To hell and back . . .Though he has vampire, demon, and Viking blood rushing through his veins, Ivar Kjeidsen’s soul-crushing trip to hell broke him in ways he can barely fathom. One vow keeps the deadly immortal standing: To rescue the vampire brother who had sacrificed freedom for him. To do that, Ivar needs the help of a brilliant physicist with wary brown eyes, fierce brilliance, and skin … brilliance, and skin that’s way too soft.
Dr. Promise Williams understands the underpinnings of the universe but has never figured out the human beings inhabiting it. Her function is to think—and not feel—until she’s touched by a vampire who’s nowhere near human. The primal hunger in his eyes awakens feelings in her that defy calculation. As she shows him the way to step between worlds, he brands her with a pleasure that could last more than a lifetime . . .
“Spicy romantic interplay; highly recommended.”
—Library Journal on Vampire’s Faith
“Sizzling sex scenes and a memorable cast.”
—Publishers Weekly on Claimed
“A fast-paced, excitement-filled explosion of action… Zanetti keeps getting better.”
—RT Book Reviews on Marked, 4.5 Stars Top Pick
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Ivan exists only to save his brother one of the Seven, Quade who is stuck in one of the other hell worlds when they separated. Quade saved Ivan by sending him out but Ivan vowed to take his place somehow but he has no idea how to get there.
When Promise goes to get a grant for her university she has some very strong reactions to a few of the people she meets there but her strongest reaction is to Ivan who draws on her basic instincts. What Ivan explains to her is she is one of the enhanced who reacts to someone with teleporting abilities and that she needs to train her mind to block them. The lessons are stopped short when the people who are killing enhanced professors find her but Ivan and his brothers save her but what for so they can kill her off too or help them.
As close as Ivan and Promise get to each other she understands she may still lose him to the hell worlds if he can find and switch places with Quade, breaking her heart forever. I loved Ivan’s dedication ,Promise’s mind and the combination is explosive.
Reviewed on behalf of Once upon an Alpha
Dr. Promise Williams is like female Sheldon from TBBT! She can just about see numbers and formulas flash across her eyes but give her people and she gets lost. When a colleague is killed and Promise is almost kidnapped at the funeral – she finds herself in the presence of one enormous and possibly insane abductor.
Ivar Kjeidsen realises he has made a bit of a mockery of her abduction. It’s not really kidnapping if he is doing it to keep safe, is it? A hybrid, he has the competing vampire & demon physiology which makes him perfect for The Seven. He is determined to bring his Brother back, whilst keeping the dimensions separated. Standing in the way of success or failure is Promise. But her enhanced nature also puts her in the sights of those who want to collapse the dimensions.
When Promise and Ivar finally work on the same side, she is happy to discover that he is no hulking, idiot Viking warrior she had labelled him as. He can keep up with her Maths and Physics theories!
I loved the interaction between Promise and Ivar. He is just about as socially awkward as she is but he has the safety net of his Brothers and leaders of the Realm to help him through. I always felt a little bit sorry for Promise, she is just so trapped in her head!
Promise is one of the top physicists in the country. Ivar is one of the Seven and has been to hell and back. He promised his brother to rescue him but he needs Promise’s brain. So he tries to kidnap her but fails. When Promise goes to try for a Grant for her university, Ivar is there. A bunch of scientists have been kidnapped and found dead and they convince Promise to let Ivar protect her. When it becomes unsafe, he takes her to demon headquarters to save her. While trying to figure how how to teleport, Ivar wants Promise to mate with him. But he soon realizes that she is his mate when the mating mark appears on him. Can Promise help him rescue his brother or will he take his place and she lose him forever?
Awesome story. Sex, demons, hybrids, and faes. Funny and a lot of big scientific words. I totally love these characters and can’t wait to see what happens next.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *
Love this whole series!
I did enjoy this book, however it was a little harder to connect to the Ivar and Promise. Maybe it was just to much MATH for me. Lol It really begins to dig into how they travel to other dimensions and at times for me that got a little tedious. The story was still a good read. Once Ivar and Promise begain to feel that this mating is more than just a way to help each other it was better. There love in the end is what saved Ivar. And Hope’s journey is still in our future. The ending made me anxious for the next book
Good read lots of movement and sction
Rebecca is my favorite author. No matter what genre she writes her books are always a 5!!
