Going through an apocalyptic event doesn’t mean the end of the world.
My dad is a modern day Noah, you know building an ark, trying to save folks and getting my brother, and I ready for the impending end of days – whatever that means.
Nothing in his prepper manuals had us ready for what actually happened.
I had nothing to prepare me for Jaeden and Lachlan. Heck, I don’t know of any girl that would have been prepared for those two.
There was nothing to prepare us for the things that go bump in the night or zombies, although now that I think on it, zombies might have been easier to deal with than what really happened. No, an apocalyptic event is just a set-up for things in our world to be shaken AND stirred.
What will rise from the ruins remains to be seen.
Buy The Book!
Kobo – (still pending)
Review
When I saw that Amelia Hutchins was releasing a new book in a brand new series, I knew I needed to read it. Her Fae Chronicles series is one of my all time favorite paranormal reads, and even though I’m dying for more Syn and Ryder, I was ready for her to give me another set of characters to rock my world. Hutchins has a way of creating characters and plotlines that captivate from beginning to end, and although I wasn’t as consumed with Darkness Before Dawn as I was for Fighting Destiny, I still really enjoyed the new world she created and her supernatural heroine and heroes.
One thing that draws me in as a reader is a unique and descriptive setting, and Amelia Hutchins creates fantastic surroundings in her paranormal texts. Even though Hutchins sets up Darkness Before Dawn in the United States, it is not a North America readers will recognize. With some help from other worldly beasts, a virus has wiped out most of the living, creating a dystopian-post-apocalyptic world; one where it’s killed or be killed, and no one is safe regardless of where they’re at or how prepared they think they are. The only way to survive is to trust no one and follow a very strict set of rules; the rules that our heroine, Emma, has followed since her father created their safety bunker and then took off to help others in need. Emma has been trained in multiple ways to care for those in her charge. She has medical as well as combative training, and she forces all those who inhabit their safe haven to pull their weight. She’s point on every mission, and she goes out of her way to protect her people, burn the dead bodies, and seek the necessary amenities. Emma is aware of the dangers that exist outside of her refuge, but the one aspect that she never takes into consideration is that there might be other worldly beings present; those with their own agenda…those who want nothing more than to kill/infect those humans who are still hiding. But there are two other groups of supernatural characters trying to protect the survivors, and even though they are sworn enemies, they work together to go up against a common enemy who seeks to rule.
Nothing is what it seems in Darkness Before Dawn. From the virus to the main characters, there is a multitude of secrets to be unearthed, and as readers dive deeper into the book, and truths are revealed, we soon learn that Emma, Jaeden and Lachlan’s journey is only just beginning.
Emma is a kickass heroine who knows how to get things done. Her life with her father has prepared her to protect. She’s a natural born leader who has some pretty powerful abilities that she doesn’t even know about. At the beginning of the story, she’s all about surviving and living according to a set of principles that she doesn’t deter from, but when a sexy stranger enters her world, she’s drawn to him in a way she’s never felt, and it’s both exciting and scary for a young woman who has never given much thought to the opposite sex.
Jaeden is a complicated man. Most of the time I wanted to slap him in the face for his treatment of Emma. He’s lived through a lot in his years of roaming the earth, and he’s definitely alpha to the core, but due to a series of betrayals, he’s also a pretty hardened man who only uses women for one thing. For some reason, he wants Emma and won’t stop until he has her, even if he breaks her in the process. Emma definitely experiences pleasure at Jaeden’s hands but he also causes her a lot of pain that hardens her.
Lachlan is the leader of the other group Emma works with, and readers are not given a very clear insight into who he is or how his past aligns with Jaeden’s. He’s definitely a protector, and just like Jaeden, he’s drawn to Emma and wants to claim her as his. Lachlan’s not as pushy as Jaeden, but he makes it clear what he wants without being overbearing.
Even though there are two heroes both vying for the heroine, Emma, I don’t really see it as a love triangle. This may change as the series continues, but as of right now, it’s very clear who has Emma’s heart and her body, but we will see if he can keep it with his hot and cold attitude and his duties to his people.
I can’t wait to see where this series goes and the changes that Emma is going to experience with her newfound knowledge. A lot of things are still up in the air at the end of book 1, and the characters are setting out on a rescue mission that undoubtedly will change the dynamics of their group and require tough choices to be made along the way. I definitely see a shake up of the dynamics of this diverse group, but it’s unclear as to what that will mean for everyone involved. It will be interesting to see what Amelia Hutchins has in store for readers in book 2.
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
4 poison apples
About the Author
Amelia lives in the great Pacific Northwest with her family. When not writing, she can be found on her page Erotica Book Club hanging out with her favorite book junkies. She’s an avid reader of everything paranormal romance.
Fairest Of All Book Reviews 