Let me start off by saying that if you were to go through my Goodreads list of books read before last summer, you wouldn’t find any romance on there. Some chick lit, yes, but romance novels, not so much. Paranormal romance, definitely not. Then a coworker introduced me to Jamie Fraser and the world of Outlander. Shortly after I stumbled upon That’s Normal. And then there was a man named Jericho Barons who people were comparing to Jamie Fraser, and some even had the audacity to love him more than JAMMF. So natch, I had to read the Fever series. And that was my first foray into the world of paranormal romance.
The Darkest Night is the the only paranormal romance I’ve read besides the Fever series, and while there are definitely some similarities (ridiculously attractive bad boy love interest who is moody and difficult), this book stands on its own and keeps you turning the pages.
The book centers around main character Ashlyn who finds herself being saved by immortal warrior Maddox. Maddox lives with 7 (or 8??? I can’t remember) other immortal warriors, each of which is cursed by one of the demons that was released from Pandora’s Box. Maddox lives with the demon of violence inside of him, yet Ashlyn is the one person in the world that he realizes he could never allow himself to hurt. The warriors serve gods, who seem to only want to make their lives more miserable. All Ashlyn and Maddox want is to be together, but between the demands of the gods in the supernatural realm, and mortal hunters who want to destroy the warriors, there is a lot getting in the way of Ashlyn and Maddox being together.
To be honest, at times the book was a little too much for me. A little too cheesy / cliche / too many awkward descriptions. But I really loved Ashlyn and Maddox together, and the plot outside of the romance is interesting on its own. I really loved how the story wrapped up, and while it left enough unsettled for sequels, the sequels are centered around the other immortals, so the story of Ashlyn and Maddox is finished after this book. Which makes me not in a big hurry to get to the sequels, but when I need some more paranormal romance in my life, I know where to find it. I said in the comments of another TN post that Outlander was my gateway drug into romance novels, and That’s Normal is like my dealer. So far, I’ve enjoyed the romance novels TN has recommended, and this one didn’t disappoint either.
Did you read The Darkest Night? What did you think? Are you a more experienced romance novel reader or a novice like me?
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