Review: Best of the series so far!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 8, 2013
"A feral beast haunts this castle and...that beast is me."~Hadrian Lucretius, mad Vampire King of the Validus Clan**Please note ARC provided by author in exchange for honest review**Eva Maldonado is a disgrace to her Silveria Shifter Pack. As the bastard half-breed daughter of their alpha Arsenio, Eva is seen as an abomination and is often beaten and starved simply because of her parentage. When Arsenio is challenged by Black Knight Falcon Kenwrec to hold up his end of the peace treaty between his pack and the vampires, the answer is an easy one. With his own dark motives, he sacrifices Eva who is now  to be a ward to the 'mad king', Hadrian Lucretius.King to the Validus Clan exiled himself  over 300 years ago, unable to keep his throne. His mind is as shattered and broken as the windows and mirrors, whose reflection he can't seem escape. His descent into madness has been a painful one. Memories and visions of torture and blood lust accompany the voices and blood curdling screams inside his head. Hadrian is damaged, lethal and while no angel, he's fallen, to his knees, broken.Caressed by a Crimson Moon, the 3rd installment of the Rulers of Darkness series, made my heart hurt. There are characters that you follow and sometimes, just sometimes, there are characters that you feel. You feel their pain, their anxiety, self loathing and triumphs. Hadrian was that character for me. Ms. Greene ripped his heart, mind, body and soul wide open, leaving for you, the reader, no emotion untapped. The wordplay flowed effortlessly, keeping me drawn in and anxious for more.Before laying eyes on Falcon, Eva had never actually seen a vampire before. That doesn't mean she hasn't heard the rumors, the stories of the monster, the mad king who will drain her, slowly, painfully. Is Eva escaping one hell only to be thrown into another? There is no slow burn here. The whirlwind begins almost immediately and can I just say, by chapter 4...yeah, that. There are secrets and revelations, tests of willpower and all consuming passion that is raw, sensual and downright primal, making for a thrilling ride.Fans of the series will be thrilled to get a better look at Hadrian and Falcon's 'bromance' and what lays ahead for my favorite Black Knight. Silvie is a fiestly little witch who is quite the puppet master and appearances by other characters that together, help make this series what it is, and is coming to be. This is, by far, the best of the series to date and with an intriguing ending, leading to book #4, this series h. The Rulers of Darkness and the Black Knights at their side make for a dark, sexy, lethal clan you'll want to sink your own teeth into!