The Lights of Prague is a dark and intriguing story that follows two people living in Prague, a city that is plagued with dark creatures. Domek is a lamplighter – a secret group tasked with protecting the citizens of Prague from the creatures of the night. Lady Ora Fischerová is a pijavice, one of the undead who hides in high society. When one night Domek discovers a will-o’-the-wisp, it sends him on a dark quest to uncover a terrible conspiracy among the pijavice. Domek must team up with Lady Fischerová in order to save Prague, but will they manage it in time?

The Lights of Prague really caught my eye when I saw it was a vampire story set in Prague and was for fans of V. E. Schwab. This is my first book from Nicole Jarvis and I really enjoyed the writing style, but I did feel the main plot was a little on the predictable side. I thought the setting was really interesting and Prague really came to life in the story. Jarvis does a good job creating tension and there are more than a few eerie and creepy moments in this gothic tale.

While I did enjoy this story I did think the pacing was a little uneven. The story starts off quite slow whereas the latter half of the book feels very fast paced. Our main characters are well crafted and intriguing and I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop as the story progressed. I similarly liked Kaja, who was probably the character that interested me most in the story.

Overall The Lights of Prague is an entertaining and compelling gothic fantasy tale and if you’re looking for a vampire story set somewhere different, this could be just the book you’re looking for.

I was so excited to read this book. A book about Vampires and Vampire hunters sign me up. But the book ends up being a slow build-up until the last 20%. It was a bummer the characters were an interesting idea that didn't quite give as much as I hoped they would. I keep wishing the pace picked up sooner. The Lights of Prague was a middle-of-the-road book for me.

This book is something like a fantasy lover's dream. It's haunting, atmospheric, and rich with characters that you're rooting for. I loved every second of reading this book, and I can't wait to see what else this author has in store!

This was a great, simple take on vampire fiction. I enjoyed the setting of this book, and the atmosphere was fantastic. I love Prague, so it was cool to read about it in a book and be able to visualize the setting. I am normally not a huge fan of vampire fiction, but this was fantastic!

I think I picked it up for 1) bisexual vampires and 2) because it was set in Prague (I’m beyond tired of UK-based historical stuff), and it was…fine I guess? Plot-wise, it’s bog standard urban fantasy with vampires and romance between Ora, a vampire lady and Domek, a monster hunter. Not bad at all, but didn’t do anything new or interesting either.

My ambivalence wasn’t helped by the fact that Domek has moments of being the worst kind of lawful good: lawful stupid. He got better at the very end (I suspect Ora lent him some braincells), but…god, miscommunication-based subplots and sanctimonious arses make me want to tear my hair out. That small annoyance aside, it was a perfectly mediocre read.

I enjoyed this book from the characters to the eerie atmosphere, and the plot that had several surprising elements. It had a steady pace and kept my interest throughout the story. The only small downside was the writing style. Sometimes I could not completely follow what was happening, mainly during action scenes. Overall a likeable read.
Full review on my YouTube channel.

I had a few download issues with the book and by the time it was sorted, the file had unfortunately been achieved. Happy to re-review if it becomes available again.

I enjoyed this book so much more than I expected. This was largely due to the atmosphere - absolutely loved the description of Prague and the dark and creepy vibes given off. The story was very interesting, I especially wasn’t expecting the turn the story took towards the end but my inner scientist was very intrigued, and bonus points for featuring romance between a pijavice (like a vampire) and a pijavice hunter, just gotta love all the enemies to lovers haha. That being said, the story did lull a little bit and I found myself losing some interest at certain points but my interest was definitely renewed so it’s not like this was a struggle to read.

Rating: 3.75 stars/5 (rounded to 4 on Goodreads)
Spice: 1 pepper/5 (sex but nothing too descriptive on the page)

A huge thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the arc to review. All opinions are my own.

This one took me a long time to get through. Like a long LONG time. I had to keep skipping back to the start because after around 20% it started to become grating and I had to put it down and start again. When I finally got through the first half, it started making sense

Really enjoyed Ora (the pijavica POV). Being older and wiser, she seemed to be the closest to having her stuff together (for the most part). Although she did feel a little stuffy at times.

Domek, the human male POV, seemed disjointed and I found myself rereading most of his parts in the beginning because I couldn't quite wrap my head around what his purpose was for a good chunk of the novel.

