Beneath the Night is the third book in the The Cities Below series and each book focus on different vampires and as such can be read as a standalone. I don’t feel that my enjoyment was hindered by not reading the earlier books.

I found Beneath the Night to be quite clean for a vampire romance. A lot of adult vampire romances lean towards smut. Now I’m not bagging out vampire smut, I’ve read and loved a fair bit of it in my time, but I don’t want to be reading it all the time – it was a nice surprise that I found refreshing.

The vampires – Extremely civilized and human feeling. They sleep during the day and are still burnt by sunlight, so normal vampy stuff there, but eat regular food as well as drinking blood. They can survive without blood, but they age without it. Most of them live in underground cities, the one that this book is set in being called Balinese.

Multiple POV’s - We meet POV Savard first, then Cat, Then Navarre. The swapping between was well placed and smooth, never impacting on the flow of the overall story line.

I found myself drawn to the dark, mysterious and pining Savard. At first I thought Savard was pining for his friend, the fallen Lord Navarre, ruler of Balinese. Later it became more apparent that while he carried deeply for his Lord, he was pining for the freedom he’d lost in having to temporarily take over for Navarre and run Balinese.

I liked Cat from the moment we met her. She is a ballsy, fierce and loyal Mumma/vampire vixen. She’s lives with PTSD from a childhood she keeps hidden and is very standoff-ish towards everybody who isn’t one of her five adopted children, Savard or her guard duty partner Dyre.

I found myself shipping Cat with Savard before we met Navarre, which is one of the reasons I think I found it hard to connect to Navarre or get into the romance between He and Cat. There wasn’t any dislike, I just didn’t connect to him as much as I did the other two POV’s. He was asleep for the start of the book, recovering from a demon attack, while we were getting to know Cat and Savard and I think that probably contributed to the lack of connection also.

The Plot – As well as the fated mates romance storyline, there is a who’s the bad guy storyline (which is full of run ins with demons, battles to the death and for me it’s what propelled the story along).

All in all, I found Beneath the Night to be a quick and entertaining read.

A fun story, the first I have read by Jen, and it won't be the last. I really liked Cat and Navarre both characters made me laugh.

Devlin didn’t believe in peace. Devlon didn’t believe in it’s existence. Balinese was a vast underground city of Vampires. Devlin felt a low energy in the air sent his senses in high alert. Then Keir dropped out of his invisible spirit form at Devlin’s side. Devlin told Keir to report and he said he gave Devlin the same answer every night for the last seven years nothing to report. Devlin said one day your answer will change and then everything will change. Once the gift of walking in spirit was learned it was simple to duplicate though most couldn’t advance beyond several feet. But not only could Keir travel great distances and pass through multiple structures with ease, he could linger in spirit for nearly an hour. Invisible and undetectable Keir was the perfect spy. .Devlin is a vampire and had been ruling the city while Navarre slept. Cat is red haired among all the dark haired people Cat had an equally fiery disposition sets her apart.. Cat has a dangerous and terrifying secret. Navarre has been asleep for seven years because of an injury. Cat was to feed Navarre. Navarre awakes as he felt the call of his fated mate close by who happens to be Cat. Navarre was determined to keep Cat safe. Cat’s weakness is in Navarre and the way he makes her feel. Cat had been a loner and fighter of demons until she takes on the responsibility of five children that their parents who had been killed by demons. Cat had an abusive past with her father as well as demons. Cat would do anything to keep the kids safe and together. Cat;s biggest fear is letting someone feed from her. From when she was a child and went through what Cat had she was terrified of anyone biting her and had nightmares about it. Navarre is gentle with Cat and for the first time she feels safe and comfortable.
I liked this story a lot. It was a little different kind of vampire story. I loved the plot. I like how understanding and supportive Navarre is with Cat. I love how Cat took the responsibility of five children because their parents had been killed. I loved the plot also.This was fast moving and kept my attention.It did drag at times though at least for me. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this story and I recommend. I would rate 4.5 if I could.

http://readdayandnight.blogspot.com/2017/04/Jencolly.html

Much has changed and there are other things on this rising that has never before been there. TEMPTATION with fiery hair and explosive blood, Cat could be the undoing of this lord in more ways than he, Navarre, could have imagined. Who will be doing the surrendering? Survival for them both was at stake. This was a direction for the series that keeps pace with the previous reads. It gives and takes. It adds and replenishes the series with more direction and adventure. I found Cat to be worth her weight in courage, sacrifice, confidence, temptation, and strength. Navarre could never have gotten a better partner to move on through life. She was it. Cat was the soul of this read. She makes it that much more.

'Beneath the Night' by Jen Colly is book three in the "The Cities Below" series. This is the story of Navarre and Cat. I have read the previous book but feel this is easily a standalone book.
Navarre has been 'asleep' for over 6 years. This sleep was to help him to recover from an injury but had yet awaken. When he senses Cat near his body starts to wake up. Navarre body and mind is telling him that Cat is his mate....his other half.
Cat was a loner and a fighter of demons until she taken on the responsibilities 5 kids left orphaned by demons. So she has secured a permanent place with Navarre and his people. Cat does work in the Guardian area of Navarre team but since Navarre has been asleep his second in command would commit to her having a permanent spot with them.
Cat has an abusive past with her father and demons so she has never been close with men and tries to avoid contact but to secure her place she goes forward with letting Navarre feed from her.
This was another exciting read! I liked Navarre who was protective of Cat but also easy and caring with her.
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."

