Darkness Seduced (Order of the Blade #2) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jun 15, 2012 Lisa M rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, kindle-touch, warriors

3.5*s

This is the second book in the Order of the Blade trilogy. In case you missed the first book, Darkness Awakened, the premise is that Calydon warriors are destined to kill or be killed by their destined mates (shevas) once all the stages of their bonding are completed. To prevent Order members from being killed or going rogue over their shevas, the shevas are killed as soon as they're found to prevent bonding. Order members are too few and too important to lose because they protect humanity. 3.5*s

This is the second book in the Order of the Blade trilogy. In case you missed the first book, Darkness Awakened, the premise is that Calydon warriors are destined to kill or be killed by their destined mates (shevas) once all the stages of their bonding are completed. To prevent Order members from being killed or going rogue over their shevas, the shevas are killed as soon as they're found to prevent bonding. Order members are too few and too important to lose because they protect humanity.

Right off the bat the series is on shaky ground with me, because I'm not really on board with the premise, the stages seems contrived, and I don't see a whole lot of that protecting of humanity business. Except for protecting humanity from themselves.

Anywho, Darkness Seduced is the story of Gideon and Lily. Gideon saves Lily from 2 years of imprisonment at the hands of a Calydon psyphopath intent upon releasing the original, most evil, most powerful Calydon from his magical prison. You see, Lily is a Satinka, sort of like a nature witch. And, oh yeah, Calydons have an unusual lust for Satinkas and want to drain their power until they kill them. (In fact, Calydons, because they're such protectors and all, virtually wiped out the Satinkas.) So Gideon and Lily have got that going against them. Add in the fact that Gideon killed Lily's sheva grandmother in front of Lily's mother, and you've got some real good feelings. And then Lily's magic chooses Gideon as her mate, and it turns out that Lily is Gideon's sheva. Impossibly, his second sheva. His first one was killed in front of him.

So, the Order wants to kill Lily. But they also need her to translate some ancient writings on the psychopath's knife so they can figure out when, where, and how the ritual is to take place to free the original evil Calydon warrior. Danger ensues.

If you think this review is tinged with sarcasm, you're right. I don't know why I keep reading these books and giving them 4*s (rounded up) to boot! The premise is ridiculous and hard to swallow. Worse, characters act out of character and story rules are broken simply to manipulate the plot the way Rowe wants it to play out. I don't know how many times I almost gave up on this series.

But I keep reading anyway.

Go figure.

There's something about the story that draws me in and makes me want to see it through to the end. Love it or hate it, you'll have to decide for yourself. ...more

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