Into the Shadow (Darkness Chosen, Book 3)

Christina Dodd's characters are strong, stubborn, interesting, and fun. Some romances have rather cardboard male leads, but hers, thankfully, do not. The background plot regarding the Varinski and Wilder families, the pact with the devil, and the prophecy to redeem the Wilder branch of the family is wonderfully conceived and executed. It's a fresh and fascinating take on things, and is used well to create a fast-paced and suspenseful plot that doesn't rely entirely on romance to keep it moving. I've never been entirely fond of books that rely wholly on the relationship struggles to keep things interesting---they almost always have to ratchet up the personality conflict artificially to keep things going. In this case, the Varinski mercenaries do a fine job of keeping things tense and dangerous as they seek to keep the Wilders from ending the pact. Dodd conveys a tremendous sense of place. It's easy to see, taste, and feel each location in the book, from the mountains of Tibet to the luxurious gardens of a spa resort or the snowy cliff of a mountain. Her battles are well-drawn, and her sex scenes are hot, sexy, and moderately explicit. My only warning is that while Adrik is still in the grip of his darker side, he's rather domineering, and that includes the bedroom scenes---something that won't appeal to all audiences. This is definitely a romance, though, and one in which Karen wholly holds up her side of the struggle for survival. All in all a gorgeous book, and I'm definitely reading the follow-on next.

This was another fabulous entry in Dodd's DARKNESS CHOSEN series. I think it may even be darker and more passionate than the first two books. If you like Alpha heroes who need redemption, then you're going to adore "Warlord"! And Dodd gives him a strong heroine totally up to the task in Karen. Am loving the fact that Dodd is not shy about giving a voice to female fantasy in this book (or in any of her others) while still spinning a rousing good story! If you like your heroes dark and sexy and your romance passionate, I highly recommend this one!

I haven't been that excited about this series even though I love Christina Dodd, b/c I didn't think the first 2 books in it were that great. Good, but not great. Into the Shadow however, was the best book I've read in a long time! I read it completely in one day and now am greatly anticipating the next/last one in the series, Into the Flame. If you haven't read the first 2 yet, it'd be good to, just to get the back story on the family and b/c they were good reads, but I'd do it just to get to this one, b/c it's worth the wait! It was almost like a historical and comtemporary/paranormal wrapped up in one with Adrick. He's the most perfect blend of infuriating Alpha male and modernized sophisticated male that I've come across. Yummy!

This is one of those books that I stayed up all night just to finish even though I had work the next morning. I really like this series and I was excited to read a new one after such a long wait but it surpassed my expectations by a mile! I loved the relationship between Warlord and Karen. It's not thrown together and just there because the author says so. I could really feel the build up and the ultimate love between the characters. I don't want to say to much but the ending of this book had me on the edge of my seat. I would say each book of this series has been a little bit better and if the next one is better I may have to take a whole day off from work just so I can read it.

INTO THE SHADOW is the fabulously exciting 3rd book in Christina Dodd's--Oh-So-Thrilling!--The Darkness Chosen paranormal romance series. The story first takes place in the Himalayan Mountains, somewhere on the border between Tibet and Nepal, high on top of Mt. Anaya; a place that area natives believe is cursed. Twenty-eight year old Karen Sonnet is on the mountain to oversea the building of a "boutique hotel" for trekkers and climbers looking for the ultimate challenge. She is the on site supervisor representing her extremely wealthy--extremely difficult and demanding--father, Jackson Sonnet. He's the owner of a chain of resort hotels that specialized in extreme adventure vacations, and though Mt. Anaya had a reputation for being "un-climbable" Mr. Sonnet felt that was what made it a very attractive area to build. After three months of working on the mountain Karen has encountered many frustrating problems during construction; some because she's a woman doing what's considered a man's job. And others because the workers are afraid--they say she seeks to build the hotel on the "Heart of Evil"--and they believe the mountain will destroy anyone who tries to conquer it because it hides the "Evil One's" treasure. Karen's not happy with the situation, but she's a brave, tough, and disciplined workaholic that won't run from a challenge so easily, or worse, be chased away by local superstitions... even though she's starting to believe them herself. So by day Karen fears the mountain she works on, and now also, the nights that are plagued by the mysterious "midnight lover" who haunts her sleep... Unfortunately, she's not sure which she should fear more. *** This story was extraordinary--I highly recommend it! If asked, I'd describe INTO THE SHADOW as a fantasy-action-adventure-story--and an example of paranormal romance at its finest. I was completely captivated by the fast pace and wildly intense atmosphere; every action-packed, suspenseful, and deeply emotional twist and turn the author took me on, coupled with the considerable degree of steamy sensuality and--blazing--sexual tension between the characters... left me feeling breathless. The chemistry and passion between Warlord and Karen was extraordinary, and their wickedly sensual loves scenes practically burned up the pages. And I felt the story worked so well because it was a paranormal romance and that really allowed Ms. Dodd to explore far darker, far edgier subject matter--with a much darker, grittier hero. A hero who takes the term "HOT-blooded" to a whole new level, and was in dire need of redemption--which honestly is something I might not have accepted in a straight contemporary or historical romance. Yes, Adrik Wilder -aka- "Warlord" was killer-for-hire mercenary fighter and basically a "demon" because his ancestor made a deal with the devil a thousand years ago. And, like all the males in his family, he has the ability to shapeshift at will and turn into a sleek, powe