Going in expected Prague to feel like more of a character than it did. To begin it felt very much like I'd get some bang for my buck and I really liked this aspect.

Overall it felt very 'period urban fantasy' and while I appreciate this (absolutely adore the Lady Helen novels) there was just something missing that I cant quite put my finger on. Maybe it's because it took so long for me to read. Maybe this specific book isn't my thing.

Would definitely recommend if you like the Lady Helen novels or Jodie Zdrok's Spectacle series

The Lights of Prague, for me, had a lot of potential that in reality it didn't live up to. It definitely affected how long it took me to read this novel and it was a bit of a slog and a chore to finish. Main character Domek was super boring as a protagonist, Lady Ora had at least some personality but in quite a character driven novel, just not enough to keep my attention. Even the pijavices, wisps and the other supernatural elements don't stick out as truly memorable.

Thanks to NetGalley, Titan Books and Nicole Jarvis for an eArc, in exchange for an honest review.

What It's About: In the city of Prague, the only thing that keeps the people safe from things that go bump in the night are the Lamplighters, a secret organization dedicated eliminating monsters. Domek is a lamplighter, but after an encounter one night, he becomes bonded to a will-o-the-wisp, he becomes entwined in a web of conspiracies' that could spell doom for the city, and people are not always what they appear to be.
Why I Requested It: On occasion, I'm in the mood for a good gothic story, and this one seemed like an appealing choice. Also I want to read more historical fantasy, and the setting mixed with the monster hunting organization intrigued me, because it wasn't what I typically saw in books.
Cons: Despite her first impression, Lady Ora was an uninteresting and somewhat useless character. She has quite a bit of life experience and plethora of resources, and half the story is in her POV, yet she does basically nothing to progress the story forward. It's debatable whether she even has a sufficient character arc. The other thing issue I had was with conclusion of Domek's character arc during the end battle. Essentially Domek comes to the wrong conclusion and instead of realizing that the world and people are not so black and white, which is one of the themes the book tries to explore, his response to the antagonist taunting him makes it seem like he actually hasn't learned anything. It's unfortunate because both characters had potential, but tripped before reaching the finish line.
Pros: On the flip side, I did enjoy Domek's relationship with Kaja, the will-o-the-wisp, and seeing the influence they have on each other as the book progress, concluding in a bittersweet resolution for Kaja. The setting was another thing I enjoyed, not just the city of Prague itself but the history and folklore that was incorporated. One other aspect that stood out to me in a positive way was how the magic was developed, and incorporated with the technology. It gives the book a more grounded feel, almost like mixing a pulp urban fantasy with steampunk. So I would definitely say the fantasy aspects of this novel are the best thing about it.
Finishing Thoughts: All the 2021 releases I had read before picking up The Lights of Prague were various levels of disappointing. Also this book was published by Titan Books, and of the 3 books/ series I read from Titan this year, only one was mediocre and the others were bad. So basically this book had everything going against it. To my surprise, I really enjoyed this book. While it does try to make a point and somewhat fail at it, I would still say it's a worthwhile read, and at the very least is an entertaining one. Definitely one of my favorite 2021 releases, and honestly one of the better reads of 2021.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for gifting me an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝙳𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚔, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚓𝚘𝚋, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜, 𝙿𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚞𝚎 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚏𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚢."

The age-old fight of vampires against humans is brought to life in The Lights of Prague, the debut novel of Nicole Jarvis. Walking the streets of Prague at night in 1868 is dangerous, but with lamplighters routinely lighting the lamps at night, it's somewhat safer. In the darkness lurks a creature lusting for blood and waiting for its next victim. In this book, the term for a vampire used is 'pijavica'. Told from dual POVs, Domek (lamplighter) and Ora (pijavica) we see the two worlds of humans and vampires combined. With a possible cure to allow vampires to walk in daylight and an unexpected romance, the reader will be swept into this atmospheric read.

I listened to the audiobook while reading and it enhanced my reading experience. There are sound effects when the will-o'-the-wisp speaks and adds to the eeriness of the story. My favourite character was Kája, the imprisoned wisp. The audiobook really contributed to Kája's character, the sound effects were astonishing. I definitely recommend reading and listening to the audiobook at the same time. Domek and Ora's friendship was interesting until a sudden plot twist changes everything. While reading I was thinking, "Domek, you won't believe this!" I wanted to shout at him to warn him. The reader is taken along the ride of his emotional destruction but soon something else happens that has the reader forget about the shocking reveal.

