Day Soldiers by Brandon Hale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I would like to thank We ❤ YA Books and Brandon Hale for the opportunity to read and review this fabulous book!

From Goodreads:

For ten years now, humanity has been at war with the creatures of darkness. The war has changed the world. The day now belongs to humanity and the night belongs to things once thought to exist only in myths and legends... but there is hope.
This new enemy has united humanity and an army has stepped forward to protect the light from the darkness. An army of heroes.
The Day Soldiers.
Eighteen year old Lily Baxter always knew the Day Soldiers would be a major part of her life. She had been preparing for it since she was eight. She was ready to go to war.
The one thing she wasn't prepared for was the day the war came to her.

So, do you want to read a book with a kick ass heroine? Do you want to read a book full of action? Do you want to read a book that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next? Then this is the book for you.

I wasn't actually sure I would like this book. I read the description and I was torn as to whether or not I wanted to take a chance with it. I am SO glad I did

This book is an interesting mix between a paranormal and a dystopian. I have never read something like this before.
Lily is a 18 year old girl who lives with her family, in fear of the monsters that plague her world: vampires and werewolves. But she is determined to eradicate these monsters and make the world safe. When her town is destroyed by these monsters, she vows to help in any way she can. She does this by becoming a day soldier. And let me tell you something about Lily, she is a no holds barred, don't take nothing from anyone kind of girl. She fights like there is no tomorrow and is willing to go down to save her friends from certain destruction. She has a smart mouth and a quick whit. There is no teenage angst with this girl. And her best friend Leo, is just the same. You see that he cares greatly for Lily and is willing to risk his life so that she will be safe.

And her teammates are just as determined, and cocky, if you will. Ellie is the girl who can sneak around and get into places no one else could fit. Grung is the excellent marksman, with great fighting skills. And Scott is the information specialist who certainly seems to have much more information than any day soldier should have. Together, they work to fight evil. They know what they can do, they know how good they are at doing it, and they will stop at nothing to reach their goal. If this means destruction, then so be it. If this means risking their lives, then so be it. And the banter between the team drips of sarcasm. I was surprised to be smiling, giggling, even laughing during while reading! My favorite thing about the team is that they do things they believe to be right, even if it goes against orders.

Abbie is the team instructor. She is the ultimate "sneaker". And to top it all off, she's a nun! What an original character! And Wallace is the commanding officer, who just happens to have a very special secret about him! He likes Lily from day one and knows there is something special about her. He knows she is Day Soldier material.

Hale paints a picture of a world taken over by monsters. A world where we are at war with the very things we dream of that scare us to death. It's a world that has been desolated and destroyed in areas where civilization once blossomed. It's world where humanity is being destroyed. And the monsters help paint the picture of how humans have destroyed what they were so generously given without a second thought. It's original for sure!

The monsters are not just blood sucking, killing machines, they are ruthless and clever. They believe they should be the ones who run the world. We watch werewolves and vampires, usually mortal enemies, work side by side to destroy anything that gets in the way of them taking over the world.
My only issue with this book, the reason I did not give it 5 stars, is because the characters never loose. With the exception of losing one person, none of the characters is injured beyond repair or dies. I can't imagine this to be true, no matter how good the team is at their job. But this really didn't distract me from the story. As a matter of fact, it made me want to read on because I knew in the long wrong, the characters were going to win.

This story has twists and turns. I was grabbed from the very beginning during the prologue which was the declaration of war from the vampires and werewolves. The story has a great pace: not too slow and just fast enough to keep you interested and wanting to know the next move this team will make. And Hale shows us the character's flaws and how this affects their judgement and the consequences of their actions.

I highly recommend this story to anyone who wants something packed with action. 4 out of 5 stars from me!

This review is posted at the following sites:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/day-s...
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
http://thecovercontessa.blogspot.com/

Other books by Brandon Hale: