No Mercy

Sep 032010

As a shapeshifter, Dev possesses all the fierce protectiveness, rage, strength and aggression of the bear that is the other half of his soul.  As one of the Peltier quadruplets, still mourning the loss of his parents, he tries hard to keep everyone at arms length.  When Samia, an Amazonian Dark-Hunter walks into Sanctuary, the last thing he expected was attraction.  Sam having been relocated to New Orleans with other members of the Dogs of War by Acheron and looking for a good fight, found something else entirely.  Some peace from her brutal betrayal and the ‘gift’ she received when she made the transition to a Dark-Hunter.

As enemies old and new plot and gather, Sam and Dev might be the only thing standing between mankind and annihilation.

I always feel like a kid in a sweet shop when I hold a new Sherrilyn Kenyon book.  Oddly I feel almost reluctant to read it at first, knowing that once I have, it’s done and there will be another wait to visit the ‘shop’ again.  Of course that doesn’t last long and as soon as I start it, I’m immediately swept up into the story, overjoyed at seeing some old friends again, mourning still for the ones lost in the last book.

The Dark-Hunter books are a treat to read, there is no pretense, no trying to cloud the issue with clever tricks, just straight forward emotional writing that engages you right from the start and doesn’t let you go until it’s finished.

No Mercy is a wonderful addition to the series.  Getting to see who Dev is on the inside was great after being used to seeing him as the brash loud-mouthed were-bear who tries to rub everyone up the wrong way.  He meets more than his match in Sam who might just have become one of my favourite female characters in this series.  As a female Dark-Hunter, she has already been to hell and back but refuses to give up and keeps fighting, to honour the Amazon code she held to in life and protect innocents from the Daimons.

There are some wonderfully sweet scenes as well as the usual sarcasm, action packed fights and testosterone overload I’ve come to love and expect but there is also a  depth of emotion evident that hasn’t exactly been lacking in previous books but rather just seemed to strike the right chord in me.

I try hard not to mention specifics in books I review as I really hate spoiling things for others but oh my, Stryker, you are a bad boy!

There are also some interesting developments with regards to Nick just to further tantalise, but to find out more, well, you are just going to have to read it!

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Book Information

Why you should read – Sherrilyn Kenyon

Nov 132009

As the genre of Paranormal Romance has evolved, one of its pioneers has been Sherrilyn Kenyon.  She broke new ground with her Dark-Hunter series.  It appealed to the many readers who were growing bored with the bodice rippers and outdated euphemisms for male genitalia that had saturated the romance market.  That’s not so say it was bad fiction, just it had reached the point where something needed to change.  I applaud the agents and publishers who took a chance on a new slant of an already established and huge genre.

So why should you read Sherrilyn Kenyon?

I am continually astounded by her ability to tell not only a great story, but by the worlds and supporting characters she creates with the different series.  With each book, someone who might have been a minor character in a previous story becomes the focus.  You learn their history and ride along with them as their present unfolds and you genuinely feel part of it.  The characters are always compelling, interesting and flawed and it’s those three things that keep you reading and eager to pick up another of her novels.

The Dark-Hunter world is like a web with a different strand for each person but with one character in the middle who holds it all together.  He appears in most of the Dark-Hunter books and finally had his own story told in Acheron which was outstanding.

While Sherrilyn is (thankfully!) a prolific writer, I’ve never felt she churns out the same material for the sake of it.  I feel the love she has for her characters in every book and they are all emotional, very engaging and unique.  How she keeps all the characters straight when they cross paths continually I’ll never know but it amazes me.

Her male characters are hot, charismatic, dangerous, sensual but flawed and yes you’d expect that considering it is romance after all, but she also creates strong, determined and often ferocious women who you both love and can empathise with a great deal.  The mix is explosive and very exciting and it’s the superb characterisations of both that bring them to life in your mind and utterly hook you.

So if you want books that you will absolutely fall in love with, you should read Sherrilyn Kenyon and my favourite series of all, the Dark-Hunters.

Sherrilyn Kenyon

Oct 242009

About Sherrilyn Kenyon

Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of the writers who helped shape the genre of paranormal romance into the phenomenon it has become today.  She lives in Missouri with her husband, sons, pets, a collection of swords and a plethora of imaginary friends which she likes to play with and share their stories with us.  Her books are always at number one spots in the charts where they certainly deserve to be, and there are more than 18 million in print in over 35 different countries.

http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/
http://www.officialsanctuary.com/index.html
http://www.menyon.com/ (Official Fan Community)

My Comments

The first Sherrilyn Kenyon book I picked up was Night Play.  I hadn’t read much paranormal romance but the blurb on the back intrigued me and I thought I would give it a try.  I didn’t expect to read a book rich in dark humour, stunning characters, steamy scenes and fast paced plot.  The world she created was amazingly detailed, based on our own but with an unseen side of dark-hunters and were-hunters, gods and monsters.  I was hooked.

