This book came up on a discussion thread about books similar to Moning's Fever series. It is a little indie book from a self-published author. I found it refreshingly engaging, witty, and well written. I'm not sure I'd compare it to Moning's Fever series because it's not an epic fantasy novel, but I can draw favorable parallels to the Neill's Chicagoland series. Love is Darkness however, stands up on it's own two legs as a superb addition to the parnormal romance genre.
Premise:
Valerie wants a normal life. She's a rainbows and sunshine kind of girl, who has unfortunately known far too much darkness. When her mother was killed by a vampire years earlier, Valarie's father became obsessed with hunting and killing the undead. His crusade was absolute and left no room for anything else in his existence, including his little girl. To all extents and purposes, Valarie grew up without a father in her life - instead she had a drill instructor, a training regime, and a constant series of field exercises in vampire killings. Her happy go lucky ways, and reluctance to kill earned her nothing but her disapproval and scorn from her father and her adopted "brother," and longtime crush, Jack. She tried for them, but her best was never good enough. The role of slayer never fit her and she withered in the midst of the darkness and violence they created.
Everything changed when she graduated high school. She staked a claim on her life, cut her ties, and left her family behind for school. For the first time she was able to really live life - to embrace it and find joy, and for a time it seemed like she'd changed her stars... which was when the vampires found her.
Lucas is a 1600 year old vampire and king to his people. For him, and those of his kind, the long press of years steals humanity and emotions, steadily increasing the ennui of existence. The only escape is suicide, and the only reprieve can be found in empaths - a type of supernatural human long thought extinct. At one point empaths acted as diplomats and peace keepers in the supernatural world. But Empath blood is like a drug to vampires, making them feel again, and even their physical presence evokes emotions in those around them.
Unbeknownst to her, Valarie is an Empath, the last of that kind. This supernatural legacy seals her fate, tying her to the very world she thought to escape. She ran from her father's crusade, but she cannot escape her own gift. It draws Lucas to her. He wishes to use her talents to help rebuild the world of supernaturals he helped break centuries before when he summarily hunted down and killed the werewolves, fae, and empaths. Now there are only vampires left, and the balance of the unseen world is off kilter.
When the life path Valarie yearns for seems forever closed to her, which road will she choose? Will she embrace her father's mission, and lend aid to the hunters, or will she take up Lucas' cause and help him find redemption by rebuilding the supernatural world?
My thoughts:
Likeable characters are the most important element of good fiction for me. I want to connect with my protagonist (and even sometimes my antagonists), understand them. I want to feel what they feel, share their victories, and weep for their defeats. As you might imagine, I frequently feel disappointed with characters in novels. Often characters are written as likeable, but I just can't relate to them. Their internal monolog doesn't reveal enough to allow me to make that kind of connection. I felt every character in Love is Darkness was beautifully fleshed out, completely likeable, and very understandable. Even the inhuman ones, like Lucas.
I loved Valarie's character almost from the first page. She has had such a hard and sad life - the kind of life that could make a girl bitter and angry, but she is neither. She works hard, tries to stay positive, and uses humor to cope with the pain in her life. She's sort of a cross between Merit from Chicagoland and Mac from Fever - she has Mac's love of sunshine, vigor for life, and joy (minus the Barbie doll silliness), and Merit's sense humor and duty. Her humor is delightfully witty and sarcastic - it adds a fun bit of light heartedness to the very dramatic events in the story.
The love interests in her life are incredibly sexy. There is a love triangle here, but both men involved are so remarkably hot, I'd have a hard time picking teams.
Jack won my heart early in the book. His story is just as sad as Valarie's. His family was brutally slaughtered vampires when he was a child. He was saved and brought up by Valarie's father. Where she made peace with her violent past, Jack seeks vengeance with single-minded determination. In many ways Jack is the child Valarie's father always yearned for - he was the "perfect one" growing up, whereas Valarie was always found lacking. Despite this, she loved Jack. And it seems he loved her. Their feelings were never spoken, and the time never seemed right for them. Jack spent the time he should have been sharing secret kisses acting as protective and disapproving older brother. They have romantic moments together, but it's always one step forward, two steps back. He would do anything for her, do anything to protect her, except give up his mission. Vengeance was always more important to him than Valarie. The romantic tension here is enough to help the pages, and make you SQUEE in a most teendagerish fashion.
My other book boyfriend here is, of course, the 1600 year old vampire king, Lucas. He's a golden god, with long flaxen hair, and stormy eyes. 100% pure vampire sex on a stick. He's definitely an alpha male, but more Ethan from Chicagoland than Drago from Dragon Bound. Think noble, remote king instead of angry, domineering bad boy. His age makes him inhuman and remote, but his actions speak of honor, and buried passion. One of the things I loved about Lucas was his sense of purpose. He should, by all rights, be yearning for death at his age. Yet instead of giving into ennui, he directs his energies into a genuinely noble mission. By far his most sterling virtue is his sense of honor. We see primarily in the way he treats Valarie. He yearns for her. Her blood is like a drug to him, something that calls to him constantly, yet he treats her with complete respect and honor. Her understands her Empath nature better than she does, and refuses to take advantage - he protects her, honors her, and gently pushes her away to keep her safe.
Have I mentioned how hot these guys are? Yup I think I did, but man if you enjoy a healthy dose of smoking hot romance, and some very well written sexy scenes this is definitely the book for you.
I'm so focused on the characters and romance here; I'm neglecting to talk much about the plot. The author definitely didn't slack in this department. The story is well paced, and completely engaging. I picked up at about 8 PM, and didn't want to put it down even to sleep. This book deals primarily with establishing Lucas' mission, and his and Valarie's partnership, but there is also unrest in vampire society. Lucas' vision for the reunification of the supernaturals hasn't been well received by those of this kind, and forces are at work to supplant him on the throne. All very good stuff.
My only nitpick is a minor one involving the antagonist - Marion. She felt a bit wooden to me as a character - I had a hard time "getting" her - perhaps because she's also completely nuts. I also felt she was given far too much leeway to wreak havoc in the story. I felt Lucas could have done a better job at anticipating and curtailing her acts of mayhem.
I really loved this book. Can't you tell by the length of this review? Reading a novel like this is similar to finding a diamond when you went mining for coal. It's a tiny little indie book of remarkable and unexpected quality - certainly better than any other self-published book I've read, and I'd put it up against many of the published ones I've picked up lately. It's a novel I see myself reading many times, and that's not something I say lightly. I've read plenty of quality books that I enjoyed yet would probably never re-read. Love is Darkness has a perfect blend of very likeable characters, a good story, and a romance that makes the heart sing.
