It was ok. ( )

Karl and Leila are kidnapped and tortured, Antonio sames them, but the kidnapper got away. They are being hunted and stay together to heal and stay safe but quickly find themselves falling for each other with an unbreakable bond. Antonio's father doesn’t' approve and sets up a trinity for Antonio that he has no heart to complete. There's a lot of action and suspense as they decide to stop hiding and work to find the killer that keeps you engaged. There's a little bit of lull during the uncovering of Karl's librarian status as he uses the librarian's to try to find the killer. We see new characters that tease us with future trinity options and some funny moments that ease some of the stress. Great read, looking forward to the next installment.
( )

The mystery of the disappearance of her sister, drove the heroine into a successful career in the FBI. Now that's aware of the deep and dark world of vampires and the fact that such a creature could be responsible has her abandoning the career and devoting her life to killing all vampires. The hero has lives for 2 thousands years under the intense compulsion of the demon inside of him. Like an addiction, he's battled the cravings for evil acts every day of his life- sometimes succeeding, sometimes succumbing. But he's got a plan to control it now. He hunts the criminals of his world, rogue vampires who care nothing about humans. Though a very different beast lies within him and he's plague with guilt over what he's done, the fact that he fights it and tries to better himself speaks well of his inner goodness. That's what the heroine sees when she happens upon him. Though he's a creature she despises, the beast that murdered her sister (or so she soon finds out), she knows that inside he's a good man. And the desire to show her that he can be the man she needs him to be drives him into holding the darkness at bay. When she's near him the demon is quiet. He's drawn to her and deeply as she is to him and despite everything going against them they develop a relationship but everything comes crumbling down when they realize that he's the vampire she's been hunting all along. I loved this story but I felt like there was a strange disconnect. I didn't believe that the heroine who's hatred for vampires ran so deep could give up that hatred so quickly for the most dangerous vampire she's ever met. Just because he saves her, and just because he doesn't immediately lunge for her throat should not dictate that he's safe to be around. The hero himself admits plainly just how close she is to danger but she never truly develops any fear for him. But the major problem I had with the relationship between the characters was the fact that the barely spend 5 minutes in each others company for the first few encounters yet they are so attached to one another. I didn't believe that two so completely on opposite teams could fall for the other so quickly. This story had all the right elements and I did enjoy reading it but there was also doubt in the back of my mind whether it was a 'great' story. In the end, I just found it to be lacking in that certain something. So a 3 star rating is fair enough. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: There is something for everyone in this story — murder, revenge, romance, vampires, and much more. Alexis is trying to find her sister’s killer and Serge is trying to find a way to save his soul.

Opening Sentence: The two vampires moved with steady purpose, the low fog curling around their ankles as if the oily darkness of the moonless night were caressing them.

The Review:

Alexis Martin thought the only bad guys out there were human until she finds out her sister has been murdered and that it was no human who killed her. Alexis’ sister Tori, was the victim of a vampire attack. Now Alexis has made it her mission along with her witch friend Leena to catch and destroy the monster that killed her sister. She tracks Tori’s murderer to Los Angeles where she meets Sergius, better known as Serge. Serge was once a vampire but after a curse was placed on him he became something much more. Together Alexis and Serge track down rogue vampires who have been leaving a string of dead humans in their wake. Unfortunately, Serge has a past that may ruin everything between him and Alexis.

I really enjoyed this book for the most part. The plot was intense but you do figure out who is behind the string of deaths fairly early on and it is very easy to figure out what Serge is hiding. Also, I was not a big fan of Alexis. Alexis is supposed to be hunting down her sisters’ killer when she meets Serge. She does not know anything about him except that he is a vampire who saved her life. She does not know why he has saved her life or whether he is a good guy or not and she is instantly in love and having dreams about him. They do explain the dreams in the story but it still seems too fast. Then her friend Edgar tells her that he has learned that Serge is dangerous. She ends up sitting in a sewer with Serge all day and when a friend of hers ends up dead after talking about Serge she just jumps into bed with him. Granted Serge does turn out to be a good guy but at this time she is not so sure. She loves him to the point of almost dying for him. Then to top it off her friend starts acting strange and Alexis does not seem to find it weird at all. She was very unobservant.

