped repeating that everything was her fault over... and over... and over again. But her ability to think on her feet and cope with difficult situations made up for it, in my opinion. 

Elias is the leader of the creatures (think shapeshifters/werewolves). He seemed to really care about his people, and was always willing to do what was necessary to protect them. While I did like him and Milena together, I found that everything happened very abruptly. I didn't feel like there was much lead up to them connecting. In fact, I wasn't 100% sure who her love interest was going to be until they kissed lol. It seemed out of the blue, but I just rolled with it and it ended up working ok. 

I think the book is really creative, but it just needed a bit more depth. There wasn't much lead up to certain aspects, and it had me feeling a little confused at some points. Everything happened very quickly, and it ended rather abruptly as well. So, while I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next one, I think there is some things that can be improved. Still recommend giving it a try though!

Rating: 3.5/5 Devils!