Dark Heart (Elven Kingdoms #2)

Donna Grant

Blurb:

Deepest passion. Darkest betrayal.

Once, she was my world. The only one I loved. Then it was all ripped away—including my freedom.

Vengeance kept me alive. It paved every step, shaped every plot.

Until I finally caught her.

I learned that line between love and hate is wafer-thin. Where once my dreams were filled with revenge, now that I have her, all I think about is the intoxicating passion we once shared.

But there’s no turning back the events her capture has set into motion. It unravels a carefully constructed world, one where enemies surround me.

Everyone, that is, except her.

Now, we only have each other—and the love that once united us, to fight our way to long-buried truths that will change everything.

Themes: Paranormal, Elves

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

When I first heard that Donna Grant was starting a new spinoff series of the Dark Kings series I knew I would love it, but I had no idea just how different it would be. While some of her series have gone dark and twisted this new series has gone into even darker territory of human emotion than even I imagined and while there is a bit of romance, it is certainly not the main feature, or even key, to the story line. A fantasy world filled with terrifying creatures, backstabbing and dangerous political intrigue, the Elven Kingdoms series grabs ahold of your heart and keeps you on the edge of your seat from the very beginning, even in the moments when the action is in a lull, as few and far between as those are. This newest installment picks up right where book one ended with one of the side characters finding her life in mortal danger, from someone she once loved and that she thought she’d lost forever. I am dying to read more as this series develops, but I am terrified at the same time, knowing that things are only going to get worse for this team of rebels before they have any hope of getting better for them.

Arya is a wanted woman, along with the rest of her team, after helping to bring down the slave-trading stronghold of Shaldorn and while she is proud of that she knows she needs to keep her head of a swivel or she could even up capture or killed. She’s just leaving a meeting with Dain, the Dark elf that is her boss, when she finds herself overwhelmed by enemies and taken captive. But the real nightmare begins when she awakens to find herself on a ship on the river in the Dark kingdom, being held by the man she once loved, one she thought was gone from her life forever, and one that is obviously beyond infuriated with her. Jai is finally getting vengeance against the woman that cost him and his best friend years of their lives as slaves, the woman that still owns his heart even though he refuses to acknowledge that fact apparently. Even though kidnapping her and turning her into to his Masters will buy his freedom, it gets harder and harder by the moment, and as truths slowly come to light, Jai has to come to terms with the lies of his past and decide to place his trust in the woman he thought had betrayed him if either of them have any chance of surviving to have a future, because they both now have powerful enemies after them and only a slim chance of getting out of their predicament alive.

I loved this story and have to tell ya it took me a little bit to recall who Arya was, but once I did I was thrilled to get to learn more about her. She is definitely one of those girls that you can see be friends with, one that burns with a sense of needing to help, instead of just living an entitled life and seeks adventure even when it comes with danger. She is smart, brave, loving, and strong, even when she is faced with emotionally tumultuous pain, but she never lets that pain stop her from thinking. Seeing her come to terms with her past and Jai’s, leading him to the truths that would shatter his heart, but still being there for him and supporting him showed just how strong she was and that the love she had for him transcended any obstacles in their path. Jai was a hard one, because obviously his character was set up to be the villain for a good bit of the story, but even then you could see the depth of his emotions and the need to protect those he loved, even if his love was sadly misplaced. He is strong, intelligent –when he finally looks past the obvious—and he loves deeply. I enjoyed seeing him kicking ass, but truly what I loved most was watching him supporting Arya and showing her how much of a team they could be once they both accepted that they were always meant to be together. Some hearts are always meant to find one another, and nothing can stand in their way.

Dark Heart truly is a story of two people, repeatedly betrayed and deceived by someone that was trusted, and while it cost them too much time, they find one another again through deadly and dangerous circumstances. While some stories are fille with lightness and fluff as two people find love, this is in no way that, instead filled with repeated obstacles, deadly battles, and near-death experiences that the lovers have to overcome in order to claim their second chance. Arya never thought she would see Jai again, assuming that he was forever beyond her reach, but seeing the darkened version of him might have been even worse if she couldn’t still see the man she fell for in his eyes. She holds that truth close as she battles through the pain and fear in order to reach him and soon they are faced with the truth that separated them, one that could break them even now, but Arya will do everything in her not-inconsiderable power to protect Jai this time and stop the slavers trying to take control of her world. Jai has lost most of his adult life to a betrayal deeper than any he ever imagined and a quest for vengeance that has darkened his heart, but finding Arya and their love again reminds him of the kind of male he is and nothing will stop him from showing her she can trust him. Together, with the help of her team, they will do whatever they can to bring down the disgusting power-hungry elves kidnapping and enslaving their people, but their renewed love will be the ultimate treasure to come out of their quest. Their passion is undeniable, even when it comes out as hatred, because real sometime love and hate are just two sides of the same coin, one that can be so easily flipped back over. I am dying for more in this series and cannot wait for Donna to take us on the next adventure.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.