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calliek927's review
3.0
I'm going to say 3.5 so far... since I got The Darkness Series box set, I'm hoping this next one gets better with a bit more detail.
This first story introduces us to a lot of "magic" and characters... I'm still unsure how I feel about any of them after this, but the book was short enough, so let's see what the next book brings I suppose.
This first story introduces us to a lot of "magic" and characters... I'm still unsure how I feel about any of them after this, but the book was short enough, so let's see what the next book brings I suppose.
lifeinthebooklane's review against another edition
5.0
I've been promising myself I would re-read this series for over a year now. The first time I read it I wasn't writing reviews on here, I knew I had enjoyed this story - why else would I have bought the rest of the series and other books by the author? However exactly why I'd enjoyed it, and whether it would live up to my fuzzy memories, remained to be seen.
I was quite surprised when I got to the end of Into the Darkness, it felt as though we had only just dipped our toes into this strange world found within the shadows of our own. What didn't surprise me was that I couldn't put the book down and was thoroughly caught up by this fast-paced and entertaining story. The only thing Sasha truly knows is that the men in the shadows truly do exist and she might just have found somewhere she can fit in. I adored her, she has a heart of gold and a strong moral streak. Somewhat crumpled around the edges and desperate for someone to love her, though not in a needy way, Sasha utterly stole my heart. Stefan is a brooding menace of a man (or his species equivalent) but one who will defend Sasha with his very life, so he's pretty ok in my book too.
I both felt and believed in the powerful attraction between our two protagonists. More than mere chemistry, this felt like a fated-mates bond, a connection forged beyond destiny and time. However Sasha is already spoken for and Stefan is fighting the attraction with every fibre of his being, so we only get one truly hot and heavy sexy time to enjoy. Fingers crossed that the next book will have more bedroom shenanigans for our reading pleasure.
I have a massively soft spot for Charles, he's like a very annoying younger brother crossed with a horny dog that wants to procreate with virtually anything that moves. I can't wait to see more of him in future books. I'm also looking forward to finding out more about this new world Sasha has stumbled into.
Content Warning - There are several scenes of dubious consent, some of them are presented in quite a light-hearted way but were an important part of setting the scene; giving us insight into these people and their world.
I was quite surprised when I got to the end of Into the Darkness, it felt as though we had only just dipped our toes into this strange world found within the shadows of our own. What didn't surprise me was that I couldn't put the book down and was thoroughly caught up by this fast-paced and entertaining story. The only thing Sasha truly knows is that the men in the shadows truly do exist and she might just have found somewhere she can fit in. I adored her, she has a heart of gold and a strong moral streak. Somewhat crumpled around the edges and desperate for someone to love her, though not in a needy way, Sasha utterly stole my heart. Stefan is a brooding menace of a man (or his species equivalent) but one who will defend Sasha with his very life, so he's pretty ok in my book too.
I both felt and believed in the powerful attraction between our two protagonists. More than mere chemistry, this felt like a fated-mates bond, a connection forged beyond destiny and time. However Sasha is already spoken for and Stefan is fighting the attraction with every fibre of his being, so we only get one truly hot and heavy sexy time to enjoy. Fingers crossed that the next book will have more bedroom shenanigans for our reading pleasure.
I have a massively soft spot for Charles, he's like a very annoying younger brother crossed with a horny dog that wants to procreate with virtually anything that moves. I can't wait to see more of him in future books. I'm also looking forward to finding out more about this new world Sasha has stumbled into.
Content Warning - There are several scenes of dubious consent, some of them are presented in quite a light-hearted way but were an important part of setting the scene; giving us insight into these people and their world.
katyanaish's review
3.0
**2.5**
I liked the story, except...
... the constantly-present, casual treatment of rape.
That's really tough to swallow. And the different race bit doesn't make it better. Given that they view humans as nothing better than cattle or slaves (stealing their money, their blood, their bodies), it makes them appalling. They're basically the vampire equivalent of old plantation owners., but 100 times worse, given that rape seems to be their actual most favorite thing in the world. And while rape without mind-wipe is frowned on (they frown at Jonas... wow, scary), they tolerate it, because meh, humans are so beneath them.
