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Darkness Seduced by Stephanie Rowe ~ Review Title: Darkness Seduced (Order of the Blade #2)

Release Date: September 6, 2015

Immortal warrior Gideon Roarke made an oath five hundred years ago to the woman who died for him. The ancient Calydon is ruthless in his quest to honor that promise, even if it means risking everything by teaming up with the one woman who will either destroy him, or finally bring redemption to his blackened, hardened soul. After escaping from a two-year imprisonment at the hands of a madman, the only thing Lily Davenport wants is to go home and reclaim her life. Unfortunately for Lily, standing between her and that goal is a sensual, demanding protector whose dangerous seduction threatens to claim her life...and her soul. The Calydons Destiny: The Calydons are a race of ancient immortals cursed with a dark side. Each Calydon is destined to meet his soul mate, to be so drawn to her that he is unable to resist bonding with her through the rituals of his race, but their destiny is to destroy each other and all they care about the moment their bond is complete.

It's been awhile since I read the first book in the Order of the Blade series, and I was quite happy to see that I was able to jump into Darkness Seduced without having to re-read it. There is an overall stroy arc, but the high points were covered in a way that didn't seem like a re-cap, and the romance was definitely a hot stand-alone affair.

Lily is mentioned in book one and the Calydons are out to find and rescue this woman that has been held by the bad guys (rogue Calydons) for years......yes years! But Gideon is quite surprised when they find her and it seems like she may be his mate. Why? Because he already lost his, and he isn't supposed to have another. So, our story begins with them denying the truth in front of them - but at least they have a good reason to.

Calydons aren't supposed to mate, it turns them into termpermental a-holes that like to kill everyone around them. But in the first book, our couple defies fate and manages  to avoid what was thought to be inevitable. Gideon and Lily will now have to do the same.

There is tons of action in this story, and the pacing was reminescent of an urban fantasy - so I think people who just want a good paranormal adventure will enjoy this book right along with the paranormal romance crowd.

However, with the Calydons playing with destiny, and their sanity, we don't quite have a HEA - but more of a "well, at least we haven't killed anyone yet so we can stay together" type of ending. The evil still lurks out there and they still need to destroy it. There were a few times that it seemed like the action overtook everything else - it was quite violent at times. I enjoy a good fight between good and evil, but the hop betwee down-time and action happened a little suddenly at times.


By Hot Off the Shelves at March 06, 2017