Search - If Angels Burn (Darkyn, Bk 1)

This is the first book in the Darkyn series. Its a pleasant read but nothing spectacular. Since its the first book in the series it has to carry the weight of setting up the mythos and back story as well as stand on its own. It does a passable job of ths but it could have been better. Also there are alot of made up terms the author uses and expects the reader to know what she means without explanation. You eventually learn what most of them are through context but I didnt like that I was forced to figure them out. As the reader I shouldnt have to work at figuring out an authors made up words. It gets a 3 out of 5.

I liked this book, but I think potential readers should keep one thing in mind; this, despite the classification, is not a romance. Yes, there is a love story, but the primary focus of the book is world building, and the story is a paranormal thriller with a romance sub plot. If I judge the book this way, I like it a lot. If I were to judge it as a romance, it would fail, because Viehl's primary purpose is not developing romantic love; it's the story of one a woman and her brother and their dangerous involvement in the world of the Darkyn and the Brethren (enemies of the Darkyn). The world building is intricate; Viehl has a strong and compelling voice, and the characters are nicely drawn.

Unlike other reviewers, I did not dislike the heroine. She can be a bit abrasive, but I found this more realistic and true to life. I am heartily sick of sweet, silly, perfect heroines. Alex read to me like a real woman, who had real issues stemming from losing her parents and her brother. She also had the distinction of being one of the few Romance heroine surgeons, who I actually believed was a surgeon, rather than Doctor Barbie. The hero was slightly more problematic, because he did not seem to be as developed, and his motivations were less clear.

This book is part of a series that I am enjoying, and reading it is necessary to really appreciate the other books. If you approach this expecting a good paranormal, rather than a good Romance, I think you will find yourself pleased and intrigued enough to continue with the rest of the Darkyn saga.

Pretty good! As I was reading, I realized how easy it was to tell that this was an experienced author. As much as I like paranormals, this one really pointed out how often little moments of unlikely dialogue or badly phrased, flowery descriptions pop up in so many of them. Viehl has a long-standing successful sci-fi series and it shows. (And I do believe her other series has a doctor as the main character too!)

The story itself is not at all cutesy like many paranormals are these days. No sweetsy pet demons in this one! That could be good or bad, depending on your mood. The story really worked and the characters were interesting -- I hope we learn more about them in future books. I wasn't sure John's storyline was going to add much at first, but his story grew on me a lot as the plot unfolded.

All in all, definitely recommended, and I'll be continuing with this series.

This book was a little too strong with details of pyscho-serial killer thoughts/actions. I liked the book otherwise, but cannot read another in this series due to that, unfortunately.

I had high hopes for this book since it is part of a genre which I have read so much of in the last few years. This book was a gross disappointment. I find it frustrating when an author uses created words that have no immediate clarified meanings, or when they use words in French. I don't speak French so those words may as well be blank spaces. Another issue I had was with the violence. I am used to some measure of violence in paranormal novels but some of the scenes in this book were disturbing. There was no real connection between the main characters and was left to wonder why they were attracted to each other. I did not feel at all invested in their "relationship" and basically skimmed the last third of the book because I simply could not take it anymore.

This book was a very good book and had excitment waiting around every corner. The romance was good and the story flowed very well. I can't wait to finish the rest of the series!