Under Darkness

Under Darkness is the latest entry in Savannah Russe's Darkwing Chronicles, and perhaps the best entry yet. The Darkwing Chronicles is a series that keeps getting better and better, and I fully intend to keep reading. I have enjoyed reading all five entries so far, and I look forward to reading the next one as soon as it hits the shelves. Ms. Russe writes with a passion and manages to weave espionage and suspense into the plot. Her characters feel real and you become more and more invested in them the further you. I am proud to say Savannah Russe is a personal friend as well as an author whose books will continue to be USA Today bestsellers. Look for her Darkwing Chronicles, you won't be disappointed.

Daphne Urban is back and once again facing danger, but what can you expect when you are part of an ultra-secret spy group that is composed of vampires? This time Daphne and her fellow Darkwings are on the tracks of a terrorist group who have discovered the secret of an old wartime experiment, which they are going to use to destroy part of New York. So with little to nothing to go on, the Darkwings are out to find and destroy the terrorist plot. Just so Daphne can¢t get too bored with life, she also has to deal with a bunch of vampire hunters that have flooded into the city and have seemed to target her along with several others. This group seems to have something to do with an old enemy that Daphne thought they had declawed. It also seems to have brought in the love of her life, Darius della Chiesa, who is a spy himself but for another agency and a new vampire. Daphne knows that no one can understand her feelings for Darius and most of her friends and family would rather stake him first and ask questions later. However, when Daphne and Darius get back together they are hotter than ever. Danger comes for Daphne and Darius from several angles and Daphne needs to not only decide if she can trust Darius but also make decisions that could change her life. Under Darkness is Book Five in the Darkwing Chronicles that has yet another mystery for Daphne and the other Darkwings to solve and make sure they are not found out about. This time Daphne not only has to come to grips with some things that happened to her on the last mission but she will also have to confront her obsession with Darius and how he is thought of by others near her. I have come to love several of the Darkwings and I have been pushing for Daphne to get her man from the very beginning. Once again I was sucked in by the danger, mystery, suspense, hot sex and just the relationships that intermix with the Darkwing members. I will say that Daphne and Darius have not yet obtained their happily ever after, but they made a major step towards it this time. Under Darkness once again shows me why I have the Darkwing Chronicles on my must read list as soon as they come out. You do not have to read the chronicles in order, but I would suggest it, as there are several places where things that happened in previous books are brought up. Jo reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Vampire and spy, Daphne Urban, knows that something is wrong when she is attacked by vampire hunters while walking her dog. Little does she realize that this is only the start of her problems.... Daphne and her cohorts, the Darkwings, are called in for a top secret mission that the government feels only its vampire spies can handle. A ship has literally disappeared without a trace. Is invisibility an option? Meanwhile, vampire hunters are back in New York City as is Daphne's old lover, Darius della Chiesa. Is there a correlation? Daphne is going to have her hands full with this latest tale. Savannah Russe cranks up the heat in her latest Darkwing Chronicles book! The tension level is higher than every as Daphne feels pulled in every way. Who can she trust? Some secrets are beginning to be revealed, shedding light on past events but there are more questions than ever as Daphne tries to unravel the mysteries within mysteries that she finds herself in. Savannah Russe ensures that there are no dull moments in UNDER DARKNESS as the fast paced plot will have readers anxiously turning the pages. The other members of the Darkwings are starting to really emerge with their own unique idiosyncrasies. Audrey Greco takes center stage among the secondary characters and it is fascinating to see how she is developing. I don't want to reveal spoilers but there is a scene involving indexers (not to be confused with librarians) that is a sheer classic. In fact, this scene may rank among my all-time favorite scenes in a book! Savannah Russe takes a dicey political situation such as terrorism and puts it in the context of an urban fantasy series. She does a beautiful job at making all the elements of the storyline work without falling into political rants or offending any one political group. Kudos to Savannah Russe for creating an urban fantasy series that is current, relevant, and thought provoking without being offensive. UNDER DARKNESS is the fifth book in the series. While the mission Daphne and her fellow vampires are sent on is essentially a stand alone, there are threads running throughout this series that make this book best appreciated if read in order. In particular, the relationships between Daphne and various characters, such as Darius, have been building throughout the series and so nuances may be missed by new readers. UNDER DARKNESS is exactly what fans of urban fantasy vampire tales are looking for. Savannah Russe perfectly balances dark themes with light hearted moments and a gritty setting that make UNDER DARKNESS a hit. The Darkwing Chronicles has easily become one of my favorite urban fantasy series and UNDER DARKNESS shows just why this is the case. COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I couldn't wait for this one to come out after rapidly devouring the first 4. Savannah writes as if this reality is just a teensy step over from our own. Makes you wonder exactly what the gov't is hiding from us. smiles... Yes there were gory part and sexy parts but after reading the others it was a minor point and the major part was what were they going to do to find the aircraft carrier before its too late? The mtorcycle scene in central park makes me wish that these books would be movies just to see how they would film it!

Able to be read as a stand-alone book, this fifth in the Darkwing series has a fast plot filled with interesting twists--I love the motorcycle rumble in Central Park--and steamy sex. This is a book to devour as fast as a big box of popcorn at a Friday night movie... Loved it.