When Darkness Hungers by J.K. Beck – Review

The blurb

FBI agent Alexis Martin knows that vampires exist—because one of them killed her sister. Assigned to investigate a series of bizarre homicides in Los Angeles, Alexis believes the murders are the work of rogue vampires—perhaps even the monster responsible for her sister’s death. Now she finally has a chance for retribution. Even better, Alexis receives unexpected help from a sexy stranger as hungry for rogue blood as she is.

Serge is a centuries-old bad boy who stays off the grid—keeping his secrets, his hunger, and his heart safe from exposure. A new breed of vampire that feeds off other shadowers, Serge finds sweet torture in Alexis’s arms. Loving her is a chance to be free from the hiding, the loneliness, the secrecy. But the truth about what he is, and what he’s done, may banish him to the dark confines of his own private hell—and destroy the beginnings of their love.

The review

When Alexis was a child, her teenage sister vanished. Everyone said she had ran away from home but Alexis believed she had been kidnapped. This began her journey to be an FBI agent and to find her sister. After the death of her parents, Alexis finds her sister’s diary and discovers the truth. Her sister had ran away from home because of sexual abuse by their father. Filled with guilt and anger, Alexis continues her career of stopping criminals and hopes to reconnect with her sister.

While investigating a series of strange murders in New York (not Los Angeles, as the blurb says) another victim is found with the same throat punctures. It is Alexia’s sister. While hunting down leads, Alexia finds Leena. Leena is a psychic descended from vampire hunters. Leena shows her that vampires exist and tells her how to find her sister’s killer. Alexia resigns from the FBI and they move to LA to continue the hunt.

Serge has done horrible things in his past. He was unable to control his daemon and committed many atrocities against humans. Later, he was cursed and committed more. The curse was broken but it left behind another hunger to compete with his daemon and he has isolated himself from others because of it and he feeds on rogue vampires.

A hunt for the same rogue puts Alexia and Serge on an intercepting course and changes their lives. Alexia learns that all vampires aren’t evil and Serge finds someone that sees the good in him. The attraction is instant and one I enjoyed very much. I loved that Serge saw her as a strong warrior and helped her train instead of being all He-man and insisting the little woman stay home while he fought the baddies. I also like Alexi’s maturity when Serge’s past is revealed.

This is the first book in this series I have read and I think that may have put me at a disadvantage with the vampire world and especially Serge’s curse. I didn’t really understand it and that was needed since it plays such a important role in all parts of When Darkness Hungers. I also felt the ending was a little too easy. With all the angst and drama leading up to it, I was expecting more.

Overall, When Darkness Hungers is an enjoyable romance with a world I want to know more about. I’ll be buying the earlier books in the series soon to catch up.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: June 26th, 2012
Format: print and digital

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DFRAT – Inheritance of Shadows by Janis Susan May excerpt

“Which door did you use out of the house?” Corwin asked in a voice no louder than a breath.

The cold air had started me thinking again. Why was Corwin afraid of being caught by the security guard? He was a guest here, after all.

And what was a guest doing in a dark garage after midnight?

“The front one.”

“Did you leave it unlocked?”

“Yes.”

“Lucky for us there’s no alarm system,” he muttered and again my curiosity arose. I hadn’t learned that there was no alarm until it was necessary for me to go around it.

When had Corwin found out?

And why?

“Corwin, I want to know—”

“Keep it down, will you? If we have any luck at all we can get back in before someone discovers the door is open.”

“Why—”

He ignored me and slid out the door for another careful look around before grabbing my hand again and dragging me out. We took a circuitous route around the yard, going from deep shadow to deeper shadow as if the faint starlight would advertise our presence. In truth, I was glad he had my hand, for as close as Corwin was I could barely see him.

It must be very late, because the stars were getting brighter. I wondered muzzily how strange it was that the bright stars were just along the horizon. Stranger still, they were moving…

“Corwin, look.”

Corwin’s hand muffled my mouth and not very gently. “Hush, dammit!” he hissed softly. “Keep your mouth shut. Maybe they didn’t hear.”

If they had, they gave no sign. Now even I could see that the line of sparkling lights were not stars at all, but torches. Real, burning torches, not flashlights or plastic facsimiles. They weren’t bright enough to push back the night well, but gave enough light to show that those who carried them were nothing human.

His hand still tightly over my mouth, Corwin dragged me into the deep shade of a tree. His encircling arms were like steel bands. Whispering directly into my ear, he ordered me to silence.

I didn’t have to be told twice. Now I could see that the marchers were costumed as creatures from the Land of the Two Suns and were probably nothing more than conventioneers living out some sort of role-playing fantasy instead of signboards to my madness. I could see the Racontraneux, ever the eternal politicians in their elegant multi-colored flowing robes and several triads of Eisfodea, the unpredictable mountain creatures who were covered with long silky hair that eddied in the breeze like a cloud. There were a band of soldierly Melphs, looking more like martial teddy-bears in brown fur and shiny armor than vicious mercenaries, and even several short round Ghrones, their traditional red and blue outfits making them appear to be some kind of squashy beach ball. And lastly…

I caught my breath as a supernatural fear gripped my throat.

At the tail end of this eerie procession came a Shining One, all in white. The torchlight danced off his tiny wings and golden horns, making it look as if he were surrounded by a cloud of fireflies. His suit was so white that it seemed to glow a pale blue. His face was dead white, too, and from this distance looked as featureless as an egg.

James?

What would James be doing with this group?

Then rationality set in. This imposter was visibly shorter than James, and much chunkier, with a definite pot belly. James was quite muscular in spite of his lean frame. I had learned that when we danced.

The group turned and trod off into the trees, moving with the precision of a military drill. I watched, holding my breath, until they were swallowed by the dark woods.

“Did you recognize any of them?” Corwin whispered in my ear.

I shook my head. Not one face had been recognizable even as human, let alone as an individual. They must, I decided with painful slowness, have worn masks.

Still, there was something uncanny about the whole procession. In spite of its size and number the crowd had been so very silent. Even their feet made no sounds. There was no talking, no singing. I would have expected some jollity, some laughter, perhaps even some song from such a group. Instead there was a solemnity and sense of purpose that was frightening in its intensity. Apart from the wild diversity of their costumes, they could have been a procession of spectral monks from some raped and dissolved abbey in England, treading across the land as they had for centuries.

 

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