4.5 stars ( )

I read a warning about this novel in another review saying “if you are not a lover of M/M novel, steer away from this one”… I think I should counter this warning with this one “if you ARE a lover of “traditional” M/M novel, steer away from this one”, since Dark Soul series is far, far away from you traditional M/M pairing, so much that, I would probably remove the M/M tag for it; maybe bisexual, more probably gender bending, but M/M is too constrictive.

The story is for sure engaging and adrenalinic; you have no time to take a breath and your characters are moving so much, and developing so deeply, that you can say they are completely different people at the end, especially Stefano. I think his development surprise the reader as much as the character himself. Probably the feeling of being fast paced is due to the fact this is actually a collection of stories, and so it’s like being on a rollercoast, up to the apex, down to the final and again up as soon as the second story starts and then again and again.

Another element adding to the fast-pacing component is the multi-country setting, many countries will enter the set, some of them lived by the characters, some of them part of their culture.

This is not a story about two men, Silvio and Stefano; for sure you need to add in the mix Donata, Stefano’s wife, and I arise to the level of main character also Battista, he is like a puppeteer, and for that he is as important as the other.

Sincerely I’m not sure what has to be my advice to who is not reading the collection but the separate stories; I enjoyed having the chance to read them all, and my perception of the whole story is different due to that. I suppose you can read and enjoy them also as standalone, not knowing what will be the final closure for these characters, as I said, apex and downfall for each story is enclosed in them, but my suggestion is to give a shot to the entire collection if you have the chance.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1937551318/?tag=elimyrevandra-20