Night World
Night World is a series of nine young adult fantasy novels by American author L. J. Smith. In the series, vampires, witches, werewolves, and shape-shifters live among humans without their knowledge, making up a secret society known as the Night World. The society enforces two fundamental laws to prevent discovery: never allow humans to gain knowledge of the Night World's existence, and never fall in love with a human.
Each volume in the series follows a different teenage, female protagonist who must face challenges involving love, the "soulmate principle", and the Night World's strict code. In the first six novels, the plot focuses on the protagonist discovering her soulmate and the danger which ensues. In the seventh book of the series, the concept of an impending millennial apocalypse is introduced. The later books' plots focus on the search for four "Wild Powers" who, according to an ancient prophecy, will either save the world or aid in its destruction. Books from the series appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List for children's books in 2008 and 2009.
Publishing history
The first nine books in the Night World series were originally published in 1996–1998 by Simon & Schuster. The release of the tenth and final book, Strange Fate, was put on hold when L.J. Smith took a hiatus from writing in 1999. In 2008, the nine Night World books were reprinted in three omnibus volumes. For the 2008 reprint, some edits were made in an attempt at modernisation, such as the replacement of the word "Walkman" with "iPod" in Daughters of Darkness. These edits were not made consistently: there are references to iPods on one page of a novel, followed by references to the previously used "Walkman" on the next page.Series summary
Each novel in the series features a male and female that discover that they are soulmates—beings connected by an unbreakable bond of love. Literature scholar Deborah Wilson Overstreet describes the so-called "soulmate principle" as "the main story line in each novel".''Secret Vampire''
Poppy North, a regular teenage girl, is diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Her best friend and secret crush, James Rasmussen, reveals that his family are "lamia" and that various supernatural creatures known as the "Night People", including vampires, werewolves and witches, have co-existed with humans for millennia. To save Poppy's life, he offers to convert her into a "made" vampire, even though Night World law states that humans may not learn of its existence, transform into a Night Person without permission from its Council, or - most importantly - have a relationship with an existing Night Person. Despite opposition from Poppy's brother Phil, who believes James is toying with her, James successfully makes Poppy a vampire and the two acknowledge that they are "soulmates", an ancient concept deemed nonsensical by modern Night People. James hides Poppy in his apartment, but his "crazy" cousin Ash Redfern abducts her, intending to expose her as an illegal vampire at a gathering in Las Vegas. Poppy fights off Ash telepathically before James and Phil arrive to save her, making James realize Phil and Poppy must be descended from witches and therefore have every right to know of the Night World. Resolving to change their people's laws, James and Poppy leave to seek help from the latter's father, the source of the Norths' witch ancestry.''Daughters of Darkness''
Lamia sisters Rowan, Kestrel and Jade Redfern have fled their homeland, a Night World island enclave, for Oregon. They plan to stay with their Aunt Opal, an earlier fugitive, only to find she has been killed. Opal's neighbor Mary-Lynnette Carter suspects the sisters of murder, but after she and her brother Mark find them eating a deer in the woods, they reveal their vampire heritage and convince her they are innocent. Instead of following Night World law by killing the Carters, the Redferns do a "blood-crossing" ceremony, binding the families in a vow of mutual protection - to the delight of Jade and Mark, who are convinced they are soulmates. The alliance enables Mary-Lynnette to help investigate the death of both Opal and various animals in the area.Meanwhile, the Redferns' ruthless brother Ash has followed them to Oregon to either retrieve or kill them; however, when he meets Mary-Lynnette, the two realize to their joint horror that they are also soulmates. After learning about Opal, the shellshocked Ash agrees to assist in the investigation, though he and Mary-Lynnette insist they will not act on their feelings. Together, the group deduce Mary-Lynnette’s childhood friend Jeremy is a rogue werewolf, and after a meeting, he agrees to help them find the killer. Ash's revulsion towards humans slowly weakens, while Mary-Lynnette tries and fails to convince herself she hates him; finally, the two passionately acknowledge their shared feelings and begin the process to make Mary-Lynnette a vampire. However, Jeremy ambushes them in werewolf form, and reveals that he is the killer; he resented Opal for bringing three new vampires into his hunting territory, and when the Redferns wouldn't leave, he killed the animals to scare them off. He has also intended for some time to make Mary-Lynnette a werewolf, so sees Ash as a threat he must eliminate. Mary-Lynnette defends herself with a silver knife that Opal lent her, and Jeremy is killed when her faulty car explodes into flames.
