DARKNESS AWAKENED (Darkness #1) by Katie Reus-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 3, 2013

Years ago he ended things between them to protect her…

As leader of one of the fiercest werewolf packs in the south, Finn Stavros is in full battle mode 24/7. He has no choice—he’s one of the few beings strong enough to fight the Akkadian demons, whose mysterious escape from hell threatens the entire world. With the battle turning bloodier by the second, Finn is ready for anything…until his vampire long lost love shows up on his doorstep in desperate need of his help, sending his heart into a tailspin. He agrees to help her, unaware that she carries a shocking secret that will turn his life upside down.

This time, he’s not letting her go…

Vampire Lyra Marius curses the day she met Finn. The ruthless werewolf promised to love her forever, but he rejected her instead—before she could share her life altering news. Pregnant, kicked out of her coven, and cast aside by the love of her life, Lyra struggled to raise their rare shifter-vampire daughter Vega alone among humans. When the 16-year-old is kidnapped and used to fulfill a frightening prophecy, Lyra swallows her pride and turns to Finn for help. But how long can she fight her feelings for him and keep him from guessing the truth about who Vega really is? As they race against the clock to save their daughter, they must defeat the lethal threat imposed by demons infiltrating the human world and a hell gate that could not only reveal their existence to mankind, but destroy the world in the process.

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REVIEW: DARKNESS AWAKENED is the introductory storyline in Katie Reus’s new paranormal adult series-Darkness. This is Finn Stavros (Alpha wolf shifter) and Lyra Marius’s (pureblood vampire) story and one that began seventeen years earlier.

Darkness Awakened is a story about forbidden love and second chances for two people from different species that have more in common than anyone could have known. It has been close to seventeen years since Lyra was pushed away by the only man she has ever loved and the hurt has only increased in the ensuing years. But Finn knew that to enter into a permanent relationship with a vampire could bring about her death at the hands of his then pack alpha and uncle. To protect Lyra, Finn walked away without explanation and Lyra suffered additional rejection when her vampire coven threw her out.

The relationship and attraction between Lyra and Finn is one that has never waivered in all of their years of separation. Finn has always known that Lyra was his mate but her subsequent disappearance left Finn wondering what had truly happened to the woman he had loved.

The premise to the storyline follows the approach of Samhain and the eclipse. A powerful vampire intends to open a portal to Hell and Lyra’s daughter has the perfect blood. When Vega goes missing, Lyra begs Finn for his aid and in the end, the truth about Vega’s true heritage will be revealed to all.

Katie introduces a cast of secondary characters from pack and coven members to a long forgotten species that is larger than life. When the portal to Hell opens, it will take a tentative peace between shifters and vampires to ensure that the world in which they both live is safe for everyone. The reader is pulled into a world where the paranormal is real and the lives of everyone are threatened when a vampire takes control of a young woman whose only sin was to go looking for the father she never knew.

If you are a fan of the paranormal; stories with a little bit of mystery and suspense; and a sensual romance between two people that are perfect for each other than Katie’s new DARKNESS series and DARKNESS AWAKENED is the perfect read.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy