Dark Light by S. L. Jennings

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Genre:

Paranormal Romance/ (New)Adult

Summary on GOODREADS:

Love. Sex. Magic.

Before her 20th birthday, Gabriella was pretty much clueless about all three. In love with her best guy friend since the age of 14 and too crass and intimidating for most of the male population of Colorado Springs, love and good sex were virtually a myth.

And then there’s magic. Freakin’ magic. There’s no way that legend could have a place in her less than exciting life. So why after twenty years of utter obscurity do her adopted parents hit her with the ton of bricks that is her true identity? And how the heck is she supposed to accept all this and become what she was truly created to be?

Lucky for Gabs, sexy as sin Dorian is more than equipped to help her embrace these new revelations. And while everything about him feels oh so good, she soon learns that there’s more behind his crystal blue eyes, chiseled body and exotic beauty. Something dark, menacing and downright unnatural. Yet Gabs is in way too deep to even try to turn away from him now.

Dark Light, Book 1 of the Dark Light Series, is the raw, emotional story of a young woman’s journey of self-discovery in a world that was not meant for her. And her scorching hot, lip-biting addiction for the man she can’t deny, no matter the cost.

*Contains strong adult content.

***My Review***

"Oh, what a difference a year makes.

A year ago, I was the embodiment of a reckless nineteen year old girl, hell-bent on drinking my way through community college until I couldn't function and not giving a damn how it made me look. A year ago, I was madly in love with my best friend, Jared, but couldn't find the courage to tell him. A year ago, the only family I knew of was Chris and Donna, my adopted parents since the day I was born. A year ago, I was content with mediocrity and my love life was non-existent exactly what I thought it should be. A year ago, I was human. At least I thought I was."

The first thing that caught my attention was the beautiful cover, then the intriguing title and after I read the summary I knew that this will be the next book I was going to read. I usually avoid love triangles, but it was high time to step out of my routine and try smth new, but fortunately for me this time the supposed love triangle wasn't so melodramatic as it usually turns out to be, because the minute one of these guys comes into the picture, it was quite obvious that the other doesn't stand a chance and I was more than o.k. with that.

To tell you the truth this book didn't blow my mind like it promised it would, but on some strange level I did quite enjoy it. Sounds weird, I know. My first disappointment was when I realized that the book wasn't going to be so dark as the summary describes it. Books with darker themes became lately kind of my guilty pleasure and I read quite a lot of them and sorry- this book has some dark content, but still not enough to label it as a dark read.

It's a mixture of new adult, erotica & paranormal romance. Yes, it contains some S&M scenes, but those were very light (spanking, choking etc.) from the ones I read and that's why in my dictionary I would never define this book as dark erotica. The main character of the story is a 20 year old girl Gabriella. At the begging she seems like your ordinary, small town girl spending her time with friends & partying her way through life. While all her friends have their future all planned out, Gabriella is still in the dark about who she wants to be or who she is to begin with. All her life she feels mediocre, like she can't find herself in anything she does, especially when it comes to love. She had a few boyfriends, but nothing serious. She was never in love with them. The only boy she was in love with her whole life is her best friend Jared, but she was never brave enough to tell him how she felt.

“I never was one of those girls that wanted to be a princess or aballerina. A while ago, I really wanted to enlist in the Marine Corps. Then ultimately, try to join the CIA. But it was just a crazy dream.” I chuckle nervously, shaking my head at my absurdity. “It’s just…I never wanted to be some dainty damsel in distress. I never wanted to be rescued. I've never been that girl. I wanted to be the one kickin’ ass and taking names. I wanted to be the hero, you know.”

Be careful what you wish for is the most suitable to the describe the events ahead, because everything changes on her 20th birthday, when she learns the real truth about herself and where she comes from and that she is far from ordinary. The lies on which her whole life was built start to slowly crumbling down, especially after the arrival of the tall, dark, & handsome Dorian with the stress on dark.

"What he is…enthralls me. Captivates me. Utterly disarms and beguiles me. And if I hadn’t felt his soft, warm lips on mine, had never tasted the delectable sweetness of his tongue or his tingling, moan-inducing caress, I probably wouldn’t be here, ready to strip away my clothes and inhibitions. I would have wised up and gone back home with Morgan. I probably would have even drunk dialed Jared and professed my undying love for him. But it’s too late; I have felt all those things. I know what it feels like to be under Dorian’s spell."