Loved this series.
4.5 stars
Poor Ivar. He’s been to hell and back and just wants to save his brother/friend from said hell. Knowing Quade has been there much longer than he ever was, and feeling as though he abandoned him, is really doing a number on Ivar. He’s extremely irritable and quick to temper. He needs to lock these impulses down before someone gets hurt. Unfortunately, he scares the bejeezus out of Promise when he’s unable to get his feelings under control. Now it’s going to be much harder to convince the physicist to help the Seven since, in her eyes, they are the enemy.
Luckily, Promise is one to trust her instincts. For some reason, once she’s not being held at gunpoint and yelled at, she is able to sense that Ivar truly means her no harm. She even starts to believe he does want to protect her. It helps that they have amazing chemistry that makes it hard for them to really keep any distance. In fact, Promise comes to trust Ivar so much that she makes some decisions in this story that aren’t what I’m used to heroine’s making when in similar situations. It was refreshing to have things go a bit differently than I expected.
Promise is actually very scientifically minded and tends to need proof of everything. Or at least that’s what she thinks of herself. As this story progresses, she starts to realize that there are some things that she has to trust. Like that gut instinct to believe that Ivar and his friends are the good guys. As Promise gets to know the other people in their inner circle, including other scientists, she starts to understand that the world doesn’t have to be just black and white.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the heat between Promise and Ivar, I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t put a bit of a warning here. There is definitely a scene that I would consider to be dubious consent. Now, things play out well in the end. The situation is even touched on a bit. But that doesn’t negate that there was a moment that Ivar overstepped, no matter what it turns out Promise wanted. For me, the scene worked. I just know that it won’t work for everyone.
That all being said, I found this to be another wonderful book in this phenomenal series.
Alpha’s Promise is the tenth book in the paranormal adventure/romantic Dark Protectors series. This series is best enjoyed if read the books in order, so you will know the history of the characters while being caught up with what is and what has happened.
I’ve liked Ivar Kjeidsen in the previous books and was happy to finally read his story. The demon/vampire hybrid has been through so much and is determined to sacrifice himself in order to save his Seven brother who’s trapped in another dimension. From the moment Ivar met Promise, he was so protective around her. She settled him and made him feel a contentment and purpose he never had before.
Dr. Promise Williams is a physicist who believes everything can be explained by math, theories and equations. She’s drawn to Ivar immediately even though she knows she shouldn’t be. He makes her feel safe and cared for and that’s a feeling she’s never had. The attraction between them was so intense it scared Promise, but it also made her feel alive.
The back story surrounding Hope, Paxton and Drake is too similar to that of Janie, Zane and Kalin. I don’t understand why Janie and Zane don’t sit their daughter down and explain more to Hope. It seems she has half the story, and she should be told more to understand the danger she’s putting everyone in. I’m also thinking Paxton’s father is not very nice and it makes no sense why the other adults haven’t realized this yet.
I’m excited to jump into Quade’s and Haven’s story next. We’ve only learned a little about Haven, and we know Quade has suffered tremendously, so I can’t wait to see how he’s finally rescued, or at least, I hope he is.
4.5 Stars
A fun read, love this series.
The story was action packed and well written, I just find that this genre isn’t as attractive to me as it once was. Ms Zanetti did a great job on the plot and the writing. A good book.
When I signed up to this I didn’t realise it was the 10th book in this series and I have no idea how I missed this for so long. This can be read as a standalone but like me you may be lost in some places with regards to some characters.
Rebecca has done a brilliant job with this one. She has given us a strong, smart and independent Heroine to go with her stubborn and determined Alpha Male. The plot flows well and is filled with action and some serious amount of steam. I was thoroughly entertained with the banter between Ivan and Promise.
I really think I need to start back at the beginning with this series and based on this book i think this series could become an addiction
I love all of her books
I enjoyed this book. It is part of a series so based on this one I would read another.
