Review: Fast paced, passionate must-read!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 11, 2012
From the moment Darkness Surrendered opens, we hit the ground running. I'm not talking a slow, gentle jog here either; seriously, this is running at full pelt, sweat dripping, heart bursting running we're talking about here! Book three of the Order of the Blades series is most definitely filled with adrenaline pumping action. I was constantly immersed in the glorious action, the characters, their relationships, so much so that I had to force myself to stop reading to slow my pulse and take a breath throughout the book.In many ways, book three is quite different to the first two books. It is just as superbly original and excellent, yet the passion, struggle and the depth of emotion that Ana and Eiljah face is so brutal, yet is also pretty awe inspiring.I was swept away by Stephanie's depth of character detail and emotion. She bared the souls of her characters allowing us the privilege to not only see and feel the characters, but to understand them; I felt that this was much more raw, more fierce and many ways more real compared to the characters that we've previously known and loved (who we still see and continue to enjoy in Darkness Surrendered).Darkness Surrendered plays out a little differently than books one and two; the protagonists have to face a much greater challenge than those of previous books. And geez, Stephanie throws so much at them! At times I jumped up and down swearing, at others I was so very moved and had tears in my eyes, but you know what, Stephanie and her characters did not disappoint. Rather, she challenged the beliefs and values of her characters and took them down paths that I couldn't believe she was taking them. And I am so very glad that she did! This book is full of risks - in so many ways! And I absolutley loved the rollercoaster that Stephanie, Ana and Elijah took me on.