I greatly enjoyed this book! Being a highly anticipated pairing - that of Cat and Navarre - I had high expectations of the author, and boy, did she deliver! It was action-packed, suspenseful, and full of sweet love between two broken characters. I loved the strength in both of them and how their love for each other persevered through the darkest of times.

Cat is an enigma in Balinese, an underground city of vampires. In a population of dark-haired people, Cat's red hair and equally fiery disposition sets her firmly apart from everyone else. While she appears strong on the outside, however, she harbors a dangerous and terrifying secret. When she is told that she must feed the newly awakened lord of Balinese, Navarre Casteel, she is forced to face that secret head-on. Navarre has been asleep for seven years, in a deep healing sleep since being attacked by a demon and stabbed in the heart. He awakens when he feels the call of his fated mate close by, and when he finds out it's Cat, he is determined not to let anything stop him from keeping her safe. As they battle both prejudices and constant demon attacks, they find that their strength lies not only within themselves but with each other.

I just can't say enough good things about this pairing! Cat is a tough, strong-willed woman who can take care of herself and prefers it that way. Suffering from a horror in her childhood, she has made sure that no one could make vulnerable again. But when she meets Navarre, it is plain to see that her weakness lies in him and the way he makes her feel. Navarre recognizes Cat's vulnerability, and rather than doing the typical alpha-male thing and forcing her to face her fears, he remains very understanding and supportive of her throughout the book. I loved how Jen Colly let us have our strong female heroine and alpha male hero, while allowing them both to have very relatable insecurities that they had to work through together. It was heartwarming to see their relationship grow and bloom into a strong, healthy love.

This is the third book I have read by Jen Colly, and I continue to be pleased with her writing! She has created an intriguing underground world, a unique take on vampires, and relatable and engaging characters. Thoroughly enjoyed this book in her Cities Below series and look forward to reading more in the future.

I am really enjoying this series and loving the characters. This was another good addition. I was very surprised to find out that almost seven years have passed since the attack on the city. Savard has done a great job during this time protecting the city and his Lord's sleeping body. But it's finally time for Navarre to wake up. Turns out that it's Cat's being there that has kept him alive this whole time and when Savard figures this out he's going to make sure his Lord gets his city back. Knowing that her fate in the city is now in Navarre's hands, Cat sucks up all her fears and worries, then goes to him. Cat's life is a forbidden one but that means nothing to Navarre. Especially when he finds out she's his mate. Because of all the demon attacks and the two of them being targeted, they decided to just make one big target. During this time they learn about each other and become closer. The way Navarre makes Cat feel scares her, but she loves the safety and comfort she finds with him. Navarre, the great man that he is, always thinks of Cat's well being and tells her he will wait as long as it takes for her to accept their bond and be by his side. There's a lot of demon fighting again here and one heck of a twist at the end. Definitely an awesome one too. With the way Savard left toward the end of the book, I can't help but think that the next one will be about him. And I'm so looking forward to it.

i hadn't read the cities below series before beneath the night, so i wasn't too bothered by all the exposition. though there was a lot of it. maybe this stuff wasn't covered in previous books, i don't know. but there was a moment i was like, i'm 25% into this book, when will things start happening. and okay, stuff had happened, but this is a paranormal romance. the two leads hadn't met until that moment. i am impatient.

once they meet navarre and cat are intimately connected. mainly because she's been sent in to feed him, but also because it's pretty clear to everyone except cat that navarre and her are mates, and were fated to meet. i should explain that navarre and cat are both vampires, and he is the ruler of the vampire city of balinese. he's been in a healing sleep for almost seven years, and by chance one of his captains figures out that the reason he has survived this long in stasis is because cat, his soul mate is close by.

cat is a guardian, an elite group of vampires who protect the city from demons. before coming to balinese she was a stalker, a lone demon hunter, and she's retained her independence while still becoming a key reason balinese is safe. cat is so self-sufficient and strong. she's basically raised herself, and she's raised five orphans too. and navarre respects that.

and it's so refreshing. i mean, sure he has his moments of protectiveness, but the truth is she is perfectly capable and proves it over and over again. and he admires her for it. the way he looks at her, he knows she is different, but he doesn't see those differences. he just sees the woman he is meant to be with. the woman he'll put first above all things, even his own health.

they are also battling demon attacks that seem to target them very specifically and it's only a matter of time before things go haywire. when they do, the way they can trust in each other is key to everyone's survival. things are resolved fairly quickly and the epilogue gives us a glimpse of where the series might be going next. though there are several threads that remain open-ended and i presume will be explored at some point.

overall I found the story be interesting with a good solid plot. THanks!

I liked that Navarre found Cat amusing at times, “always have.” She looked at her upper thigh and groaned her disappointment. “Damn it, I liked these pants.” Navarre smiled. His woman was in a huff over ruined leather pants." I really did find Navarre really sexy, "Navarre pulled away, and when he spoke, his voice was harsh with need. “Kiss me again, and you’re saying yes. To everything. To me.” I enjoyed this, I loved the characters.