Enter the fight against evil, but the battle against demons from hell is fought not by angels but by 'talya' - warriors possessed by the repentant `teshuva' demons- in Seduced by Shadows, the first book in Jessa Slade's Marked Souls series.
Talya Ferris Archer is a loner even among his fellow demon fighters, but his dreams warn him of the rare arrival of another demon from hell. Archer searches to find the demon before it clothes itself in flesh, and is surprised to discover the demon's target is a woman, Sara Littlejohn - Archer and his crew have never heard of a female talya before. Archer tries to warn Sara to refuse the demon, but she flees thinking him a sexy lunatic and dismisses his talk of possession. But when Sara inadvertently accepts the demon's offer, to make her body whole from pain and debilitating injuries and to answer her deepest questions, it is Archer who will help Sara through her transition from human to talya - and should Sara's demon be evil instead of repentant, Archer will be the one to destroy her. But little do Sara and Archer realize that Sara's demon has been drawn from hell for a purpose, and now Sara is the key which their enemy intends to use to release hell on earth.
I really liked Sara as a heroine. Sara's curiosity, her humor - once she is freed from her pain - and Sara's unusual take on life and death as a former hospice-end-of-life counselor, all combine to make her a very unique and intriguing character. And I liked that Sara is not destined to be a lesser member of the male dominated demon fighters - her demon is a powerful force as is her determination to make her possesion count for something. Pairing her with the bleak Archer, a weary immortal warrior in a war which can not be won, but only fought repeatedly until the day his demon looses, is not without hitches - the relationship between the Sara and Archer is hindered by baggage from both of their pasts: Sara fears rejection but courts it from Archer who isolates himself out of fear of loss. But the differences in their views on life make for some very interesting conversations between the pair - I thought Slade's dialog was really good. (The quote in the title of the review is from one of the conversations, and really struck me.)
I did like Seduced by Shadows, but the first few chapters were very difficult for me. Slade introduces her characters, her mythos and their enemy, pretty much all at once. As a series starter, it has to be done, but with the male warriors being alternately referred to by their first or last names and the terminology for the different types of demons and the terms talya and teshuva not sticking in my mind initially, I had to keep flipping back to keep from being confused. Once I got into the swing, though it was all good.
Overall Seduced by Shadows had a nice balance between romance, action and story - with some moments which were sad, but touching. I thought that it was interesting that each of Slade's warriors had a hole in his soul which the demon filled but each still struggled with the psychic wound which was reason that each was actually susceptible to possession and I look forward to returning to Slade's world and her league of demon-ridden demon hunters when the story continues with Liam taking the spotlight in Forged of Shadows coming May 2010.