I did like Serge. He is the typical tall, dark and handsome, tormented vampire, or is he? It turns out Serge is not a vampire at all but something that no one has a name for. He has vampire like tendencies but he does not drink blood — instead he eats peoples’ life forces. This may make him sound evil but he is not. Serge only drains the life force out of rogue vampires. Unfortunately, this has put him on the radar of the Preternatural Enforcement Coalition or PEC for short. Serge is guilt filled, fighting what he has become and trying to become a better person. When he meets Alexis he finds someone who can calm the beast he has become. Because of this he starts to fall in love with her. Unfortunately, because of his secrets and his past he may just loose the one woman who could save him.

The other person I must mention is Leena. She is Alexis’ best friend and also a witch. Without her, Alexis would never be able to track down the rogue vampires she is hunting. Unfortunately, Leena has a dark secret that is a part of her family’s past and she is not even aware of it until the end. Leena starts to act strange, one minute she is her usual loving and friendly self then she is a cold distant woman who Alexis has a hard time even talking to.

I really enjoyed how detailed the plot was. Beck made it so I felt like I was a part of the story. I could picture everything so clearly. Like when Alexis confronted Serge for the first time and he pretty much begged her to kill him, I felt his anguish and her indecision. Even though I was not a big fan of Alexis, I could still feel for her as she learned what had happened to her sister. There were so many intense scenes where I wanted to get to the next part just to figure out what would happen.

I recommend this book to all adult paranormal readers. J.K. Beck introduces a new type of immortal that I have never read about and it is interesting to learn what Serge is capable of in his new form. There is romance which is a little hard to get into but the rest of the story is a very intriguing read.

Notable Scene:

To her horror, she realized that she’d moved out from behind the pillar and that she stood directly in his line of sight. “Go ahead,” he repeated, pushing himself to his feet and spreading his arms wide, baring his chest like a target. “Dammit Alexis, do it.”

She dropped her gun arm. For a moment, he only stared at her. Then his lip curled into a sneer that didn’t quit meet those warm, gray eyes. “You’re a fool,” he said, then turned his back to her.

FTC Advisory: Bantam Dell/Random House provided me with a copy of When Darkness Hungers. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

Author: J.K. Beck
Published by: Bantam
Age Recommend: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Raven Rating: 4
Blog Review For: GMTA
Review:

"When Darkness Hungers" by J.K. Beck was a real good paranormal romance. I really enjoyed this well written novel thinking that this author was very creative with many twist and turns...with this being great puzzle being put together piece by piece.

One of the main characters..Serge was definitely one tortured soul...trying now to do what is good...Alexis....an ex FBI agent who was now a vampire hunter since her sister Toni had been killed in a vampire attack....goes to L.A. California....and it was their that both of these two (Serge and Alexis)came together....with Serge saving Alexis life and also the life of a sixteen year old(Cee Cee).....they are pushed together. Then a old friend(Derrick) comes back and threatens Alexis's life...and Serge comes only to risk all to protect Alexis... and then you will have to pick up this read to find out......I don't want to give it away...its a good read! With Alexis have feelings for Serge...will this be redemption for him? What was going on with Division 6 and Homeland Security? This was really some story telling at this point.. bring up only a great ending.



The characters were simply interesting....Alexis, Leena, Sergius, Derrick, Toni, Penny Martinez, Cee Cee, Sara, Luke, Doyle, Frank, Tom, Vivian, Nostramo Bosch, Garvey, Bella, Jonathan, Orion, Petra, Mitre, Nick, Severin Tucker, Marcus and Edgar... all making this a moving action-packed read.

If you are in for a thrill of a ride ....then "When Darkness Hungers" ... from The Shadow Keepers Series ...is a good novel. I would recommend if you are into vampires, blood and witches.... this novel is a good read for you. I also liked the looks of the book cover. ( )