A DARKER CRIMSON

Author: Carolyn Jewel ISBN: 0505526581 11/2005 FUTURISTIC/PARANORMAL/ACTION Publisher: DORCHESTER/Love Spell

Long ago the portal was sealed, and Los Angeles—now Crimson City—rid itself of demons for eternity. Or so Claudia Donovan believed. With the city’s other "paranormals" more active than ever, and the treaty between the species all but dissolved, she and the rest of the CCPD have enough to handle. But now her daughter has been kidnapped and she’s learned that demons still exist—and that they are plotting. To whom can she turn for help? The vampire, Tiberiu Korzha, whose eyes promise death but whose lips taste of eternity? Or does salvation lie with the powerful Lath, he who inspires lust beyond name? Thirst, bitterness, despair—on the plane of Orcus, all these things await. But just as surely, beyond that portal are Claudia’s daughter, victory and true love. And her first taste of… A DARKER CRIMSON.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

A DARKER CRIMSON is exactly that, dark. In the Crimson City series it is the most shocking and thought provoking of the four books. It's almost too much, even for my liberal, strange plot-accepting mind. Too much, but still a very good addition to the action packed series.

I do not wish to give too much away, but since some readers may be as uncomfortable as I am with the subject of rape, it's only fair to let you know that there is a scene involving the heroine that may not be classified as exactly that, but is close enough for me. Her body is not under her own control, and is compelled to respond to her vishtau mate even though her heart and mind are involved with someone else. Her mate is not cruel to her, even cares for her, but it's still heartbreaking for me to witness their union. Perhaps I find it a rape of the mind more than the body? The scene is done tastefully, and I applaud the author for that. The only malevolent thing in it is that both participants are compelled by a greater force than their own to be together sexually. Nonetheless, I have mixed emotions about the whole scene. I even came to like the vishtau mate a bit.

After reading THROUGH A CRIMSON VEIL, it's disappointing to read about the vishtau mate in a negative light. In that story the hero and heroine are half demon, half human, and the vishtau compulsion is a wondrous thing. I feel the scene in A DARKER CRIMSON takes away some of that beauty. But, such is life, and the book does go on to set things the way the heroine wishes them to be. Believe it or not, it also helps the heroine to stay alive in an alien world. So, despite my dislike of it, I do understand it.

There are several darker things in this one that I struggle with, but I can admit that a great writer creates such conflict within a reader. There is nothing hard to stomach or graphic, really, it's just the overwhelming sadness I feel for the hero and heroine. What they experience and work through is quite daunting and cold. Lucky for me, Carolyn Jewel does believe in happy endings.

Well, sort of.

Shannon Johnson