"My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding", anthology "A Hard-Days Night Searcher" by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I am going to start this anthology this weekend.  My reading is going kind of slow as of yet, while I prepare to attend Twicon this weekend.  Craziness all around, but I will be packing a few books , of course and get a little reading time in.  As always, I will post a review soon and let you in on what is new in the Dark -Hunter world. 

"Dark Side of the Moon", by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I finished reading book 10 this past weekend.  I liked this story, however, I cannot say it was one of my favorites.  

This is Ravyn Kontis's story.  He is a Dark-Hunter, but was born an Arcadian Were-Hunter.  He was converted, as upon his death, his human side screamed loudly enough in betrayal, as Artemis got the message and came to offer him his "act of vengeance" in return for joining her army.  What does that mean for Ravyn?  He now becomes the enemy of his family who survived.  His Were-Hunter family who will not tolerate him as a Dark-Hunter. 

 

Ravyn, basically has not family, even though his family lives , as they are Were-Hunters and can live for 100's of years.  

He falls upon Susan Michaels, who shares his same characteristic of having no family.  The only family she has, are two friends, Angie and Jimmy.  Their chance meeting actually happens while Ravyn is in cat form, but it is not long until Susan finds out, and "the cat is out of the bag"... could not help myself.  

Ravyn ends up at her house, where he ends up in human "naked" form where he finds out that Susan works for Leo Kirby ( a well know squire) and confuses her "work" as not the newspaper cover up job Leo has, but as her actually being a squire.  Hence, Susan learns A LOT she was not supposed to learn in a short period of time.  Thus, Susan gets the choice of being inducted as squire or death. Which one would you choose? 

There is an underground operation going on in Seattle, that Susan and Ravyn must discover to save the lives of many Dark-Hunters.  There is some death which you will read about, then there is some death that does not end up so much , but maybe death in a whole other way (no spoilers, I am trying).

  

Savitar and Nick show up in this book again, and well, things are not looking so good for little Nicky.  Poor guy, what a fate he has been served, but really, he should just suck it up and get over it, or I am afraid he is going to be in WAY over his head... oh wait, no spoilers, can't tell you that in this book he does start treading water.

All in all, it was a good read.  Some interesting things here and there and a few twists along the way.  Susan is a bit too sarcastic for my liking, but like Ravyn says, it is her defense mechanism.  

The end of this one leaves the door open for so much more to come. I think that is what I liked most about it. It ends, with you knowing Sherrilyn had a whole lot still in store for me.  I like it!!  "Welcome to my hell," ~ Stryker

"Unleash the Night", by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Book 9 of the Dark-Hunter series brings us back to the Were-Hunters.  It looks like this one will be about Wren Tigarian, a Were-Hunter who is a mix between a snow leopard and a white tiger.  We have seen Wren hanging out at Sanctuary in New Orleans in past books, but this is "his story".  Should prove to be interesting. I hope they have some of Vane and Fang in here, as I would like to know how Fang is doing since he finally woke up at the end of "Night Play".  Well, as always, I will post back with a review once I am finished. 

Oh, I also ordered the last of the series today at B&N. Kind of sad to know it will come to an end at some point.  There is a new book scheduled to be released in the first week of August, so it should be about out when I get through with the ones out now.  Keep 'em coming Sherrilyn. 

I feel like I have been neglecting my dear blog. I have actually been through with this book for a while now, and will try to give it an honest review, since it has been a bit since I read it. Also, I have just finished book 10.  

So, here it goes.  Wren Tigarian is a Were-Hunter who has been living at Sanctuary in New Orleans. Wren is actually an orphan of sorts, as his parents killed eachother when he was young and he was brought to sanctuary for protection and to be cared for by Mama Peltier (the were-bear family) who operates Sactuary.  Let's just say, I begin not to like Mama Peltier very much in this book, and I will leave it at that. 

Wren works at Sanctuary to pay for his stay.  Traditionally , he is repelled by people and talks very little. Until... he meets Marguerite. Marguerite is an old friend and classmate of Nick Gautier's, as they attended classes together in college.  She and Nick were good friends and she misses him.  However, her dad is a senator and very domineering in her life.

