Book 1:
Scent of Darkness: Jasha Wilder and Anne Smith
Summary:
A 1000 years ago the first Konstantine made a deal with the Devil for certain gifts that made him more than man. Every male (There are no females, except one) in his line for the next 1000 years inherits an extended life, the ability to shape shift into a predator animal, and accelerated healing. The wildness, ruthlessness, and murderous tendencies were already apart of the line, and the new abilities just made it all that more easy to murder, rape and cause other mayhem. This continues to this day with the exception of the current Konstantine. Konstantine met and fell in love with a Romani gypsy, and together they fled to the wilderness of Washington State where they remained unfound until now.
Jasha Wilder is cursed or gifted (depending on how you want to look at it) by a Pact with the Devil. Jasha owns and operated Wilder Wines, which is a very successful winery, he also happens to be a wolf shifter. No one other than family knows Jasha’s secret until his unsuspecting administrative assistant finds him in wolf form. Anne has been in love with Jasha since she started at his company four years ago, she quickly moved up the ranks from a regular security to Jasha’s Admin where she has been ever since. In a desperate attempt to finally get Jasha to notice her as a woman, she goes to his Washington wilderness home, where she plans to seduce him… Soon after her arrival to an empty house Anne hears something downstairs, what she finds is horrifying! She sees a wolf but it soon starts changing into a man.. into Jasha. Scared out of her mind, she runs… Which is the last thing she should have done. Thrilled by the chase Jasha sets out after her. During Anne’s fleeing she falls and lightning strikes revealing a small icon of the Virgin Mary in pristine condition. When Jasha catches up to Anne he is aroused beyond belief and he sees her in a way he has never seen her before. In the rain and lightning things go further than they should but there is no going back from there. With the next day comes a new revelation. The Wilders murderous cousins from Russia have finally found them and now Jasha and Anne must flee for their very lives.
Review:
Ok, so the main characters are exactly the most likeable characters I’ve ever come across in a novel, you don’t hate them but they are not necessarily relatable. Jasha can be pretty primitive and is not the most sensitive of males, although considering everything this is not unexpected. Anne tends to be a bit of a doormat but she does end up finding her backbone by the end of the book. And I don’t blame Anne for doubting Jasha’s claim of love, it does seem very convenient. Ok, now that I’ve said all of that, I could not put the book down. The action starts from the first chapter and keeps on going. Sometimes the first book of a series can be slow while everything is being set up, not so with this book. You are grabbed from the first chapter and it does not let you go. The passion is intense, primitive and exciting! Jasha takes what he wants and Anne is helpless but to give him what he wants, I mean how can you really say no, to such an animalistic primitive need. It’s just such a turn on! So on a different note, Jasha’s family is a big part of the story. You cannot help but love his parents, and are intrigued by his siblings. I would really like a prequel of Jasha’s parent’s story, C. Dodd gives you some little snippets but it’s just enough to intrigue you and make you wish for some more. Anne has a secret that is alluded to through the whole book up until the end, it is somewhat anti-climatic after the build up, but for me it didn’t really detract from the story because it was in the middle of other drama. I am going to rate this book a 4, and the only reason I am rating it a 4 instead of a 5 is because where as I am excited to move on in the series, I do not think I will ever return to this book for a re-read.
Rating:
Sounds like an interesting premise!
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