Dance with the Devil
Dark-Hunter, Book #3
By Sherrilyn Kenyon
ISBN# 9780312984830
Author’s Website: http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
Zarek has not had an easy life, born to parents that didn’t want him, let alone love him, he has never known the joy of a comforting touch or the sound of sweet words. His own father made him one of his slaves, a whipping boy for whenever one of his brothers did something wrong, Zarek was made to pay the price. And, it never got easier from there.
Now he’s the most reviled Dark-Hunter, the one the others are afraid of and don’t want to be around. He was exiled to the desolate land of Alaska for killing those humans he was supposed to protect. And, to this day that act haunts him, as he has no idea why he did it. He can only assume he’s insane as the others believe him to be. Zarek lives life alone and cold, never knowing what it’s like to be warmed or loved. He has built a shell or sarcasm and hostility around himself as his only line of defense against others.
Now Artemis has demanded his death by the hands of the Dark-Hunter killer, Thanatos. But Acheron believes there is still good inside of Zarek and demands he has a chance to save himself. He barters with Artemis to send out Astrid to judge him, Astrid who has never deemed anybody innocent.
So Astrid goes out to the blustering cold Alaskan wilderness to do as she’s bid, completely blind during the judging period. And she discovers there is more to Zarek then anybody suspects. Could Acheron be right? Could Zarek be worth saving?
They may not get a chance to find out, as Thanatos has his own score to settle with Zarek and is ready to dole out his vengeance, even if it’s against Artemis’s will.
I really wanted to like this story. The tortured souls in a series are usually the most heartbreaking and emotional ones, after all. But I really had a hard time focusing on this story and just reading it. I couldn’t stay tuned in enough to read more than a chapter or two at a time. It made me feel like I was suffering from ADD to be honest … “oh look a butterfly”. The story was still a decent one, but it just took me a lot longer to read than it should have taken.
I didn’t find Astrid to be all that entertaining. She was a bit on the drab side, doing what she was set out to do, but really pretty boring all in all.
But seeing glimpses of Zarek’s past and how he was treated was heart-wrenching! To imagine any parent or sibling treating someone like that was beyond disgusting. My heart could not help, but bleed for the unfairness and cruelty that Zarek had to endure.
“I don’t suffer from my insanity — I enjoy every minute of it.”
So as boring as I find Astrid to be, I’m glad Zarek could finally find someone to warm him and show him what it’s like to be truly loved.
We also got to see some more of Acheron and Artemis’s strange relationship. There are also hints that Ash lead a similar heartbreaking past to what Zarek has, so I’m sure when his story comes around, it will be a true tear-jerker!
I found I did enjoy Ash’s pet demon, Simi, though. And her making Artemis jealous was just icing on the cake!
Overall this was a decent read, but it just wasn’t one of my favorites.
