3.5 Darkness Stars

Ahh well my rating has changed re reading this one. I really enjoyed the series as a whole and since I am getting down to the last few books, I am being a little more picky.

Don’t get me wrong I am not one of those people who pick apart books but I just felt this one went on a little too long.
Kind of felt like, “The lady doth protest too much.” And that can go for Darkness as well.

I understand secrets and what not, and why they were both keeping them. But I don’t know there just was a point where I was over it and wanted the story to progress.

It’s still a sweet HEA and you get to see a lot of characters from previous books. And we get to interact with the children of the NSO finally. A little more on that was really neat.

Darkness and Fury’s connection was one I am glad was brought to light. Trust isn't something Darkness gives away at all you really have to earn it. And Fury wouldn't back down. I love that about Fury.

Again I am going to go all gushy over the narrator because she does a fanatic job with all of these audios!

*You don't have to like my review but its 100% my opinion, and I am allowed to have it.*

17 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

She is stepping up her game

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I actually would. I have been an avid fan of the series even though i have found a few of these books daunting and have been tempted to skip through chapters but this book actually drew me in, the characters were a bit more in depth and enjoyable.

What other book might you compare Darkness to and why?

I think the closest to the type of book is Fury he wants to not want her but it is impossible

Which scene was your favorite?

The best scene i feel was when the Heroine pretty much pulls a gun on the agents and doesn't cower or when she starts with a Bomb blast like its a typical Tuesday.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It really was i only took two days to listen to the whole thing which is pretty quick for me. I didn't want to drag it out the last two hours were pressing i wanted to skip a bit in the middle but other than that it was intriguing

Any additional comments?

I think the author is stepping up her game, the characters are becoming more in depth and i am hoping she keeps it up. I want her to bring in Breezes story and hopefully Trey with a gift because i think that will really add something to the mix that is different than the alpha male species book.

13 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

TOTALLY ADDICTING SERIES

Darkness is definitely in the top 5 of the best stories from the New Species series! I'd been waiting for Darkness ever since he was introduced several books ago. He wasn't even a prominent character in the preceding books, but, just the cameos of him left an impression. His sarcastic broody nature throughout the book, made me laugh out loud sometimes; and Kat was just the type of woman to take him on. They're officially one of my favorite 'book couples'. The storyline was intriguing and kept my interest throughout. Overall, Laurann Dohner does an excellent job of writing hilarious and sexy dialogue, that seems to be the staple with New Species. Great narration, even though there's not much variation, New Species series is a stand out for me. I highly recommend this book and series!

12 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Pretty good addition to the series :)

3.5-4 stars

***Warning of slight spoiler info as I plan to tell who Kat works for and her mission at Homeland***

This was a pretty good story. I liked Kat and thought she was a pretty good herine. I liked Darkness as well but he was so determined to keep his heart closed that I wanted to hit him upside the head numerous times.

Kat is a FBI agent who's married to her job. She loves her work but recently she got a new boss and he's a real jerk. Kat lives in a house with her BFF and doesn't have much of a life outside of her friend and her work.

Darkness is a NS male that had a very horrible life until the NS were freed. All the NS were treated badly but Darkness experienced some extra bad stuff that made him unwilling to engage in any close personal relationships (not friends or lovers).

Kat is sent to Homeland by her boss to find a someone. He wants her to find this guy and try to help him escape Homeland if she finds him. Kat thinks her boss is slime and fully intends to file a complaint about him because (1) she shouldn't be getting sent in to Homeland undercover and (2) she thinks that the mission is actually personally motivated and not a real mission. Kat is told to go for 2 weeks undercover as a forensic lab tech that's at Homeland to teach them forensic crime techniques. Kat decides she'll treat the trip like a vacation, go to Homeland and teach the class and not do any of the extra work that her boss wanted her to achieve. Her plans get a little messed up because as she's waiting to enter Homeland, some protesters that mean harm to the NSO decide to attack the gates in an armored van. Kat ends up saving the day but her actions make her identity as a forensic scientist rather unlikely.

Darkness is at the gates when the attack happens and he immediately arrests Kat, deciding that she might be in cahoots with the bad guys and even is she isn't, it seems unlikely that she is who she says she is. He tries to interrogate her but he's strongly attracted to her and she ends up kind of convincing him to use seduction to get answers out of her rather than other (more angry) methods. While this is going on, the NSO finds out FBI sent Kat in for an unknown reason and decide to see what she's up to so they act like they've bought her story and let her teach. Darkness decides to keep an eye on her and soon they're having issues fighting their attraction. They decide to have a secret sex-only relationship and Kat starts out thinking she's ok with that but soon she starts having deeper feelings for Darkness. Darkness keeps her at arms length even though he's growing more protective and possessive of her daily. Unfortunately, because of his past, Darkness pushed Kat away a lot and ends up putting her through a lot of drama and some danger as well. Thankfully, Kat's a good heroine with a level head on her shoulders and when things go wrong she's able to do what needs to be done. Darkness and Kat work things out and finish the story starting a HEA together.

Overall, this was an enjoyable story. I liked Kat and Darkness separately and liked them better together. I did get a bit annoyed with Darkness's issues and the pain they caused Kat but was happy he was able to get past them. This was a good addition to the series and I'd recommend this story. :D

9 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Fun series

Any additional comments?

I love this series. Darkness will tie with Valient for #3 best. Justice #1, Fury #2. (But read them in order!) There were a few books that were not good (Obsidian and Shadow) and a few that were weak (Brawn and Moon) but they all ended strong. The way Laurann writes the male part is what keeps me reading and rereading. Darkness returns to a stronger heroine and tortured hero. Reader calmed down her valley girl impression of some of the books. Enjoy!

9 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

As Usual, Awesome Book

The 12th book already. Love this series. Laurann Dohner does a wonderful job of giving us a unique story for each of her New Species books. Vanesa Chambers does a wonderful job of relaying Laurann's characters and bringing them to life. Awesome book, just like all the others.

8 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Interogate me Darkness!!!!

FBI special agent, that is what Kat is....of course New Species can't know that. She has been sent in undercover to Homeland to search for information and help a prisoner escape if possible. Too bad she blew her cover the first 5 minutes she was there!

Darkness has a very shady past filled with lies and deception and will never trust a human female again. When he finds a female FBI agent posing as a simple lab tech he is furious! It's his past coming back to haunt him, another woman who can't be trusted. He can't stand to see any female abused though so agrees to take over the interrogation. This pretend kitty "KAT" has another thing coming if she thinks she can win against Darkness is a battle of wills.

Lots of great parts this story, we also got some back story on Darkness and in a way Fury. Kat and Darkness were very well matched but there was a bit too much fight in Darkness and some misunderstandings that I didn't like, so it gets 4 stars. I obviously have a new favorite author. Only one more Species book left folks!

Great for Credit/Sale/Buy.

8 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Various stages of dissatisfaction

What would have made Darkness better?

Better story line is needed. I laughed at the reasons the heroine decided the things she did and scoffed at the believability of a women FBI agent supposedly hard-nosed and tough and the dark brooding past pain inflicted emotionally screwed up hero. The story needed to be believable outside the sex. but the talk of the characters makes it very silly and fake. The reader is like a Valley girl trying to do a sex book. she made the male hero sound like a tough school kid, not a man who mastered his past and was in control of his present and commanding others.

Has Darkness turned you off from other books in this genre?

I love books on species mutations, it is interesting and modern. But this writer falls apart on the storyline. Maybe straight sex books without story lines would be better for her. Lora Leigh is a species type sex writer who is great at writing stories. We need believable stories. I am not going to purchase another one of this authors books.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Vanessa Chambers?

i think that a woman with a lower voice would do better when it comes doing a man. there are alot of speech from the male side...he needs to sound like what his description has been written like. Dark, savage, controlled.
Susan Eriksen is a good one.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

the sex is good. if you want to just read the sex parts to add spice in your love life then just read/listen to those pages.

8 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

I didn't love it.

This series gets great reviews so I was excited to listen. I thought the story was Ok and I liked the female character but Darkness was a jerk and not love able. There was nothing about their relationship that was good, except the sex. I wish there was more of a connection. I kept rooting for her to meet someone else

7 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

I love this series

Would you consider the audio edition of Darkness to be better than the print version?

I do not think one medium is better than the other. Listening versus reading offers a different experience. For me, audibles are always about the performance. If you don't have a good narrator, then it can ruin the story. A bad story will be bad wether you read it or listen to it, but a great story can come off bad if the narrator has no talent. And there are a lot of narrators that are horrible. I am thankfull that Vannessa Chambers is a great narrator and I first discovered this series on audibles, so I have experienced every one of them in this medium.

Which character – as performed by Vanessa Chambers – was your favorite?

The question here should be; How was the narrators performance? Vannessa does a great job performing this series. Doing multiple voices is difficult and this series just continues to grow with people, so over time, some of the characters will sound similar. I am amazed though, that she keeps them all different within each book. That is a lot of character voices. I hope Vanessa stays with the series.

Any additional comments?

In previous installments, we got to know Darkness a bit and knew he would be a tough nut to crack. Putting him up against a female FBI agent was genious. This is one of the writer's strenghts. She creates the perfect female character for each New Species Male. A counter part if you will. A lot of erotic writers fill in every book with the same female character which gets boring very quickly. There is a lot of action and intrique in this story, and the two main characters go through a lot of pushing and pulling to work things out. One of the things I love about the NS males is their protective nature that comes to the fore when faced with a mate, almost from the moment they meet. Darkness fights his feelings to the point of exhaustion, but this is his character. If it was real life and he was a friend or family member, I could see myself giving him grief just like Fury. lol

I think the biggest negative with this story was some of the things that the heroine did or did not do that screamed she was no FBI agent. She was not on her guard when she should have been and overlooked things that she should have caught. I will not go into detail due to spoilers. I am sure this was to make her a bit more vulnerable for that Damsel in Distress thing, but the author needed to tighten this up more. Overall, another enjoyable installment to the New Species world.

I absolutely love these characters that keep recurring in every book and the progression of the people and their community. They are such a great family and with each book, the fans of the series get to form a closer bond with all of them. Just remove the sex and we would have a great sci fi tv show.

Some of the characters that I hope get their own stories; Flame, Snow, Torment, Jade, Brass, and a new one - Wager. Since the author keeps adding new male characters, I am sure my list will grow. Flame is my number one pick though as he has been around the longest and I really want him to get his own book. You can't go wrong with this series. Can't wait for the next book.

7 personnes ont trouvé cela utile