DARKEST HEART (Dominion #1) by Juliette Cross-Dual Review & Excerpt Tour
DARKEST HEART
Dominion #1
by Juliette Cross
Release Date: August 20, 2018
Genre: adult, urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic, romance
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 20, 2018
Wrong side of heaven…right side of redemption.
Anya—a stoic, blue-winged angelic warrior— was bitten by a demon prince in battle, and now she has precious little time to find a cure for his deadly venom. But the only archangel with the power to stop the dark poison from corrupting her body and soul is missing. She’ll have to trust her guide, the outcast high demon Dommiel, who is as handsome as he is dangerous if she has any hope.
An outcast of his own kind, high demon Dommiel stays under cover while the war between angels and demons rages on. But when the only person who ever showed him kindness asks for his help, he has no choice but to try to save the angel. Venturing back into the dens he has avoided for so long, Anya makes him want and feel things he never thought possible.
But Dommiel knows there is no way an angel can ever love a demon
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SANDY’S REVIEW: DARKEST HEART is the first instalment in Juliette Cross’ post-apocalyptic, urban fantasy DOMINION paranormal, romance series focusing on the fight for control and power- the Great War- between heaven and hell. This is fallen angel/demon prince Dommiel, and guardian angel/warrior Anya’s storyline.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Anya and Dommiel) DARKEST HEART follows blue-winged angel Anya, as she goes in search of the Archangel Uriel believed to be held captive by a witch with demonic powers. Anya’s only chance to find Uriel, and save herself for the growing darkness within, is a fallen angel, a former archangel, a demon prince called Dommiel, and the man with whom she will fall in love. What ensues is the growing attraction and love between demon and angel, and the potential fall-out as Dommiel surrenders his life to save the woman he loves.
The relationship between Dommiel and Anya is one of the forbidden. Anya is the ambrosia to Dommiel’s poison; the demon prince whose very existence is now the heart and soul of a woman whose time is ticking, a secret she has yet to reveal to the man that she loves. The romance is seductive; the $ex scenes provocative and passionate.
DARKEST HEART is an emotional, dark and exquisite story between good and evil; hatred and love; vengeance and salvation. The colorful and charismatic secondary characters are brooding, intelligent and intense. A powerful story with passionate characters by a brilliant author. DARKEST HEART is spirited, mesmorizing and breath taking-Juliette Cross opens the heart to the mind’s eye of endless possibilities.
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BARB’S REVIEW: Darkest Heart by Juliette Cross is the 1st book in her new urban fantasy Dominion series. I have said this a number of times that I am a big fan of Juliette Cross’ writing. Each and every book she writes is totally fantastic, which I have come to expect from her. She is such an awesome author whom you should be reading. Now to my review.
As Darkest Heart begins, we meet our hero (or antihero) Dommiel, who is a high demon, but is considered to be a traitor to his kind. Dommiel no longer considers himself to be aligned with any side, and sells his help to the highest bidder; but he also helps save humans from other demons; this makes Dommiel different as demons care for no one.
Dommiel receives a call from Genevieve, a powerful vessel of light who can kill demons just by speaking and to whom he has a blood vow with. Genevieve is concerned that Uriel, the good archangel is missing, and wants Dommiel to work with Anya to find him. But Dommiel isn’t too sure he wants to work with an angel.
Anya was once a guardian angel for lost and helpless children, only to become a warrior to fight the demons and creatures. During a battle, Anya was bitten by a demon prince, whose poison is slowly growing inside her. She needs to find Uriel, who can remove the poison, or she will be fully pulled into the dreaded demon world. Though she wants nothing to do with Dommiel, Anya abides by Genevieve’s request that he will be the best person to help her find and rescue Uriel.
What follows is an amazing story where Anya and Dommiel must enter a dark and dangerous world in an attempt to save the archangel. While working closely together, in a short time, both Dommiel and Anya find their attraction to each other becoming stronger with each passing day. Dommiel knows he shouldn’t become involved with an angel, especially one who is a virgin, but he is drawn to her like he has never been to anyone. Anya also feels the lust developing between them, and though they are like night and day, she cannot resist him. The bond they develop is strong and truly a beautiful love story. Is it possible for a demon to really love an angel?
I loved Anya and Dommiel together. At the start he was somewhat arrogant, but that changes when he knows he has fallen in love with Anya, something he never thought would be possible. Dommiel turned out to be such a great hero, willing to do anything to protect and save ‘his angel’, even give up his own life. Anya was also a great heroine, being a tough warrior in her own right, and determined stand beside Dommiel, no matter the consequences. The chemistry between them was lethal, but the future was grim. Will they survive a demon onslaught and save the archangel? You will need to read this book to learn more.
Darkest Warrior was a heart stopping, intense, pulse pounding, action packed, exciting thriller that kept you glued to your seat, but it was the love between two people so different that was so heartwarming and beautiful. Darkest Warrior not only pulled on all your emotions, but had an amazing couple that you rooted so hard for.
As I have said before, if you have not read Juliette Cross, you are seriously missing a fantastic author, who never fails to wow us each and every time. As always, thank you Juliette Cross for another sensational series that I will wait with abated breath for the next book.
Copy supplied for review
NOTE: The excerpt is intended for mature readers due to language and sexual content
“Well, it’s worth a try.” Anya started toward the bridge.
Instinct gripped me hard. I stepped in front of her, covered her mouth with my hand, and pushed her back into a niche against the wall.
“Tighten your wings,” I commanded in a low whisper.
She did, making it easier to flatten them against the alcove wall behind her. I pressed my body hard against hers, minimizing our presence.
“Don’t make a sound.” I emphasized with force. “Not a whimper.”
Her violet-blue eyes widened, but she only nodded. I covered as much of her as I could, pressing my chest to hers, then cast illusion to hide her wings with a snapping summons of my power. She didn’t see the demons coming, and I had to hide her wings quickly. The shock of my dark touch, my invisible armor wrapping her in a hard grip, had her lips parting in a silent gasp. Our breath mingled in the frosty air as the gang of demons drew closer. They’d sense us and see us. I counted on my instincts being right. That they’d bypass a pair of lovers in the shadows. But if they’d seen her wings, they’d stop for a bit of sport with her.
Like I’d fucking let that happen.
“Play along,” I commanded again, hearing the grating dominance in my voice and expecting her to push me off.
Combing my hand into her hair, I reveled in the feel of the silky strands sliding over my skin before I gripped that black silk in a fist and leaned forward. A force not my own pulling me closer. Her eyes remained wide, her body stiff. But not as stiff as mine. Hell, I’d had a hard-on from the first moment she arched a defiant brow at me.
The need to get my mouth on hers drove me like a bullet train. I needed to know what she tasted like. Needed to feel the slide of my tongue past those full pink lips. Needed to get inside of her. But she wasn’t ready for me. Not yet. She was hard to read, my angel. But we could play pretend lovers for a minute.
Gripping her hip with my mechanical hand, I pressed harder against her body. My cock, like an iron rod, pushed against her pelvis. She flinched in my arms and stiffened but didn’t pull away. No. She softened, for fuck’s sake. And that was my undoing. I tilted my mouth toward her neck, breathing her in.
I sensed the sinister air surrounding the demons drawing closer, but I refused to give in to the urge to turn and draw a blade. The menace rolling off of them claimed they were not a group to overpower or escape quickly. If worse came to worse, I’d just sift us away. But something told me they were on the move. Better prey in mind. As long as they thought us harmless lovers, we were safe.
So I focused on Anya. Her grip on the lapels of my leather jacket tightened while her body melted against me. Pure, fucking heaven.
I grazed my lips against her soft throat, featherlight. Her desire—an innocent, fragile thing—flared hot when she let out a little moan. Christ. I was going to lose my mind.
I sensed the demons passing behind us. That danger drifted away but another kind took its place. Uncontainable lust had me in its iron grip. Unable to taste just a little, I flicked my tongue over the lobe of her ear. She flinched again, exhaling a breathy moan before she clamped her mouth shut.
Curling my hand into the collar of her leather jacket, I pulled it aside so I could taste her where her neck met shoulder. The soft patch of exposed pale skin lured me like a dying man in the desert to the coolest drink of water.
Fuck, the things I wanted to do to her. Dirty, dark, delicious things.
Her innocence was a beacon, a red flag waving in the breeze, and my bull wanted to charge. Right fucking now.
Feeling my control slipping, I scraped my teeth gently up the side of her neck, my beast jerking on the leash I was strangling him with.
I eased my lips off her skin, a new addiction that would surely cripple me, because that wasn’t nearly enough. A slight sound of protest escaped her lips. I lifted my gaze to hers.
“Not a whimper,” I said.
The urge to bind her and force every possible sound of pleasure from those luscious lips pushed me like a primal compulsion. A vibrating need I never saw coming threatened to choke the air from my lungs.
Her eyes—dilated with lust—trailed down to my mouth.
“Dommiel. Your teeth.” Her panting breath curled out in white puffs. “And your eye.”
That’s when I realized my beast had come to the surface. The monster I kept at bay so as not to frighten mere mortals. And sweet angels. He wanted to play. He wanted more.
Flicking my tongue over one canine, I backed up, removing my body from the achingly sweet alignment against hers. It would take a few minutes to simmer my blood, for my canines to recede. I turned away, facing the direction those night prowlers had gone, heaving in a deep breath of cold night air. I needed a dip in the Arctic to get my brain and my dick off the gut-punching pleasure one little taste of her had given me.
Juliette lives in lush, moss-laden Louisiana where she lives with her husband, four kids, and black lab, Kona.
Multi-published author of paranormal and urban fantasy romance, she loves reading and writing brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes.
From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.
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