Original Romancing the Darkside Review:http://romancingthedarkside.blogspot.com/2011/09/review-darkness-descending-by-devyn.html
This new dark paranormal world blew me away!
In the midst of a world where fallen angels are turned vampires that seek to rule the world, Jesse Burke struggles to maintain her humanity after being attacked but not turned. In her quest to remain human, Jesse decides to become a vampire slayer and hunt down the beasts that not only attacked her, but also took her sister away from her. Having no experience and guidance, she makes for a less than worthy slayer but refuses to stop. On one of her hunting nights, she meets the mysterious and sexy slayer Maddox deValois, who saves her from the vampire she's attempting to slay.
As a Palidrome, a sentinel created to fight the vampires (known as the Telave) on Earth, Maddox sees potential in Jesse and offers her a place to stay and training skills for her survival. He hopes to save Jesse from the same fate that stole his long ago lover Serafina. As Jesse and Maddox spend more time together, their dangerous attraction grows and threatens to lure them both into darkness.
This is a great new start to an urban fantasy series with a darker side. Devyn Quinn's world building is creatively graphic that isn't too overwhelming, never interfering with the plot. The setting of New Orleans, post Katrina just adds to darkness the of the story.
When we first meet Jesse she doesn't fit the typical kick ass heroine in urban fantasy, she's a bit rough around the edges and has major trust issues but grows into a strong leading lady by the book's end. Maddox is dangerously sexy but has secrets of his own that he struggles with making. These two characters definitely fall in the "tortured hero" category, which possibly plays a role in their mutual attraction. The sexual tension between these two is off the charts and I thank the author for including their steamy encounters which are sometimes looked over in the urban fantasy genre.
Darkness Descending skillfully combines a unique concept using light and dark, fallen angels turned vampires, all while creating suspense, excitement, romance and a bit of dark humor. The villains in the story are perfectly cast, they're powerful, evil and will stop at nothing to achieve their agenda. One of my favorite elements of the story is how vampires are portrayed, they are far from the romantic and sensual characters we're used to, in this book they're bloodthirsty beings who have no emotion and are cold blooded predators. Was I fond of the cliffanger at the end of the book? Not at all, but I anxiously await the sequel to see what dangerous adventures await Jesse and Maddox! If you were ever a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel or Supernatural, you'll like the enticing and dark world that Ms. Quinn has created in her Vampire Armageddon series.
{Review copy courtesy of author}
