Dance with the Devil
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Another favourite from Sherrilyn Kenyon. Zarek is an interesting and complex character and the reference to 'The Little Prince' is fab.
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A great book!
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This is my favourite book in the darkhunter series.
It can be very deep and sad at times but it also has its funny moments.
Its the story of Zarek the darkhunter and Astrid the woman who was sent to judge whether he should be allowed to live.
Zarek is a great character very emotionally scarred but absolutely wonderful and it shows how good he really is that he can still display acts of kindness after all hes been through.
This is not the first book in the series and although the can just be read as an independent book you will discover more about the characters if you read them in order (also the outcomes of earlier storylines are mentioned in later books)
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Captivated by its mushy sentimentality.
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I was quite surprised by how teary I became whilst reading some of the end chapters. Sniff. The problem with Zarek is that, in this novel, he actually does nothing to deserve his stone reputation or how bad the other Death-Hunters treat him. People will say, `Oh, you need to read some of the other novels in the series to find out.' Well, no I shouldn't have to. That information should be in THIS book.
Zarek's supposed to be a mean nasty killer but he saves the mink mummy and gives carvings to orphanages. How come those all-seeing b.o.z.o.s on Olympus don't know these facts? For whatever reason, Zarek seems to like to victimise himself. Although, to quote someone, you'd have to have a heart of stone not to laugh out loud at some of the scenes of his suffering. We weren't even told about the act of vengeance he committed when he became a DH. Sadly without an occupation, he'll most likely get bored stiff living with those gods. I got heartily sick of all that bad-boy biker imagery too. Nice to see a couple in a paranormal treat each other with respect though.
Poor Simi. She learned a hard lesson from Thanatos.
I'm hooked. And it was the mush, and the fact that everyone gets redeemed that did it for me.
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I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!
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This has to be my favourite of the DH series so far, and I've read almost all of them! This story is particularly beautiful because we find out about Zarek, one of the darkest of the Dark Hunters.
In this story, we find out what has shaped Zarek's wild character and why it is he seems to have a death wish. The illegitimate son of Valerius, a Roman general, Zarek is abused and betrayed throughout his young life and grows to hate everything and everyone. When he is transformed into a Dark Hunter by the goddess Artemis, he reeks vengeance on all those who abused him. But he is wild and mean spirited and no one, it seems, can control him. Even the great Acheron, head of the Dark Hunters, has a hard time keeping him in line.
But then, as in all DH novels, he meets who is to be the love of his life, Astrid who, unknown to Zarek, has been sent by Artemis, who wants him dead, to judge him unfit as a DH and kill him. However, justice, as we know, is 'blind' and Astrid comes to earth as a 'blind' person living in a cabin in the middle of a snowstorm (which she creates so she can get to 'know' Zarek).
Needless to say, as in all the DH novels, tortured soul meets angelic soul and falls in love. But what I loved about this story is that Zarek really does have a fight on his hands, with himself mainly. His childhood memories are horrific and the violence he suffered at the hands of his father and siblings brought me to tears. I almost couldn't blame him for his adult behaviour. He doesn't understand physical or verbal gentleness because he's never received it and, through Astrid, has to learn what it is. And accepting Astrid's unconditional gentleness is almost too painful for him. But, of course, he does learn and is subsequently redeemed.
This book is tragic, heart-breaking, very sexy and sensual, funny - especially Astrid's companion, 'guard wolf', Sasha - and will delight all the senses. It did mine, anyway.
Of course this is a formulaic SK story. So what! It's the journey to redemption we care about. And... there's, a surprising little twist too. I won't spoil it for you...
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Zarek the troubled Darkhunter
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I only have one criticism of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Darkhunter stories....THEY DON'T COME OUT FAST ENOUGH! This is by far my favourite book of the Darkhunter series. I think it is because although Zarek featured in other books he wasn't portrayed as a possible leading character and so it was a complete shock when I read Dance with the Devil and SK did such a good job of redeeming him. I agree with the reviewer from Margate and have read this book a few times. I would recommend that other readers read one of SK's earlier books first. I read Night Play first and although each book can stand on its own, I spent a lot of time confused or skipping over bits I did not understand. I also spent a lot of money purchasing books second hand to gain the whole series. If you have trouble getting these books, skip Fantasy Lover (it is related but not essential) and go for Night Pleasures or Night Embrace first.
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