TEST
Fantasy is one of those subgenres that can often be difficult to read because the world building must be convincing. In Kim Lenox’s third installment of the Shadow Guard series, world building and character interaction drive the novel, yet at times fall short of the mark.
As a members of an immortal race existing along side the human world, Primordials exist to protect England by whatever means necessary from Transcended souls that threaten its security. As a result of a confrontation between their enemies Tantalus and the Dark Bride, the Reclaimer Selene was put in a deep sleep in order to prevent her soul from becoming transcended and Rourke, the Ravenmaster, was put in charge of her keeping. Strangely drawn to Selene, Rourke finds her imprisonment torturous and even more so once she wakes and must be guarded until trusted again. Until they know the extent of her powers and whether or not she’s fighting on the side of good, Rourke moves her from London to keep the city safe.
Once at Rourke’s family estate, the two find themselves working through the ins and outs of country life together, while pretending to be human. The attraction grows between the two, though Rourke continues to put Selene off for his own hidden reasons. Strange things then occur that force them to confront their enemies, as well as battle their own demons.
Ms. Lenox creates a Victorian world that is easy for the reader to imagine with its somewhat modern conveniences, social strictures, and fashions. However, the fantasy elements are complicated and confusing, creating a book that is hardly a standalone. While there is explanation without an info dump, much more is needed to understand how the two worlds are related or to even differentiate between the various types of Primordials.
There is also a mystery element to the story, though it is essentially character-driven. Ms. Lenox creates a strong heroine who is temporarily vulnerable and, while she is determined to regain her powers, she understands the possibility that they may not return. The hero, on the other hand, is tortured by his past, but, unfortunately, what tortures him and his denial of Selene didn’t ring true to me. He’s spent his extremely long life punishing himself for the actions of another and I wanted him to simply get over it. My favorite characters within the story were the villains. Though it’s not difficult to figure out who they are, I found them unique and morbidly humorous.
However, my main concern with Lenox’s story dealt with the lack of sizzle. I didn’t feel the sexual attraction between the leads and can’t really figure out when and where exactly they fell in love or why they liked each other for that matter.
Simply put, Darker Than Night falls short of the mark and, while the potential is there, the confusing world building and lack of romantic elements made it mediocre at best.
Grade: C-
Book Type: Paranormal Historical
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 01/06/10
Publication Date: 2010/04
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.