Customer Reviews

Dark Deceiver (Silhouette Nocturne)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
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Half Esri, Kaderil the Dark begins a quest to steal the magical stones needed to fully open the portal between his plane and the earth. Besides the theft of the stones, he must also kill the few humans who are immune to the Esri enchantment. Once he obtains the stones, completes the massacre, and opens the door, his full blooded Esri allies will invade and bind humanity in slavery.

However, on the earth side of the portal, Kaderil meets Autumn McGinn. She stirs his human half, which has been dormant for much of his life. He finds himself falling in love with this kind soul even as he knows she is the key to the Esri victory. Will he betray his heart or the Esri; even the confused Kaderil is unsure.

The sequel to the DARK GATE, DARK DECEIVER is a superb romantic fantasy mostly due to the suddenly conflicting nature of Kade. His human side never developed until he meets Autumn who is like spring to him. Readers will enjoy this passionate spellbinding thriller as love brings Kaderil the dark into the light, but will he choose to remain there with his Autumn or will he instead open the portal for the Esri to slaughter his beloved's species.

Harriet Klausner

Courtsy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

A CK2S Recommended Read!

Kaderil "Kade" the Dark is scorned by his kind, The Esri, for his imperfect bloodline. Low on magic, Kaderil is the Punisher for King Rith, using his physical strength to uphold the king's wishes. Now he has a new mission, set up to fail by his greatest enemy, Zander. Kaderil must enter the human realm through the Gate and infiltrate the small band of Sitheen who protect the humans from the Esri (see The Dark Gate for details) to find the seven magical stones that will open all gates between Esri and humans.

Autumn McGinn is not Sitheen herself but is one of their inner circle. Awkward and clumsy, the Amazonian beauty longs to prove herself worthy of the Sitheen, especially her best friend Larsen's, faith in her. When Kade enters her life, she sees her chance. With his help, she can find the stones. Kade however has other plans, but he finds himself torn between duty to his king and his inferior human heart. Autumn is everything the Esri despise, but her purity of soul may prove a lure impossible to ignore.

What will Autumn do when she discovers Kade is nothing but a Dark Deceiver?

I am a sucker for a story about the redemption of a bad boy and that is what Dark Deceiver is all about. Kade has never quite fit in anywhere. Hated by his fellow Esri for his bloodline and feared by the weaker humans, neither realm feels like home for him. He knows his mission to find the stones and destroy the Sitheen is crucial to the continued support of his king, but when he meets Autumn, a whole new world is opened to him. I felt his every battle as his heart and head fought to take charge. As the story progresses, we see Kade turn from a cold hearted punisher to a man so madly in love he would die to keep his woman safe. I was so incredibly moved by Kade's struggle that it was with a sigh that I turned the final page.

Autumn is so much like many women in the world. Tall and gangly, a complete klutz, what "ordinary" woman can't relate to her? While she always doubts herself, her inner beauty shines so brightly that it's impossible for anyone to miss. Her relationship with Kade has many hurdles to overcome, but through it all, we know they are meant to be together.

Pamela Palmer has written another compelling page turner in The Esri series with Dark Deceiver. I hated having to stop reading, even for a minute, so desperate to know what would happen next. Fast paced, dark and sexy... I loved it! Keep in mind however there are a few scenes that are extremely dark and something I normally cannot stand in a romance novel. Pamela Palmer writes them so sensitively that I was not even the slightest bit offended by these scenes since I completely understood the intentions and feelings behind them.

I thought it was impossible for Pamela Palmer to write a new story as exquisitely done as The Dark Gate, but I am very happy to say I was wrong! Dark Deceiver is every bit as fast paced, dark, shocking, and passionate, if not more. I absolutely adore Kaderil and Autumn's story. Even better, we get to visit with Jack and Larsen and the whole gang to see what's been going on in their lives since the defeat of Baleris. Run out and buy your copy of Dark Deceiver today. But be forewarned, you'll want to clear your entire schedule before starting as you'll not want to out it down.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, May 2008. All rights reserved.

This follow-up to The Dark Gate (Silhouette Nocturne) is just as well-written as the first volume and equally as hard to put down

Kaderil, a half Esri lord, is at once a fearsome yet flawed being, on the cusp of surrendering to his human side, and it is the intensely human Autumn McGinnis, the odd-girl out on the team of Sitheen who have taken it upon themselves to hold back the Esri from crossing over into the human realm, whose love helps him to find a balance between his fearsome power and his gentler side. In so doing, a man sent to spear head the destruction of the human world chooses instead to help defend it and defend the woman who helped him rediscover his heart.

The level of suspense in this book is top-drawer and the hero and heroine don't just have chemistry going on, they have something equal only to nuclear physics. An awesome read you'll wish wouldn't end!

A great adult fairy tale. Believeable characters and made me want to read any more books in this series. full of romance and supense.

Kaderil is the King's Punisher one of the most feared of the fae-like Esri. Living on the fringe of Esri society, he uses the dark looks which set him apart from the rest of his race, as well as his size and fierceness to hide the lack of powerful magic caused by the small amount of human blood he carries. But for the first time his human appearance will come in handy as Kade crosses the gate to our world to retrieve missing stones of power that will pave the way for the Esri to enslave the hated humans and destroy their secret protectors, the mixed blood magical half-human/ half-Esri Sitheen.

Misfity Autumn can do no right. She desperately wants to aid in the battle against the Esri but her lack of magical power and innate klutziness make her liability to her Sitheen friends. But when Kade, pretending to be Sitheenand intending to use her to infiltrate the group who protect the stones, comes in contact with Autumn, it becomes apparent that Autumn welds more power than she realizes. Because as Autumn falls for Kade, it is her desire for him and her trust in him that may just be enough to waken Kade's long denied humanity and save the world.

I've said it before, and will no doubt say it again, I love it when bad boys go good. And Kade is oh so good. The hidden vulnerability, in this dark giant (7 feet freakishly tall!), makes it totally believable that Kade would be conflicted between his duty to the people that have never fully accepted him, and the growing need for the woman who makes him long to be what he pretends. The only thing that I found a bit difficult in the book was that the consummation between Autumn and Kade takes a turn for the dark, and pushes the edge of turning from consensual to rape. But there was power to the scene where desire turns to fear, love turns to hate, and the most wonderful moment of Kade's life turns to the worst.

Dark Decievers finishes the story begun in Dark Gate. But leaves unanswered questions and possibly room more books in Palmer's Esri series.

Kaderil the Dark is one of the Esri charged with obtaining the seven lost stones for his king. The Esri live in another world, one kept sealed from Earth. That is, all except one gate, which has now been found (see THE DARK GATE for further details). The Esri consider human blood to be anathema, and the King has ordered the Sitheen, those humans with a touch of Esri blood, to be destroyed and all the stones of power to be found and returned to the Esri. Kaderil sees this mission as his chance for redemption, his chance to show that his own lack of magical power isn't a taint. But then, in the guise of human Kade Smith, he meets human Autumn McGinn... will he choose love or duty?

Pamela Palmer had done it yet again! Once again, she has written a book I just couldn't put down. Thankfully, I was reading it on a weekend as I'm not sure I could have made myself stop reading to go to work. Yes, it was that good!

Pamela Palmer has a gift at creating vivid characters who spring to life off the pages of the book. Kade Smith is my favorite type of hero. He is deeply tortured by the conflict between his duty and what his inner soul is crying for. His relationship with Autumn is a bit rocky at times and there are some scenes that could have offended if Pamela Palmer hadn't written them so sensitively. However, Kade's inner turmoil is so apparent that it makes the scenes both powerful and believable, although extremely intense. And who can't help but love Autumn? She's a klutz but she has a pure heart. She sees past the exterior to the person inside and one can't help but love that about her.

Pamela Palmer has crafted a fascinating but thoroughly believable world. Readers will be captivated by this second entry into the world of the Esri and the Sitheen as Pamela Palmer has some phenomenal twists up her sleeve. You don't have to have read THE DARK GATE to fully understand what is going on as DARK DECEIVER is a stand alone, but I can't imagine why any paranormal lover wouldn't want to read both of these fabulous books!

DARK DECEIVER solidifies Pamela Palmer's place as one of the top up and coming authors of the paranormal romance and dark fantasy genres! Without a doubt, DARK DECEIVER ranks among the top books I've read. Highly recommended!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES