Gwen’s review of Scent of Darkness (Darkness Chosen, Book 1) by Christina Dodd
Contemporary paranormal romance released 3 Jul 07 by Signet
This paranormal is set in modern day Napa Valley and western Washington state’s Cascade Mountains (presumably somewhere near Mt. St. Helens, but it’s not mentioned). The heroine, Ann Smith, is the assistant to winery owner and hero, Jasha Wilder. Ann has secrets. Jasha has secrets. The trick is to tell each other their secrets before the bad guys catch up to them and make it a moot point. Oh, and fall in love and have some steamy sex – of course.
The story uses as its basis the age-old conflict between Good and Evil. Nobody less than God and the Devil are fighting over the souls of Ann and the Wilders. This portents an excellent climax in what will presumably be the fourth and last book of the series. Perhaps by then we’ll understand the meaning and purpose of Ann’s birthmark, and several other elements left tantalizingly incomplete.
I enjoyed the steamy erotic scenes, but I didn’t completely believe in the romance between Ann and Jasha. Not enough time is spent on their “pre-drama” relationship to build a basis for the strong emotions. Nor did I think the baddies were quite consistently bad or smart enough to be truly evil. In addition, it was weird how Ann and Jasha just returned to their workaday lives after running for several days from this evil. I mean, how do you just stroll back into the office when you’re in the middle of a fight for your very soul? It was odd.
I enjoyed this read. It has some problems with incomplete story arcs and the editing is choppy – or perhaps the story is a little choppy – but it was readable and fun. Not engrossing, but fun. While I won’t be waiting with barely controlled impatience, I will definitely read the next book in the series, Touch of Darkness (Darkness Chosen, Book 2) , out 7 Aug 07 (love those back-to-back releases – no delaying my gratification).
Grade: C+
Summary:
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Ann Smith loves her handsome, dynamic boss, Jasha Wilder, but her daring plan to seduce him goes awry when she encounters a powerful wolf who – before her horrified eyes – changes into the man she adores. She soon discovers she can’t escape her destiny, for she is the woman fated to break the curse that binds his soul.
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Other books in the series:
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