Review: The Best Order of The Blade Yet!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 27, 2013
I have been reading Stephanie Rowe's The Order of The Blade from the beginning.  And too be honest, by the 6th book in a series, I've usually lost my interest.  The stories become very cookie cutter.  But I'm happy to say that isn't the case with DARKNESS ARISEN.  Ms. Rowe knocks the ball out of the park on this one!This is the long awaited story of Calydon Warrior Ian Fitzgerald.  Our heart broke for Ian, who has been in mourning though out most of the previous books, having lost his Sheva (soul mate). Ian's has accepted  it's the Calydon's way, that in order to keep the world safe from evil, that sometimes a warrior's Sheva must be eliminated, so that the warrior doesn't go crazy and  more innocents is lost.  It's simply a fact for members of The Order of The Blade, the most elite warriors.  But the loss of his Sheva has taken its total on Ian and we have been watching him suffer for the last 5 books.We have even had tiny glimpse into Ian's past in his Novella, Forever in Darkness.  We learn all the men of the Fitzgerald family have a curse, they are doomed to find love and then lose the women who  stole their heart, only to have their own grieve drive themselves to take there on life.  So Poor Ian doesn't just have his family's curse hanging over his head, he is also a warrior of the order of the Blade.  Talk about a DOUBLE WHAMMY.  No wonder our poor hero is struggle so hard when he discovers that not only has he watched his Sheva die, but also now, he has seen her come back from the dead, no once but twice.This is where Darkness Arisen takes over...Now that Ian knows that his Sheva is alive out there somewhere, it becomes his mission to find her.  The only thing that Ian doesn't know, that his Sheva, Alice Shaw, doesn't want to be found.  She has her own mission that she needs to complete. Alice has her own dark demons and secrets, the tension between her and Ian starts the minute they met. Watching two poor damaged souls being draw to each other, but fighting it every step of the way was a tension-filled ride for this reader.Alice and Ian's journey was full of adventure, angst and suspense. I think I went through all the emotions as I read their story,  I went from screaming at the two of them for their stupid self-doubting, to smiling at the incredible love between these two torched souls.  There were cries of joy as well has Palm face moment.  Stephanie Rowe was able to draw out all the array of emotions. The chemistry between Ian and Alice is off the charts and you can't help but totally fall in love with them.How were these two people, who needed each other, both carrying their own deep wounds, able to break the Fitzgerald curse? Once they did that, Ian and Alice when had to deal with the Order curse.  And finally, the topping on this mountains of problems facing this couple, Alice has her own curse to deal with.Darkness Arisen is the most intense Oder of The Blade book to date.  It's a roller-coaster of emotions and action what keeps the reader sitting on the edge of your sit during the whole book.  I couldn't put the book down once I started reading.I highly recommend getting Darkness Arisen and join Ian and Alice on their adventure, it's a ride you won't soon forget.