Being without computer in the last week hasn't been as bad as I thought it'd be. Part of it is thanks to blogland being so quiet :) That helped. I tried to blog-hop at work... the only thing that didn't get done was me blogging sigh. In any ways, I'm going to try to re-format my computer tomorrow. Wish me luck!! In th meantime, I've been watching The Mentalist which is pretty good :)
In the Darkest Night by Patti O'Shea
published by Tor Romance in March 2010
Kel Andrews has spent the last year living with nightmares and flashbacks. Unwilling to share what happened, he's withdrawn from his family and the Gineal council has removed him from his position as a troubleshooter. But when a woman shows up asking for protection from a demon, Kel reluctantly agrees to help--and finds himself facing an unexpected adversary, one he doesn't know how to fight.Genre: paranormal romance
Series: Light Warriors, Book #4
The Story: While the blurb is accurate, it's also not very detailed, so I'll try to add more. The heroine of In the Darkest Night is Farran, a character we've encountered in Edge of Dawn. She's a Tàireil who's technically the dark version of a Gineal. She was sent to this dimension by her evil father to steal the dracona despite her weak magic. However, Farran befriended Shona instead and betrayed her father. As a result, Farran is stuck in this dimension with little resources dodging both the Tàireils and Gineals... That is until she becomes the target of a demon and shadow walkers. Pushed to the limit, Farran goes to find Shona and her fiancé, Logan, for protection, but come across Kel instead.
A year ago, Kel was captured and tortured by people unknown. He might be well physically now, but mentally, he's still pretty screwed and as a result, has been removed from his position as a troubleshooter and has withdrawn from his family. When Farran shows up on his doorstep, he's willing to protect her because she's Shona friend... but when he finds out that she brings him peace of mind, he becomes determined. Unfortunately, Kel and Farran have no idea how to deal with shadow walkers and that might prove to be a problem...
My Opinion: It's no secret that Ms O'Shea is one of my favorite authors. I've discovered her a few years ago after reading Through a Crimson Veil and have been a loyal fan ever since. I was kind of disappointed with the first two books of this series, In the Midnight Hour and In Twilight's Shadow; however, Ms O'Shea seems to be hitting her stride :) Edge of Dawn was definitively a stronger book and I'm glad that it continues with In the Darkest Night.
I both enjoyed the characters and storyline of In the Darkest Night. I admit that at first, I wasn't too fond of Farran. There was a bit too much of self-pity and she seems weak. However, Ms O'Shea did a great job at developing Farran's character. I liked that Farran disliked her weakness and cowardice. That she wanted to do something to change it. However, change is hard, especially when your self-confidence is in the gutter. But she persevered and it paid off :) As for Kel, I liked him from the first. He's very smart, careful and very capable. That's always nice. Plus, he's been tortured and while he has recovered physically, mentally, it's another story. He still had nightmares and is now afraid of the dark... Even with problems, he tried his best and never gave up. He also has twin issues - tired of being considered the evil one :P Kel was simply a very complex and interesting character. I like that he dealt with his issues and problems and tried to overcome them, but that at the end of the book, there were still there, they haven't miraculously disappeared.
Together, Farran and Kel made a good couple. They had good chemistry and I enjoyed really enjoyed their interactions. Especially towards Kel's neatness LOL. The relationship really showcased how Kel is sensible. I liked how supportive he was of Farran and how he helped her re-building her self-confidence. He also never pushed her and was never impatient. Definitively the man Farran needed :)
As for the story, it was engaging and enjoyable. There was some action and it was enough to make it exciting. What I liked though is that the characters acted smartly and were careful, especially when facing two different enemies. They put all the chances on their side, went into hiding and researched the enemies. Overall, I liked how it enfolded :)
I think that the last two books have been better because Ms O'Shea has had better plots with more interesting and better developed characters. The writing has also been stronger: tighter and less tentative in my opinion. Unfortunately, the weakness remains the world building, although we're finding out more and more about this world with every book. While Ms O'Shea keeps introducing new elements with each book; the problem is these elements don't seem to mesh and connect. Instead of making the world building more understandable to the readers, it just add more question marks. I'm sure Ms O'Shea is going somewhere with it all, but I'm really not seeing it. So far, there is no story-arc encompassing the series. Instead, it feels like a number of stories simply taking place in the same world. This is not a bad thing; however, I'm not sure that is what going on ^_^;
My Grade: I'm debating a bit between a B and a B+. I enjoyed In the Darkest Night and I thought it was a solid addition to the series. It was definitively better than the first two books and I definitively think that she's found what was missing to make this series better. However, while I liked In the Darkest Night, it just wasn't as intense as Edge of Dawn... and it kind of make the flaw about her world building a bit more evident... so I'm going to go with a strong B :) Definitively looking forward to the next book and hoping it'll make things even tighter :) In the meantime, I'm lucky that Ms O'Shea has a release with Harlequin Nocturne - Demon Kissed that'll give me my fix :)
