HIS DARKEST EMBRACE by Juliana Stone

Sequel to His Darkest Hunger
Publisher: Avon Books
Date published: October 26th, 2010
ISBN: 9780061808807
Paranormal Romance
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Dawn
Obtained by Publisher


Jagger is a hunter, one who has no regard for the humans that share the world he lives in. A dark soul, he finds himself entrenched in a mission with the beautiful Skye Knightly, one that will have them both on the path to save the world…if Jagger can find the strength to believe in the lightness that is Skye. Each is the other’s sole hope for survival yet darkness surrounds them, forcing Jagger and Skye to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to have the life they yearn for.

I absolutely adored HIS DARKEST HUNGER, the first book in the new paranormal series by Juliana Stone. It had mystery, a new take on shifters and the writing was spectacular. It had everything I loved in a paranormal story yet this second book, HIS DARKEST EMBRACE, just didn’t match it. Granted the writing was still good, it was the storyline and the characters that I felt needed a bit more work.

The story picks up a few months after HIS DARKEST HUNGER and the reader is in the jungle…a lot. It felt like all Jagger did was whine, pout or run around the jungle feeling sorry for himself. Not what I want in a hero. Granted the author tried to make him lovable to me but I felt, in my opinion, that she just didn’t quite make the mark with him. Skye was independent, feisty but the pairing between her and Jagger felt forced and not as believable as I wanted. The chemistry between these two characters just wasn’t there and I felt let down. There was so much potential with Jagger and Skye but it wasn’t built upon. The storyline had holes, some “Huh?” moments that had me scratching my head and wondering what happened to Ms. Stone. Did Martians replace her? The storyline itself was a sad disappointment as well. The ending alone had me going “WHAT??” and not in a good way either. It was just one of those stories that you either liked or not. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t find myself enjoying it as much as I hoped.

HIS DARKEST EMBRACE was a story I really, really wanted to like but alas, it just didn’t connect with me on any level. I loved the first book and am hoping this author gets back on track for the next book. If you like a story like this, then you may enjoy HIS DARKEST EMBRACE.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.