Rating: 
Summary: Best of the series so far: tortured hero about to die...
Review: This is the third (or fourth, if you count Fantasy Lover, as I do) of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series, and if you've read Talon's story you'll be familiar with Zarek, the surly, murderous Roman ex-slave. Zarek has been banished to Alaska for the past 900 years for burning down the village he was supposed to protect, and killing everyone in it. Acheron managed to persuade Artemis to give him one more chance, and in Midnight Embrace Zarek joined the other Dark-Hunters in New Orleans. But there he made a serious mistake: killed two police officers in full view of mortals. Now he is back in Alaska, knowing that he won't go unpunished - someone, soon, will be sent to kill him.And then it happens: he's been tracked down by Thanatos, the killer of Dark-Hunters. In trying to escape, he is hurt and thinks that it's all over, but then he wakes up in a comfortable bed in a warm house, with a beautiful - and blind - woman taking care of him. Pretending that she cares about him and wants to look after him. She has to be pretending, doesn't she? After all, no-one has ever really cared about him. No-one has looked after him. Everyone he's ever known has betrayed him or used him to gain pleasure from his pain. What Zarek doesn't know is that Astrid is a judge: an Olympian justice who has been ordered by Artemis and Acheron to judge and pass sentence on Zarek. Artemis, of course, wants him dead, but Astrid suspects that Acheron really wants her to find him innocent. And yet, in all her centuries of judging Astrid has never, ever found a single person innocent of the crimes alleged against him. Zarek, too, seems like a hopeless case. He rejects her, threatens her companion (a wolf who is actually a shapeshifter), has no manners or social graces, refuses to answer her questions. And she knows about his past, his murderous acts. And yet... there's something about him... Gradually, Astrid begins to learn about Zarek's past. The illegitimate son of a Roman officer, he was the household whipping-boy. His father, his half-brothers and all the servants treated him cruelly and mercilessly. By the time of his death, in his late twenties, his body was so scarred and misshapen that Artemis, without even asking had 'healed' his wounds and given him a 'normal' appearance. But no-one had ever thought to show Zarek kindness, or teach him how to behave with courtesy. He has been rejected by his own kind, the Dark-Hunters, every bit as much as in his life he had been rejected by mortals. But, as Astrid finds herself falling in love with him, she wonders how she can possibly find him anything other than guilty for the crimes of his past. Unless... is it possible that they weren't his crimes at all? Zarek's story is heartwrenching. But in Dance With The Devil we also find out much more about Acheron, so much so that I can't wait for his story. Just who - or what - is Acheron? What happens to him when he loses his temper and even gods quake before him? I both liked and hated him in this book: after all, he's known the truth about Zarek all along and still abandoned him to 900 years of painful exile. But I see that Kenyon isn't planning on satisfying our curiosity any time soon; the next book in the series is about Wulf, Talon's apparent friend mentioned in Midnight Embrace (I say apparent because, although Talon claimed Wulf as his best friend, he barely thought of the man in most of the book). There's also a very strange extract from something else at the end of this book, completely unexplained in any way - although it's called A Dark-Hunter Christmas, it makes no sense on its own and it's clearly part of a long story, there is no publication date or any other information given. Loved Zarek; roll on Acheron! wmr-uk
Rating:
Summary: A Major Keeper!
Review: Zarek's story in this, the third installment in the Dark-Hunter series, is one of tragedy and redemption, and the character development of Zarek really is heart-wrenching. The message of the book is simple but made profound by Zarek's suffering - look beneath the surface. Don't let the cheesoid cover of this book fool you - the "beneath the surface" story is well worth reading. The character development on Astrid is good (much better than the female protagonist in Ms. Kenyon's previous book - ugh!), and she's a great foil for Zarek's darkness. The secondary characters here are not as obviously being set up for their own books here as in "Night Embrace" (book 2), and Acheron much more fleshed out here. His "companion" Simi can be cute, but reminds me a little too much of Star Wars' Jar-Jar Binks - potentially extremely annoying. (Why on Earth would she be drifting in and out of speaking pidgin-English if her "father" is Acheron, whose English is perfect?!) Anyway, that quibble aside, the book really is great, the writing is brisk, and it DEFINITELY makes me look forward to Ms. Kenyon's next installment (due April 6, 2004 - yay!).
