Night Embrace (Dark-Hunter Series, Book Five): Sherrilyn Kenyon UPDATED

I actually finished reading this book about a week or so ago, but I've been hemming and hawing over how to handle these updated reviews (especially since I've been reading so many of them lately).  It's not a "problem" I have had to address before.  On one hand, I like adding my updated information to the original reviews themselves so the information is all in one place and it's easy to see how my writing/reviewing style has changed over the years.  On the other, I don't get "credit" for reading the book in this year's "book tally" on the right side of this blog.  I ended up going with creating a new review, marking it "UPDATED" and I plan on including a hyperlink to the original review for those of you who want to see what I thought of the book the first time around.  Now, I have to figure out a way to go back and update those reviews I previously just tacked onto the original reviews.  Some of those happened in 2017, so I'm trying to see if there's a way to post-date reviews...  I'm sure I'll figure something out!

Moving on to this review!  I seem to have been on a Sherrilyn Kenyon kick as of late.  I made my husband dig out my enormous box of books from under the stairs (where they're stored only because we haven't put of a bunch of shelves for them yet) and it was like a treasure chest.  I ended up having to read the UK version of this book and the English nerd in me was interested by the fact that it used apostrophes as quotation marks.  It drove me crazy at first, but I got over it (after regaining my husband about the oddity and having him roll his eyes at me, of course).

I originally read this book in 2008 and you can find the review here (along with the official text from the back of the book - it seemed silly to include it on this review too).  Clearly, I felt as if it was one of the most amazing things I'd read and I fell in love with Talon.  While I still enjoyed it (especially the lively sense of humor Kenyon manages to weave throughout), I didn't cry this time.  I think it's because my reading material has been inundated with heartbreaking, gut-wrenching backstories lately, and I'm slightly desensitized.  Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it.  I found Sunshine charming, but I got a very different visual image of her this time around -- not sure why.  I love seeing recurring characters and I appreciate when an author is able to incorporate them into another character's book.  Seeing Julian and Kyrian again was a treat (especially when they had to come rescue him from Sunshine's apartment).  I loved Acheron in this book.  While we see him in Kyrian's book, I don't think he played as big a role and we certainly don't get to see as much of him or learn as much about him as we do in this book.  His relationship with Artemis is insanely complex and twisted (and I will now say that House of the Rising Son makes a little bit more sense to me...if only a little...).  The biggest comment I will make is that some of the dialogue was jarringly awkward.  One perfect example is when Nick and Acheron are drinking and Nick is grabbing a bite to eat.  Nick's mother orders food for Acheron (being the loving, concerned mother she is).  When Acheron gives the food to Nick, Nick realizes he's never seen Acheron eat (which is an odd time for the realization after his years of working with Acheron), and then he flat out mentions it to Acheron.  It's just awkwardly formulated and I think Kenyon is a much better author than that.  In addition to this, the use of "baby" endearments was a bit off-putting.  I'm not saying it can't be used, it just didn't feel like it fit the characters well, and it felt overused at times.

Overall, I think Kenyon has a knack for creating characters with brilliant gravitational pulls.  We feel drawn to them and are instantly empathetic.  Talon's backstory was rich and his tragic history coupled with his unique abilities and life as a Dark-Hunter made for an interesting story.  I liked Sunshine, but I found myself a little bit annoyed by her - I can't quite put my finger on why.  There were great plot twists in the story that kept it fun and exciting, so much so that I finished it in just a couple of days.  While I can appreciate that Kenyon was setting up a few other books with her inclusion of Vane, Valerius, and Zarek, I think she spent quite a bit of time on them - more so than I'm used to with her other books.  She usually introduces them, but doesn't really spend entire chapters in their point of view.  Part of me wonders if this was due, at least a little bit, to a need to fill in more information when Talon and Sunshine's story was a bit shorter than she wanted.  I certainly don't feel like the book suffered for this, but a noticeable amount of this book was dedicated to other characters.

This was a dark, yet oddly light-hearted read (oxymoron much?).  We're introduced to complex subplots and other rich personalities and characters.  I definitely recommend this installment in this complex, creative Dark-Hunter series.

Love's Blazing Ecstasy: Kathryn Kramer

***Sorry there is no picture for this book. It's from 1984 and kind of difficult to find an image of it online! I will try scanning it in as soon as I have the time.***

“PASSION’S SLAVE

“When she saw the dangerous glitter in the Roman soldier’s eyes, Wynne knew she was lost, yet she could not forget that she was a Celt and he and enemy of her people. But as Valerian’s amber eyes caressed each soft, sensuous curve of her body, Wynne found herself melting into his embrace of a thousand teasing kisses and hot throbbing passion…

“PASSION’S POWER

“This golden goddess was forbidden fruit, but Valerian could not resist such an innocent, ripe blossom, whose silken skin and moist honey-sweet lips set him on fire. And in one wild, reckless moment of uncontrollable need, Valerian conquered Wynne’s body and soul and filled her with—

“LOVE’S BLAZING ECSTASY”

This was the first book by Kathryn Kramer that I’ve read. I actually acquired it from my mother who was cleaning out the basement and found a whole box full of her old romance novels and I was really excited because I thought that there were some good ones in there. This one, however, was not one of the best that I have read.

I’m not saying that this was a bad book, per say, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I don’t know if it was because of the style of writing or if the writing itself was influenced by the decade in which it was written, but there was something not quite right about it. Everything seemed to drag on and on. The dialogue was overly dramatic, but the plot was interesting. This was the first book that I’ve read that took place in Britain during the Roman occupation and it was interesting. I really liked all the parts containing the Celts and the history itself was interesting.

All in all, this book might be for someone who enjoys writers with a flair for the dramatic, but it just wasn’t for me.

Night Embrace (Dark-Hunter Series, Book Five): Sherrilyn Kenyon

“Dear Reader,

“Life is great for me. I have my chicory coffee, my warm beignets, and my best friend on the cell phone. Once the sun goes down, I am the baddest thing prowling the night: I command the elements, and I know no fear. For centuries, I’ve protected the innocent and watched over mankind, making sure they are safe in a world where nothing is ever certain. All I want in return is a hot babe in a red dress, who wants nothing more from me than one night.

“Instead, I get a runaway Mardi Gras float that tries to turn me into roadkill and a beautiful woman who saves my life but can’t remember where she put my pants. Flamboyant and extravagant, Sunshine Runningwolf should be the perfect woman for me. She wants nothing past tonight, no ties, no long-term commitments.

“But everytime I look at her, I start yearning for dreams that I buried centuries ago. With her unconventional ways and ability to baffle me, Sunshine is the one person I find myself needing. But for me to love her would mean her death. I am cursed never to know peace or happiness—not so long as my enemy waits in the night to destroy us both.

“Talon of the Morrigantes”

After reading this book, I decided several things. One: Talon has become one of my favorite characters of all-time! Two: Sunshine is EXACTLY like my friend Carolynn…it’s scary! Three: Acheron is beyond awesome! From reading the previous books, I pictured him to be this incredibly hot, muscular in his mid-to-late-twenties. In this book, the readers get to see a new side of him and realize that he’s younger than he seems.

Anyway, Talon’s story LITERALLY HAD ME BAWLING!!! The way this book was written really tugged at my heartstrings…hard… His pain was so terrible and I couldn’t imagine having to suffer through what he has. I found myself laughing along with the characters as well as crying with them. Once again, Sherrilyn Kenyon has worked her magic!

I did have some...I don't know...confusion about certain parts of the book though. After reading Dragonswan, I came to understanding that Slayers were very animalistic and were basically out to get everything and everyone. After reading this book, I came to a far different conslusion. The Slayers were very secluded (though they did say that they ate human flesh) and their main priority was to watch over their pack. They weren't the completely viscious creatures I thought they were. I thought this was interesting because it was from a different point of view.

Not to mention I found the ULTIMATE quote that defines the Dark-Hunter existence!!! Zarek (you meet him in this book) says, “…let me give you the job description. Me, Dark-Hunter. You, Daimon. I hit, you bleed. I kill, you die.” Yeah…Zarek’s pretty much the ultimate badass… ; )