Review: Christina Dodd - Into the Flame

Darkness Choosen:

Book 4:

Into the Flame: Doug Black and Firebird Wilder

Summary:

Three Years ago: Firebird Wilder is in her last semester of school, is about to graduate, has a great man and is going to be a mother. She’s on top of the world, until, she sees her boyfriend and father of her unborn child turn into a golden cougar, unbeknownst to him. Fearing the worst (He is one of the Varinski’s and found her and has been using her for info) Firebird, packs up and leaves school early, never telling Doug that she was leaving or where she was going, or that she was preggers.

Current day: Firebird was just given news that changes her whole life and that of her families. She is not a Wilder; she was switched at birth by one of the Devils minions. All of the sudden, it became clear. Doug the father of her child is actually the Wilders child. She knows at once that she must go find him. For three years Doug has been angry at the loss of Firebird; sure he planned on meeting her for his own gain but he fell so hard for her. And then she just disappeared. When he finally locates her, she is back with her family but it appears that they have her on lockdown. So he naturally thinks the worst of the family. Firebird finds Doug in s sleepy town not far from her home in Washington. Terribly nervous she is not sure how to break the news that not only does she know who his parents are but that he is a father. When she gets to his home he is not there so naturally she breaks in. Doug is pissed with her for being in his home, even more he realizes the sparks are still flying between them, than she tells him that he is a father. Now he is even more pissed, but a part of him still wants to figure it all out and be a family with Firebird. Doug and Firebird have has less than 12 hours together and have not even come close to figuring anything out, or spilling the secrets that would change everything. Immediately upon their return from dinner, they are overtaken by Varinski’s. Firebird and Doug know it is not likely that they will come out of this alive there are just too many of them.

Review:

So many betrayals and so many secrets... So much pain could have been avoided if 24 years ago, a bitter old lady hadn’t made a pact with the devil. But then if she hadn’t Firebird and Doug may never have met. With these two nothing seems to go right, if it’s not one thing it’s another and if they had just talked it out in the beginning and not held secrets would things have been different for these two?  As this is primarily Firebirds and Doug’s book, it is also the conclusion of the series, so all of the buildup of the last three books for the war between the Varinski’s and the Wilders come to fruition in this novel. The battle between good and evil and it is a doozy! Everything is riding on this and the Wilders are horribly outnumbered and it doesn’t look good for them. There is plenty of action and twists and turns within this novel to keep you entertained! C. Dodd does not skimp out on the final battle and keeps you on the edge of your seat with plenty of unexpected twists. So the series has come to an end and I find myself thinking that I’m going to miss the Wilders, so I think I’ll have to revisit them from time to time.

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Review: Christina Dodd - Into the Shadow

Darkness Chosen:

Book 3:

Into the Shadow: Adrik Wilder AKA Warlord and Karen Sonnet

 

Summary:

Seventeen years ago, Adrik turned his back on his family and embraced his wild side. He found himself in Asia where he started making a name for himself as Warlord.

Two years ago, Karen Sonnet was on site as the construction manager for her father Adventure Hotels on the side of the Anaya Mountain, where people go to climb natures wildest but never return the same or whole. All her life she has wanted to make her father proud and strived to be the best, but this job might just be the death of her; nothing is going right, except the nightly visits from her mystery lover. Warlord saw Karen in the train station and just knew that she would be His! Under the cover of darkness he visits her tent.  One early morning one of Kerens men runs into a burial site, when Karen looks in she sees a small child that literally opens its eyes and looks directly at her, when it’s eyes close, the bones crumble and left underneath the remains is a small tile of the Virgin Mary, Karen realizes that she must protect the Virgin Mary at all costs, she knows that she was chosen.  Almost immediately following the mountain side starts coming down around her. Looking up a man on a bike is coming down to rescue her, hoping on the back of the bike, she realizes this is her mystery lover. What she didn’t realize was that he was going to take her hostage. Warlord is more evil than good, but he knows that he needs Karen; something about her makes him want to be good. Karen is having no part of being held captive! All she needs to do is get away.

Present Day:

For two years Karen has been looking over her shoulder for Warlord, when he let her go he said he would find her and she believed him. After her captivity, she returned home to her father, and that didn’t go so well, so she left and took a year to herself. Now she is a successful events coordinator at a Spa and Hotel, she has finally rebuilt her life on the ashes that was Asia. Now a handsome man named Rick Wilder comes into the hotel and she immediately senses a kinship to Warlord, immediately weary, she is somehow convinced to stay. Rick woos her, and her uneasiness starts to wan, until he kisses her. Warlord was held captive by a Varinski, sadistically tortured until he was begging for death. The only thing that got him through was Karen. He had to get back to his Karen. Upon his escape, he knew he had to change his life, to embrace the good, and he set out to do exactly that. Now he is different and ready to reclaim his woman. Only to have the Varinski, find her the same time he did. Will he have to embrace the dark to save them both?

Review:

So I loved this book, I am not sure what exactly grabbed me, but it did! I picked this book up and did not put it down until it was finished. It kept me up all night! So, Warlord is as intense and Jasha was, but he was still likeable even though he leaned towards evil, but there is just a glimmer of what he could be. When he returns he is fascinating mix between the new good Rick and the old bad Warlord and it had me hooked. Not that I would have minded being Warlords captive forcing orgasm after orgasm on me. That would have been so rough, lol! But I understood Karen’s point of being considered a slave. My feminist sensibilities would have been up in arms as well. And Karen certainly knew how to take care of herself. Her “father” made sure of that. She could survive in the harsh Himalayas on her own, shot, fly, hunt, etc… I want to be Karen when I grow up! I can’t even change a tire on my car. HAHA! The clash of wills between these two will certainly keep you glued to the pages. I give it two thumbs up and I bet I’ll be rereading this one in my future!

