Dark Enchantment (Dark Magick Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

The Dark Magick series is a series that gets better with each book. Dark Enchantment is the 3rd book of the series and it is the best book of the series thus far.

Charlotte Bennett is a human whose father hates the Fae. Some of his prejudices have rubbed off on her but not completely. She has preconceived notions of the ugly, non-human looking fae. Charlotte suffers from nightmares that she has had since a child. Because of these nightmares and the hatred spewed by her Father, she doesn't have a high opinion of the Fae. When a strange, sexy man starts visiting Charlotte in her dreams, she is compelled to follow his orders which lead her to the city of Piefferberg.

Kiernan is a Dream Wraith. He forges a bond with Charlotte through her dreams and uses his gift to compel her to do his bidding and travel to Piefferberg. The Unseelie need the 3rd piece of the bosca fadbh and they think that Charlotte can help them find it. Charlotte doesn't want to have anything to do with helping the Unseelie Court bring down the walls of Piefferberg. She doesn't appreciate being taken against her will and forced to plot against the Phaendir. Some of her prejudices against the Fae surface while she's around the Unseelie and Kiernan is determined to make her see that all Fae are not evil creatures that harm and eat humans.

Dark Enchantment grabbed me from page one and did not let me go. I immediately liked Charlotte's character. She didn't take kindly to having her free will taken from her. Her reaction when she came face to face with Kiernan was hilarious. Any woman brave enough to punch an Unseelie in the face has balls. She may think of the Unseelie as the supernatural equivalent of the Boogey Man but she doesn't back down when she is forced to deceive the Phaendir and help the Unseelie Court locate the last piece bosca fadbh. Throughout the book, we see Charlotte's prejudices about the Fae slowly go away. Her eyes are opened to the fact that the Fae are no different from humans. Each species have its bad side and good side.

I love the gradual build-up of Kiernan and Charlotte's romance. It is obvious that the attraction is mutual thanks to the steamy hot sex dreams Charlotte had thanks to Kiernan. They both have prejudices of the other that they have to get over before they can truly work together and trust each other. Oh, and Kiernan has a nasty little curse where if he falls in love with someone and that person returns his love, they will both die. Kiernan thinks that he is safe from falling in love with Charlotte; she's a human after all. And once she finds the missing piece of the bosca fadbh, she's going to be high-tailing it out of Piefferberg and back to her life in Portland. The attempt at having a sex only relationship fails; let's just say the heart wants what the heart wants.

The side characters from the first two books continue to play an integral role in this series. Niall is awesome and I am so excited that his book is next. We see Aislinn in full Unseelie Queen role with Gabriel at her side as the Unseelie King. Aerick and Emmaline are happily married. And Brother Gideon is still creepy as ever. We get a brief look into his past and discover why he is such a sicko.

I absolutely LOVED Dark Enchantment. From start to finish, I was engrossed in the story. I hated that the book had to end. This book can be read as a stand alone but I suggest you read the first two books of the series, Wicked Enchantment and Cruel Enchantment. Although each character has their own story and Anya Bast does an excellent job recapping what happened in the previous books, I think to get the whole picture, read books 1 and 2 first.

Dark Enchantment by Anya Bast
Paranormal Romance -April 5th, 2011
4 ½ stars

I was really excited to finally read Anya Bast's third installment in her Dark Magick series. This series has bit of the edgy feel of an urban fantasy but is definitely a romance at heart. In this series powerful magic users including the deadly fae have been locked up the city of Piefferburg by the fearful human government. But that may all be about to change...

Charlotte Bennett is a human who has been having disturbing and erotic dreams about a man too beautiful for words. But what she doesn't know is that this man is real. He is a dangerous fae named Kieran that has used his magic to form a connection to Charlotte in order to compel her visit the treacherous city of Piefferburg. For Charlotte is unknowingly the key to finding the last magical artifact that is the essential to finally freeing the inhabitants of Piefferburg. This is because an ancestor of Charlotte's holds the clues to finding the artifact and the fae feel by delving into Charlotte's past and her ancestor's memories they can find where the last artifact is buried. But it also opens memories of death of Charlotte's mother.

But Charlotte comes from a background prejudiced against the fae. She has dark nightmares of the fae and her father is a leader in coalition against them. If she wasn't compelled to obey Keiran she would prefer the fae stay locked up.

But as Charlotte enters the city of Piefferburg her compulsion wanes and Charlotte soon surprises Kieran with her independence and sass. Although she fears him she refuses to be intimidated. For Keiran is an Unseelie. They are known for their dark and deadly powers. Keiran is quickly intrigued by Charlotte and the erotic dreams they share haunt him. Even though he has disdained humans before. And Charlotte can't help thinking of him. The compulsion Keiran used to bring Charlotte to Piefferburg has backfired on them both. For it is usually used to find a mate and it seems to be affecting them both! But any love between them would be foolish. Especially because Kieran is under a deep curse. If he ever falls in love he and his love will dies a horrible and painful death.

This book was a spell-binding read because it has a curse which makes any love between the main characters tragic and tension-filled. I loved the angst between them as both do not want to care for each other but find they cannot help themselves. I also liked how the author showed Kieran's `softer' side as tries to show her that not all the inhabitants of Piefferburg are evil. Charlotte is a very strong and feisty character, even though she is supposed to be a `weak' human. I liked Charlotte's courage, and cheered her on when she first meets Kieran and punches him in the face for using magic her!

Lovers of dark fantasy will enjoy this book but because characters from previous book return and the world is rather complex it would probably be best to have read at least one of the prior books before starting this one.

And edgy world, a curse love and fantastic main characters make this a thrilling book.

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

In this installment of the Dark Magic series, nothing is left lacking. The story flows beautifully and unfolds like a gentle flower. I simply could not put the book down. I read the entire thing in one weekend. The only negative of the book is it ended. Anya Bast weaves another incredible novel. I cannot wait for the next installment.