Seize the Night (Dark-Hunter, Book 7)

This one in particular is one of my favorites from the saga, it's so well-written and the characters' chemistry is insane, deep and touching, love love love Sherrilyn and you should def buy this one!

Sherrilyn Kenyon has really taken the world by storm with her Dark Hunter series. Continually, she manages to inject a new dose of humor and intrigue. Seize the Night is just another example of great, humourous writing from an author who is fast becoming one of the best. This latest contribution to the DH saga is about Valerius, the Dark Hunter who you may remember from previous books. If you thought you wouldn't want to read about the pompous, former Roman general...then you better think again. Kenyon really introduces this tragic hero in a great fashion. His pysche and character pull you in right from the start. While out on patrol, Valerius runs afoul of Tabitha Devereaux, the cheeky, human Daimon hunter. At first, he doesn't know what to make of this totally unconventional woman. She is wierd, has strange friends, and is the sister-in-law to his mortal enemy. So, why in the world is he falling in love with her? Kenyon makes this story very appealing with the addition of some new characters, the creation of a new Dark Hunter and...best of all...some very revealing tid bits about Ash, the leader of the Dark Hunters. I read the entire book in one sitting, and I just cracked it open for the second time. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment. Buy Seize the Night! You won't be disappointed.

In the world of Sherrilyn Kenyon being a Dark-Hunter means that you are a soulless immortal being who is hunting the vampires the patrol the night to steal the human souls. Valerius "Val" Magnus isn't a popular Dark-Hunter, he's a Roman, which means that the largely Greek Hunters have a major grudge hatred against him. He is also very conscious of his "background and breeding" making him even harder to stand as he acts as if he is above everyone else. Tabitha "Tabby" Devereaux is a self taught vampire hunter. She hunts at night and runs an adult store in New Orleans during the day. She is sexy, sassy, takes no **** from anyone and immediately attracted to Valarius. This leads to conflicts in her family as her twin sister is married to a former Greek Dark-Hunter. As Tabby and Val's love grows so does the danger they are in. One of the vampires that has a powerful grudge against Tabby and those around her resurfaces with the object to destroy Tabby's extended family as well as her. In this story you will also see the death of 2 Dark-Hunters as well as the birth on one. I was thoroughly blown away by this book. Kenyon continues to write better and better as the storyline goes on. Usually in a series I start to get a bit bored or can easily figure out what will happen next. These stories are so well put together I never even foresaw who the new Dark-Hunter would be until it happened. I was shocked. It is not all books that make me laugh out loud as well as cry. I read it in one setting and this one is going on my shelf of keepers. They best in the series to date!

I have enjoyed the other books in this series so much that I bought this book the day it came out and then stayed up all night reading it. I loved it! Val and Tabitha are excellent characters and the themes running through their developing relationship are universal and well developed. I also applaud Ms. Kenyon's development of Ash. With every book he becomes more three dimensional and we better understand the staggering burden he carries. How bold of the author to show that actions have consequences that not even a "god" can undo and that things said/done in anger can not be taken back. The author is getting better and better with each book in the series. She takes real chances with her characters, resists the urge to vear into "preciousness" with the dialoge and with every book deepens the Dark-Hunter world and the rules governing it.

I really thought it would be hard for Ms Kenyon to write a better DH novel than DANCE WITH THE DEVIL, however I was wrong. This is a delight to read. Still a Dark Hunter novel it also has a great story of humanity and compassion. Tabitha Devereaux is the twin sister of Amanda, who saved and married Kyrian, in the book PLEASURES OF THE NIGHT. Tabitha is an empath, her psychic abilities attract the daimons. She was attacked at the age of 13, when Talon saved her she found out about the Dark Hunters and has become friends with many of them including Ash and Simi. Valerius Magnus is the brother of Zarak from DANCE WITH THE DEVIL he is hated not only by Zarak but all of the other Dark Hunters and squires. Because of the brutality of the Romans none of them are liked. The Greeks esspecially hate them. While Valerius has held to his cold harsh facade for the last 2000 years, he can't fool Tabitha. She can feel his emotions and the lonely emptyness he carries within him. Rather than being cold and unfeeling he is sensitive and caring. However, nobody else seems to care about him. And now Desiderious is searching for a body for his spirit to occupy. He will not be happy until he has his revenge on Kyrian and his whole family which now includes Tabitha's family. Kyrian has always hated that the grandson of the man who crucified him was also a DH. Tabitha encounters Valerius Magnus while on her hunt for daimons. Unfortunately she stabs him thinking he is a daimon during a heated battle in a dark alley. Helping Valerius leads Tabitha into deep waters with her family. And falling in love with him is the very last thing she needs to do, now that the bloody battle has begun. Sometimes forgiveness is the only way to go, when daimons call hopefully Dark Hunters will answer.

I couldn't decide as I read the first half; "do I love it or am I slightly disappointed?" I couldn't decide as I read the last if I should laugh or cry. The hero is a man we've been made to dislike in previous novels but in this we find Valerius is a lonely man desperate for love and comfort, the most touching of the Dhs actually. The heroine is a wacky background character who becomes so fleshed out I'd swear Tabitha is real, and I probably know her. The other DHs come back and there's a touching moment when Kyrian, the only now mortal DH explains to Ash the horrid reality of having high cholestoral and knowing he is mortal. Ms. Kenyon could be the first romance novelist to ever make her previous heroes have moments of childish stupidity that make them all the more endearing for not being perfect. I was at first disappointed because the villain of the first novel, who's now dead, comes back to be the villain of this novel, but Ms. Kenyon is so creative with it I bought into it completely. She introduces new twist in the world of SPathi warriors. This novel is her best to date in the series. Past characters become more solid and realistic, things happen you won't believe. Reading this on the train the last 1/3rd kept me gasping until the lady in the seat next to me thought I was having a heart attack. The end peters out but has interested me more than any generic "happily ever after" ending. We see two people dealing with immortality and mortality much more realistically than ever before. You want to weep for them it's so grabbing. All in all, the best part is we see much more insight into Acheron which only makes me desperately need to know when his novel is coming out! DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!