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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fifth in the 'Riley Jenson, Guardian' series, August 27, 2007
This review is from: Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 5) (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is a real improvement over Keri Arthur's earlier stories in Riley Jenson, Guardian series - there is a greater focus on plotting and characterisation and less emphasis on sex to carry the story along. The book starts with Riley on holiday on an island to recover from all the events of the last year (and last four books). She is contacted there by a member of her former pack who demands that she looks into the disappearance of a pack member, Adrienne, and threatens to hurt Riley and Rhoan's mother if she doesn't comply. Shortly afterwards the Directorate ask her to look into the strange murder of a woman who appears to have been torn limb from limb by her fiancé and Riley discerns a supernatural element to the crime. She works on both investigations at the same time, also finding herself under attack from an unknown assailant, dealing with the memories that contact with her pack has dredged up, and trying to make sense of her relationship with Kellen who wants to 'go solo' with her. Riley's not sure if she can commit to that and clearly has some feelings still for vampire Quinn, although he doesn't appear in person in this story.
The plotting in this book was excellent with good pacing and with the variety of two simultaneous investigations. The caustic relationship between Riley and Salliane, 'The Cow', is very amusing, and adds some light relief in a story with a fair amount of darkness. Riley's skills are growing and strengthening and she discovers a new aspect of her nature in this book following the drug treatment that she received in the first instalment. Her brother Rhoan features in this story as he helps Riley at the denouement at the end of the story when they uncover the evil behind a string of grisly deaths from the UK to Germany to Australia.
This book relied far more on plot and characterisation, particularly Riley's workaholic nature and her complete absorption in being a Guardian and how that plays out with her personal relationships, rather than sex; for me, this made it a much stronger read and made Riley a more sympathetic character. It ended on a cliffhanger in Riley's personal life (although the major plot lines were all completed) and made me look forward to the next book. Although part of a series all the relevant backstory was given in a smooth and concise way and so this book would be easy to understand for a first-time reader despite the complex supernatural world and the varied skills that the non-humans have. "Embraced by Darkness" is a great addition to the series and a book that will probably win this author new readers.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book, [...]. © Helen Hancox 2007
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Super cops, July 31, 2007
This review is from: Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 5) (Mass Market Paperback)
Riley Jenson is part vampire and part werewolf. She had been forcibly given an experimental fertility drug in her past. She has developed a few interesting powers due to side effects, such as the abilities to see souls rise and spirits walk in the shadows. Riley never knows when another ability will pop up. However, they tend to come in handy during her job.
Riley and her brother, Rhoan, are Guardians; they are the super-cops, hunter-killers, of the nonhuman world.
When Blake Jenson, her family's alpha male, demands Riley help the pack, Riley is ready to tell him to get lost. Riley and Rhoan had been thrown out of the red pack back when they had been thirteen-year-old pups. But Blake throws down a verbal gauntlet when he informs Riley that should she refuse to help or fails in the mission her mother's life would be forfeit. Riley is now on the hunt for a serial killer. At the same time, Riley's lover is trying to convince her to quit her work. Yet should Riley do so, many will die.
**** This is the fifth book in the Riley Jenson Guardian series. The plot starts out immediately, on page one. Readers are able to dive right into the scenario. The action slows down two or three times during the course of the novel, but gets hotter than a blow torch by the end. This may be the fifth book of the series, but new readers will not find themselves totally lost. The author does a good job of filling them in. I found this to be a compelling story that held my attention well. ****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can't Wait for Book #6, April 12, 2008
This review is from: Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 5) (Mass Market Paperback)
I loved this series since the first installment. It's true that this book doesn't have the "heat" of some of the previous books. Here we see Riley starting to develop more as a character who isn't a complete prisoner to her hormones.
Hopefully, Riley will have someone new come into her life. Quinn has his own issues, and can't accept her for herself. As for breaking off her relationship with Kellem, it was no great loss. His character always seemed a little flat to me.
Ms. Arthur has a good imagination so hopefully she will surprise us all in the next book. Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 5)
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