Customer Reviews

Dark Defender (Paladins of Darkness, Book 2)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Alexis Morgan has done it again with her second installment in the Paladins series. The Paladins are warriors who resemble humans very closely in DNA and anatomy but with signifigant differences. They are larger, stronger, faster, have better hearing, and most handy of all come back to life most of the time when killed. But each time that happens they lose more of their sanity and humainty. The paladin retirement plan is usually found in euthanasia at the end of a needle. Though they exist among us in todays society, they are kept an extremely well guarded secret. They fight underground against a different humanlike species that lives in the core of the earth and can only cross over during earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. But lately surges of "Others" have been trying to pour through grasping strange rocks that they claim someone higher up in the paladin organization- a Regent-is accepting as payment.

Hunky and serious Blake Trahain, who helped out our last hero Devlin Bain, runs to St. Louis to confront his past. The judge who practically saved his life by dragging him off the streets as a child, and whom Blake has turned to in order to help solve the puzzle of the mysteroius jewels crossing the Barrier, has just been assasinated. Blake has no choice but to track the killer and at the same time protect the judges daughter, who he has secretly loved since he was a teenager. Though he will go to any ends to find the truth Blake is so close to the edge of sanity that he may not be able to come back this time from death-something his enemy is aware of.

Though not as earth moving a romance as that of Devlin and Laurel in Dark Protecter, this is still a very good book and definitley worth spending a few bucks to pick up.

Alexis Morgan takes us back to the world of Paladins and Others with the next book in her great new series.

Paladins are special men who because of one extra gene in their make-up can fight the Others as equals. They can die or be killed and then revived numerous times. However, each time leeches away alittle of their humanity. Finally they come back as Other, then they must be put to the final death. Each man has a Dr. or Handler who watches over him and decides when he is unable to come back.

Blake Trahern is a Paladin on the edge, he is very close to turning Other and having to be put down. After the events in the first book DARK PROTECTER he had called on one of his old friends who is a regent. He had notified him of the traiterous happenings. Blake has been a Paladin for over 12 years, always alone, always ready to defend the world from the threat of the Others.

Calling the Judge is a big mistake, because whoever the traitor is, he is dangerous. The Judge is killed when his car explodes, his daughter is knocked unconscious and taken to a hospital.

Brenna is an author, she is also the daughter of Judge Nichols, Blake was raised for a while by the Judge, he has always cared for the young girl he remembers from the time before he became a Paladin. Blake disappeared out of her life when she was 14, right after he graduated out of high school. She has not heard or seen him for the last 12 yrs and now he is there when she comes out of her coma.

Knowing that whoever killed the Judge will be out to get any information the Judge may have uncovered, Blake is determined to protect Brenna. In a very short time they are on the run. Blake has to come up with a story to tell her. Finally he tells her the truth.

Jarvis a Paladin in St. Louis, joins Blake and helps them to get away from the hospital.

Now Blake must find the killers while he protects Brenna, not only from harm but from himself. Blake has finally met that one woman who is not afraid of his dark side. How can he give that up? But how can he let Brenna be dragged into the battle between the dimensions.

I loved it. I think it is a great new series, I am looking forward to many more books in this world. Do not miss this one and Don't miss DARK PROTECTER either.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time going on and on about what I liked about Blake and Brenna's story in the second book of the Paladins of Darkness series, but I will say a few things. I thought the relationship between them was a little more developed and interesting than the one between Devlin and Laurel in Dark Protector (Paladins of Darkness, Book 1). Part of that was the simple fact that there was more time for Brenna and Blake to be together, as there wasn't the need for the world-building and mythos setup that there is in a first book of a series, the other part is that the scenes between them were simply written better - more realistically, with better dialogue and a stronger chemistry. I had a problem with aspects of the romance between Bane and his handler in the first book. I didn't have the same sort of problems here. True, I had different ones...but I'll get to that in a moment.

I'm a self-confessed sucker for the unrequited love of youth becoming deliciously requited in adulthood, so that aspect of the Blake/Brenna pairing was particularly enjoyable. I also thought the plot of Dark Defender was paced more evenly and started off with more of a bang...both literally and figuratively...than the first book. As far as the characters, I enjoyed Brenna's spunky, indomitable spirit even when faced with horrific loss and unbelievable reality. Trahern was a favorite character in the first book, so I was also pleasantly surprised to get a bit of backstory on him and see him developed a bit more. Jarvis was a nice addition to the Paladins (though he was sort of two dimensional and not too individual - there sure ARE a lot of John Doe's in the Paladin ranks). Frankly, I don't have any big complaints about the lead characters or the romance part of this paranormal romance.