Ash successfully fabricates a story that exonerates his sisters and allows them to stay in Oregon. Mary-Lynnette admits she loves him but is hesitant to become a vampire, and Ash vows to reflect on his wrongdoings to become worthy of her; they agree he will return to see her next year. As Ash leaves, his sisters and the Carters prepare to form a new haven for the Night People away from the enclaves.
''Spellbinder'' (also published under the title ''Enchantress'')
Witches Thea and Blaise Harman are first cousins. Thea uses white magic to heal and protect animals, while Blaise uses black magic to make boys do anything for her, including gifting her their possessions, harming themselves and others, and burning down buildings.When the cousins start at a new school, Thea heals aspiring vet Eric Ross after he is bitten by a snake and feels an unexpected affinity with him; however, she flees when he guesses he was healed by magic. To keep seeing him without raising questions, Thea pretends she wants to seduce Eric herself so Blaise won't target him. At a school dance, one of Blaise's former victims bursts in and attacks her new admirers; to comfort Thea, Eric takes her to a pet hospital he works at, where Blaise finds them. Thea confesses her belief that they are soulmates; livid that a boy would resist her charms due to Thea and worried about her cousin breaking Night World law, Blaise vows to crush Eric's spirit and kill him. In a desperate attempt to protect Eric, Thea accidentally releases a vengeful spirit which kills one of Blaise's admirers. While trying to recapture it, she takes refuge at Eric's house, where he hints again that he believes she can cast spells; realizing she could land Eric in serious trouble, Thea attempts first to let Blaise seduce him, then to charm him to love another girl. Both plans fail, convincing Thea that the "soulmate principle" is real, and she tells Eric the truth about everything. He agrees to help her capture the spirit by luring it into a trap during a witches' covenant; however, the Circle of Witches is notified that Thea has cast forbidden spells, and she is summoned to answer for her wrongdoings. She eventually convinces them to let her complete her plan, and manages to return to Eric and banish the spirit before it kills him. Despite this, the Circle refuses to let Eric love Thea or retain his knowledge of the Night World, and Thea requests that they both drink from the Cup of Lethe, which will erase their memories and allow them to be together as humans; however, Thea realizes while drinking that Blaise had previously switched the drink with iced tea, so neither forgets anything. Circle member Aradia deduces this, but is willing to keep their secret; she tells Thea and Eric to find "Circle Daybreak", and Blaise accepts Thea's love for Eric as they part ways.
''Dark Angel''
Following what should have been a fatal accident, Gillian Lennox is resurrected by a beautiful being calling himself "Angel". He encourages her to alter her appearance, her behavior and her social circle, making her the most popular girl at school and uniting her with her long-time crush, David Blackburn. Angel's omniscience means Gillian is able to drive David away from his girlfriend Tanya, and that she swiftly learns of Tanya's subsequent vengeful plan to sabotage both her and David's reputations. Angel also reveals Gillian's heritage; she is descended from one of two lost babies from the Harman family, making her a witch, and with this insight he helps her create a spell to stop Tanya and her accomplice Kim from carrying out their plan. He guides her to a hidden Night World store to obtain supplies, earning disapproval from its witch storekeeper Melusine, who realizes Gillian will be using dark magic.Everything seems perfect until Gillian learns her spell has made Tanya very sick. Angel's commands become stranger, more people end up hurt, and eventually he guides Gillian to an unsavory Night World clubhouse where she is almost mauled by werewolves; she is saved by Ash Redfern. Angel claims he and Gillian are soulmates, so he would never hurt her; however, when his influence almost causes David's death, Gillian blocks out Angel's voice and begs Melusine for help. Together they undo the spell against Tanya and Kim, and conclude that Angel is likely a spirit with unfinished business who died close to where Gillian met him. Before setting out to stop Angel, Gillian visits David in hospital and realizes he was her soulmate all along. She tries to find Angel in the local cemetery, and eventually he appears and takes her to his grave; his real name is Gary Fargeon, and he is descended from the other lost Harman baby, making him Gillian's second cousin. He has remained a spirit because he accidentally killed a young girl while casting an unstable spell, and died in a drunk-driving crash without telling anyone what he did. He denies Gillian's conviction that his actions don't make him evil, but eventually accepts the chance to atone for his actions; with David's help, Gillian leads the girl's father to where Gary hid her body, and when he states that he forgives whoever caused his daughter's death, Gary is finally able to move on to the afterlife.