They are basically sociopaths. As a species, they have the emotional development of a serial killer-in-training that abuses puppies.
The fact that the main hero dude wasn't this way (but still didn't do much more than *frown* on the behaviour) was a minor saving grace, and I am reading onward in the hopes that the heroine, who doesn't find this shit acceptable, will demand some changes now that she's being integrated into their world.
*sigh*
I liked the story, except...
... the constantly-present, casual treatment of rape.
That's really tough to swallow. And the different race bit doesn't make it better. Given that they view humans as nothing better than cattle or slaves (stealing their money, their blood, their bodies), it makes them appalling. They're basically the vampire equivalent of old plantation owners., but 100 times worse, given that rape seems to be their actual most favorite thing in the world. And while rape without mind-wipe is frowned on (they frown at Jonas... wow, scary), they tolerate it, because meh, humans are so beneath them.
They are basically sociopaths. As a species, they have the emotional development of a serial killer-in-training that abuses puppies.
The fact that the main hero dude wasn't this way (but still didn't do much more than *frown* on the behaviour) was a minor saving grace, and I am reading onward in the hopes that the heroine, who doesn't find this shit acceptable, will demand some changes now that she's being integrated into their world.
*sigh*
witchylevy's review
4.0
So this may need a content advisory
This is definitely a spicy and adult read. I found it a vexing and delightful taboo world - I prefer even dubious consent to actually be consent.
This is definitely a spicy and adult read. I found it a vexing and delightful taboo world - I prefer even dubious consent to actually be consent.
divapitbull's review against another edition
4.0
Into The Darkness took me by surprise and was an entirely unexpected treat. At first I wasn’t too sure about Sasha our heroine – I thought she was a little too “wise-cracky”, and I mistook her seemingly cavalier attitude for stupidity. Then there was the whole low-rent, Black Dagger Brotherhood parody/knock-off vibe. And when it became clear that our band of merry heroes paid more attention to their dicks than a group of horny teenage boys – whipping them out right in front of God and everybody, at the slightest provocation – I was having serious doubts. Then something happened in the midst of my eye rolling and internal declarations of complete and utter ridiculousness. I laughed. Out loud. My next thought was “this shit is funny." My next thought was accompanied by a lightbulb and went something like “not because it’s so bad it’s funny, it’s SUPPOSED to be funny”! And from that point on I was hooked.
The plot revolves around Sasha, who ever since she was a child, saw mysterious “shadow men” that no one else saw and who has an amazingly spot on sense of intuition. She learned to keep all this intel in her “secret box”; meaning she was smart enough not to give people enough ammunition to label her a whack-job. When the story opens, Sasha is in college and her “secret world” finally collides into the real one – at her sweet boyfriend Jared’s expense.
It seems the band of merry heroes (i.e vampire-like, bigger, better, stronger muscle-bound, non-humans) will take their pleasure wherever they can get it and they get it by throwing off pheromones to sex-up the poor, stupid humans and then wipe their minds of the memories. This is where all the non-con, dub-con sex comes in; and it was not as rapey as I was anticipating from other reviews – and it wasn’t particularly graphic either. I was really expecting “Squeal like a pig” - Deliverance-style; but the tone was absurd not horrifying. The whole atmosphere in general was campy black comedy.
There’s romance from Sasha’s love interest – Stefan – aka “The Boss” – leader of the merry band of horndogs (and what? Horn-bitches? Because the “vampire-like but not-vampires” species has females too – and they're just as randy). But there’s also conflict because even though Sasha has the magic, she’s also human – so…the leader of the pack can’t take up with a glorified toy poodle…or can he?
There’s action and adventure as Sasha unleashes her inner magic to fight monsters from both without and within. Within being the sadistic Jonas who tries to make poor Jared the center of an S&M oriented gang bang. Saving him proves to be a very frustrating endeavor: “Seriously, can everyone stop stroking their penises? It is rude, strange, and distracting all at the same time! Social etiquette people,” I shouted, staring at Jonas.
