Alayna Blackwell is doomed. A deadly curse will put her in an early grave, if a rogue vampire or shifter doesn’t punch her ticket first. Until then, she’s determined to use her elemental magic keep her city safe and the supernatural hidden from the everyday world. On the trail of a powerful serial killer taking out mortal and magical alike, the stakes have never been higher for her team of elite … elite magical creatures.
The last thing she needs is a gorgeous FBI agent stumbling into her investigation.
When his best friend is brutally murdered, Special Agent Alex Martinez vows to find the killer. His hunt for vengeance pulls him into a supernatural world he never imagined, exposing abilities he never knew he had. To survive in this new world, he needs to confront the scars of his past, before they cost him everything he’s worked so hard to rebuild.
When Alex and Alayna are forced to team up, the alchemical reaction is instant. Sparks fly and unexpected feelings develop, but deadly secrets threaten to tear them apart. When love wars with duty, can either survive the dark forces threatening their city?
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This is the first book in the Elemental Mages! And what a read. If you like sexy FBI agents and tough women who get things done, then you should already have this book in your collection.
I like how this book begins. The first meeting of the two characters is explosive. The way the author writes both the fight scene and the kissing scene had me drawn into this world in seconds. I had to know all about her and him… and their chemistry was off the charts. I could feel them sizzle on the pages.
I loved that the main female character was both tough, yet a blonde who likes her clothes and is unapologetic for being a woman. I also felt like her love interest really understood her as well. He appreciated her as a fighter. That’s awesome.
Alex is in the FBI and is going to use his connections to find his friend’s killer. On one very bizarre night, Alex learns about an entirely different world than the one he thought he knew. One in which the unbelievable is made real, and that’s because of Alayna.
Alayna is a Whisper Mage who can control all 4 elements, a rarity that is feared by other mages for sure. She’s never gotten serious with a man before, why bother when your time is limited and you know you’re going to die young? But as a force for good, she leads her team of misfits taking down those that would do evil in this world. Alex might just be the missing link the team needs, even if he is only a Sapien.
Air of Darkness was such a pleasant surprise, it had great characters with an engaging storyline. I loved the connection between Alayna and Alex, O’Brien knows how to write steamy, and well. Alayna made a perfect main character as she’s strong, assertive, and incredibly talented. I adored Alayna’s team, each of the quirks and abilities they had and would love to see more of them. This was well-written and so much fun to read.
Action packed paranormal romance
I really enjoyed this. There was a lot of action and world building which I really appreciated. Quite a unique magic system and really well explained so I was never left confused. I loved the interaction between all the characters. Got to say, Dumeril is my favourite
Alex and Alayna were beautifully frustrating when forging their relationship. There was a good bit of steam, which I always love!
Can’t wait to see what’s next for them all especially with that ending!
Paranormal romance makes me nervous these days, y’all. It’s always been one of my favorite categories of romance, but I’ve read A LOT of really bad PNR lately. Like, A LOT of it. I don’t know why this is. I blame Twilight. When that book came out and absolutely blew up in popularity, writers everywhere flocked to throw together PNR stories to meet the market’s demand. Probably less than a ¼ of them were any good, in my opinion.
So, when I pick up new PNR from a debut author, I read it very slowly and carefully, sometimes while peeking through my fingers, waiting for some really awful writing to jump out of my Kindle and smack me in the face. Well, I’m VERY happy to report that nothing jumped out of my Kindle and smacked me in the face this time. Air of Darkness was a GREAT paranormal read from a really talented debut author. (I feel like I’ve found a unicorn or something! Maybe I should play the lottery today…I’m certainly feeling lucky!)
First of all, I ADORE reads featuring kick-ass heroines. Alayna is a kick-ass heroine of the highest order. She’s smart, a powerful mage, an accomplished fighter, and she leads her own team of other powerful paranormal types. She’s also feminine and emotionally vulnerable when she’s not working, which makes her a very relatable, well-rounded character. There wasn’t really anything I didn’t love about Alayna.
Alex was a great hero, too. He wasn’t as physically powerful as Alayna, but he still managed to be protective, badass, talented, and smart while avoiding the general assholery that happens with so many heroes in PNR. He was a genuinely nice, caring guy, without being a wuss. I LOVE nice-guy heroes, and Alex fit the bill nicely.
The side characters were fascinating, too. They could all have their own stories at some point in the series, but they never came across as obvious sequel bait, and they all had a solid purpose in the story. (I hate sequel bait characters who serve no purpose other than to let me know I should buy their stories when they become available. The characters here weren’t like that at all.)
The world building in this book is solid, too. Fans of urban fantasy and PNR alike will appreciate the complexity of the world this author created.
All in all, this was a really fun PNR read that I’d highly recommend to fans of the category.
Full disclosure: We received an ARC from the author free of charge.
And feel free to check out the Romance Rehab blog for more rants, raves, book lists and other fun romance-y stuff: http://www.romancerehab.com/