Rising Darkness

Cynthia Cooke's RISING DARKNESS, the second book of the Dark Enchantments paranormal romance series, is a splendid addition in an exceptional multi-author series. Suspenseful, touched with ancient history and secret organizations, and a moving romance, Cythnia Cooke's writing is superb! The unexpected twists delight. Emma McGovern lives a lonely life, walling herself up in her ancestral home, the crumbling castle at Wolvesrain. Her face is scarred. Emma fears love, knowing no one will care for her because they will only see her face. If that was not enough, if she ever discovers her heart's true love, an ancient gypsy curse will destroy them both as it has done for generations. Damien, a vampire at the Cadre, an organization that studies demons and imprisons the evil ones, plans to protect Emma from the demon Asmos. Damien prides himself that he is different (and pure) than all the other vampires--he is a guardian and protector and never drinks human blood. The curse unites Emma and Damien in their efforts to fight it but as their hearts open, the risk magnifies. Can each of them face their past? Is the growing attraction between them enough to conquer the curse and all those who threaten them? Can Emma remember the past in enough time to protect the two? This second book of the Dark Enchantments series takes the world created in the first book, Michele Hauf's FAMILIAR STRANGER and adds the dimension of a fairy tale, or what Emma calls a Grimm Brothers fairy tale with an underbelly of malice, and a delightful touch of history. The hero and heroine must learn to face the dark side within and without. Cynthia Cooke had a tough job ahead of her coming after Michele Hauf's exceptional first book in the series but this author took the heart of the Dark Enchantments series, ran with it and created her own unique story. Not only is this romance wonderful in and of itself but it also magnifies the scope and depth of the entire series. RISING DARKNESS reaches to the very depths of the heart. The Cadre, the society that studies demons without killing them is explored to the reader's delight as the noble rules, the moral codes and above reproach tone also reveal an underside. Cynthia Cooke's RISING DARKNESS is magnificent!

Rising Darkness, Cynthia Cooke's addition to the Dark Enchantments Series collaboration, is every bit as good as it's predecessor Familiar Stranger (Silhouette Nocturne). Building on the world set up in the first book, where 'paras' --vampires, demons, and more -- exist and are policed by the Cadre, a group of paras and humans dedicated to keeping the forces of light and dark in balance by mostly peaceful means, Rising Darkness centers around a centuries old demon curse cast by a gyspy spurned. Now Emma is next in line to be victim to the curse that has killed any woman in her family who has dared to fall in love. Cadre demon-hunter Damien and --unbeknownst to Emma-- a vampire, is sent to protect Emma but fears that he will be the catalyst for her downfall as the curse intensifies the attraction between them and they begin to fall in love. Emma and Damien's romance actually feels like a romance, not just a lust fest, since both Emma and Damien are such sympathetic and likeable characters. Damien is very powerful yet vulnerable. Damien struggles to deny his vampire nature and remain a man, and he fears that Emma will see him only as a monster. He carries the pain and loss of everyone he has cared for in the past and is worried that he will lose Emma when she discovers his secret. Emma starts out an innocent having lived her life in terror, haunted by the dreams of her mother's death. It is satisfying to watch her finally find the gumption to fight to live her life fully and embrace her feelings for Damien, even if her life is only to be a short one. Damien and Emma hope that together they will be strong enough to beat the curse and the demon, but the way the curse is finally dealt with in the story is a twist I never suspected. Dark Enchantments continues with Night Mischief (Silhouette Nocturne) by Nina Bruhn (which I've already started and from what I've read looks very promising) and then finishes with Saving Destiny (Silhouette Nocturne Series) by Pat White. This series is published under the Silhouette Nocturne banner and the Nocturnes on the whole and this series in particular have been great additions to the paranormal light romance genre.

It is said that Hell has no fury like a woman scorned. But I think the Wolvesrain Curse, begun on the night of the Equinox over two and a half centuries ago by a young gypsy woman done wrong, may just prove that adage wrong. In conjuring her curse upon her faithless lover and his betrothed she had called down the demon Asmos to plague the condescending Amelia of Wolvesrain and all of her future heirs. They would only find love long enough to destroy it. Damien Hancock had been reborn that night. Vampires had gathered to feed on the demon essence Camilla had called down. The vampires had destroyed what Camilla's wolves hadn't, decimating the gyspy clan as well. Damien and his brother Nicholai had become vampires that night while their two sisters had been murdered. Damien, determined to keep his soul pure, had never tasted a drop of human blood. He had gone to work for the Cadre and had become a demon hunter instead. There he'd learned control over his own demons and had captured many others. But the last demon he had hunted had been too powerful and had claimed his partner Cara. The timing had been off on the exorcism he had performed on her, leaving Cara an empty shell. It was then that he and the Cadre had parted ways. Now they were calling on him again, claiming a special circumstance, to protect the latest of Amelia's heirs, Emma McGovern, the last of her line. The Cadre believes that Asmos was hailed from the same demon world as the demon who had claimed Cara. Damien agrees to meet with Emma, but is surprised by the strong feelings she generates in him. She is drawn to him as well. He is the vulnerable alpha male no woman can resist. She is the classic damsel in distress. Neither had ever expected to experience love, he because he believes he is a monster, she because of the family curse. He alone sees her beauty, not her scars. She sees into his heart and trusts him. But is this love true, or is it Asmos luring them to their deaths? As the Equinox returns, the wolves have already returned home to Wolvesrain and with them the vampire clan that feeds on the demon's essence. Among them is Damien's brother. The essence has made Nicholai far stronger than Damien. He has his work cut out if he wants to save his beloved. But the true danger is from Damien himself, for if he follows his heart they are both doomed. RISING DARKNESS is an incredible paranormal romantic suspense that will keep the readers on the edges of their seats, rooting for the courageous pair of star-crossed lovers until the very last page. I highly recommend this read which is the second title in the Dark Enchantments miniseries. Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch for PNR Reviews

Cadre vampire Damien Hancock is a demon hunter. He is sent to Wolvesrain to protect cloistered innocent Emma McGovern from Asmos, a powerful demon, who will own her soul if she ever makes love with her soulmate. Damien knows that Asmos is as dangerous of a demon as there is. He knows he must be at his best, but is distracted by the courage Emma displays as she struggles to prevent the family curse from being activated. However, she is attracted to Damien and him to her; neither can prevent what she assumes is the inevitability of the curse while Asmos salivates in anticipation of owning another soul; one that Damien believes belongs to him out of his love for her. Using a wonderful twist in which the heroine knows that love is futile and short term as the connotation is eternity with a demon not her beloved. Thus Damien the vampiric demon hunter has his work cut out to keep Emma safe, but wonders who will keep her safe from him because if he acts on his needs, only Asmos wins. Paranormal romance fans will enjoy this fine Hobson's choice as abstinence seems to be the only way to insure the demon fails to get his Emma. Harriet Klausner