And when Jonas seems to be getting the upper hand in their magical altercation/WWE throw down: “Can someone stop stroking their damn penis and help me out?” I yelled. “What the hell is wrong with you people? Ever heard of a do-gooder?”
And then there’s the comedic relief of Charles, the newest and youngest member of the merry band of horndogs – who actually has an excuse for having the emotional maturity and self-control of a hormonal teenager because despite being chronologically 30 something; in human years it translates into 16. The Boss assigns Charles to watch over Sasha when he realizes that she has the magic, he can’t stop thinking about her, and apparently neither can his enemies. And lucky Sasha gets to wake up to the sights & sounds of:
“Are you *masturbating*?”
Charles shook his head with a dramatic eye blink, ending with wide, disbelief filled eyes. “I’m certainly not trying to rip my cock off. What else would I be doing with it?”
He also knits, and is really quite endearing in a clueless, completely lacking in all social graces kid brother sort of way. He and Sasha have a fun brother/sister banter/vibe going; despite that he constantly tries to get in her pants.
In summary – definitely not for everyone – but for those who can see the humor; it’s a light, easy, absurdly ridiculous and funny story. I’m hooked!
The plot revolves around Sasha, who ever since she was a child, saw mysterious “shadow men” that no one else saw and who has an amazingly spot on sense of intuition. She learned to keep all this intel in her “secret box”; meaning she was smart enough not to give people enough ammunition to label her a whack-job. When the story opens, Sasha is in college and her “secret world” finally collides into the real one – at her sweet boyfriend Jared’s expense.
It seems the band of merry heroes (i.e vampire-like, bigger, better, stronger muscle-bound, non-humans) will take their pleasure wherever they can get it and they get it by throwing off pheromones to sex-up the poor, stupid humans and then wipe their minds of the memories. This is where all the non-con, dub-con sex comes in; and it was not as rapey as I was anticipating from other reviews – and it wasn’t particularly graphic either. I was really expecting “Squeal like a pig” - Deliverance-style; but the tone was absurd not horrifying. The whole atmosphere in general was campy black comedy.
There’s romance from Sasha’s love interest – Stefan – aka “The Boss” – leader of the merry band of horndogs (and what? Horn-bitches? Because the “vampire-like but not-vampires” species has females too – and they're just as randy). But there’s also conflict because even though Sasha has the magic, she’s also human – so…the leader of the pack can’t take up with a glorified toy poodle…or can he?
There’s action and adventure as Sasha unleashes her inner magic to fight monsters from both without and within. Within being the sadistic Jonas who tries to make poor Jared the center of an S&M oriented gang bang. Saving him proves to be a very frustrating endeavor: “Seriously, can everyone stop stroking their penises? It is rude, strange, and distracting all at the same time! Social etiquette people,” I shouted, staring at Jonas.
And when Jonas seems to be getting the upper hand in their magical altercation/WWE throw down: “Can someone stop stroking their damn penis and help me out?” I yelled. “What the hell is wrong with you people? Ever heard of a do-gooder?”
And then there’s the comedic relief of Charles, the newest and youngest member of the merry band of horndogs – who actually has an excuse for having the emotional maturity and self-control of a hormonal teenager because despite being chronologically 30 something; in human years it translates into 16. The Boss assigns Charles to watch over Sasha when he realizes that she has the magic, he can’t stop thinking about her, and apparently neither can his enemies. And lucky Sasha gets to wake up to the sights & sounds of:
“Are you *masturbating*?”
Charles shook his head with a dramatic eye blink, ending with wide, disbelief filled eyes. “I’m certainly not trying to rip my cock off. What else would I be doing with it?”
He also knits, and is really quite endearing in a clueless, completely lacking in all social graces kid brother sort of way. He and Sasha have a fun brother/sister banter/vibe going; despite that he constantly tries to get in her pants.
In summary – definitely not for everyone – but for those who can see the humor; it’s a light, easy, absurdly ridiculous and funny story. I’m hooked!
cm636's review against another edition
4.0
Not your average vampire story. I'm very intrigued. I'd like to find out where this story is going.. it's quite promising!