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I just love a dark, bad boy hero, and I simply cannot wait for the next installment! Fantastic writing.
Rating:
Summary: I want my own Zarek!
Review: The first two Dark-Hunter novels are very good, but this one is a keeper! Zarek has such a horrible past that there should be no good left in him but Astrid not only sees it, she makes him see it, too. He cannot believe that anyone would love him, or that he could ever feel love for someone else, yet instead of trying to push Astrid away he accepts her affection with a sense of wonder that moved me to tears. He is in awe of her, and treats her with a gentleness that I found lacking in the other DH novels. This wasn't Kenyon's typical wham-bam lust-driven sexual explosion that eventually turns to love. Z & A fall in love first, and it makes their love scenes much more special (while still very erotic ;) I hope that Kenyon writes more romantic DH stories like this in the years to come, because I will pay good money for more of this type of pairing.
Rating:
Summary: The best Dark-Hunter yet!
Review: I have read all of the books in Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series, and imagine my surprise when the "hero" I thought I'd like the least turns out to be my favorite by a large margain. Nothing against the others, they are sexy and funny and brave and you should definitely read their stories, but Zarek is truly special. Trapped in an existance where everyone hates him (but not as much as he hates himself), Zarek expects to be killed any minute for mistakes he has made in the past. He almost welcomes death as a means to escape his isolated, lonely situation, but instinct keeps him fighting back whenever anyone does try to finish him off. Thank goodness, because that gives Astrid the chance to come into his life, and they are so great together. She is able to find the goodness deep inside him and make him realize he is not only capable of being loved, but of loving in return. What I liked best about this pair is that they fall in love before making love. Not that I can't appreciate hot sex scenes that begin in lust and eventually turn to lovemaking, but it was a nice change of pace that love came first this time. I also liked that Astrid was more traditional and conservative than her female counterparts in the other DH novels. They are all terrific characters, but I recognize myself more in Astrid and this made the relationship sweeter somehow. And I also really appreciated the time that Astrid and Zarek got to spend trapped in her cabin, so that I got to know their characters better without the confusion of too many other gods, goddesses, vampires, demons and such butting in. Of course they all descend en masse eventually, but by then I had my whopping dose of (dare I say it) good old fashioned boy-meets-girl romance. That this is truly a romantic story is what puts in on my keeper shelf, and I hope SK tries this approach more often in future DH novels. I'll check them all out from the library, but I'll go out and *buy* the ones like Dance with the Devil where the couple connects in such a sweet and tender (yet still very sexy) way.
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs up
Review: The Simi rules! Funny, sad and sexy. A very enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book is awesome. I didn't know stories like this were written until I read Fantasy Lover. After that I had to read the rest to see if they were just as good, and I wasn't disappointed. Dance with the Devil is a good story of a misunderstood person triumphing over his obsticles.
Rating:
Summary: A great book!!!
Review: I have read all of the other dark hunter books and this one is just as good as the others. Sherrilyn Kenyon creates characters that you just fall in love with. You really don't have to read the other dark hunter books to enjoy this one but the other books explain more about the hunters. Fantasy Lover and Night Plaesures are really great!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Toothless tripe on toast!
Review: I didn't expect much from this book, but it failed to meet my lowest expectations. This is nothing more than a trashy, throwaway romance novel with fangs. The so-called plot is just poorly written filler between third-rate sex scenes. The characters are one-dimensional, the "world" they live in is convoluted without depth or definition, and the author routinely ignores the Alaskan winter and other plot points when it suits her. Laurell K. Hamilton does better scary studs with bite. For a truly excellent read, try Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series for witty dialog, humor and a real plot.
Rating:
Summary: Love this book!
Review: I cannot recomend this book highly enough! I loved it! This is a very touching story about a man who has had no love in his life, but practically on the eve of being put to death he falls in love with the very woman who is to judge him. This book is fast paced and interesting, with lots of other colorful characters; including a child-like demon, a mind reading dog, and gods galore. A must read!
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