Customer Reviews

Dark Watcher (The Watcher Series, Book 1)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Interesting but unexciting pretty much sums up how I feel about this book. After reading and loving Saintcrow's Working for the Devil I was expecting this one to be as gutsy and satisfying, but I was disappointed.

This book was just bland: plot, characters, you name it. Theodora, a very powerful but gentle witch, is caught up in a battle with evil forces who want nothing more than to kill her. Dante, the strong and protective watcher sent to keep her safe, realizes she is "his witch" who will soothe the darkness in him and bond with him for the rest of their lives. Theodora was maybe too good and gentle to be interesting. Her powers, which were continually remarked upon as exceptionally strong, were never explored or developed. I wanted to know more about her powers, how they developed, what her life was like always moving from city to city one step ahead of the bad guys. Instead, I felt like she wasn't fully developed. Basically, we get a pretty short book which spends too much time on the uninteresting parts and skips through the exciting ones. Even the ultimate fight scene in the end is skipped over and dealt with only very briefly leaving me feeling not satisfied, but disappointed.

Dante could have been interesting. He was saved from death long ago by Circle Lightfall and became a Watcher. In doing so, the Circle placed fire, or darkness, in him to make him strong. This also could have been explored- his past, his life as a watcher, the darkness in him- but it's not. All we know is he's tough, but Theodora brings out the goodness in him- not a totally original idea. What was original, like with many aspects of this book, was simply not explored. When I finished this book I realized that I was better off waiting for a sequel to Working for the Devil.

DARK WATCHER only gets better with each re-reading! Lilith Saintcrow has created a world where good, known as the Lightbringers, battles evil, known as the Dark. Lightbringers are witches whose very existence in a city will reduce the crime rate. The Circle of Lightfall is an organization dedicated to protecting Lightbringers by assigning Watchers to the Lightbringers. Watchers have a bit of the Dark in them and the touch of a Lightbringer causes pain- unless the Lightbringer is their witch.

Dante is a Watcher assigned to Lightbringer Theodora Morgan. Upon meeting her, he realizes she is his witch- and that she is in grave danger as she is part of a group of 3 Lightbringers and a Teacher, all unprotected except for himself and the Watcher Hanson. The Dark has started to attack in full force. How will Dante protect Theodora? Will she accept that she is his witch? And what is this about a Guardian spell?

DARK WATCHER has a unique blend of a sweet romance paired with strong paranormal action scenes. Theodora doesn't instantly trust Dante but adopts a wait-and-see approach. Dante is focused only on protecting Theodora and he embodies the tall, dark, handsome man of whom so many dream. Theodora is a well-developed character who demonstrates a perfect balance of strength and sensitivity. She is a healer and seeks out strays to help ease their pain. Dante's pain touches her as no other has and she seeks to comfort him despite her own fears.

DARK WATCHER is an excellent combination of fantasy and the paranormal. Lilith Saintcrow has created an intriguing and complex fantasy world that immediately draws the reader in and doesn't let go until the very last page. Do not start reading DARK WATCHER unless you have plenty of time to finish it as this is one book you will not want to put down!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Theodora Morgan is a witch, not just any witch, but a healer. She and three friends who are witches also, have a temple to the goddess in the basement of Theo's store The Magick Cauldren. Theo doesno't usually stay very long in one place but finding like minded friends has given her the push she needs to stay in one place longer than usual.

Dante is a watcher, sworn to protect those with psychic power from the evils of the Dark Crusade, and the darkness that is waiting to swallow and feed on the light in those people. He doesn't usually reveal his presence, but the circumstances force him to come clean with Theo.

The fact of there being four light-bringers togather is like a lamp in the darkness and evil is determined to destroy them. Every watcher has to take some darkness into himself in order to be able to have the power to protect them, this causes pain to the watcher especially if he touches a light-bringer. However, it is said, and promised that there is one witch for each watcher who can give him peace and stop the pain caused by the darkness. When Dante sees Theo he knows she is his witch.

I loved the story. Very good plot and wonderful characters. Do not miss it.

Liked the characters, story, and plot. My only complaint is a lack of love scenes and some steamy romance. Chemistry between the watcher and witch was kinda clinical. Doesn't have to be torrid but would be nice to see some sparks.

I assumed since this book cost over $10 that it would be at least normal sized. It was actually less than 200 pages, there was hardly any character development, and the whole book only took me 2 hours to read. I really should have looked at the book stats. It hardly rated paperback status. It looked more like a book my mom made with a desk top publishing program. Take my advice and try to get the book from a library or from a used book store. The story itself was ok, but certainly not worth what I paid for it. I feel as cheated as I did when I bought Micah.

I saw an earlier review and it made me curious and boy and I so glad it did. This is one of the best books I have read in a really long time. It had such a strong story line and such great characters.
Theo is a witch and such an earth mother that she feels the need to take care of every stray that wanders into her path. Dante is a warrior with a dark past that has chosen a new path in his life. He is a Watcher chosen by the Circle Lightfall, an organization of witches, to protect Theo. She doesn't trust the Circle and Dante's willingess to use violence is very disurbing to her. How they learn to trust each other and develop their relationship is wonderful to watch. There is no contrived sexual tension here, it is all real. The chemistry between the two characters just jumps off the page.
Also, just as a side note, as someone who has studied paganism and Wicca I found Ms. Saintcrow's attention to detail absolutely marvelous and refreshing.

Dark Watcher is responsible for keeping me up at night. It grabbed me, and I didn't want to put it down. Lilith Saintcrow is a top-notch story teller. Her use of language transcends that of virtually any romance I've read and that of most fantasies. She is an artist with words, painting elegant portraits of her characters and their environs.

Now I'm just waiting for the sequel, which is slated to be released this year.

Dante is a Circle Lightfall Watcher. His job is to protect a Lightbringer-a good witch who is instrumental in the battle of Light versus Dark. Theo is his witch, a psychic with even more abilities than she will give herself credit. They are thrown together as Dark demons close in on Theo and her coven, determined to eliminate them. Only time and loyalty will make Theo trust Dante, and that is as much as he can hope for; although, he longs for so much more from his feisty ward.

This is the first of three books in The Watcher series. Saintcrow has set this dark paranormal romance in a modern city. She portrays witches as normal people prone to normal activities and problems, who just happen to use their magic for the good of others. Her villains are described in detail, and Saintcrow does an amazing job of keeping the suspense high throughout the book. This is one book I can easily recommend to anyone who enjoys paranormal adventures. The second book in the series, Storm Watcher is even better than Dark Watcher, but you will want to read Dark Watcher first to truly get the most entertainment value from Storm Watcher.

A truly great read! The fantasy genre is richer for the writing of this book and the reader will be richer in experience in the reading of it. A story that will thrill any fantasy fan. In the world of magic, Theodora is a powerful young witch and member of a coven of four. They are women with many enemies through no fault of their own, enemies who seek to destroy them and others like them. Dante and Hanson are watches, sent to protect two of the witches when they discover the number is four and help is need to keep them alive. Dante is strongly drawn to Theodora and looks on her as 'his' witch. He will do his duty whether or not she looks on him with favor. Dark Watcher sparkles with color and a sense of suppressed excitement as Dante and hanson try to keep their witches plus two alive until help can arrive. Their battles with the forces of darkness are terrific and terrifying edge-of-the-seat reading. The description in this book is so well drawn, you can see clearly the charactes. You will smell and see the green aura that follows Theodora as she goes out to help others, knowing she puts herself in mortal danger. Highly recommended as a book to please any reader, offering a glimpse into the world of magic as not seen before.

This is the best book I've read in a long, long time.

This book captures the reader's interest right away with its engaging characters, proceeds suspensefully (with intervals of tasteful romance, and the occasional slightly comical moment to break the tension), and builds to a stunning crescendo which actually made me cry. People, I *never* cry over books. I'm an editor. Anyway, I won't spoil the fun for you by providing a synopsis. What better way to spend your autumn evenings than with a page-turner like this?