I'm just going to go straight to the review, LOL, before I decided I'm too lazy to post and go back to bed with a book LOL :P But before, how was your week-end? Mine has been so-so... in some way, a bit depressing.
Now, the review... Seriously, I've really enjoyed The Dark Hunter series in the past, seriously... I liked Talon, Wulf, Zarek, Alexion/Danger, Vane books tremendously. However, I found the last few books of the series have been lacking. Wren book was okay, I was hugely disappointed with Ravyn's book... the Dream-Hunter book was the latest release and was only so-so... and let's not talk about the few novellas... Also I hate the twist that's been happening with Nick and I thought there wasn't enough of Ash in the last few books. So seriously, I was considering stopping the series... yes, stopping it... which is a rare thing I do... I mean, I read the black burb of Devil May Cry, about Sin, an ex-god who wanted revenge on Artemis and didn't feel a thing... I couldn't even summon any enthusiasm about it... but I still end up buying it, LOL :P See, everyone has their reading poison... For Ames, it's LKH... for me, I guess it's Sherrilyn Kenyon... However, I'm glad I bought it!
Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon
published by St. Martin's Press in July 2007
An ancient Sumerian god, Sin was one of the most powerful among his pantheon... Until the night Artemis stole his godhood by trickery and left him one step from death.Genre: paranormal romance
For millennia, this ex-god turned Dark-Hunter has dreamed only of regaining his powers and seeking revenge on her. If only life were that simple.
Unfortunately he has bigger fish or in his case, demons, to fry. The lethal gallu that were buried by his pantheon are now stirring and they are hungry for human flesh. Their only goal is to destroy mankind and anyone else who gets in their way. Lucky Sin is the only one who can stop it—that is if a certain woman doesn’t kill him first.
Trust of any kind died in him the moment Artemis tricked him, but now he must rely on another woman or see an annihilation of biblical proportions. Enemies have always made strange bedfellows, but never more so than when the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Now a man who knows only betrayal must trust the one person most likely to hand him to the demons. Artemis may have stolen his godhood, but this one has stolen his heart. The only question is will she keep it or feed it to the ones who want him dead?
Series: Dark Hunter series, book ?
Why did I get this book? Well, as I said, it's my poison... there's something compelling in her writing in my opinion and also, because I like to complete series ^^; Seriously though, I wouldn't have read it yet if I hadn't peek at the ending and see who's the heroine!! Notice that the heroine isn't mentionned anywhere in the blurb... also, although I've gotten the excerpts from St.Martin's press, since I wasn't planning to buy the book, I didn't read them... so I really had NO IDEA who the heroine was and it took my completely by surprise!
My impressions: I enjoyed this book a lot and it was much better than the couple last releases we've gotten from Sherrilyn Kenyon. I think the series is back on track in this one :D sure, there were still a lot of characters, but the story was quite focus on the H/H story and I didn't feel like the author was trying to plug in characters for future books... I enjoyed the characters and the story, but what I enjoyed most is that this book cleared up a lot of questions I had... also, it's really concentrated on gods and we get to see more of Ash, Artemis, Simi and Xirena and Apollymi.
The Heroine, The Hero and the Romance: So, for those who didn't know like me who was the heroine, it's... Katra! Yay! I've loved Katra ever since she appeared in Kiss of the Night as Cassandra's protector... she's also appeared in a couple of other books. I have to admit though, I'm kind of disappointed that Kat wasn't Ash's heroine, but it all kind of make sense now. Highlight if you want to know a HUGE SPOILER (highlight to see): Katra is actually Ash and Artemis' daughter. SHOCK! Maybe I was naive and should have realized sooner. Anyway, I've always been a fan of Katra and I really like her personality and though she was an awesome heroine. My one complaint is that sometimes, I thought the author made her a bith "childish," almost too naive and vulnerable. I mean, in those instances, it just didn't fit with the Kat we've come to know from her previous appearances.
As for Sin, if you've enjoyed the Dark Hunter's heroes, you're going to like him too. I can understand his reasons to hate Artemis so much and so on. One thing though is that it seems to me the "betrayals" he suffered weren't hard enough to shape him... I would have thought something more would have happened. Also, since Sin was an ex-god, he's known Ash for a LONG time... like, before the Dark Hunters were created and so on... So it's nice.
As for the romance, it was nice :D Although yeah, I'm still a tiny bit disappointed that Katra isn't Ash's heroine... Also, I felt like Kat was too subdued in this relationship due to guilt...
Secondary characters: There was a lot of secondary characters, but as I mentioned, it doesn't seem like any is going to have their own books any time soon... so it didn't seem like the author was plugging future book in this one which well, in the case of Sherrilyn Kenyon, is rare and came as relief. So none really worth mentioning except for Ash and Artemis... and well, I don't need to comment on them right? Anyone who's read previous know Ash and Artemis.
The Story: All right, basically the story of this book is that Sin has to stop some kind of demons that have been locked up for a long time, but are now starting to roam free. The problem is that he doesn't have his powers. Kat was sent by Artemis to kill Sin, but upon knowing he's not as sadistic as he seems and he actually has a mission, she sets out to help him... That's basically the story if you take away the romance and the superfluous. I think the problem in this book is that the main "plot" kind of took the backseat, because the author took so much space of the book clearing up plot threads from previous books. I'm glad she did clear up stuff... however, I think the plot which is complex could have been better developed and more interesting if she had enough room.
What I liked: Katra being the heroine of this book :D Seriously, if it wasn't for her, I don't think I've read the book yet. Seeing a lot more of Ash and Simi... The scenes between Katra and Ash. The fact that this book clears up a lot of things between Ash, Artemis and Apollymi and even on other characters like Savitar. I mean, it's time we, readers, start getting answers instead of more questions. Hmmm, also the fact that there was no Nick. Until Nick goes back at being the Nick we've known, I'm not going to enjoy him and so I'm glad he wasn't in this one...
What I didn't like: I think the only thing I didn't like is that once again, Sherrilyn Kenyon is making her series even more complex than it should be. As if it wasn't enough that we had Dark, Dream and Were Hunters which are completely different and we have a ton of different gods and the Greek, Atlantaen and sometimes, Celtic/Nordic pantheons... now we add the Sumerian pantheon... and a new race of "demons" that are ennemies... and and Stryker just got a new best friend! I mean, come on... Now, not only they have to watch out for Stryker and the Daimons... there are now gallu demons and the Dimme... aren't you getting a headache yet? I mean, isn't it too much?
Would I recommend this book? Yes, if you've been fans of this series, this book is definitively worth it.
Grade: B+ (A- for Ash and Katra LOL :)
