Darkness Unknown

I enjoy the very different [almost:] immortals and the situation which they face - fighting [usually:] crazed alien invaders from a world separated from ours by an energy barrier prone to failures triggered by seismic activities. This latest outing is set in the Missouri area, as was the second book Dark Defender. It has the requisite yummy hero [introduced in book 2:] and the heroine he is not supposed to let know about who he is, what he does and why he does it. This is [of course:] complicated for him by falling in love with her AND by the fact she has a half-brother whom she has raised who has the Paladin genetic heritage. She's not going to be happy about the lies and even less happy when he puts a sword in her brother's hand... This another great read from Alexis Morgan. Paladins series: DARK PROTECTOR DARK DEFENDER IN DARKNESS REBORN REDEEMED IN DARKNESS DARKNESS UNKNOWN

Jarvis Donahue is just doing his job as a Paladin when he is ambushed, severely hurt and left to die. Little does Jarvis know that when he wakes up after healing that he will be confronted with what could be more problems. Right now the Paladin's are being stretched almost farther then they can handle in his area. Jarvis has become the informal leader of his group, which means he needs to figure out how not to overextend them and still keep their border strong. Now he can add the woman who found him and her brother to his list of responsibilities. Her dogs alerted Gwen Mosely that something was not right on her property. After following them, she discovers a badly injured man. Gwen is shocked as she watches him begin to heal before her eyes. The only person she has ever seen do that is her half brother. Neither Gwen or her brother knows anything about his father's background and now, just maybe, they can discover something about his genetic background. First Gwen needs to get the unconscious man safely to her house and nurse him back to health. Jarvis and Gwen are attracted to each other but Jarvis believes that Paladins and long-term relationships do not go together and tries to limit how far it goes. Gwen isn't sure why Jarvis is giving her mixed signals, but she does know that he is the answer to her prayers for her brother. Knowledge about his job and past is taken out of his hands when the barrier goes down unexpectedly. Gwen and Jarvis are going to be tested in an extreme way. Can Jarvis and Gwen find a way to balance their need for each other with the reality of Jarvis' world? When you are a member of an unknown group of warriors, how do you have a successful relationship? In Darkness Unknown Jarvis will need to discover the answer. Jarvis is the informal leader of his group of Paladins and that alone should make it impossible to have a love life. Gwen has raised her half brother since the death of their mother. It has left her little time or energy to have an outside life beyond that and running their farm. Gwen and Jarvis come together from extremely different lives but they found an unexpected thing in common. Jarvis was fighting the relationship so hard that I was wondering if he and Gwen would have a chance. Sometimes it takes an expected action to cut through all of the doubts, this is what I discovered happened for Jarvis and Gwen. I had to love when Jarvis and Gwen finally were able to put everything except their love and passion to the side and find a way to be together forever. I was on pins and needles hoping for them while afraid it would not happen. Darkness Unknown has action, sweetness, passion and danger that perfectly mingles from start to finish. Jo Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I have to say that I'm really enjoying this series. It's a little bit different than other paranormal series' out there and I like that. Okay, first the positives.... The characters were all likeable-a definite must if I'm going to put it on my keeper shelf. I don't like it when romantic characters fight through the whole book and then are suddenly 'in love' the last ten pages. Ms Morgan usually has her two main characters like each other right off the bat. A plus in my book. Gwen was a strong heroine, secure in who she is and her place in the world. She's had to make some sacrifices and choices she probably didn't envision, but she made the best of a hard situation and came out better for it. She didn't whine about what could have been, but lived life with grace. Jarvis was honorable and just a really nice guy. He came off as being your 'everyman'. That hardworking jeans and steak kind of guy who will charm you and be your rock. I liked him a lot as a character. The supporting characters are obviously going to have their own books soon, so it was fun to get glimpses into the next personalities and stories. The storyline is basically a romance, meaning there isn't a lot of mystery or suspense here. It's conflicts are more emotional-how Jarvis as an honorable man tries to balance his duty to the paladins with his growing love for Gwen and how they clash. It also deals a bit more with how paladins are as children and very lightly touches on what it's like to have a paladin as a father. I did like that the 'conflict' differed from the other four books as it was starting to get really formulaic (someone betraying them on the inside, the woman taken hostage, etc). This one was different, so that was good. As for the negatives...(and I'd probably take away half a star for them) There were several places in the book where I kept waiting for certain mystery elements to be solved and they never really were. How did the OTher's just appear? where were they going? how come there WEREN"T a rash of murders from the Others who escaped? Who attacked Hunter that badly in the tunnel? The answers given were a little sketchy and rushed. I kept waiting for them to find another cave with access to the barrior or something similiar and it never happened. I was really surprised when I turned the page and the book was over. But, again, the conflict was really focused on the characters, not on outside circumstances. The language. Maybe I'm the only one, but I remember when romance novels weren't peppered with f-, son of a b- and other harsh swear words. I can handle the occaional mild one, but come on! Even the old Shadows line didn't have all this swearing and it bugs me. Writers have untold words to work with-be creative! There must be other terms out there to show your characters are upset, alpha males, etc. It just sounds uneducated when they keep swearing like that all the time. And finally, it's not really a negative, just a little

In the woods next to her farm, Gwen Mosely saves Jarvis Donahue's life when she pulls his unconscious body from a stream, which keeps him from drowning. To her surprise, his wounds heal immediately although she has seen her teenage half-brother Chase pulls off the same effect. She hopes the stranger will be able to answer questions the siblings have about Chase's previously thought of unique skills. Jarvis is shocked when he awakens to find his nurse easily accept his recovery ability. However, what truly stuns him is when he sees Chase; he could be the identical twin of a dead Palladin. As Jarvis and Gwen fall in love, he knows the teen also will soon become a Palladin, which means he must mentor the lad to fight against the Others for the rest of his life. After starting another "dark" saga (see DARK WARRIOR UNLEASHED) Alexis Morgan returns to the Paladins of Darkness universe (see REDEEMED IN DARKNESS, DARK PROTECTOR, DARK DEFENDER and IN DARKNESS REBORN) with a strong entry. The romantic fantasy contains two intriguing lead characters and in many ways an even more fascinating support player whose healing skill comes between them. The story line includes the dark battles between the Palladins and Others, but it is the triangle relationship that makes this a superb thriller. Harriet Klausner

Paladin warrior Jarvis Donohue finds himself in the woods, alone and wounded. Having vanquished all but one escaped Other, he is on the last one's trail. Bleeding, tired, and barely able to stand, Jarvis finds the Other he is after but to his surprise, the alien has brought friends. Gwen Mosely is on the trail of whatever it is that is making her dogs howl so loudly. Following the hounds into the woods on her property, Gwen is astonished to find a bloodied and battered unconscious man. Calling her strong younger brother to help, the two drag the hurt man to their home. There is no way Gwen is leaving the man to die because 1) it is the right thing to do and 2) the man's wounds are miraculously healing as quickly as wounds on her brother have healed. Needing answers for that one thing alone, Gwen begins her nursing duties. Jarvis regains consciousness and realizes that he is no longer bleeding and his red-headed and enchantingly freckled nurse is a beautiful woman. As Gwen begins asking questions about her brother's ability to heal as quickly as Jarvis, he knows he can't give her the answers she seeks. All he can offer is the here and now that their mutual attraction demands. After all, how on Earth will Gwen still love him when she finds out the truth? DARKNESS UNKNOWN is the fifth book in Alexis Morgan's intoxicating Paladins of Darkness series. Just when I thought the story had been told wit the release of Redeemed in Darkness, Ms. Morgan has upped the ante and penned another installment that keep me spellbound and reading for hours. Jarvis Donohue knows that at his age, being revived is getting harder and harder for his handler to accomplish. His uncanny ability to heal intrigues Gwen and Jarvis tries so very hard to not give in to temptation and fall in love. Easier said than done but I loved watching his struggle. Jarvis' infatuation with Gwen's freckles made me shiver more than once and long story short, he made me drool. Gwen's loyalty to her brother is to be commended. Father, mother, sister, and caretaker all rolled into one, Gwen wanted to best for her sibling and strived to achieve that end. Her feelings for Jarvis, while heady and sensuous, are almost innocent in nature. Plain and simple, she loves him. Her qualities and outlook on life are more of a `small town girl' who hasn't been jaded by the bad things in life and that characterization is perfectly suited to the raw masculinity that is Jarvis Donohue. Gwen does not allow her feelings to cloud her judgment and that is another reason why I liked her. She was strong but still retained her femininity. Magical, mystical, and just plain mesmerizing, DARKNESS UNKNOWN is a must read! I am unable to get enough of these sexy warriors and as long as Alexis Morgan tells their stories, I will be first in line to read them! Please note that DARKNESS UNKNOWN, while a complete standalone, is part of a series and as such, I recommend reading the books in the