Allison Carr Waechter

In a city where the elite are powerful as gods, the season is about to begin. The Immortal Orders will gather, pair and create a spectacle for all of Nuva Troi to witness.

Harlow Krane is a sorcière who wants nothing more than to recover from her most recent breakup in peace. When the season begins, her Order needs her help to save their ancestral occult district from being taken over by the Illuminated, the most powerful immortals in Nuva Troi. They offer to back off—if Harlow agrees to pair with their most eligible bachelor, Finn McKay. But Harlow has been burned by Finn before.

Finn McKay is one of the Illuminated. Rich, powerful, and he isn’t afraid of anyone—except for his parents. When they push him towards Harlow Krane, he knows their purposes are sinister at best. For the past seven years, Finn has done everything in his power to stay away from Harlow and he won’t break his resolve now, even if it means defying his parents. As the season begins, it’s clear something is dangerously wrong but besides Finn, only Harlow seems to notice.

With magic behaving strangely, the balance of power between the Immortal Orders and humans grows deadlier by the day. Harlow and Finn must work together to keep ancient grudges from resurfacing and take back their lives in the process. If they can get over their past, the whole world may have a brighter future.

Dark Night, Golden Dawn is Book One in The Immortal Orders Trilogy, a blazing hot fantasy romance, set in a contemporary world of magic, deception, and betrayal.

Dark Night Golden Dawn

My initial reaction to this is 3 stars. I also want to give the disclaimer that my review could change after letting it sit for a few days, but this was the vibe I got throughout the book. 

I will say that I liked Harlow and Finn, and I appreciated the amount of POC and LGBTQ+ representation and body positivity in this book. I also enjoyed Harlow and Finn’s healing journeys, both as individual characters and as a couple. 

This book, overall, felt very unpolished. Aside from the numerous grammatical and formatting errors, this book seemed to have pacing issues. There were moments when I was unable to put it down, and others when I had to force myself to keep reading and just slog through it. I also feel like the author threw so much information at us about the world and the magic, and yet there are still so many things that aren’t really explained. It’s still unclear to me what the rules of magic are, though the societal hierarchy was explained very well. 

By the time I finished, I felt “meh” about this book. I didn’t love it, it wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t bad. I read it in two days.

Izzy Judy

My initial reaction to this is 3 stars. I also want to give the disclaimer that my review could change after letting it sit for a few days, but this was the vibe I got throughout the book. 

I will say that I liked Harlow and Finn, and I appreciated the amount of POC and LGBTQ+ representation and body positivity in this book. I also enjoyed Harlow and Finn’s healing journeys, both as individual characters and as a couple. 

This book, overall, felt very unpolished. Aside from the numerous grammatical and formatting errors, this book seemed to have pacing issues. There were moments when I was unable to put it down, and others when I had to force myself to keep reading and just slog through it. I also feel like the author threw so much information at us about the world and the magic, and yet there are still so many things that aren’t really explained. It’s still unclear to me what the rules of magic are, though the societal hierarchy was explained very well. 

By the time I finished, I felt “meh” about this book. I didn’t love it, it wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t bad. I read it in two days.

This book completely had me hooked! I loved Harlow’s interaction with her family. The world surrounding is beautifully built with all the minor details. The romance does growth a bit quickly but not so much like an instalove, more like “fated mates”. 

I loved the incorporation of magic and contemporary at the same time. It definitely gave me witch vibes with a touch of royalty and politics. The plot was pretty solid, loved the flow of the story. 

I was super attached to the parents! Harlow’s moms are so lovely. And I loved the way Harlow is always about protecting her own. Super badass female, with midsize rep (not to be confused with plus size ☺️), and great supporting characters! it’s so great to see how much rep is brewing out there thanks to supportive authors like Allison. 

I cannot wait to read more by this author. Huge thanks for gifting me a copy. All opinions are my own.

This book completely had me hooked! I loved Harlow’s interaction with her family. The world surrounding is beautifully built with all the minor details. The romance does growth a bit quickly but not so much like an instalove, more like “fated mates”. 

I loved the incorporation of magic and contemporary at the same time. It definitely gave me witch vibes with a touch of royalty and politics. The plot was pretty solid, loved the flow of the story. 

I was super attached to the parents! Harlow’s moms are so lovely. And I loved the way Harlow is always about protecting her own. Super badass female, with midsize rep (not to be confused with plus size ☺️), and great supporting characters! it’s so great to see how much rep is brewing out there thanks to supportive authors like Allison. 

I cannot wait to read more by this author. Huge thanks for gifting me a copy. All opinions are my own.

Maria Elena Vitale Zelaia

Wow, this book ticked all of the right boxes for me. Dark Night Golden Dawn has an incredible worldbuilding; an amazing and diverse cast of characters; a great family and found family dynamic; body positivity and a beautiful, sweet, emotional, and spicy friends to lovers to enemies to lovers romance, which is one of my favorite variations of the enemies to lovers trope. This book has easily become one of my favorite reads of the year.

One of the things that I appreciated most about this book was Harlow herself. The book starts six months after the end of a toxic relationship. Throughout the book, we witness her healing journey and its struggles. There are moments she’s strong, and others where she’s insecure. She’s also a middle-sized woman, which means I could easily picture myself in her shoes. I won’t lie, the fact that Finn McKay, hot as sin Illuminated, loves her curves made me swoon. I want one!

The ending was satisfying but also left me craving for more. I cannot wait to see the next chapter of Harlow and Finn’s story and to uncover the full mystery.

Thank you to the author for sending me a copy. Opinions are my own!

Chiara Vitale Zelaia

DARK NIGHT GOLDEN DAWN is the Bridgerton meets Crescent City story I didn’t know I needed. This book is filled with elements I adore: an elaborate world, a fascinating magic system, found family, strong family bonds, relatable characters, a smexy romance filled with my favorite tropes and so much representation and body positivity. My heart was full!

The story drew me in from the start. As I said, the world is quite vast, but the author did a fantastic job of starting with the basic information and easing the reader into it as the story progressed. We meet many familiar species, but in a wholly new and original light! The book’s greatest strength, however, were its phenomenal characters, starting with Harlow. Rarely do I feel such complete kinship with a character, but reading about her was like looking at a mirror reflection of myself. So many of her insecurities and struggles were my own, so I loved following her journey of healing and gained confidence. I also adored the strong bond Harlow shares with her mothers and siblings. Her sister, Thea, is also her bestie and that definitely struck a chord with me. And of course her beautiful friendship with Enzo, who is the glamorous best friend we all need and deserve in our lives.

My favorite thing? The romance! *no one is surprised* I loved Finn and Harlow’s friends to lovers to enemies to lovers story. The chemistry between these two characters was on point. I did thoroughly enjoy their sexy times, but what really sold me on their relationship was the amazing banter and the deep, soulful way they communicated and understood each other. I definitely have a new favorite ship! And Finn is *drools* PERFECT.

10/10 recommend this book to all lovers of romantasy!

Dark Night Golden Dawn

Reviews