Wren is immediately attracted to Marguerite, and well, as with all of Sherilynn's characters, how could she now be attracted to him.  He cleans up his appearance, trying to fit in her life, but he really did not need to, as she falls for him, of course. 

So, the story goes on, as Marguerite is pulled into the Were-hunter world, and I will not let onto how that happens.  You will have to read on to find out how Wren and Marguerite defend themselves against the Omegrion and the general consensus that 

Wren is unstable and must be put to death, yeah... the reason Mama Peltier is not my fave right now. 

Also, how is their love to continue , as the dilemma continues with her (human girl with senator father) and him (rare Were-Hunter that everyone wants dead)? Well, with a gift of some sorts... read to find out.

You get a glimpse of Nick in this book. It seems they bring him up in little teaser bits book to book, but I hope he has a book to himself soon.  I guess, not being a seasoned hunter with a piece of ancient history, but I want to know where he is headed.

Savitar is becoming more and more interesting, don't you think?  He is one who also needs his own book, as I think his would be as good as Acheron's (which I cannot wait to read). 

There is a neat little glossary at the end of this book also.  As I have the Dark Hunter Companion Guide, I had most of this info already, but it is helpful to refer to as you are reading, but don't think they tell you it's there in the front of the book , so look for it as you go along. 

I enjoyed book 9, as Wren was a very interesting character with a little twist on his past.  Also, I like their wedding gift from Savitar in the end. It is a unique twist on things.  Again, thanks for another great look into the Dark-Hunter world Sherrilyn.  It is a crazy world that I am completely addicted to. 

"Welcome to our world. It's not a pretty place. But then, it's never boring, either." - Bill Laurens

"Sins of the Night", by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I am starting book 8 of the Dark-Hunter series this weekend.  I guess this is the story of a female Dark-Hunter called Dangereuse St. Richard.  I cannot remember having come across this name before in the other books, so not sure where this one is going.  As always, I will post back with my review.

I finished book 8 last night. I really liked this one, as it tied some of the beginning stuff to the here and now, as well as gave us some insight into Acheron.  This is where having read "The Beginning" at the following link, http://www.dailyinquisitor.com//hunter/release.htm, would be useful to understand where Alexion comes from and what happened to him when he became a Dark-Hunter. I really recommend reading that story first or even now, if you have already read this one.

So... this is the story of Danger (a.k.a. Dangereuse St. Richard), a french Dark-Huntress that resides in Mississippi.  Apparently, one of the Dark-Hunters of Mississippi has gone rogue and is feeding off of human blood, then giving the souls to the daimons.  He is the only one who has gone as far as taking human life, but the others are attempting to be swayed to the daimon side with the help of Stryker.  Stryker had solicited Kyros, one of the first three dark hunters created, to help him call the hunters of the area to rid of Acheron. 

So, in comes the Alexicon.  The Alexicon is responsible for ending the lives of rogue dark-hunters.  He lives in Katoteros with Acheron and Simi, but he is a very unique individual , but I will let you read about that , as not to spoil it for you.  He is sent by Acheron to decide if the Dark-Hunters of Mississippi can be saved, or which ones have gone rogue and must be destroyed.  He is sent to stay with Danger, as she is the one who summoned Acheron's help with the matter.

There are some new characters introduced here, as well as some we already know.  Simi, of course, makes her spotlight here as well as another demon you will meet that has some history you will learn about, neat stuff.  The fate of Kyros and several Dark-Hunters are at stake here, and the Alexicon is the only one who can determine help them decide what their fate will be.  Anyone who threatens Acheron, he will destroy and ask questions later. 

Of course, there are those share of steamy pages, with do you need to ask which love interest come to life here?  But... how is a Dark-Huntress to live eternity in love with an "other"?  You must read on to find out.  In Sherrilyn's world, where there's a will, there is a way.  Another great look into the world of the Dark-Hunters.  Until next time..."Have you ever noticed that salvation, much like you car keys, is usually found where and when you least expect it?" - Acheron

"Seize the Night", by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Book 7, and who's story is it??? Well, none other than Valerius Magnus.  I enjoyed the little bit I got to read about him at the end of book 6, when Bride and Vane had to hide out with him for a bit, so this should be fun.  He has been in other books too, remember Talon's book , and Mardi Gras.  There was a secret revealed in the end of that book too , as well as carried on into Zarek's book, hope I am not spoiling it for you, but Valerius is Zarek's half brother.  Valerius' father slept with a woman (slave or something I guess) and Zarek was born and given to Valerius' father to use as a whipping boy.  Valerius just finds out the true identity of Zarek in New Orleans in Talon's book.  Well, now I am getting off course, but you get the idea, there is A LOT of baggage going to be carried here.  As always, I will follow up with review when I am done.  It may take me a bit, as I am headed back to work tonight, but hope not to keep you hanging long.

I finally go to finish book 7 today. Man, a lot of stuff happened in this one. Tried to keep up, the best I could, and think I have it all stored and ready for book 8. So, this is Valerius Magnus story. Dark-Hunter, Roman, and hated by all other Dark-Hunters and many squires. 

He was tortured as a human , as all Dark-Hunters, because what could make a human need "an act of vengeance", right? The difference between Valerius' torture , and the other Dark-Hunters, is it was his life as a human as well as his family that actually caused the death of Zarek as well as Kyrian, but inadvertently. Thus, Zarek and Kyrian's acts of vengeance were against Valeruis' family members.  

So what torture do you ask did Valerius grow up around? Well, imagine relatives like that. Relatives that cared nothing about human life , except their own, because they are better than everyone because they are noble Romans. Valerius' father even used his own son ,he fathered from an encounter with a slave, as a whipping boy for his own personal use. His name was Zarek. See what I mean? 

So, where is this going? The world needs to see the other side of Valerius, his own toture he endured, as well as the good in him. The stoic, indignant side of Valerius is a front and how is the world going to see through that? In comes Tabitha Devereaux, ta da!!! 

Remember her from the other books? She is Amanda's twin sister and known as vampire slayer to most and all of New Orleans . Tabitha has been in most of the books thus far, but we really get to know her in this book. She is Bride's best friend, Amanda's twin sister, Kyrian's sister-in-law, Erik's ex-girlfriend, Ash and Simi's movie watching partner, Nick's clubbing and drinking partner, and the Daimon's worst nightmare, well almost worst nightmare. But who is she really?  

Well, Valerius is about to find out, and let's just say, he likes what he finds out. Alongside Tabitha helping Valerius battle his own demons, Apollymi is up to no good and using Stryker to help her. I will leave it to you to find out what is up with that. Daimons going all a muck, the Illuminati, Spathi , and some ghost of Desiderius to be included, are just the tip of the iceberg on what action to expect in this one.  

Let me also tell you , Nick really messes up here and some crazy stuff happens with that, but I am still trying to figure it out. Some sad things too, that I will leave for you to discover. In a nut shell, book 7 is full of action and revelation. I enjoyed it, and for the record, I am going to find some ambrosia and see what happens *grin* Until next time... "Boy, I'm backwoods Cajun, I ain't never go no class , cher."-Nick Gautier.

"Winter Born", anthology in "Stroke of Midnight", by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Before I jump into book 7, this anthology was in the reading order list, so I will read it first.  Will update you on a review when done.  I only read the anthology called "Winter Born", by Sherrilyn Kenyon thus far, as it is on the sequence reading list for the Dark-Hunter series. I finished it tonight before bed and it was a good story.

It is about the Were-Hunters. Since they were fresh on my brain , after just finishing "Night Play", there was a lot of familiarity there.  

The story is about Dante, Werepanther. Remember him from Wulf's book I think. He owns the bar/safe house in Minnesota. The setting for this story was Dragon-Con in Atlanta. I thought that was very fitting and creative on Sherrilyn's part, as who would notice anything out of the ordinary in that environment. I have never been to Dragon-Con, but I bet it is a sight to see.  

