The Darkest Heart

Sonja Blue is a vampire with an extremely bad attitude. Ever resentful of the act that took away her future as a human being and left her mind at war with itself, Sonja has chosen to make vampires her preferred victims. She and here silver switchblade have gained a black reputation in an underworld full of dark reputations. Most 'pretenders' have heard of her, and those that prey on humans have every reason to fear her. Perhaps the people who should really fear her are the humans that penetrate Sonja's isolation and, for an inevitably short time become something like lovers. Sonja, who spends most of her emotional resources seeking revenge and fighting for control over the 'other' that shares her mind, has little left for partners. Darkest Heart is the story of two such men. The first of this is Judd. Fans of Sonja will recognize the short story that begins this novel. Judd was attracted to Sonja because he liked her as a human, not for the dark horror that lay within. For Sonja this was overwhelming, but her coping mechanisms are self destructive and the relationship ends in disaster. The novel itself tells the story of Jack Estes, a vampire hunter himself, who joins up with Sonja to hunt the vampire that killed his father. For Sonja, who doesn't take lovers or partners any longer, the connection is full of anxiety and doubt. But this is an opportunity to take on a vampire noble in the security of his own lair. And of course, there is something more. Other than her lust for blood Estes and Sonja have much in common. This mutual understanding becomes impossible to resist. Collins makes a point in her afterword of declaring that this is her last Sonja Blue novel. So far, this seems to be the case. Yet, by itself, Darkest Heart seems incomplete, begging for a sequel. The writing is erratic, and the reader will sense that there really is some level of internal dissatisfaction that drives the story. Collins wants to be more than a writer of quirky vampire novels, and it is impossible to blame her. On hopes that at some point in her development Collins returns to complete this stories unfinished business. Sonja deserves more than the lingering, endless dark.

I thought this story was very compelling. I enjoyed the characters and the flow of the entire read was right up my alley.