Crave the Darkness by Amanda Bonilla


Shaede Assassin, Book 3

Synopsis: Nothing comes easy for Darian. Her heightened powers make her indispensable to the Shaede Nation, but dangerous missions have driven her lover, Tyler, to his breaking point. Darian must salvage their bond, but a new assignment to protect Anya—a fellow Shaede and the first of their kind to become pregnant in centuries—stands in their way.

It doesn’t help that the two Shaedes are longtime rivals and share nothing besides mutual hatred. But when it becomes clear that someone—or something—is bent on destroying the expectant mother and her unborn child, Darian must put her feelings aside and track down Anya’s would-be assassin.

As she probes into Anya’s past, Darian digs up long-buried secrets—and a connection between Tyler and the mission that could destroy everything between them…


Review: I must say that I was really impatient to read this novel, especially with the end of the last one which completely broke my heart. As soon as I had the chance to have Crave the Darkness, I left all my reads and threw myself in this one to finish it in a few hours. It was humanly impossible to put it down before the end, and I was completely swept away by the story. We always want more and more! This book is just wonderful, and each new novel is also better than the last, which is pretty impressive when you consider that I was totally captured by the first two.

I think Amanda Bonilla has an extraordinary talent when it’s about the feelings of her characters. The Darian’s life is really not simple and the author allows us to fully understand what she feels, whether her sadness, joy or even her doubts. We follow her throughout the novel, hoping that things will improve, but nothing is ever that simple. Indeed, after several months moping in her apartment after the departure of Tyler, our heroine is forced to stand up and face life as it continues its course. I must say that Raif and Xander does not leave her much choice in the matter. Both are very concerned by the behavior of our heroine as they have never seen her like that. They only think about one thing, help her to confront her sadness. Her apartment is a like a battlefield, she spends her days in bed, and only thinks of her Jinn who is away from her. Of course everyone has his own method and motivations. Raif only wants to help her to have her as energetic as before while Xander has of course a little different idea. Why couldn’t Darian succumb to his charm now that Tyler is no longer there? (Something that I was very curious to see!)
 
Our heroine will live with Xander to complete the mission he has been given her. Indeed, she must monitor and protect Anya who is now the target of a person we don’t know anything about. You can imagine that this is something she will love to do, especially as the two young women hate each other since the beginning of the series. But a mission is a mission and it’s the only thing that can help her to keep her head above water; this new work will allow her to not constantly think about her ex-lover. But she quickly understands that this story is much more complicated than it seems when she meets the person she seeks. And this story could endanger her and all the persons she loves more she would have thought. This quest also allows us to know a little more about Anya, because it is true that we do not know a lot about her past. And while I do not really like her either, I’m starting to understand her little by little. She is still not my favorite character but we see the person she really is.

It is very difficult for Darian in this novel to ignore the fact that Tyler is not there. She only thinks of him, guilty for what happened and questioning herself at every moment. She hopes to see him again, to speak with him and she is sure she will be able to be with him like before. Or at least she hopes it will be possible to do that, more than anything. But it is very rare when everything works out this way and Darian must understand that by herself. So when Tyler returns, a surprise awaits her, something she didn’t expect at all. Of course Xander will do anything to try to put her in his bed, regardless of the way he uses, nothing bothers him. And although it is tempting, Darian needs more, and she is convinced that the feelings he or she may have, aren’t true. It was terrible to witness her doubts, her panic attacks, her guilt, her desires, her fears. We feel everything deep in ourselves and our heart is broken when we see this person so fragile. I do not really know what will happen to her now, because many events occur here, completely shattering her life, but we can only hope for her to be better. Although she does not realize it, many people cares for her. Some new characters are also introduced as Asher and I must say that this is a person that I really enjoyed. I hope to have the opportunity to see him again and learn more about him. A new threat is emerging and we’re really intrigued about it. I’m curious to know what will happen now.

I think you understand now that I am completely and undeniably in love with this series. This book is one of the best I have had the opportunity to read and I think I can say that Amanda Bonilla is a master in the field of Urban Fantasy. Everything is fascinating; either the story, the world, or even the characters. I only have to wait for more now. If you have not yet had the opportunity to discover this series I warmly recommend it!

 

14 thoughts on “Crave the Darkness by Amanda Bonilla

  1. I promise to read the first book this month, I already have the second as well, and the third is on its way to me. Does that one also have a cliffhanger like ending? I sure hope I will love those books as much as you do Melliane.

    • I really hope so too! I can’t wait to know your opinion. Ah is there a cliffy… I’m really sorry I read this one a few months ago and I really don’t remember the end exactly… It’s more something growing more and more since book 2 and we know that we’ll have it in book 4.

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