Ash and Simi are there in true form , as Simi "breaks" her plastic and Ash obliges her with more. I want Ash as a daddy, endless supply of credit cards *smile* and well... maybe not at daddy, but you get the hint. Ok... got off on that steamy tangent.  

Moving on... So, Dante and his three brothers, Romeo, Leo and Mike, arrive at Dragon-Con to scope out some bands for his club, at the recommendation of Ash, of course. Little do they know, there is a pantheress "in season" there, hiding from some Katagari males that wish her harm. But... she is not ordinary pantheress, of course not, where would be the fun in that. She is a virgin pantheress and a Arcadian at that. Her name is Pandora. 

What does that mean? Well, now that I think I have this Were-Hunter stuff down, it means she is born of mostly a human heart and has been human her whole life until puberty, when after having sex, she will be able to change now into a panther , as well as learn to use her powers. On the flip side, Dante is Katagari, meaning he was born panther , and at puberty , he was able to turn human and learn to use his powers. Of course, he is a lot older than Pandora, but age is nothing to the supernatural.  

Well, Dante is not going to have someone trying to hurt the virgin pantheress in his watch. So... you can see where this is going. I will say no more, but it does give some more insight to the mating business for the Were-Hunters.  

In Vane's story , "Night Play", he was "mated" to Bride, remember, and she was human, so it was a little different perspective. There is some variety here, as this is between Arcadia and Katagari, which we know were cursed by the God of Fate to always hate eachother until death, so it is not an easy match here either. You will have to read to find out though :0)  

Finishing this anthology, brings me to book 7 of Dark-Hunters now. I am officially falling hook, line, and sinker into the worlds of these women and men. Sherrilyn, what have you done to me? "Like Acheron so often says, there are a lot of things in life that 'sorry' doesn't fix..."-Mike

"Night Play", by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I stayed up until after 2am finishing book number 6.  Redemption for book 5, in my opinion.  I really liked this one and gave 5 star recognition.  Like I said before, this book was Vane Kattalakis' story.  Vane is a Werewolf.  He is a very special "breed" (no pun intended) , that I will let you discover on your own.  He and his brother , Fang were introduced before alongside Talon, in his story. 

Vane protected Sunshine for Talon , remember? Well, he will pay for it in this book and you will learn about his past with his mother, father and siblings.  His sister was killed at the end of Talon's book, and frankly, Vane is pissed about that as well as many, many other things.

We get to learn a lot about the history of the Arcadians and the Katagaria, which is a very interesting concept, but not too complicated to get overwhelmed.   So here is that history lesson.

Basically, King Lycaon married a women he loved, but did not know she was an Apollite (yes, those cursed to die on their 27th b-day).  After learning that fate was just cruel, and he could do nothing to save his children, he started experimenting with his magic in an attempt to prolong the lives of the Appollites.

King Lycaon succeeded in prolonging their lives by blending his sons with dragons and wolves.  This made the Fates mad, darn those gods and goddesses, so they cursed the new species. 

Lycaon , upon his blending of animal and human, he actually created two creatures, one held the animal heart and the other the human heart.  The ones who walked as human, were called the Arcadians and the ones with animal hearts were called Katagaria.  Both of the species, when born, were born the species that their hearts governed (animal heart=animal at birth, human heart=human at birth).  However, when puberty hits, the the magic is developed, and they may shift to the other form if they choose, but their instincts would always be that of their heart.

As punishment, the Fates sent distrust into the two species, where neither species would ever trust the other.  So, they would spend eternity fighting each other and hating until death.

Vane is Arcadian, he has a human hear, but shift to a wolf.  In his story, we learn about his past, and his struggle to fit into a world he should not be a part of.  Vane meets Bride McTierney at her shop. We met Bride briefly in Talon's story , as she buys art from Sunshine.  Vane did get at glimpse of her the day he was protecting Sunshine, but he never pursued her.

So, I really like Bride.  I can relate to this girl.  She is an Irish woman, but she is not twiggy or skinny, and very self conscious about it, knowing no man would really like her for her, but only take advantage of her.  She is going through a break up in the beginning of the book, and quite jaded about it.  Yeah, did I tell you I like Bride? 

