Hunt the Darkness

What’s a sensible vampire with his life all planned out to do when the witch that entrapped him in a mating and he claims he doesn’t want, but strangely won’t let go runs from him? Why chase after her of course!
The beginnings of Roke and Sally’s story were told in the previous book. I think I enjoyed their plot line as much as that of the main couple so I was happily eager to pick this next book up from the Guardians of Eternity series. The danger offered wasn’t as intense was it was in previous books, but that didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment. The series is best enjoyed when read in order because characters are generally introduced and begin their storyline in the previous stories like these two.

The book opens with Sally on the hunt to find clues from her mother’s many hideouts that will lead to the identity and location of the father she has never met. It is all in an effort to break the mating bond she unwittingly forced on Roke a vampire clan chief from Nevada. It is just par for the course with her that she screwed up. Roke declared loudly and often that being mated to a witch was offensive, but when push came to shove, she had to go on the run to get away from him due to the fact that the bond forces him to see the bond as very real. At least most of the time she believes that he is just influenced by the bond, but a part of her wishes that it was real. Her whole life she has had to take care of herself and relying on others has gotten her nothing, but trouble. But with Roke, as provoking as he is, she is flummoxed by conflicting feelings.

Roke has chased down his sassy, determined and danger-prone mate with the help of the annoying gargoyle, Levet, but that was the easy part. The hunt becomes complicated when they come across a mysterious box that radiates magic and has somehow attached itself to Sally. The finding of the box is a catalyst. Now a dangerous demon wants the box and will stop at nothing to get it. Fey appear everywhere they go treating Sally like royalty. And Sally’s powers are growing and she can’t control them. They are forced to set aside the hunt for her father and figure out the fey box to get rid of the danger tracking them. Meanwhile, they both undergo changes of mind and heart when it comes to their bond. That being said, Sally knows that Roke’s clan will never accept a witch for his mate and she will always wonder if he only wants her because the bond forces him too.

I love these ‘road trip’ adventure style plots where there is a quest to find or discover something. Along the way they have to fend off danger and deal with their attraction. These two got off to a really bad start and both had hang-ups even before the accidental bonding. They get on the last nerve of each other with their strong personalities and their strong need to hold themselves back. There was a part of me that got impatient in the middle with their bickering and hang-ups. I just wanted to lock them in a room and make them hash it out. That being said, I found all these elements entertaining and fun. The appearance of other characters from the series and the intro of more worldbuilding and new characters was just a bonus. I really hope that the next book is about Cyn and Fallon. Their introduction and side story lines look interesting.

All in all, I had a good time with this one and look forward to more from the series. Fans of steamy paranormal romance with strong worldbuilding, characters and plotting should try this series.

Sally and Roke were accidentally mated by a spell. Roke hates witches and that creates a lot of tension in the beginning. THis was a very good enemies to lovers story. There was a lot of tension, heartache, past traumas to overcome and, of course, love.

Sally was a character that I initially didn’t like since she worked for the Dark Lord. But as we learn more about her past the more we realize she has had a rough life filled with bad luck. She just wants to be accepted and loved and she finally finds that in Roke, once they both get over their fears anyways.

Roke is an interesting character. I wish we could have seen him more with his clan because I want to know more about his clan. The brief glimpse we get in this book was not enough for me, especially since it was more about the vampires hatred of witches.

Sally’s heritage was quite interesting. This world keeps growing with fascinating creatures and clans. I can’t wait to see what happens with the Chatri in future books.