Customer Reviews

Dark Lover (Masters of Time, Book 5)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In New York City, Center for Demonic Activity, Historical Crimes Unit demon slaying witch Samantha Rose misses her sister Tabitha (see DARK VICTORY) and her cousin Brianna (see DARK EMBRACE) as her fellow agents married Highlanders and live several centuries in the past. She focuses even more on her work with her latest assignment to retrieve the Duisean, a valuable Celtic manuscript owned by Rubert Hemmer.

International art thief Ian Maclean is known for being able to obtain any masterpiece for his clients. He and Sam had a run in when they met in Scotland that left her humiliated and furious. They meet again as he is seducing the wife of Rupert to foster his plan to steal the Duisean in order to sell to the highest bidder. Sam and Ian team up to try to steal the valuable artifact though neither wants that teaming. Worse they are attracted to one another and begin to depend on one another although both fear the directions their respective feelings are taking them.

The latest Masters of Time romantic urban fantasy is a super complex tale as the kick butt adversaries must unite but both have doubts distrusting the other and even more their hearts. He uses a suave uncaring demeanor to hide his darkest secret that the demons once imprisoned and tortured him for seemingly eternity; she has never forgotten or gotten over his rejection in Scotland. However, they have no choice if they are to prevent an ancient dark one from arising; time is of the essence as they plunge into his worse nightmare that of his own past.

Harriet Klausner

I have to agree with another reviewer- something was definitely lacking....unfortunately Ian is very one dimensional and Sam not much better....but I will buy the next one and hope for better

I read all the Masters of Time and I have to say after waiting with bated breath for this one (pre-order and all), it was my least favorite. For some reason, it lack connection between the two main characters. I love Sam and Ian but the book was lacking something and I'm still trying to put my finger on it. With that said, Brenda Joyce is one on my favorite and I will ready anything she writes.

I won't go over the whole story plot, since other reviewers have done that.

Let me start off by saying that I don't think Brenda Joyce really knows what "romance" is. I've read her books, and there just doesn't seem to be that simple longing and sweetness in her stories. There's lots of action, but even when she gets to the sex and "love scenes", the story falls flat and uninteresting. And lust is different than love.

Ian was an interesting character. I wanted to know all about him and his past and everything. He did some things that intrigued me and made me want to learn the whys about his choices and feelings.

Sam was probably the absolute worst heroine I have ever read about. She was so selfish, and I was almost embarrassed for her because she was so conceited, yet ignorant, so she looked immature at times. I couldn't believe the stuff that came out of her mouth when she fought with Ian.

To be honest, there were actually a few times where I thought of her as a slut, because she would almost brag about how she uses boys as her "toys" and doesn't care. It was so annoying, and I found myself wishing she would have some realization about what a cold and uptight person she was.

I have never read any of Brenda Joyce's books before. I really like this book, in fact the whole series of these books are GREAT! Very steamy love scences too. I enjoyed it.

Another dominant Highlander from Brenda Joyce. He knows what he wants and her name is Samantha Rose. He's determined to have her. What a pair these two make. The chemistry is hot! He is tortured and vulnerable, but puts up a good front. Sam is one tough broad. She wants Ian to pay for humiliating her. She'll have him, but on her terms.

It's lovely to get a look at the previous Masters of Time heroes and heroines and see how they're faring as well.

I definitely recommend this book, particularly if you've enjoyed the earlier books in the series.

I received my book 4 days after ordering it. The book was in better condition than stated on website.
Very pleased!!! Will order more books soon.

I have followed this series from the start and I love it. It is a great read an keeps you on the edge wondering what will happen next.

Was one of the best books ever i think these should be movies :D

would watch em all the time!!!

Samantha Rose works as a Slayer, meaning her job is to hunt bad guys. Her most recent assignment is to retrieve several pages from a book of power that was recently acquired by some very evil characters and then subsequently stolen from them by the very man they hired to retrieve it in the first place.

The suspected thief is a man named Ian Maclean, who is a time travelling Highlander with a dark past. Ian was imprisoned, tortured and tormented by demons for most of his life. His possession of the pages from the dark book leads to his involvement with some of the very people who were responsible for his horrible life. Samantha gets involved with Ian because she wants the pages too (for the good guys), but her attraction to Ian and the pity she feels for him get in the way of her doing her job, and also drag her into his past.

Eventually, Samantha finds herself in a similar position to the captivity Ian once faced, and the only person who can save her is Ian. Ian is forced to face his fears to rescue her, and he must rely on his Father for help, even though he has blamed his father for his captivity for all these years.

The biggest problem I had with this story is that the description of the characters didn't match their actions at all. For example, Samantha Rose was described as a sex crazed woman who constantly uses young men for one night stands. She supposedly has no emotion at all and didn't even shed a tear or get upset after finding her mother's murdered body years earlier. We are supposed to believe that this emotionless tough chick is an accurate description of her, but she never actually has random sex with anyone in this book, she gets emotional throughout the whole thing, and she cried more than once. Huh?

The other main character, Ian Maclean, is just as contradictory to his description as Samantha was. We are supposed to believe that he is a strong sexy dangerous dark man (hence the title Dark Lover), but then the author gives him panic attacks through the entire book and makes him scared of everything he faces. Again, Huh? If Joyce had named the book "Scaredy Cat", that would have been a better fit. And trust me, a scaredy cat does not make a sexy alpha male. Furthermore, the whole plot of the book begins with Ian's career as an unconscionable thief, and yet he lets himself be tormented over something he only stole for profit in the first place. Baffling, and not in a good way.

I think we are supposed to believe that Ian and Sam are responsible for the changes in each other, but we never really get a good explanation as to why. They are complete strangers to each other and their interactions are confrontational hateful encounters. Then suddenly **POOF** they're in love. One last time, Huh?

The plot and the characters simply did not add up for me. The word "evil" was ridiculously overused - think broken record - and sounded completely generic as a result. The time jumping also seemed overused with too many people able to do it. And even though there was a lot of activity in the last 1/3 of the book, the first 2/3 was boring and repetitive.

I couldn't find much to like in this book. The big climax/battle at the end was somewhat decent, and I liked Ian's family. Those are the only reasons I didn't give this book a 1 star rating. My recommendation is to skip this series and go straight to Karen Marie Moning's Highlander Series instead.

This was my first Brenda Joyce novel and unfortunately I wasn't very impressed. I'm still undecided if I will try another of her books, but maybe this was just an anomaly. If you really love another of her books, please let me know and I'll give it a try.