Ok, so Vane meets Bride and well we know Sherrilyn makes her couples very  passionate about each other.  Remember Dragonswan?  Well, this is where it is helpful to have read that story first.  It revisits the "mating" part of the were society and the rituals involved there. 

Vane struggles with his love for Bride, his sadness for his brother Fang who is sick , and his sister who was killed in the Daimon attack in Talon's book.  He is also out to be killed by his father in retribution for him not protecting his sister, as well as some other people that would like to see him dead ( I will let you read more on that ). 

I really liked learning more about the Were-Hunters. Of course , we are visited by Acheron, Kyrian, Amanda, Grace, Nick, Otto, Valerius, Simi, and many of the were community in this book.  Some new faces , as well as many old faces I probably forgot to mention.  I liked this one and will continue on my Dark-Hunter journey with an anthology next, then onto book 7.  Until then..."Everyone has scars from their life."-Wren Tigarian

"Kiss of the Night", by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I have made it to book 5 in the Dark-Hunter adventure.  This book should be about Wulf Tryggvasen.  I remember Wulf being brought up a time or two in the other books, but what I remember about him is that he is a very good friend of Talon.   

As I am sticking to my reading order, I will read "A Dark Hunter Christmas" online , before reading this one, as it is suggested.  This is a short story on the site I have listed before, but i will list it here again.http://www.dailyinquisitor.com//hunter/release.htm.  

As always, I will post a full review upon completion . Heading back to work tonight, so it will take me a bit longer for this read, but it's all good.  Until then...

Whew... So I finished "Kiss of the Night", book 5 in the Dark-Hunter book series tonight. I am going to just say up front... I got a little lost on this one. I was feeling a little Dark-Hunter dumb by the time I finished, but let's talk about it anyway.  

First, as you may already know, this is the story of Wulf Tryggvasen, Dark-Hunter. We know Wulf as friend to Talon from book 3. We find out about how Wulf became a Dark-Hunter in this book, and to be honest, I am not sure I fully grasp how either. I am going to check out the Companion book to look up few names there to see if it can give me some insight. 

Apparently, he was tricked in some way into his Dark-Hunter status, but I will leave that to you to read about. So, Wulf meets a soulmate and love of his life, as the Dark-Hunters seem to do in Sherryilyn's world. This time we are dealing with an Appollite, Cassandra. Remember that little god called Apollo and how all of his descendent were to be cursed... well guess whose descendent Cassandra is? Yeah, and guess what it is that Wulf is supposed to hate, yeah you guessed it.

So , this relationship should be doomed from the beginning, right? Wrong, not if Artemis and Apollymi have anything to do with it. Yeah, apparently there is more at stake here in the gods eyes than we see on the surface.  

You will learn more about the Daimons and the different kinds of Daimons. There are a several different types of Daimons out there that Wulf has never heard of. The Akelos Daimons, that feed only on criminals, the Anaimikos Daimons, that feed only from other Daimons to survive. The Spathi Daimons make an appearance here as well.  

Along with the Daimon education, you learn a lot of of the Appollitte heritage and history as well as Wulf's bloodline and the importance of his squire , Chris. So, not only is the Apollo blood line if extreme importance so is the bloodline of Wulf Tryggvasen, and you will see why.  

So, we have a Dark-Hunter, an Appollite, the godesses and gods, Daimons, Squires, Were-Panthers and I am sure some I have forgotten , all intermingled here... yeah, it can get a bit confusing , this one.  

I did like that at some point in the book (not saying when) several of the now Dark-Hunters and the previous ones who gave up their status for love (yeah, Kyrian, Talon, Zarek... and the god Julian) get to have a little reunion in the line of duty. That was a fun part of the book, but I will let you read about why and how. 

Learning more about the Appollites and the Daimons was interesting also. I guess the one thing negative I would say, is it just got a bit confusing at times is all. A lot going on to try to keep up with, but all in all , my Dark-Hunter adventure will continue, as I move onto book 6. Oh, and as the reading order goes, I did read "Dark Hunter Christmas" story online as the reading order suggests and not really sure it was a necessary read before this. It talks of Jamie Gallagher, and nothing really comes up in book 5 , that refers back to it that I can see. 

Until then... "Coffee... Daimons...coffee...Daimons...", Talon Runningwolf

"Dance With The Devil", by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Only at book four...wow, it is going to be quite a journey.  I say book four, but I also have read two anthologies and a short story online in contribution to my Dark-Hunter excursion.  Oh, and the Dark Hunter Companion book as I go along.   So, now here I am , beginning my journey into another Dark-Hunters past and possible future.  The particular Dark-Hunter would be Zarek. Oh my!!! I thought Talon was a troubled being in his swamp, but the things we might find out here.

 We were introduced to Zarek in "Night Embrace" (book 3), when he was summoned from Alaska where he was living in exile , because he could not behave and follow rules.  He is called to assist in New Orleans with Talon and Acheron as well as the others for Mardi Gras duty, remember?  Well, we learned how crazy he was, but also that there was something more in him, something he did not show, but Acheron could feel ,as not to be able to kill him, eventhough, Artemis wishes it done.  He even trades a whole day as sex slave to Artemis, so he can deal with him and not have her kill him.  Yes, this is all in book 3, so I can only imagine what a whole book dedicated to him will entail.  Well, here I go...

Man, book 4 of the Dark Hunter series got my rating up to five stars. I really enjoyed this one , they seem to "keep getting better".  

First off, as usual, I like to let you guys know about the importance of the reading order of the stories. As you know, I read "Phantom Lover", anthology in the book "Midnight Pleasures" before reading book 4, as it was recommended.  

I do agree that it is a good idea to read the anthology first, as you learn about the Skoti and the Oneroi, the Dream-Hunters, in that story and all they are capable of. These concepts are a big part of the latter part of the book.  

Now, let's talk about the book. This is the story of Zarek of Moesia. Zarek was introduced in book 3 at Mardi Gras in NOLA, as he was called in for reinforcement. He was born a Roman slave, but I will let you read more about that in the book, sad story, these poor Dark-Hunters have in their mortal lives.  

The fate of his life is in balance in the beginning of this book, as he is sure Artemis has ordered his death for his inability to "follow the rules". Of course, he doesn't really give a damn *grin*, so is Zarek. 

He is on his way back to Alaska via helicopter, Acheron is "bound by oath" to spend his two weeks he promised Artemis in her temple in exchange for Talon's soul, I believe, but anyhow, he cannot leave Artemis' temple or he will die. Acheron threatens Artemis to allow Zarek to be "judged" as to whether he is truly a Rogue Dark-Hunter and beyond the capabilities to protect human life , rather than hunted down by Thanatos (her special little project, I will not go into as to not give away spoilers). 

She allows it, and they go speak with Astrid, a justice nymph, whose job is to decide if Dark-Hunters are innocent or guilty. She is the sister to the Fates and daughter of Themis (goddess of Justice). Astrid has never found a Dark-Hunter innocent in all of her judging. Artemis thinks she is one up on Acheron, but Acheron (as usual) has some insight into this situation and hopes his insight will prove him right.  

So, Zarek makes it back to Alaska ,with some excitement and Zarekness I might add. He is battling with the demons inside him, warding off the Blood Rite Squires, Thanatos, and trying to get his his life back together. Poor Zarek.  

After an attempt on his life, he finds himself in a warm bed, in a warm cabin, alongside a beautiful woman , kind of "goddess" like. Hmmm, wonder who this is *grin*. So, Astrid must begin her "judging" and let the games begin. She is made "blind" during her jobs, as to be impartial to her subjects and only has Sasha (a Were-Hunter in disguise , right...) to aid her with mental telepathy and sight if she touches the wolf. Astrid knows which buttons to push with Zarek, to see if he is in fact worthy of life or not.  

Of course Zarek wants to be out of there, but her powers have caused a blizzard to be hanging around, thus he is stuck for a little bit. You know though, this is Zarek and a blizzard won't hold this man. Hence, you will read of the many challenges Astrid is faced with keeping him there so she can judge him fairly.  