Having read every book I can get my hands on, in all the different genres she writes in, I am astounded by her imagination and creativity.  She is prolific (thankfully!) but spares no detail because of it and I always have the feeling she genuinely loves each character, that they are real to her and because of that, makes them real for the reader through her writing.

If I had to choose just one author to recommend for Paranormal Romance, Sherrilyn Kenyon would be it,  as a few friends who are also now fans can attest!

Bibliography

Dark-Hunter

Dark Hunter Manga

Short Stories

Lords of Avalon

The League

B.A.D.

Bad Moon Rising

Jul 292009

I don’t know how Sherrilyn Kenyon does it, but I’m so glad she does.  Bad Moon Rising is the 18th book in the Dark-Hunter series and it’s showing no sign of stopping yet.  You fear with such a long running series that it will start tailing off, the author starts to get bored or runs out of steam and continues for the sake of it, but there is just no sign at all of that happening here.  You feel the love and care she writes with, her characters larger than life but so real and that shines through in every book.  It raises them from a good read to an amazing one.

Bad Moon Rising has everything you want in a Dark-Hunter book and then some.  It’s Fang’s Story beginning with his history, something you know a little of from his brother Vane’s book (Night Play),  through to where Fang is in his apparent coma and then it all takes off.  You get to see some old friends again which is always great and another thing I love about the Dark-Hunter books and how they often blend in together, seeing another story from a different angle.  New enemies, betrayal and revenge feature heavily as always and fast paced action across it all.  But the thing we all want and need the most, is present in abundance.  Love.

I have to say (and try not to spoil anything), the ending is a shocker and I think it was really brave of Sherrilyn to do what she did there and I admire her for it.  I don’t mind admitting I cried, as I imagine others will too.

I really can’t wait for the next one!

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Book Information

Dream Warrior

Mar 292009

Being the son of the gods Warcraft and Hate meant life was not an easy one for Cratus.  After refusing to take an innocent life, Zeus, father of the Gods tortured him and sent him into exile.  He vows never to trust anyone again.  Offered the chance to regain the power that that was taken from him and gain vengeance, he sides with those that would see humanity destroyed and the world in ruins.  Can the Oneroi Delphine succeed in bringing him back, convince him that the world is worth saving or if she fails, kill him.

I was excited to find Dream Warrior had been released and I was really looking forwards to reading it.  It was a bit disappointing when I found I was having a hard time getting in to it, usually I can’t put them down.  I think the pace of the first section was a little off, it seemed a bit rushed and didn’t build as much empathy with the main character as normal.  Having said that, once Delphine came into play, I was hooked and the rest of the book flew past.  The pace of the rest of the book was excellent and packed full of action, passion and the appearance of some old and dear friends.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Book Information

Acheron

Sep 282008

Occasionally you come across a series that you completely fall in love with and the Dark-Hunter books were such a series for me. I hadn’t really read much in the romance genre, preferring to stick to Fantasy, Sci-fi and Chick Lit. I was stuck for something to read and happened to pick up a book by Sherrilyn Kenyon in a charity shop and since the back blurb intrigued me, I decided to give it a go. I was hooked from then on. It was gutsy, romantic, sexy, funny and the action scenes were all you could want. It was incredibly well written and the story just flowed smoothly, right to the last page and I was actually sad it had ended. When I found there was a whole series of them, I was overjoyed! I’d class them as Supernatural Romance rather than plain romance as they feature werewolves, vampires and hot, sexy gods. What was not to love? Though each book in the series focused on different characters and their lives, the link between them all was Acheron. An enigma you never learnt too much about but couldn’t help loving anyway. You know he’d been incredibly hurt and alone for a dozen lifetimes but not by who, how or where. The sacrifices he made for those he loved were beyond anything you could imagine. As I read each book, I wanted to know more about this intriguing character but because of his nature and the storyline, I feared that the only time you would find out would be at the very end of the series.

Finally his story has been written and I couldn’t put it down. Rather than it being told as a memory, you are taken through his life and the things that he endured that made him the man he is today. You understand so much more about him and the choices and sacrifices he had to make. It was brilliantly written and when his history is done and it switches to the modern Ash that we know and love, you can’t help empathising with him and fearing that this time he will come completely undone and have no way back. The character of Tory ties in with several others as has happened a lot in the other books, a facet of Kenyon’s world that I love and I wonder how on earth she manages to keep them all straight. You can’t help but love Tory, her determination and fierce loyalty are ultimately the things that Ash is drawn to and feel there would be no one more perfect for him, if they can endure the obstacles that are put in their path.

As I said before, I couldn’t put this book down and it was a fantastic book of the history of the Dark-Hunters and their lives. I loved it and am extremely happy that my fears were unfounded and this is not the end of the series. I can’t wait for the next book!

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Book Information

© 2011 Grete Evans A blog of myths, romance, fantasy and thrills. Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha