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lienwynvarras 's review for:
Dark Desires
by Eve Silver
This book wasn't terrible, but it frustrated me so much that I can't really call it good, either. I've read another book by this author (in the same series) that I enjoyed a lot more, to the point where I'm actually a little confused. How could these books be written by the same author? Then again, the setting and plot are quite different, not to mention that they were published two years apart.
In short, this was a romance with a murder mystery, and the latter was handled pretty poorly. Not only was it convoluted and needlessly complex, but Darcie jumped to conclusions all the time. Also, there were some clues that were just... left hanging. Am I to assume that the scalpel really was planted at the brothel by the murderer? Or did Damien forget it there when he performed the abortion on Mayne? I never got that explained, but the engraved scalpel was one of the main reasons that the police came and questioned Damien. It felt like an important clue, but apparently not?
Sidenote: there must have been something wrong with my book. Chapter 13 ended with Darcie going to bed and chapter 14 suddenly starts with her at the police station. I have no idea how she got there and what the start of the conversation between her, Damien and the inspector looked like. There must have been some pages or passages missing, but how that happens in an e-book, I have no idea.
Also, while Darcie was an expert at assuming things and pointing fingers, that apparently didn't stop her from jumping into bed with Damien. She didn't have any proof of him having done anything, no, but the book kept eluding to it, wanting us and her to THINK that he had. Even before she had sex with him, she suspected him of a) murder, b) grave robbing, c) attempting to strangle her friend Mary. But never so much that it stopped her from falling in love with him. And just... that felt so jarring?
The book kept trying to build Damien up as a spooky, dangerous guy, but all it did was make Darcie look stupid for having sex with him. Who in their right mind would have sex with the man you suspect of having tried to strangle your friend? Are you really that horny? Also, not once did Damien come across as particularly scary to me. Everyone kept telling me that he was — Damien included — but few of them had a good reason. Or were trying to be coy and not explain their reasons, for no other reason than to make it more spooky. But people don't do that.
There's just so much I don't understand. Why did Mary refuse to tell Darcie about who attacked her? She didn't know he was the murderer, did she? Why did Abigail insist on Damien being dangerous when he'd spent years helping her and her girls? Why was there so many references to Damien always knowing where Darcie was and having an unnatural ability of showing up where needed, only for that to go nowhere?
To be honest, I would have liked this book more if it had turned out that he was a vampire. Maybe then it would have made more sense that Damien kept sounding like Edward from Twilight with his "I'm dangerous, you shouldn't be with me" spiel. Damien honestly just sounded stupid when saying it, especially since we found out that he's barely done anything wrong in his entire life, but everyone just hates him because... well, fucked if I know? Because he's an anatomist?
Basically, the murder mystery is poorly handled, Damien's character is all over the place, and the romance felt very weird when Darcie suspected Damien of some pretty horrible things but still went to bed with him. It's not a terrible book, as said, but I'd definitely recommend [b:Dark Prince|22895913|Dark Prince|Eve Silver|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1416516899l/22895913._SX50_.jpg|1083223] instead. It's much better at the atmosphere, the dark hero, and has a better overall plot.
In short, this was a romance with a murder mystery, and the latter was handled pretty poorly. Not only was it convoluted and needlessly complex, but Darcie jumped to conclusions all the time. Also, there were some clues that were just... left hanging. Am I to assume that the scalpel really was planted at the brothel by the murderer? Or did Damien forget it there when he performed the abortion on Mayne? I never got that explained, but the engraved scalpel was one of the main reasons that the police came and questioned Damien. It felt like an important clue, but apparently not?
Sidenote: there must have been something wrong with my book. Chapter 13 ended with Darcie going to bed and chapter 14 suddenly starts with her at the police station. I have no idea how she got there and what the start of the conversation between her, Damien and the inspector looked like. There must have been some pages or passages missing, but how that happens in an e-book, I have no idea.
Also, while Darcie was an expert at assuming things and pointing fingers, that apparently didn't stop her from jumping into bed with Damien. She didn't have any proof of him having done anything, no, but the book kept eluding to it, wanting us and her to THINK that he had. Even before she had sex with him, she suspected him of a) murder, b) grave robbing, c) attempting to strangle her friend Mary. But never so much that it stopped her from falling in love with him. And just... that felt so jarring?
The book kept trying to build Damien up as a spooky, dangerous guy, but all it did was make Darcie look stupid for having sex with him. Who in their right mind would have sex with the man you suspect of having tried to strangle your friend? Are you really that horny? Also, not once did Damien come across as particularly scary to me. Everyone kept telling me that he was — Damien included — but few of them had a good reason. Or were trying to be coy and not explain their reasons, for no other reason than to make it more spooky. But people don't do that.
There's just so much I don't understand. Why did Mary refuse to tell Darcie about who attacked her? She didn't know he was the murderer, did she? Why did Abigail insist on Damien being dangerous when he'd spent years helping her and her girls? Why was there so many references to Damien always knowing where Darcie was and having an unnatural ability of showing up where needed, only for that to go nowhere?
To be honest, I would have liked this book more if it had turned out that he was a vampire. Maybe then it would have made more sense that Damien kept sounding like Edward from Twilight with his "I'm dangerous, you shouldn't be with me" spiel. Damien honestly just sounded stupid when saying it, especially since we found out that he's barely done anything wrong in his entire life, but everyone just hates him because... well, fucked if I know? Because he's an anatomist?
Basically, the murder mystery is poorly handled, Damien's character is all over the place, and the romance felt very weird when Darcie suspected Damien of some pretty horrible things but still went to bed with him. It's not a terrible book, as said, but I'd definitely recommend [b:Dark Prince|22895913|Dark Prince|Eve Silver|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1416516899l/22895913._SX50_.jpg|1083223] instead. It's much better at the atmosphere, the dark hero, and has a better overall plot.