Night Embrace (A Dark-Hunter Novel, Book 3) (edició 2006)

An Adult Paranormal Romance That Got Me Emotionally Charged!

I am really pleased that I've finally picked up this series; why haven't before now, I'll never know. ;-) I love Ms Kenyon's writing style; the prose she uses, the pace of her plots, the twists and turns she takes us on and how she concludes the main romantic aspect and imminent threats while still leaving some tantalising threads that lure you to keep reading the series.

I did enjoy [b:Night Embrace|6567284|Night Embrace (Dark-Hunter, #2)|Sherrilyn Kenyon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1362612024l/6567284._SY75_.jpg|81269] and thought the story was good, but I want to explain why I didn't rate it as highly as the previous books.

When reading paranormal romance, I need the female protagonist to be intelligent, resilient, resourceful, self-reliant and have plenty of gumption; while Sunshine certainly had all of these traits, there were a few aspects of her personality that irritated me. She was a beautiful soul, empathetic, loving and had a wonderful vitality but it was her hippy idiosyncrasies - flakiness, forgetfulness and less than tolerant issues with food that plagued me.

Talon was a male that ticked all my boxes too; he was definitely alpha, loyal, had depth and deserved the love that Sunshine had for him. I love cursed heroes but I found myself being more drawn to a couple of the other Dark Hunter. I want plot twists to surprise me. I don't mind too much when they don't but I found myself shouting at Talon, rolling my eyes and trying to contain my frustration when he didn't pick up on the obvious clues: sadly, Talon seemed "all muscles and no brains" at times which was also a major niggle for me.

Due to the explicit sexual content and graphic violence, I would recommend this book to adults who are not offended by scenes of this nature who enjoy romance stories about the complexities of relationships, about trust, loyalty and betrayal and of course, insurmountable odds and soul saving love.

I am definitely engaged in the Dark Hunter world and I have already bought the next three books in this series and can't wait to read more. ( )

hb ( )

Celt, reincarn love, Ach/Styxx
( )

This is the best way I can describe how I felt reading this book. I didn't read the previous books in the series, so I'm definitely at fault for feeling a little behind and lost but holy guacamole. I liked the book but trying to grasp all the characters, their identities, and all their agendas made me sweat from exhaustion.

How I imagine the author writing this. Seriously, we've got gods from EVERY mythology, paranormal beings, and bears, oh my! You know someone out there has cataloged all these characters, their connections, and biography; bless their heart.

If there was a visual of me reading this. Look, this book has been out a while and others have written amazing reviews for it, I'm not going to even attempt one. This is just all about my narcissistic need to put my feelings out there. Even with the massive amount of characters and story lines (the writing gets a little loose at times), I felt the need to hang on for the ride. There is a certain charm to characters and writing (the hero of this book, Talon, is also too hot to trot with his Celtic tattoos and general hero-ness) that kept me locked in. Our leads have the whole soulmate thing going on, so no gradual falling in love but kind of instant, they also got ignored more than I liked in favor of the overall story arcs.

I'll definitely be continuing with the series (so, there's like a dragon inside Acheron?!) and I guess just hope as more heroes/heroines get their individual stories, the books won't be as jammed packed and things will make more sense.
Or maybe I'm in for more of,

Either way, sign me up!
If you've read the series, discuss your feels and let me know if things improve/fall apart.

Thanks to Lover of Romance for the rec! ( )

Night Embrace
3.5 Stars

Synopsis:
After sacrificing his soul for vengeance against those who murdered his family, Talon becomes a Dark Hunter and vows never to love again. However, once Sunshine Runningwolf comes into his life, he can no longer deny his emotions. As the two grow closer, they discover that they are merely pawns in a horrendous plan to release the ultimate destroyer on an unsuspecting world. Talon and his fellow Dark Hunters are the only ones who can stop the inevitable destruction but will it be at the price of Sunshine’s life?

Review:
A good story with some really funny moments and some equally poignant ones. It does, however, drag at times. The first half in particular feels too drawn out until the action begins. In addition, an excessive number of characters and concepts are introduced, and I personally found it difficult to keep track of everyone.

Kenyon’s strongest skill is her characterization and this book is a case in point. Talon and Sunshine's personalities and back stories are engrossing and they are what make this a worthwhile read. Talon’s suffering is heart-wrenching but not overwhelming and he never comes across as too anguished or whiny. Sunshine is also a likeable character once you get passed her annoying name and tendency to fall for inappropriate men. She is strong and independent, and I found her quirky forgetfulness endearing. While their sexual relationship begins very quickly, their immediate connection is explained within the plot and is, therefore, realistic and believable.

The secondary characters are just as interesting, especially the psychological and physically tortured Zarek. I also look forward to reading more about Vane and the other Were-Hunters.

The epilogues are also something I appreciated in the book. The flashbacks of the other Dark Hunters’ histories are actually what compel me to continue reading the series as I am interested in discovering the connections between the characters and how they will overcome their differences.

Overall, a worthy read with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. ( )