The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall.Balvan, the Refuge’s Gatekeeper, is huge, green, and has a reputation for crushing skulls. He’s a modified humanoid, genetically designed to be the ultimate warrior. One of a kind and considered monstrous by many, he never expects to find his mate, the one female meant for him.Elyce, snatched from her home half a solar cycle ago, has finally escaped her … finally escaped her brutal captors. She arrives at the Refuge barely alive. Only a blood transfusion from the largest male she has ever seen will save her life. But it will also bind her to him forever. Staring up, up, up at him, she wonders why she wants to be free. His gentle touch revives yearnings she thought dead. His lips set her skin ablaze. His massive muscles make her feel safe.
That feeling could be an illusion. Elyce’s captors want their slave back and they won’t stop until they have her. To give his mate her freedom, Balvan might be forced to give up everything he has – his role as the Gatekeeper, Elyce’s love, and his life.
Dark Strength is a STANDALONE Alien SciFi Romance set in a gritty, dark world.
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I love all of Cynthia Sax’s books. The characters are always interesting and the way she writes her love scenes, H.O.T.
3.5 stars
TW: Rape, Slavery, PTSD
Elyce was snatched from her home solar cycles ago but has finally escaped her brutal captors. She arrives at the Refuge barely alive and only a blood transfusion will save her life. Balvan is the Refuge’s gatekeeper and has a reputation for crushing skulls but with Elyce he is the gentle giant she needs to feel safe.
I really liked these two. Balvan is a surprisingly gentle giant with a heart of gold. I adored him. He was so supportive and gentle with Elyce, especially when things would trigger her PTSD. He also gives her the tools she needs to feel confident in herself again, like teaching her to shoot a gun. Elyce was a very strong woman who has endured a lot of abuse. I really liked her, especially since she was willing to put herself in danger again to save others.
While there wasn’t a lot of development to the world/settlement in this book, I still really enjoyed this book just for the couple. These two were adorable and sweet together. I hope we see more of their relationship in future books.
If Cynthia Sax writes it, I’m going to read it. The equation is just that simple. Dark Strength just proves why that is true. Dark does fit this book. There are some very dark things that happen. And the heroine does need a lot of strength to handle them, so the book could not be titled any more appropriately than it is. It’s an amazing book that takes us on an emotionally fraught journey.
Elyce has spent the last half solar cycle on a guided tour of every hell that has ever existed. A psychopath has kidnapped her because she looks like another woman and has done things that would make a grown man cry. Elyce may have cried too, but her spark never left her. That spark has kept her alive and gives her the energy to escape.
Balvan is the gatekeeper of the Refuge, that wretched hive of scum and villainy that is ruled by Kralj. Balvan, like Kralj, is a modified human. He’s taller, stronger, and faster than humans. He’s also green. He may look like a brute and vicious, but the truth is that Balvan is a very intelligent, very caring person. He takes care of small animals and helps them heal. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like to smash in skulls, though. When Kralj has Orol carry a small female who is nigh unto death to Balvan, he knows that she is his mate.
Elyce is an incredible character. What she has gone through would break a lot of people. The fact that she is able to get beyond all of that and connect with anyone is just amazing. Balvan is a rock. He’s strong and stands between Elyce and everyone else. He’s so incredibly careful and tender with her, doing things like carrying her everywhere so that no one can touch her, repeating over and over that he’s Balvan and won’t hurt her, and making sure that Elyce is able to have control over things. Having been a tortured prisoner himself, he knows what she needs in order to feel better. I love these two and I love their relationship. It’s nice to see previous couples and see what they are up to and what’s going on in their lives. I can’t wait for the next one so that we can see how Elyce and Balvan are doing.