It's the REST of it that gives me some trouble.

I'm struggling with being honestly critical without overly spoiling the plot, so I don't know how much detail I can get into here, but some things need to be said. I was willing to let a lot of unanswered questions and undefined world/mythos parameters go in the first book because it was, in fact, a first book of a series, but after finishing the second book, I'm starting to get a little concerned. I do NOT feel the world of the Paladins and their rather large-seeming organization is very well defined for the reader in EITHER book. Yes, we got nearly a Venn diagram of the structure of the Paladin organization in this one, but not enough of the overall picture and the people (beyond Paladins) involved in that picture to feel truly satisfying. And even those non-Paladins in the overall organization are treated more like barely-tolerated nearly-enemies to the cause than actual comrades in the fight against Other invasion.

Also, everything about this series so far feels VERY much like the reader is being told how things are for the Paladins, and it sucks, but everyone is resigned to just live with that same status quo they've been living in for millennia despite technological, medical, and communication advancements. Nothing has changed for the Paladins and no one seems to care to make that change (except for one lonely handler who is in love with one Paladin...and that was the driving plot of the first book). And that INCLUDES the Paladins who live their lives with a death sentence over their heads! I do not understand that "this is how things have always been so that's just how it is" mentality in the characters and without some reason why, or some far more in-depth world definition, this aspect of the series is not working for me at all. It makes the books and the series feel very two dimensional. Even mentions of attempts and failures would be SOMETHING to show that doctors, scientist, historians, and others were a bit more...human (what scientist do you know that ISN'T interested in solving BIG PROBLEMS like the Paladins turning Other?) and this would definitely flesh out the world a bit more.

There are also some things in Dark Defender that really struck me as wrong. A large continuity error between this book and the last comes to mind first. In Dark Protector, Devlin is teetering on the brink of turning when he's killed at the beginning of the book and his "revival" takes five days. It's stated that three is about the norm. In THIS book (and I'm really trying not to include major spoilers) that no longer seems to be the case. That's a problem that an editor should have caught, because it's a defining point of the Paladins as a group/species/whatever. Smaller but equally annoying issues: Brenna just suffered a tragedy and she's hopping on Blake's...er...bandwagon...a little too soon after for me to truly buy her decisions. It COULD have been written more like a comforting thing, or an affirmation of life thing and I would've bought that. Lust and a youth of unrequited love wasn't motivation enough given the nature of the tragedy (IMO).

Barak the Other we meet in the first book is STILL not explained. If the race is so bloodthirsty and wrong, why isn't he...and why is no one asking that question? And in the first book it indicated that Others that escape the tunnels spread dissonance in our world and pollute it because of it. Even the ones that blend in versus the ones that go on a killing rampage. So...explain Barak to me again?

And STILL no answers as to why the Others want over here so bad, no glimmer of interest in finding out motivation, or improving the way to deal with them, either. Just an almost childlike fascination with gems that don't exist in our world and an odd wonder about what their value would be to the people in the organization double crossing the Paladins and taking them as bribes. But...just how are they doing that - making contact with the Others to GET that payment and MAKE those bribes if every time the barrier drops the Paladins are there to kick butt? How did it start?? When would the first muckity-muck to turn against the Paladins even get that original opportunity?

Oh...one other thing...HOW did the judge know from the first moment that Blake was a Paladin?? Are Regents psychic? Do they have some sort of genetic detector we don't know about? Was it foretold somewhere? Did Blake heal really wicked fast in front of him?

Argh! There's SO much of this series that frustrates me because so much of it strains my willing suspension of disbelief until it borders on bad story telling. And yet, I really DO think the concept behind the Paladins is interesting and fresh. Plus, I'm always going to be a sucker for paranormal romance, so I'm way more forgiving of big plot holes and general contradictions than I would be in ANY other genre, so long as the romance works for me. And again, Blake and Brenna's worked for me. This is by no means my favorite paranormal romance series (too many others do it significantly better than Morris), and I fear I'm destined to be disappointed by all the things that the series COULD be but isn't, yet I can't help but like the Paladins as people and feel for their plight, so I guess I'll continue the series for a little while longer, at least. But to get higher than a three-star rating from me is going to take some serious work, full stop.

I read the first of the series and it took me a while to wrap my head around the storyline which was very unique. I wasn't sure I was going to care for a hero who died at the end--or I thought I would care to much and then be angry---I was so wrong on it all. I would suggest this book and the first to any who are considering it--just don't go into it with any prepreceived notions--you will be pleasantly surprised either way, but after getting that first book read--this second ones was fantastic because I knew the Paladian universe.

Because so many sophomore attempts are awful. (Chance book is an example). The first book was very entertaining with a new concept. This book went for the pity me angle -the I'm so tortured with pain, guilt whatever. I tried to like the characters, but the entire conspiracy angle overwhelmed the story. Also are the others friend's or foes. Make up your mind please. Over all I would borrow but not buy full price.

I didn't care the first one in this series because there was too many loose ends. I thought this one was better in that it at least addressed the fact that there was loose ends and that even the Paladins didn't understand what was happening, but they were trying to find out.

I also had the impression that answers were on their way. The characters were interesting and worked well together. I'm looking forward to the next one.

I enjoyed the first in the series, Dark Protector, and was looking forward to Blake's story. Blake is a Paladin and watches the border between our world and the Others. Paladin's are born warriors and often die in the line of duty, but are continuously brought back by their Handlers. Once a Paladin has been brought back one time too many, he becomes an Other and must be put down. In the First book, Blake was very close to becoming an Other. I had the feeling he was on the edge of losing his humanity. I did not get that feeling in this book, even though it kept saying he was close to having to be killed. I just expected more of his character and felt somewhat dissapointed. I didn't care too much for Brenna either. Dr. Laurel Young and Devin Blane's characters were more fleshed out in the first book. I still enjoyed the story but I wouldn't give it 5 stars. It kept my interest for the most part, but just didn't carry me away.

A tenuous barrier exists between Earth and the world of the Others. All that stands between Earth being overrun is a group of warriors called Paladins. Each Paladin is gifted with the ability to be revived over and over until finally all traces of humanity are erased and death is the only option. Blake Trahern is a Paladin on the edge until the death of a Regent and close friend forces Blake to risk everything for the Regent's daughter, Brenna Nichols.

Words cannot express the joy at seeing Blake's story come to life in DARK DEFENDER! Blake was a strong secondary character in the first book of this phenomenal series, DARK PROTECTOR. His struggle to maintain his humanity against all medical odds is a true testament to the power of love. Blake is at the brink of losing all vestiges of his humanity but his feelings for Brenna and her father give him the strength to continue fighting- much to the delight of the reader!

DARK DEFENDER can easily be read and understood as a stand alone novel. This reviewer suspects, however, that once readers get a taste of the Paladins of Darkness series, they will be screaming for more. The underlying threads of the story about the mysterious blue stones as well as the inner corruption keep the intrigue level high but Ms. Morgan ensures that readers unfamiliar with the series will quickly ascertain what is going on.

Alexis Morgan has done an excellent job at creating this alternate world and populating it with strong, well-developed characters who are both likeable and memorable. DARK DEFENDER skyrockets the Paladins of Darkness series to the top as this is one of the best paranormal series out there! Keep them coming, Ms. Morgan! We want to know more!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

On the one hand, I really think Paranormal Romances are in a rut. The plotlines are really all staring to be the same: Immortal guy meets girl who saves him from becoming "Other".

Still, I like this series. I tore through this book in just a few days (would have been shorter if I hadn't been so busy with other stuff). I recommend it highly.

This is the second book in the Paladin series and it was just as enjoyable as the first. I do wish that the underlying story of the corruption had progressed further than it did, but otherwise I was very hapy with the book. As in the first book, the hero and heroine of this one knew each other before the story begins, thus eliminating a lot of the "getting to know each other" parts you have in most romances. While this might make some readers might feel like something is "missing", I did not feel that way.

Because the action and plot of this book revolves around the story arc started in book 1, I would not recommend reading this book without first reading the other. In my opinion, it feels like the books in this series are going to be too interconnected to be read out of order.

I'm really glad I started this series as I am totally enjoying it so far. I can't wait to read book 3. If you like books with a "brotherhood" feel between the leading male characters, I highly recommend this series.