"a unique dark paranormal romance with fantasy overtones"
Venge Leidolf is a hellhound, formerly trapped in the
kennel of an
evil witch. We were introduced to Venge in Devoti's first
Nocturne,
Unbound, when we saw his father having to make some hard
choices
regarding the young man in order to save his life. Venge didn't know about those hard choices. He thought his
father was
as evil as Lusse. Ever since he escaped, the desire to get
even has
motivated him. When the magical horn that used to summon
the Wild
Hunt lures him to a remote town along with many other
hellhounds, he
conceives of a plan to finally get his revenge on dear ole
Dad. What he didn't count on was the presence of the alluring
female Geysa
along with some other women, who seem to be monitoring the
hounds for
no reason Venge can determine. Geysa, in actuality, is a
Valkerie,
enemy of hellhounds, whose mother was murdered the last
time the Wild
Hunt ran free. Since then, the Valkerie have hidden the
horn from the
dreadful ErlKing. But now it's loose and the Wild Hunt
looks set to
reconvene. What can Geysa do to stop it, especially when
she realizes
not all hellhounds are the same? In fact, a certain
hellhound might
be worth loving, even if he's convinced no one in the world
could ever
love him. The first thing that struck me about this book was the
worldbuilding.
It's...big, for lack of a better word. Valkeries, Norns,
ErlKings,
Hellhounds, Witches, Guardians, and all sorts of other
creatures
populate the pages of Devoti's imagination. On one hand,
the work
reminds me of the Kresley Cole Immortals After Dark series,
but on the
other, it's more streamlined. In this book, we experience one world, but there are
references to
other worlds and places without ponderous explanations of
how one
transfers from world to world, how they differ, and so on.
Devoti
does a good job of giving just enough information without
overwhelming. As I understand it, word count in Silhouette
Nocturnes
is roughly 75,000, and I felt like the author made the
right choices
of how to use those words. Some readers may find the
worldbuilding
light on detail, and some will find the balance true. The romance between the hero and heroine moves at a rapid
clip. At
first their infatuation and lust are believable, express-
laned by a
bit of a contrivance involving Valkerie allure, but for me
they didn't
spend quite enough time together to form the bond they had
by the end
of the story. I did think they were written as
complementary without
being total opposites, and that spoke well for their future
as a
couple. All plot threads weren't tied up in a pretty and
unearned bow
by the end, but the culmination satisfied me as to Venge
and Geysa's
part of Devoti's overarching mythos. Devoti also wove in references to past and possible future
protagonists that felt organic instead of forced, deepening
the
impression of the "bigness" of this series and its
inhabitants. It is
not necessary to have read previous books (Unbound,
Guardian's Keep)
to appreciate Wild Hunt, yet the text does not needlessly
rehash
common information. I would label this as a unique dark
paranormal
romance with fantasy overtones -- a lot of enjoyable genre-
mashing
going on here. I would not hesitate to read Devoti's other
work, but
I already have and know I liked it, so that's a safe bet. Reviewed by: Jody Wallace, author
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted July 9, 2008
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Natural enemies–hellhound and Valkyrie–their alliance made them more powerful than anyone could anticipate… Alongside his hellhound brethren, Venge Leidolf was summoned to start the Wild Hunt anew. But in this dreaded pursuit of souls, Venge sought to free himself from his infernal bondage–by claiming the heart of a fierce Valkyrie… Geysa never questioned the alluring gifts that set her apart from the other Valkyries, or her hatred of hellhounds–until Venge fell under her spell. Drawing the alpha hellhound so close made Geysa doubt her every instinct. To stop the Hunt, the two blood-born enemies would need to cast aside old vows and allegiances. Only then could no one question the strength of their union… Genre: Paranormal Romance, Shapeshifter, Fantasy
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