COURTING DARKNESS by Yasmine Galenorn

An Otherworld Novel, Book Ten

Berkley Jove

November 1^st, 2011

978-0-515-15007-0

Paranormal Romance

Mass Market Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by self-purchase

Camille is falling more and m ore in love with her triad of husbands (Morio, a youkai; Trillian, a Svartan Fae & Smokey, her Dragon) but with the threat of Shadow Wing in the back of her mind and the race of the spirit seals, Camille is anxious to just let one day be without a fight for the death in some form or another. But when Smokey’s father kidnaps Camille and vows to destroy her, her husband, Smokey and others, Camille will need that well of strength inside her for Hyto is determined to break her not just in spirit but also in body and soul as well. Can her husbands and friends find her before she shatters in a million pieces from Hyto’s abuse?

I absolutely adore the Otherworld series since I picked up the first book, Witchling and in her tenth installment with Camille as the main focus on, Ms. Galenorn delivers a much darker tale than readers are used to and for me, that was a great thing. In this author’s Otherworld series, the books shift POV with the sisters, each with different powers/aspects and in COURTING DARKNESS, we find Camille facing her father-in-law as well as dealing with issues that happened in her last book, Bone Magic. I will get straight to the point; this is a story that was needed especially after Hyto’s threats to Camille in a past book, written very well and completely blew me away until the very last page was read. The story is fast paced, runs the gauntlet of emotions and delivers an ending so touching; you have to read it for yourself to experience it.

Ms. Galenorn is a master storyteller and the readers are treated in seeing some of my favorite characters return & seeing how the overall story arc evolves with each page. I do admit, I had to put the book down a few times. The scenes of Camille dealing with Hyto’s abuse are graphic and had me reeling at times. I felt the emotions of Camille as she tried to separate her mind from the abuse and keep the hope of being rescued or found by her family and husbands. Camille is a character who intrigued me from the start and I think I love her best-not because she has three hot husbands but because she is stronger than she even realizes and in COURTING DARKNESS, she finally comes to realize that she can let Hyto win by cowering in a dark room or step up and face the monster who is bent on destroying her and Smokey in whatever way he can. This is a story that isn’t for the faint of heart. The author does a wonderful job in capturing Smokey’s anguish, his guilt and more as well as Camille’s battered emotions and body. I also have to admit finding out more on Smokey’s family as well as the Dragon Reaches in general had me glued to the pages. I really liked meeting some of Smokey’s fellow dragons as well the way this author created the Dragon Reaches.

COURTING DARKNESS is a story that will steal your heart, keep you on the edge of the cliff and flipping pages to see what happens next. With a deft touch of her hand, Ms. Galenorn delivers a dark tale that lets the reader see the vulnerabilities of two very strong characters and how they deal with everything that happens in this book. I can not wait to see what happens next in this series and hope Ms. Galenorn doesn’t end the series anytime soon.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement