Author: Brittany Pate

Genre:  Paranormal/ Romance

Note: I was provided a free review copy of this book from the publisher.

Synopsis: Embyr has spent most of her life protecting her true identify, and preventing her heart from becoming vulnerable.  She has had to learn how to live as a normal human, since she is after all, half demon.  Embyr is independent, extremely private, owns her own Tavern, and makes her own rules. That is until Ryder comes along, and threatens her entire existence.  Suddenly out of nowhere Embyr’s life changes, and she is caught in the middle of a dirty war.  She is forced to leave behind the life she has created for herself to try to safely unleash the power that lays dormant within her.  While attempting to harness and control this power, she continues to fight the ever so rapidly growing feeling towards a man that is known to bring nothing but havoc, harm and even death to many, a man known as ‘Death’ himself.

Ryder, has spent centuries also shutting down his heart while tracking down the vampire that killed the one and only human he has ever loved. He is thrown for a loop when Embyr suddenly starts to awaken feeling in him that he has not felt in hundreds of years.  Ryder must learn to deal with these new emotions, and he must do so while still managing a fortress, and keeping the streets safe by hunting down and killing vampires.

It is not until Embyr falls under the protection of Ryder that she learns of his true natures, the real meaning behind his escapades, and why he is known as ‘Death’  Embyr must learn to decipher what is a lie, and what is real, and she must do so while protecting her heart.

My Review: This is an excellent Fantasy/Romance!

I was not sure what I was to expect when I first started this book.  About 30 pages into the story I was so hooked with no chance of finishing anything else in my life, until this book was done.  It is a steamy read, but it’s also got that Paranormal/fantasy element to it, which adds so much more to the book then just your typical romance.

The book most delivered in its promise as a romance novel.

This is a fast read, and that is because once you start, you literally will not put this book down until its finished.  It will consume you.  The story line is so interesting with all the vampires, demons, assassins and other non-worldly creatures all at war, but the main emphasis of the story is the romantic passion between Embyr and Ryder.  This book is more about the Romance then the worlds created in the book.

I liked how the story developed Embyr and Ryder’s relationship.  The relationship progressed well, and it kept me rooting for them to be together the entire time. I even got upset at times when Lorin tried to intervene, but he redeemed himself so Lorin is still in my good books!

The connection between Embyr and Ryder is instant, its deep, and you can certainly feel their passion.  It’s a love/hate relationship as they each have things about one another that they cannot stand!  This makes it rather comical and typical of most relationships.   I enjoyed the ride alongside both them as they each discovered new feelings for each other, and learnt new things about themselves in the process.

My favorite character was Ryder.  I enjoyed learning about his past, and why he is so greatly feared by everyone who knows of him.  I think that Ryder’s mask was very import, and symbolized his protective nature.   Ryder’s mask was more than just his security blanket.  He wears that mask every day, and nobody ever sees his true identify, until of course Embyr asks him to take it off.  Removing the mask, reveals more than just his face, it also reveals, in my opinion, Ryder’s true feelings for Embyr, even though he does not know what those feeling are at first.  The only thing about Ryder’s character that I did not particularly like was the jealousy/possessiveness trait, as he often referred to Embyr as ‘mine’.  However, the possessiveness that Ryder had over Embyr made it all the more intriguing to me.

One scene involving Embyr really stands out to me.  Embyr’s pain at having to destroy the young vampire during one of the nightly escapades felt real. She was torn between having to do the right thing, even if the right thing meant she had to something that she never thought herself capable of all her life.  Her anguish over this situation was rather sad, and I felt that anguish.

I do not recommend this book to young readers due to some of the explicit sexual scenes being extremely detailed.  However, I do recommend this book to anyone over the age of 18 who is looking for a steamy, very quick, fun, and romantic read!

I did find the book to be somewhat predictable at times, but that did not take away from how great the book was.

Overall, I really liked this book a lot! A very enjoyable book that kept me turning the pages!  The ending was perfect, beautifully wrapped up in a silver bow.