In the meantime, you will be introduced to a few new Dark-Hunters in this book, as well as Simi takes a bigger part here. If you read "The Beginning" online, you know a little about Simi already. She stays with Acheron at all times in the form of a tattoo on his body. She can take whatever form of tattoo she chooses and can place herself wherever she wants on his body until Acheron beckons her off. I really like her, she is a fun character, but would barbeque you in a second if you mess with Acheron. 

All in all, you will find out what happens to poor Zarek, and other characters whose lives are on the line here. You get a better bond with little Simi and get to meet some new goddesses, as well as Dark-Hunters, a new Were-Hunter, learn some more about the Dream-Hunters and their capabilities. There is a lot more action and maybe not as many steamy pages as the first three books, but you bet your leather dark hunter britches, there are some here. Enjoy reading this one, and get ready for the next one!! Until next time... "Dying's easy. It's living that's hard."- Zarek

"Midnight Pleasures", "Phantom Lover", by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I am starting the anthology of "Phantom Lover" today in the book "Midnight Pleasures".  I just completed book three of the Dark-Hunter series , and this anthology is recommended next in the sequence.  So, I shall see what shall be introduced here, to prepare me for book four.  I am really enjoying this series and there is a lot going on, always.  No time to get bored here.  As always,  I will be back upon completion and give a review of the story.  Until then...

I have so far only read the story "Phantom Lover" by Sherrilyn Kenyon, so this review will be for that story only.

This anthology was next in my sequence of reading in the Dark-Hunter series. This story introduces the Dream Hunters. 

First a little history here, thanks to the Dark Hunter Companion book. Apparently the dream hunters are also know as Oneroi, and are the cursed children of the Greek gods of sleep (Morpheus, Hypnos, Phobetor, Icelus, Phantasos, and Thanatos). Some of them have human mothers, but most of them are born of the Greek goddess Mist. They all call themselves brothers.

This story is about a Dream Hunter called V'Aidan. I cannot tell you too much about him as not to produce spoilers. Just know that the Dream-Hunters can show and possess not emotions. Not love, hate, fear, ambition, envy or compassion. Zeus cursed them due to a prank that they played on them once. Thus, the Dream hunters live off of the emotions of other persons dreams. Their job is to absorb emotion of the very intense dreams, as to protect the humans. 

However, there are some dream hunters that are called Skoti. These dream hunters get "addicted" if you will to the human emotions in dreams , that they no longer can possess, because of the curse. They will make the dreams into nightmares and fill the dream with so much emotion because of their need for it. They are brethren of the Oneroi, but hunted and punished for their crimes. They are only allowed to visit one humans dreams for short periods , and then must move on. They are attracted to very creative and vivid dreamers, as they get the most emotion from them. If they do not follow the rules, they will be punished or put to death.

We are introduced to Erin (human woman , of course ) who is having a recurring nightmare over and over and unable to sleep and feel as if she is losing her mind. She collapses at work one day, and we are then introduced to the Dream Hunters, both the Skoti and the Oneroi. We then take a ride through her dreams, good and bad to see who is winning in the fight for her saneness. 

As you read on, surprise, Erin and V'Aidan find the cannot live without eachother, but how to do that from dream world to real world and how not to piss of the gods and the fates. You must read on to see how it plays out and what must be done to make this happen. 

It was a good read as to be introduced to another world of the Dark-Hunter series. This world has not come up thus far, but very briefly in passing a few times. Not sure if I am going to need to have read this one before book 4, but as I am following the sequence recommended to me, I did read it first. 

So, now onto book 4. "Have you ever wanted something that you knew was bad for you? Something that you ached for so much that you could think of nothing else?" -Wren

"Night Embrace", Sherrilyn Kenyon

Onward reading soldiers!!! I will start book 3 today of the Dark-Hunter series today.  It looks like this will be Talon of Morrigantes story, which should prove to be quite interesting ,as his character was introduced in "Night Pleasure" , book 2.  He is Celtic and his nature and personality was one that should prove a good story.    As always, I will post back after I have read it for a full review.