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Review: Christina Dodd - Touch of Darkness

Darkness Chosen:

Book 2:

Touch of Darkness: Rurik Wilder and Tasya Hunnicutt

Summary:

Rurik Wilder thinks he has finally found what he has spent years looking for, the Icon that can save his family. According to all of his research as an archeologist it all points to this one grave site in Scotland. When treasure chest is found while he is back home in Washington, he rushes to the grave site, only to find it swarming with reporters and the Photo Journalist Tasya Hunnicutt… They shared one night of bliss, when she left him in the middle of the night while he was sleeping. Didn’t she know that she is His!?!  Tasya is so close to getting the proof she needs that the Varinskis are the rappers, murders, mercenaries they have been accused of but never brought to trial.. All she needs is the Varinski family icon that should be in this grave. When Rurik removes the treasure chest from the ruins and opens the chest both Rurik and Tasya are holding their breath in expectation, only to come up with jewels but no icon.  Both in the early morning light end up back at the dig, unknowingly looking for the same thing for different reasons. While they are working they are prematurely interrupted by… Varinskis. Both Tasya and Rurik think that the Varinskis have finally caught up with them, but when they start setting charges Rurik realizes that they are going to blow the grave site and everything in it, including Rurik and Tasya. While they were running the tunnel caved in on Rurik and Tasya, but by the grace of God, Rurik manages to free them, but now they are on the run. Time, memories, secrets and Varinskis are not on their side and they will probably not escape this alive and with the Icon.

Review:

This book didn’t quite have the same heat and sizzle as the first book, it kind of starts off slow and doesn’t seem to really get going until about a third of the way through. Rurik is not quite as intense as his brothers an in fact made a pact with himself to not embrace his inner bird and has not taken flight in over 5 years, until his and Tasya’s life depended on it. Now in this book we do see more Varinski action. It’s like they realized that they underestimated the Wilders and start sending men in force. And the situation looks pretty dire for Tasya and Rurik and you will probably shed a few tears, I know I teared up. Rurik is more likable than his brother and his feelings for Tasya don’t feel as forced as they did with Jasha and Anne, it just lacked some of the intensity I thought Rurik would have being a Wilder. Tasya, is a lot stronger of a character than Anne was, she is fiercely independent and a world traveler as well as on some countries persona non grata lists for her photo journalism. She is a female that kicks butt and doesn’t lack for a self esteem and you find out a cool twist with Tasya towards the end.

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Review: Christina Dodd - Scent of Darkness

Darkness Chosen:

Book 1:

Scent of Darkness: Jasha Wilder and Anne Smith

Summary:

A 1000 years ago the first Konstantine made a deal with the Devil for certain gifts that made him more than man. Every male (There are no females, except one) in his line for the next 1000 years inherits an extended life, the ability to shape shift into a predator animal, and accelerated healing. The wildness, ruthlessness, and murderous tendencies were already apart of the line, and the new abilities just made it all that more easy to murder, rape and cause other mayhem. This continues to this day with the exception of the current Konstantine. Konstantine met and fell in love with a Romani gypsy, and together they fled to the wilderness of Washington State where they remained unfound until now.

 Jasha Wilder is cursed or gifted (depending on how you want to look at it) by a Pact with the Devil. Jasha owns and operated Wilder Wines, which is a very successful winery, he also happens to be a wolf shifter. No one other than family knows Jasha’s secret until his unsuspecting administrative assistant finds him in wolf form. Anne has been in love with Jasha since she started at his company four years ago, she quickly moved up the ranks from a regular security to Jasha’s Admin where she has been ever since. In a desperate attempt to finally get Jasha to notice her as a woman, she goes to his Washington wilderness home, where she plans to seduce him… Soon after her arrival to an empty house Anne hears something downstairs, what she finds is horrifying! She sees a wolf but it soon starts changing into a man.. into Jasha. Scared out of her mind, she runs… Which is the last thing she should have done. Thrilled by the chase Jasha sets out after her. During Anne’s fleeing she falls and lightning strikes revealing a small icon of the Virgin Mary in pristine condition. When Jasha catches up to Anne he is aroused beyond belief and he sees her in a way he has never seen her before. In the rain and lightning things go further than they should but there is no going back from there. With the next day comes a new revelation. The Wilders murderous cousins from Russia have finally found them and now Jasha and Anne must flee for their very lives.

Review:

Ok, so the main characters are exactly the most likeable characters I’ve ever come across in a novel, you don’t hate them but they are not necessarily relatable. Jasha can be pretty primitive and is not the most sensitive of males, although considering everything this is not unexpected. Anne tends to be a bit of a doormat but she does end up finding her backbone by the end of the book. And I don’t blame Anne for doubting Jasha’s claim of love, it does seem very convenient. Ok, now that I’ve said all of that, I could not put the book down. The action starts from the first chapter and keeps on going. Sometimes the first book of a series can be slow while everything is being set up, not so with this book. You are grabbed from the first chapter and it does not let you go. The passion is intense, primitive and exciting! Jasha takes what he wants and Anne is helpless but to give him what he wants, I mean how can you really say no, to such an animalistic primitive need. It’s just such a turn on! So on a different note, Jasha’s family is a big part of the story. You cannot help but love his parents, and are intrigued by his siblings. I would really like a prequel of Jasha’s parent’s story, C. Dodd gives you some little snippets but it’s just enough to intrigue you and make you wish for some more. Anne has a secret that is alluded to through the whole book up until the end, it is somewhat anti-climatic after the build up, but for me it didn’t really detract from the story because it was in the middle of other drama.  I am going to rate this book a 4, and the only reason I am rating it a 4 instead of a 5 is because where as I am excited to move on in the series, I do not think I will ever return to this book for a re-read.

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