Shadow Fallen

Dream-Hunter, Book #6

Hellchaser, Book #8

Dark-Hunter, Book #28

By Sherrilyn Kenyon

ISBN# 9781250773869

Author’s Website: sherrilynkenyon.com

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

*Beware of Spoilers*

Review

Ariel is a Naşāru, an elite Arel, whose job is to protect the souls of innocent mortals who have died in battle as they journey to their afterlife.  Arels aren’t to ever know pain, grief, happiness, or joy.  They are not to feel any emotions as it would taint them and keep them from doing their jobs.

However, when Ariel takes the son of a powerful sorceress on his journey, his mother is filled with grief and rage.  She wants vengeance!  And, she’s willing to sell her soul for it.  She rips Ariel from her realm, turns her human, and curses her to know love only for that person to die in her arms and be ripped away from her.  Then, Ariel will finally know what it feels like to lose someone she loves.

Valteri has lived a cursed life, himself.  His twin brother was stillborn and Valteri had the unfortunate luck to be born with mismatched eyes.  It didn’t help that his mother saddled him with a demonic name too.  Everyone has feared him his entire life.  He’s believed to have been sired from the devil himself.  And, the men of God have been the worst as they tried to beat and torture the devil out of him as a young boy.  Valteri had no choice but to learn to protect himself and become the fiercest warrior around.  That is why his brother, William the Conqueror, had him lead an army to invade England.  However, William has not freed Valteri from his post and he is stuck in this bloody country he hates.

Valteri has dreamed of an ethereal woman on the battlefield.  And, he is unsure what it means when the woman from his dream shows up in his lands with no memory of who she is.  However, he is unwilling to turn her away.

Valteri welcomes Ariel into his home in hopes her memory will return and they can return her to where she belongs.

Valteri has never known a kind hand until Ariel.  He knows someone must be looking for her.  And, isn’t surprised when her brother shows up.  However, Ariel is afraid of Belial.  Valteri cannot send her away with him, so instead invites them both to stay.  Valteri does not know that Belial is a demon there to make sure he collects both of their souls once the curse is complete.  And, Belial will use any tick he can, to get Valteri and Ariel right where he wants them.  Valteri has vowed to protect Ariel, but will he be able to stop the evil that stalks them?

I always dread the Dream-Hunter books.  I find them a bit odd and hard to follow.  However, this one wasn’t too bad.  It was easy enough to connect with the characters and understand what was going on.  And, I actually enjoyed Valteri and Ariel.

Valteri had been through so much in his life he was willing to go through anything for a moment of happiness with Ariel.  He didn’t understand her fear of him losing his soul and to spend an eternity being tortured in Azmodea.  It would be no more than what he was used to being tortured on earth.  I could understand her trying to leave him to save him once, but it got annoying when she did it the second time.  It was obvious he would keep to his word that he would always come for her.

I kept getting Valteri’s father confused with another character in this world.  It’s just getting really hard to keep everyone straight.

We did get some time with Thorn and Shadow in this book though, which was nice.  I always enjoy those two, especially when they can gang up on evil!

I really felt his unbound power would play a bigger role in this book than it did.  I kept waiting for it to be unleashed so Valteri could save the day.  Unfortunately, that never happened though.

This was still a decent read and it read fairly quickly.  I wouldn’t mind seeing more of this couple in the future, but I’m not sure how much they really connect with the other characters in this world.  So, I’m unsure if we’ll see more of them or not.  Only time will tell, I guess.