So, I just finished book three, the Celtic , Talon of Morrigantes story in the Dark Hunter world. Man the action has sure picked up with each book. Of course the setting remains in New Orleans, and it is Mardi Gras season, so how would the action not be at full force, if you know anything about Mardi Gras in NOLA.  

So, this book lets us into Talon's life and his "story" of his past life as a Celtic warrior and , of course his present life as a Dark-Hunter. We learn of his tortured past as most of the Dark-Hunters seem to have. I guess it must be this way, as why would they need to perform an "act of vengeance" upon their death, if they did not have a tortured past. 

Some insight here, is that Dark-Hunters become such upon their death, when they scream because of the extreme violence taken upon them physically as well as emotionally upon their death, thus the gods are able to hear it. Most of the gods ignore it, but Artemis does not, as she knows this may be an "application" for her army of Dark-Hunters. The person must then trade their soul in order to perform that act of vengeance against those who wronged them upon their moral life/death. They have 24 hours to fulfill that act, then "report for duty" with Acheron, who trains all Dark-Hunters. They will spend the rest of their lives immortal, soul-less, and fighting the daimon attacks against the humans.  

So, yes, Talon has a tortured past and you will learn of it in this book of the series, as well as about his soulmate, Sunshine. We were introduced to Talon in book 2, Night Pleasures , alongside Kyrian, remember? Also, we were introduced to Sunshine in both books briefly. She is the girl that sets up shop on Jackson Square beside Selena, and sells pottery and art. Remember in book one when Julian comes to work with Selena one day and Sunshine sells the sketches of him. Yeah, that is her. You will learn a lot more about her in this book, A LOT.  

There are other Dark-Hunters introduced here as well, that I am sure we will see in the future. They were brought into NOLA, to help with Mardi Gras since this is the time of the year when the Daimons are in full force, because of the amount of people in the area. Zarek and Valerius are two off the top of my head. We learn a secret about them.  

The Sanctuary is explained in this book also. It is a club in NOLA , operated by the Peltier family, and serves as a "safe house" for shifters or hunters. The Peltier family , apparently shifts into bears. As well as this family, we are introduced to the Were-Hunters. Wolf brothers Vane and Fang, are in the area for "certain" reasons (no spoilers) and you will learn a tad of their history and some drama that occurs with them.  

Hmmm, if that was not enough action, we get introduced to Styxx (human, well sort of...), Dionysus (god of wine and excess, also know as Dion or Bachhus, being the god of wine anf excess he would be the leader for Mardi Gras), and Camulus (god of War) who has quite a past with Talon you will learn. Can't say too much about why these three pact together , but you will see as you read, as not to give spoilers. Two of these are related to characters you already know.  

So, we do see some old faces too, Julian, Grace, Kyrian, Amanda, Selena, Nick, Eric, to just name a few. Also, so may new people show up here that the companion book has been very helpful now. I am still reluctant to read much about the characters in the companion book , because it tends to tell more than I want to know at the beginning of reading the next installment, but it helps with the gods and such, as well as the introduction has been helpful with the history of the Dark-Hunters and Artemis.  

Another thing I love about Sherrilyn is her humor and sarcasm. I find myself laughing out loud at some of the passages. One part of this book, Acheron gets the tail of his jacket caught in a closing door, and Nick says, "Don't it take the bad-ass right out of you?", then Acheron uses his telekinesis to open the door and pull is coat out, and Nick says, "And that puts it right back in you." That got a giggle out loud or two from me, as many other parts of these books have done.  

So, if I have not lost you by now, I really liked this third installment in the series. The action has really kicked it up a notch and yes, there are still steamy, steamy pages at times, but with all that testosterone filling the pages, what would you expect a poor girl to do. Don't worry, there is plenty of action in this one to mingle with the sexy steam.  

So on to an anthology next called "Phantom Lover", in the book "Midnight Pleasures". It is listed next in the reading order from the site, so we shall see if it fits in order. I am still wondering why "DragonSwan" was listed as third to read in the order, but I am guessing it will come up soon.  

Until next time... "Nothing is ever truly set by fate. In one blink, everything

changes.", Acheron.