Can humans and pijavicas co-exist, or will they always be enemies? Will the streets of Prague be free of nightly terrors or will the shadows have eyes and a hunger for blood? Nicole Jarvis takes the reader to the streets of Prague to find out. If you enjoy books about vampires, this book is for you.

#TheLightsofPrague #Netgalley

While vampires are not-my-thing, I decided to take a punt on The Lights of Prague because of its setting. Prague is an amazing city and for once it's a setting for vamps beyond an American high school! While the writing style was great, the vampire-romance is still definitely not-my-thing, which is a person preference, of course and others may enjoy it a lot more.

I wanted to like this one so bad but I was sadly disappointed. My main issue comes from the main character Domek, who I found to be incredibly dull. He was all brawn, no brains, and frankly had as much personality as air has flavor. I also struggled to believe in the relationships he had with his love interest and our other protagonist, Ora. With all of their first interactions occurring before the book even begins, I felt as though the reader missed our on a lot of crucial buildup. Similarly, I felt as though the book was trying to fit too many plot lines into only 400 pages and takes place over 3 days. Between the wisps, the white lady, vampire politics, Ora's past coming back to haunt her, the romance, and more I felt like the book could have benefitted from paring down on the number of ideas or spreading them out over multiple books. All of that being said, I would like to say that the atmosphere was great and I appreciated the LGBTQ, Jewish, and Romani representation that was incorporated into the story.

3 starts. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Took me about 50 pages to really get into it but once we started diving farther into the vampires background and really getting into the thick of the plot I found myself wanting to pick up the book more and more. Will definitely continue

3,5 stars

In 19th century Prague, Domek Myska is a lamplighter, which is an organization that hunts monsters. They also light the streetlamps of Prague. He has a very black and white view of the world. Monsters = bad. There are no shades of grey for him. Then there is Ora Fischerová, a pijavice (vampire). Ora has been avoiding the company of other pijavice for decades and was married to a human but is now a widow. They’ve been flirting for a while, and Domek is none too happy when he finds out that Ora is a monster he’s supposed to hunt.

I don’t think I’ve read a book set in Prague before so that was a nice change.
For the majority of the book, Domek makes stupid choices because he thinks he’s the only one who’s right and has morals. Sees only black and white and jumps to conclusions because of that. At times, it felt like he was a bit too naïve. Ora makes him see some shades of grey too.

But despite those few gripes, this was a very enjoyable debut. But for some reason, I’m having trouble finding something to say about it… But it truly was a good book.

This was an enjoyable book that took us on an adventure through the streets of Prague. It is the blend of fantasy and history that makes this an interesting read. It wasn't a perfect book but the setting and characters were what made this story so much fun to read.

I think the setting really added to the atmospheric and creepy feeling that was present throughout the book. The city of Prague has a lot of history and its a a place I have never been so it was interesting to read about. The main focus is the gas lamps that are used at night to chase the darkness away. Its all so creepy and the fact that monsters are real makes it even more so. I found the concept of lamplighters being monster hunters really interesting, it makes sense they literally fight the darkness.

The plot was pretty simple and it could be quite slow but I just really enjoyed reading it. For me it was really the characters that made this book so good. I liked how the main character interacted with each other . I also enjoyed seeing their development throughout the book but I did think the side characters were a lot less interesting. Overall it was an enjoyable read about what it means to be a monster.

This was a highly anticipated read for me as I love books set in beautiful city’s. This was a phenomenal debut which really captivated the audience. It’s gothic vibe will sweep you away through the streets of prague. I loved Domek and Ora’s POV’s and the world building that Nicole set made for a fantastic historical fantasy where you don’t know what’s lurking around the corner.

This was a very interesting read. I loved seeing Prague as a setting and how the city's unique architecture played a role in the story. It felt like a classic vampire tale with a few new twists. However, I was not sold on Domek's character. I know he was supposed to be naive, but I felt that it was a little overdone and made him feel flat as a result. I also loved the idea of the lamplighters as an organization, but feel there were some missed opportunities to develop this concept more.

I absolutely love Prague and will always have a soft spot for anything set in the city. Add in a bit of historical fiction, some vampires and some gay characters and I was so looking forward to this book. It didn't quite live up to my expectations but I still enjoyed so much of it.