Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Seize the Night (Dark-Hunter, Book 7) - Sherrilyn Kenyon

Description~
Valerius has been an outsider all of his life. As a human he was scorned as weak by his father. As a Dark-Hunter he's hated by his own kind for the perceived sins of his mortal past. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up in the life of vampire hunter Tabitha Devereaux, who, in addition to being human, is the sister-in-law of his sworn enemy. But something in her warm smile, her openhearted love of life, makes him wonder if it truly is never too late for second chances.


In my latest Dark Hunter book I got to meet Tabitha and Valerius (or Val as Tabby calls him). Tabitha, we’ve seen in prior DH books. Her twin sister is Amanda and also married to Kyrian…and if you don’t remember that story there Kyr basically got tortured by Val’s grandfather so needless to say Val and Kyr (and all Amanda’s fam) hates him. Also btw Val is Zareks brother…the one that always felt sorry for him but ended up getting him in more trouble. :o(

We find out quite a bit about Val and his story was VERY sad! His father treated him hardly any better than he treated his slave of a brother Zarek! As Val took pity on his poor beaten brother he got lick for lick from his brothers and father. In fact his brothers are who killed him. There was only one part of his life he cherished and that was a slave girl he fell in love with from afar. When his brother found out they raped and killed her in front of him then took his life! It was so tragic! Ever since Val was changed he has been a very cold person!

Things start to change when he gets mistaken by Tabitha, the great vampire hunter, for a Daemon. Tabby stakes Val then realizes he’s s Dark Hunter. Too soon to daylight she’s forced to take him back to her house/sex shop and wait till he wakes up from his injuries! When he wakes and they are face to face tempers flare b/c Tabby is so laid back and Val…well…is NOT! Lol He’s totally stuck up in Tabbys eyes yet she cant help but be attracted to him. As time passes the issue of him being the family enemy gets in the way even though she starts falling. And let me tell you when the fam finds out…you know the term ‘shit hits the fan’ well its perfect for this situation! Lol

I love how strong Tabby is in this book! I don’t really look to connect to all my characters in my books, but I think we all know it helps a bit. With Tabby I felt it easy to like her and relate. She is such a ballsy character and not extremely girly BUT she’s kinda like a little Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Lol It was great! Tabby is a funny and passionate girl that kicks ass! ;o)

I love how when Tabby and Val met they butted heads so much yet had the hardest time staying away. Tabby had a hard time trying to loosen Val up but it made for cute reading that was light hearted and touching. Tabby finds out about Vals past oddly enough from Zarek! Z tried to keep Tabby from Val by showing all the bad parts of their childhood but Tabby wasn’t fazed one bit! I must say it was nice that every aspect of the story was completed! I would’ve hated knowing Zarek still had hatred towards Val. When Z showed up for the wedding my heart leapt with joy!

OH and one thing to touch on…Nick…omg! He had sex with Simi and that was a shock! Ash FREAKS and tells Nick to always stay away from him! Later on we find out that the Daemons kills Nicks mom and Nick kills himself to become a Dark Hunter!!! I flipped and totally didn’t see that one coming! Nick and Ash are ok by the end of the book. Im anxious to continue Nicks story!!!

One odd thing was after Tabby and Val married (btw she has his soul but hasn’t finished giving it back to him) Tabby finds herself unable to kill Val…so who does?!?! Kyrian! WTH?!?! By this point they are all on…ok trems once Kyrian finds out he was crucified just about the same way he was and by the same bloodline! Well anyways Kyr runs into his house and like gets him with a sword and it forces tabby to finish the job! Idk it kinda felt rushed hpw it was like oh the 3rd or so page till the end. Idk…just awkward!

Snib-Bit~
Valerius was across the alley in microseconds as he saw a woman fall.
But then woman was back on her feet. She killed two more Daimons.
“Die Daimon snot!” The woman snarled at him an instant before she, too, stabbed him straight in the chest.
She pulled the dagger out instantly.
Valerius hissed and staggered back as pain ripped through his heart. He clutched at his chest, unable to think past the agony of it.
Tabitha bit her lip in terror as she saw the man recoil and not explode into dust.
“Oh, shit” she breathed, rushing to his side. Please tell me you’re some screwed up Dark-Hunter and that I didn’t just kill an accountant or lawyer.”
The man hit the street hard.
Tabitha rolled him over onto his back and checked his breathing. His eyes were partially opened, but he wasn’t speaking. He held his jaw clamped firmly shut as he groaned deep in his throat.
Terrified, she still wasn’t sure who she had mistakenly stabbed. Her heart hammering, she pulled up his turtleneck to see the nasty looking stab wound in the center of his chest.
And then she saw what she had hoped for...
He had a bow and arrow brand above his right hipbone.
“Oh thank God” she breathed as relief poured through her. He was in fact a Dark-Hunter and not some unfortunate human she’d stabbed.
She grabbed her phone and called Acheron to let him know one of his men had been hurt, but he didn’t answer.
So she started dialing her sister, Amanda until her common sense returned. There were only four Dark-Hunters in this city. Ash who led them. Janice whom she had met earlier. The former pirate captain, Jean-Luc and...
Valerius Magnus.
He was the only Dark-Hunter she didn’t know personally in New Orleans. And he was the mortal enemy of her brother-in-law.
She felt it deep inside.
“Something wicked this way comes...” she breathed the title of her favorite Ray Bradbury book.
And something inside told her it was far more evil than anything she had faced before.

Overall this was a great addition to the DH books and like I said I cant wait to read more about Nicky-poo! ;o)

I give this books a total of...




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4 comments:

Stacy~ said...

I just started re-reading the Dark Hunter books I have, including Fantasy Lover, which sort of kicks things off, because I eventually want to read Acheron's story. I forgot how much I enjoyed this series.

They were my "first" vamps. Sherrilyn Kenyon was the one who created hot, sexy vamps where before they were cold, pale and creepy. I'll take hot & sexy any day of the week ;)

November 28, 2009 at 5:23 AM
Monroe Dawson said...

Stacy-
Ya hot and sexy is def at the top of my priority list when it comes to my vamps!!! I love this series to pieces even though some dont and Fantasy Lover is one of my favs! :o)

November 28, 2009 at 6:41 AM
~ames~ said...

I forgot about Nick and Simi. Dangit, now I really want to reread these books. LOL

December 1, 2009 at 8:02 PM
Monroe Dawson said...

Ames-
You REALLY need to! I flipped when the Nick stuff happened!!!!

December 2, 2009 at 3:48 AM