I love everything Rebecca Zannetti writes
My Thoughts – 5 out of 5 Unicorns – I loved it!!!
***I choose what I read and review based on what intrigues me!! Yes, I got a review copy of this book, but no one tells me what to think, feel, or write about any book! I have started collecting this series and have 7 of the 11 so far including this book, and I also have several of the novellas too! I have not read them all yet!
The cover is WOW!!
This is the 10th book in this series, but it is only the 3rd one I’ve read. This series is already in my heart because I want to own and read them all as well as the Realm Enforcers series. Obviously, you can read them out of order though I bet you love them all even more if you read them all in order. This series is for adults only due to the violent fights where heads are removed and the steamy content with mates!
This is Ivar’s story! After his trips through the hell worlds, it took him a while to come back from it. But he really made leaps and bounds when he met Promise. This story was action from the start as every book I’ve read by Rebecca. Her books always have tons of twists and turns and multiple stories so to speak because you have the stuff with Hope going on while Ivar’s story is being told. Ivar and Promise fit together and get each other. They both have amazing brains and are quirky. I can’t wait to see what happens with the rest of the Protectors and with Hope and her friends.
I love that I can’t put Rebecca’s books down once I start. I was in a rut for reading and then I picked up this book, and it brought me back from my funk of moving and stuff in life getting in the way!
I highly recommend to all who love complex paranormal romance worlds filled with demons, vampires, Fae, hybrids, teleporting, and more!
I am a longtime fan of this author and this series. And while I thought this one was OK, if it was not one of my favorite Dark Protectors books.
I think my biggest problem was the big emphasis on math. I know that might sound silly, but our heroine is a brilliant mathematician/physicist who our hero needs to help him figure out the mechanics of interdimensional travel. You see, in the world of teleporting demons, no one has ever had to figure out how it is done. It’s just a natural thing. And now Ivar can’t teleport and he surely can’t get to the other dimension where he had to leave his buddy Quade to fulfill the promise of the Seven to keep the big bad guy trapped in his own special hell.
Anyway, I wasn’t a huge fan of either the hero or the heroine either. I did not expressly dislike either one, but the heroine, Promise, in particular was hard to connect to as she was so cerebral and emotionally disconnected, I just didn’t feel a lot from her. She felt distant and removed. Meanwhile, Ivar was very single minded in his mission and I often felt like Promise was his secondary priority. I get that he had loyalty to his friend and felt responsible for saving him, but I want my hero to put the heroine first and that didn’t really shine through here.
I did like visiting with Janie’s daughter, Hope, and her young friends. I’m still digging the set up for her one day having a love triangle with Paxton and Drake. I feel sorry for poor Pax twice over as he is clearly being abused, he clearly cares about Hope, and he clearly has no shot. But that is probably a story for several years from now.
In the meantime I am looking forward to Quade’s story. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that he will be the first hero in the series not to threaten to spank his heroine. Here’s hoping!
3.5 stars
Ivar Kjeidsen is struggling to cope with his time jumping dimensions and the guilt of leaving Quade behind. With the help of physicist Dr. Promise Williams they might be able to save Quade and keep Ulric in his prison.
I loved this book. I knew as soon as I saw this was Ivar’s book it was going to be good. Ivar and Promise were so adorable together. Promise has little experience with emotion so everything is always literal and scientific based. Ivar shows her how to embrace her emotions and to trust faith, without losing her scientific side. Promise helps Ivar heal and become more like his old self. He is no longer just a beast filled with anger and guilt. I loved how loyal Ivar was and that he is able to try and keep his promise, and get a HEA. They both were so different but they worked perfectly together and truly accepted each other how they were.
I love how the story is playing out and can’t wait to see what will happen next. I really need to know what is going to happen to Quade! I also love that the previous couples in the series are frequently popping up throughout the books now. It makes me so happy to see them years later and still going strong. Now can I please get Garrett’s book or for some resolution between Adaire and Grace. I know it’s going to be good and I can’t wait.
This was not an easy read, I did not really like the h, it was a struggle to see through her eyes. The H was OK and as you progressed through book he was more endearing.