Book Review: The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis
The Details
Media Type: Print Book
Title: The Lights of Prague
Author: Nicole Jarvis
Publisher: Titan Books
Pages/Length: Paperback; 413
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Source: Purchased
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For readers of VE Schwab and The Witcher, science and magic clash in atmospheric gaslight-era Prague.
In the quiet streets of Prague all manner of otherworldly creatures lurk in the shadows. Unbeknownst to its citizens, their only hope against the tide of predators are the dauntless lamplighters – a secret elite of monster hunters whose light staves off the darkness each night. Domek Myska leads a life teeming with fraught encounters with the worst kind of evil: pijavice, bloodthirsty and soulless vampiric creatures. Despite this, Domek find solace in his moments spent in the company of his friend, the clever and beautiful Lady Ora Fischerová– a widow with secrets of her own.
When Domek finds himself stalked by the spirit of the White Lady – a ghost who haunts the baroque halls of Prague castle – he stumbles across the sentient essence of a will-o’-the-wisp, a mischievous spirit known to lead lost travellers to their death, but who, once captured, are bound to serve the desires of their owners.
After discovering a conspiracy amongst the pijavice that could see them unleash terror on the daylight world, Domek finds himself in a race against those who aim to twist alchemical science for their own dangerous gain.
The Review
Picking up The Lights of Prague was one hundred percent motivated by the fact that it deals with vampires, or pijavice as they are called here. I’m a sucker for a good vampire read, and I’m even more obsessed when the backdrop is atmospheric. Gaslamp era Prague just called to me. The idea of a world where the light and the dark exist only to war with one another. A world where humans are caught up in a chess game that they aren’t even aware they’re playing. I was really excited for this book.
Starting with what I enjoyed, the setting of the book is definitely up there. Jarvis does a wonderful job of bringing this dark and lavish Prague to life. It was also so easy to fall in love with Domek. Our monster hunter, disguised as a lamplighter, was so full of life. His morals, his willingness to sacrifice himself for others, endeared me to him right away. I knew that he was the type of character that I could root for, and I was happy for that.
On the other hand, Ora didn’t quite hit all of those buttons for me. While she was quite a spitfire, which I appreciated, she was almost too disengaged for my tastes. Her backstory was wonderful. I loved how much depth she had, because of her past poor choices and her lost loves. I was genuinely hoping that she would round out even more throughout the course of the story. Unfortunately, the focus was mostly on “what makes a monster a monster”, and Ora kind of stagnated.
Which brings me to the biggest trouble I had with this book, and that was the pacing. The first portion of this book was almost too slow to hold my attention, but Jarvis’ writing was so rich that I couldn’t look away. I’m quite happy that was the case, because when the story picks up it really is addictive. As Domek and Ora each are fighting their own battles, they realize that their causes actually align. They may be from two different worlds, but the fact is that both of those worlds have their own brand of monsters.
Even though the pacing picked up though, that was where the character growth all but ended. It seemed like the two couldn’t coexist in the story. Ultimately the ending felt sort of flat, and I was hoping for so much more of climax. Thus, the three star rating. However, if there was a second book set in this world I would absolutely pick it up! I’d love to see more of Domek and Ora, and find out how they fare.
