Gwen’s review of Into the Flame (Darkness Chosen, Book 4) by Christina Dodd
Contemporary paranormal romance released by Signet 5 Aug 08

This is the culmination of the Darkness Chosen series, of which I’ve only read one other book.  I liked the premise of the series – cursed men with supernatural powers who find their mates and are redeemed.  Always good for a story or two.  Add in some family dynamics, secret and switched babies, and you have the basis of this last book.

Our hero and heroine are an engaging couple if a bit “young” feeling.  They’re both 23-years old and seem hardly old enough to be doing what they’re doing (dang I’m getting old). He’s a state trooper and she does something with an art studio (I forget what now).  They both are well established and he owns a house he’s been renovating.  Perhaps it’s my share of the infantilization of our teenagers at work, but I still feel they’re hardly old enough to have lived as much as these two have.

The romance in the story (between many of the characters, not the least of which was the H/H) was really very nice and I liked how it resolved.  The ending wasn’t prettied up, but was real and sounded like the kind of conversation two “normal” people would have.  There was no “ride off into the sunset” where everyone is paired off.  Even though that happens (duh, romance here), there’s still some “come to Jesus” talk between the H/H before it does.  I like that.

I’m not sure what to think about the unresolved element of the heroines’ supernatural abilities.  They seem to beg for something more with these characters – another series or something with the children of these unions.  I suppose we’ll see where this goes for Dodd.

The action throughout the book is fun.  The bad guys are suitably bad, if a bit hapless. But they brought a suitable amount of tension to the story that you wanted the good guys to prevail.

The camaraderie between the brothers felt like the author was trying too hard to make it amusing or “guy-like”.  I don’t know how female authors can correct that kind of thing.  I would think “guy talk” and male bonding is one of the tougher things for a female author to write convincingly.  All I know is that if my brothers wrestled in my mom’s kitchen, she’d thrash them both within an inch of their lives.  Given my dad didn’t beat her to it, that is.

Overall, this was a very entertaining story with a couple of questionable elements.  A very nice ending to the series, though.  I can recommend it to fans of the series and of the author’s writing.  If you’re new to the series, you won’t be too lost starting here, but I recommend the other books as fun reading.

Grade: B-

Read reviews of this and other books in the series by clicking on the Darkness Chosen series tag.

Summary:

Roaming the Russian steppes a thousand years ago, a brutal warrior struck a terrifying deal. In exchange for being able to transform into a heartless predator, he promised his soul-and the souls of his descendants-to the devil.

Brutally handsome cop Doug Black is determined to find the birth family who left him with nothing but a terrifying inheritance: the ability to change into a savage golden cougar. His search leads him to a woman as dauntless and exotic as her name. Firebird Wilder is bitterly familiar with supernatural gifts, and flees on discovering his secret, leaving Doug alone once more. But no one can escape a wild cougar on the hunt. When he finds her, they both must decide which is more powerful … the love that binds them together … or the secrets that threaten to tear them apart.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series: