BEYOND THE DARKNESS (Darkness #3) by Katie Reus-a review

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 3, 2015

Now that she has her freedom, she’s not giving it up.

Dragon shifter Keelin Petronilla spent centuries in forced hibernation dreaming of one thing: freedom. Now she’s living life on her terms—she’s ditched her clan for an unruly wolf pack, she tends bar for a half-demon, and she’s loving it…until a powerful supernatural being targets her. She intends to handle the mysterious attacks on her own…without the help of dragon Alpha Bran Devlin. Sure, he’s sexy in that hot, scowling possessive way, but Keelin wants to live her own life in her own way.

Now that he’s found his mate, he’s not letting her go.

Former black ops agent Bran Devlin is a born dragon Alpha and leader of a fierce clan. Getting mated was never part of his plan—until a feisty dragon princess gets under his skin in a big way. The hell of it is, she doesn’t want a mate; she just wants to have a good time. He plays along, but when a dark and powerful being marks her for death, he’s determined to stay by her side in spite of her protests. Now that he’s found his mate, he means to keep her safe no matter what the cost…even if he has to risk it all.

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REVIEW: BEYOND THE DARKNESS is the third installment in Katie Reus’s contemporary adult Darkness paranormal romance series. This is Devlin Clan dragon alpha and former black ops agent Bran Devlin, and dragon shifter princess Keelin Petronilla’s storyline. Keelin is the sister of Drake Petronilla from book two-Taste of Darkness. Told from third person point of view, Beyond the Darkness can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.

Keelin is a fifteen hundred year old dragon whose over protective parents, along with their daughter, went into Protective Hibernation when their eldest son Drake went missing and was presumed dead. For hundreds of years, Keelin had been isolated from the world and it is only in the past year that Keelin has come out of hibernation into a world very different from what she had known. But something or someone is after Keelin, and it isn’t Bran Devlin-the male who wants to claim her as his mate. Keelin has been targeted by an unknown source and more than one dragon shifter female has gone missing in recent weeks. Keelin has already had to endure torture and abuse at the hands of demons and she isn’t willing to go down without a fight.

Bran Devlin is an alpha dragon male whose internal beast knows Keelin is his mate. But convincing Keelin is another thing. She has recently freed herself from her parent’s Protective Hibernation and she is in no mood to be mated to another overprotective male. While Bran pursues Keelin, he is also on a mission to uncover the truth behind the missing female dragons.

The relationship between Keelin and Bran is one of immediate and palpable attraction. Dragons have their very own stylized ‘mating ritual’ and whenever our couple are near one another there is no denying their wants and needs, even though Keelin continues to deny her inner dragon. The $ex scenes are emotional, intense and fiery hot, and Keelin’s brothers are not impressed with the nightly light show 😉 .

The secondary characters include all of the previous storyline couples including Finn Stravros-alpha shifter of the Stavros Wolf Pack; Keelin’s brothers Conall and Drake, as well as Drake’s wolf shifter mate Victoria. There is a developing storyline and relationship between half-demon night club owner Bo and Keelin’s best friend Nyx-a woman whose own heritage is controversial and not without some questionable relations. We are introduced to Keelin’s over protective parents who remained in hibernation with their only daughter to ensure that she was safe from harm. The Akkadian demons are hell bent on destruction; they make another appearance in Beyond the Darkness.

Katie invites the reader into her amazing and fascinating world of shifters, vampires, dragons and demons. Her heroes are alpha male, a little bit over protective, but only have eyes for the woman of their heart. There is always plenty of testosterone when the alpha males move in to protect the females and their mates. Katie knows how to get your blood pumping.

Reading Order and reviews
Darkness Awakened
Taste of Darkness
Beyond the Darkness

Copy supplied by the author /Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy