Customer Reviews

Desires Unleashed: Knights of the Darkness Chronicles

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Well, I for one absolutely loved this series. Desires Unleashed one flaw is the editing, which was corrected in the second book The Guilty Innocent. None of that stopped me from enjoying this book immensely. I believe it's all what you're looking for. D.N. delivers a fast-paced novel with an array of entertaining plot twist that keep you glued to the pages.

The plot centers around a mysterious murder and two detectives has put on the case. However, the book isn't just about the two detectives. Other very intriguing characters are introduces and their stories intertwine throughout the novel and it was extremely interesting to see them form. I'm not the kind of reader that wants to read a 30 page sex scenes back to back, nor do I want to read about some forlorn vampire simply out there in the world brooding as he looks for love in all the wrong places until he finds some hapless bimbo to make his life complete.

That's boring to me and this genre is filled with those types of repetitive tales. The characters in this book are smart, sexy, multi-dimensional, and strong. I loved the character interaction, the atmosphere of this series makes these characters come to life completely. It's very realistic. And I have no complaints about the sex scenes, hats off to D.N. for incorporating homoerotic and hetero sex successfully into this genre were it doesn't seemed "forced" on the reader, but simply flows as loving and natural. Great romance, action, humor and suspense throughout this series.


I would highly recommend this novel to any fan of vampires and werewolves. Or just readers out there with an open mind, looking for something new.

Having just read the last reviewer, I couldn't disagree more. I too am a LKH fan, Charlaine Harris fan, Kim Harrison, Dean Kootnz and Anne Rice fan. I can easily compare all of these authors together and come up with their strengths and weaknesses.

People need to realize that this book isn't a remake of LKH's world. It's something different and shouldn't try to compare the two. I personally loved this novel. Where as a lot of authors tease at the homoerotica in their novels, D.N. actually "brings it". The characters are true to life, and not so made up they come off as plainly fictional and that is what I found refreshing.

Anyone who can get through Incubus Dreams without ending up cross-eyed over the amount of errors in that book should have nothing to say about the errors in DU. LKH has written and published many books with errors, this just goes to prove that mistakes can happen, lighten up.

If you're looking for a book with gratuitous sex scenes, repetative dialog and non realistic characters, then you'll have to look elsewhere, because you won't find that in DU. And I don't see what's so difficult about following this plot? Not only was the plot original and fast pace, it was fun and exciting.

No, I don't normally write reviews, epecially not on Amazon, but after reading some of the negative reviews here, I felt compelled to say something. D.N. presents something new to this genre that is well past stale in many ways. I think some people reading this book are expecting something else, and when they don't get it, oh then the book is bad. This is so not true.

I love vampires and shapeshifters and these creatures were sexy and tough in this series, not creampuffs and I LOVED that! I say, buy the books in this series because you want to read something new to the genre, not a copycat of another author's style. Keep an open mind and leave your preconceptions at the front cover.

This is just my humble opinion.

In our time, vampires, shape-shifters, and other things that go bump in the night roam the streets freely. They are the most sensually erotic and dangerous creatures of all! But, make no mistake, if they want you, there will be no denying their...Desires Unleashed!

Welcome to a society where the supernaturals have been exposed and are now living freely among the humans of the world. They are trying to live in harmony together...whom are we kidding!? The governments have passed laws and set up a special unit called S.U.I.T. that governs supernaturals and investigate offenses by them.

Detective Warren Davis and his partner, Detective Matthew Eric are two of the agents assigned to this task. They are knee-deep in a case involving horrific murders; they are not quite sure which group of the supernaturals is responsible. You will need to keep reading to find that out. Oh, I almost forgot, one of these detectives has a big secret!

There is another character I would like to introduce to you. Meet Darian Alexander, a vampire; he owns one of the hottest entertainment clubs around called Desires Unleashed. Darian is not someone you want to mess with; he is mean, cruel, and yet irresistible. With his piercing, vibrant, green eyes that could melt the clothes right off your back, to his gorgeous, long, dark hair; not to mention a body to die for. He is a sexual predator of both male and females; just ask his male lover, Xavier.

There is a pride of shape-shifters, sexy humans, and much more that complete and enhance this paranormal tale. Crack open the book, and revel in the sensually explicit world of Desires Unleashed - where anything goes and does!

Desires Unleashed: Knights of the Darkness Chronicles is by author D. N. Simmons. This is the first book in the series. The second is Guilty Innocent: Knights of the Darkness Chronicles. The third, Royal Flush, will be released sometime in 2006. Simmons has written the vampire hit novel of the year! With so many middle of the road paranormal books being published, Simmons took up the torch and blazed a whole new avenue for the readers to delve into. The premise is fresh and clear. It has the clarity of a cut crystal flute; brilliant, with multi-facets that finger their way throughout the book.

Desires Unleashed: Knights of the Darkness Chronicles is not for the faint of heart. It is raw, explicitly erotic, and graphically vicious at times. Simmons pushed the creative envelope with this book, and it paid off! This author's work is award-winning material, and D. N. Simmons has stepped into the paranormal arena with such greats as, Christine Feehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon. This reviewer highly recommends this outstanding book!

Reviewed by © Janalee Ruschhaupt, 2005.
Warrior of Words
[...]

Good book. Something very different from the ususal vampire story. Difficult to get used to some of the bisexual love scenes, but then you become so associated with the characters that it seems very natural -- even to a strictly hetrosexual person. The writing is very street level speaking, making it a little "rougher" than many of the more well known authors, but the story line pulls you in. I really enjoyed both Desires Unleashed and The Guilty Innocent and look forward to the next book in the series. The only complaint I had about this book was the editing. Have don't think I have ever read a book with so many grammatical errors.

As a voracious reader of supernatural fiction, I was excited to discover a new author in the genre. But I painfully regret buying this book! There were so many grammatical errors and mispellings, that there wasn't any way that I could read through the book without wincing. The writing itself was on the par of a middle school writer, and apparently the book was never seen by an editor. The writer goes into such unneccessary detail over the smallest character actions, then skims rather briefly over any possible erotic encounter. Underlining spelling mistakes and grammatical errors became a game because I refused to throw the book out after spending money to buy it, but as soon as I finished it and showed the horrors to my friends, I threw it in the garbage! I literally have hundreds of books in boxes and throwing a book away would have been unthinkable in the past. Even the eroticism was stilted and pained. I never thought I would throw out a book one day but I was disappointed and furious. Stick to superb writers like Sherilynn Kenyon, Laura K. Hamilton, LA Banks. If you want to read the book anyway, buy it used. It is NOT worth the cover price!

Book I have ever read. I have been reading books for over twenty five years and have very rarely just wanted to throw one in the trash.

I tried to read this book I believe I made it to chapter 12 or 13 and still very little was happening. No real romance, little history, to many people with not enough interaction, almost no crime discussion and even the sex wasn't to hot. The spelling and grammar didn't bother me too much except when a whole sentence didn't make sense due to a word that just didn't belong there.

I have never written a review and normally wouldn't, but I am hoping to save someone from wasting the too large amount of cash for this book. It is definitely not worth it.

Having read all of the reviews on this site, I see that ppl either hated the book because of the errors or loved the book regardless of the errors. I'm a lover or books, so therefore I've read many with tons of errors even from NYT bestselling authors that don't have the entertaining story that this book has. The reason why ppl like myself can rave about this new series is because when I was reading it, my focus was on the plot/characters rather than the grammar and punctuation.

But for those of you wondering about the second novel's editing, it's much better. And from what the author has said, she's apologized for the editing and also stated that this book will be getting a makeover very soon.

As for the story, it's excellent. Reminded me of Jim Butcher where there's always something going on and action is always around the corner. Just a little more racier.

Desires Unleashed was more like a introductory novel where a lot of characters were introduced and each character has their own personality, I really liked that. They come off as "real" in the book and interact so well with each other.

I really liked that D.N. was very daring with the sexuality and not throwing sex in her novels for the sake of having sex but to actually move the plot along. The focus was on the plot and action and the way each characters lives came together at the end was very interesting. I purchased both books at the same time and was glad that I did, because when I finished reading DU, I immediately read The Guilty Innocent in two days!

I would totally recommend checking out The Guilty Innocent, that's my favorite novel between the two because it's non-stop action, humor and just all around the total package, especially for a vampire and shapeshifter fan. It's also written so well, that you can read that without having read DU, but it's best to read both. D.N. has strong heroes and in my opinion, one of the best series in this genre. I think you should give this series a chance, and not let errors turn you away from a good tale.

The Royal Flush is coming out in August and I cannot wait!

I bought this book based on all the 5 star reviews. The story line is a good one. It was well thought out and very entertaining, which is why I gave it 3 stars. The writing is fine for the most part but I would not say it is even close to excellent. Sometimes, it even seems fairly amaturish.

In addition, there are so many typos (generally, I came across one on every other page, or so), it actually became distracting. In some places I even had to reread the sentence because there was an extra word thrown in like the author had changed their mind, forgot to delete, and no one caught it. I can't believe the publisher missed so many mistakes, assuming that they proof read. It may sound overly picky, but I've actually never encountered anything like it in any book I've ever read before, which is why I feel compelled to write about it in this review.

Like I said, it's an entertaining and original story. An enjoyable read...just beware before spending $17.50.

I have a new favorite author! D.N. Simmons has created one of the most imaginative stories I have ever read! My opinion doesn't vary all that much from everyone else's. The characters were extremely realistic which was a shock to read in this sort of genre. I'm so used to reading novels with over-the-top character personalities that appear to be much to mary-sueish. Not in this series, these characters jump right at you from the pages as being real. You feel like you're reading a world that can actually exist! They are the farthest thing from one dimensional.

The sex scenes take you completely by surprise. Not only are they very well written and enticing, they are bold, very bold. I have been looking forever for an author who can create sexy gay, straight and bisexual supernatural creatures and by god, I've found one! I loved the sex scenes and emotional relationships between the characters. Very well done!

Bite scenes, if you're a vampire fan like me, then you're looking for a novel with juicy bite scenes. Look no further, you've found them in this novel, trust me.

And if you're a shape-shifter lover, this book really does them justice. I really liked reading about their universe, it's like they have a world within a world and it's written so well that you can easily understand their world.

The action was very fast paced. You're thrusted into the action at break-neck speed. In the very first chapter, you find out that there has been a gruesome murder and now two hot cops have to track down the murder. Another thing that I thought was super cool was the police unit. S.U.I.T. short for the Supernatural Unit Investigation Team which specializes in capture criminals of the supernatural element.

There is a very good air of mistrust in this novel which is completely believeable, it also adds to the realism of the story.

The dialogue is witty and hard-hitting. There were a few sections when I had to stop and just pause. The opinions express by the characters are so in-your-face, so provocative, it was great to read such dynamic characterization.

My only problem with the novel was a grammer and spelling errors, but like another person said, it's really not a big deal. The story is more than capable of holding your attention and keeping you on edge. I liked the writing style, but some polish is needed, but it doesn't stop this book from being a page-turner.

Overall, A great novel, fun, exciting and sexy as all hell. Highly recommend it!!!

The book is full of poor spelling, bad syntax and random commas. Phrases such as "Marshall law" instead of "martial law" render this book nearly unreadable for anyone literate.