Review: 3.5 for Dark Obsession
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 17, 2010
Rae McAvoy is the leader of her team of Shadow Destroyers, humans with the special DNA needed to become demon slayers.  But right now her biggest problem isn't a demon but her ex boyfriend Parker.  Six years ago Rae nearly lost herself to the downward spiral Parker was in and refuses to let herself feel that way again.  Her current mission is to track down a rogue scientist who is believed to be repeating terrifying experiments on children.  This hits too close to home for Rae because it is her own father that she must find.Parker is back in Rae's life and he is determined to stay there.  He has fought his way out of the darkness that once consumed him and wants to prove to Rae that he is a different man.  He knows that she to feels the connection and sexual desire that is still between them and he refuses to back down no matter how hard she tries to keep him at arms length.  Together they will search for Rae's father, encounter demons and uncover secrets that may be the one thing will keep them apart.Rae likes to train, fight and work hard.  She has a need for control and I can understand not wanting to repeat the same relationship she had before with Parker.  She is a strong woman who doesn't want to be pulled back down again by Parker.  What I didn't like was when Rae held back important information from her team.  They are more like friends and family rather than coworkers and she was more concerned about how she would look once the information came out instead of the consequences of them not having all the facts.  I was glad when she finally allowed Parker to get close to her because she needed the support only he could give.  Parker fell into a dark place after it was said that his mother killed his sister and then herself.  His denial over what happen cost him his relationship with Rae and sent him tumbling towards a dark abyss.  He has since then pulled himself out of it and is back to prove to Rae that he is different.  He of course faces resistance and I like that he doesn't try to deny what he did to her.  He owned up to his mistakes and wants to prove himself to Rae even now that a mysterious woman threatens to unravel everything he has worked for.  You can feel the connection and lust between the two and it draws you in.With the story I felt a little lost and confused at first.  This is the 4th book in the series so relationships have already formed and the story is already moving along.  It would have been really helpful if there was some kind of guide to explain the different kinds of demons and what they did.  Aside from Rae and Parker, I didn't feel much for the other characters.  I didn't dislike any of them.  A few were amusing but there were none I would miss.  I'm sure if I would have started from book 1 (I was sent book 4 to review by author) then I would have felt differently about the other characters.  I really found the history of the demons and the folklore behind them interesting.  There is a story about demon brothers and jealousy that started it all and I would have loved to have read more about that.  About halfway through is when everything got interesting and from that point on I didn't want to set the book down.This was my first venture into Sydney Somers' Shadow Destroyers world and it won't be my last.  I would like to go back and start the series from the beginning and see how everyone came to be where they are now and I'd like to continue the series to see what happens next.