I have mixed feelings about Gabriella, probably because she was full of contradictions through the whole book. At times she was really fun and seemed like a strong and brave young woman, but on others she  behaved very immature and naive. She was in denial trough the whole book- in denial about herself, especially about Dorian in spite of all the evidences she had in front of herself and her irrational behavior really started to annoy me in the second half of the book, because once again she wanted to build her life on lies, but this time was worse, because she did it willingly. It made her weak in my eyes and I don't like weak characters, especially if they are the main characters of the book .

"I could ask him. I could ask what he was. I could ask if he knows who and what I am. I could ask him why someone is out to kill me. And he would answer every one of my questions. But then what? This would all end. Dorian would no longer be mine. Though he’s far from being mine now. Shit. How did we even get to this?"

"We sit facing each other, suds enrapturing us in white froth. So many unspoken words between us, yet neither of us can articulate what is on our minds. The questions are rhetorical; we know the answers in our hearts. But this dream, where we are just an ordinary couple in an ordinary world is so much better than our reality. We’re not ready to wake up. Though we know this dream will eventually manifest into a nightmare."

The minute I read the description of Dorian Skotos I knew immediately whom the author had in mind and later after seeing the Facebook profile of these series it was affirmed that it was this guy--->

Yes, Dorian Skotos is the "replica" of Damon Salvatore Ian Somerhalder. Do I think that Ian Somerhalder is hot? - YES!!! But do I want his face in every damn book I read? - NO!!! It's truly getting a bit boring for me, because lately his "clones" show up in almost every book I read.

I know Ian, but even eternal studs need a break. In your case make it a year or two :P.
But back to the book- so the mysterious, hot & rich Dorian shows up and with just one look at each other sparks starts to fly, there's immediate chemistry, an undeniable pull between them and just like that everything in her life, including Jared is put in the second plan. Dorian brings up a totally new side in Gabriella, she never thought she had it in her, especially in the bedroom and the bedroom scenes were, well- SCORCHING HOT and while the writing style does need a bit improvement, these scenes were definitely the best written parts of the book and earned this book one star more.

"All I know is that my body is craving him. I need release and no one can deliver that better than Dorian. He knows what he’s doing. This was no accident. I told him I couldn’t see him and he somehow awakened a beast within me, making it so I can’t not stay away. I can’t let him win. If I give in this time, he’ll know he can manipulate me whenever he wants. But would that be the worst thing in the world? Being manipulated by Dorian when the payoff is so damn good? I can live with beingused for sex by him, can’t I? No. This is what he wants. He wants me to crave him. He wants to constantly be on my mind so I give into my carnal desires. This is all part of his game; unraveling me to the point where I need him to stay sane."
“I don’t believe in luck.” Dorian turns his body towards me, revealing his chiseled chest. “But you believe in magic?” I ask with an arch of my eyebrow. I know I am in dangerous territory but it’s just playful banter. Dorian smirks and his eyes suddenly darken. “Don’t you?” We stare at each other, both with a question on our lips. What is he trying to tell me? That he knows my secret? He couldn’t. No sane human being would believe that even if they read Natalia’s journal for themselves. I don’t know if even I can entirely believe it. “I know there’s magic in you. I've felt it. Right here,” Dorian murmurs, reaching down to stir my swollen, damp sex. And with that, there’s no more talking, just moaning, gasping and heavy breathing.

Yeah, what Ian said ;). 

Both Dorian and Gabriella have secrets which prevent them from taking their relationship to the next level. They are both confused by their intense attraction and feelings and afraid to open up, but still they are in too deep to let go. At the beginning they both try to deny their feelings and to keep their relationship casual as possible, but it soon becomes obvious that there's more between them than just the never ending lust and the only solution for them is to finally stop running and give a chance to each other.

“Look, I’m not good with this.” I know what he means- feelings, relationships…love.
“Neither am I,” I say quietly. It’s the truth. My longest relationship was two months and it only lasted that long because I was too lazy to break it off.
“I don’t know what you expect of me. I don’t want to sell you this dream then you realize it’s really a nightmare. That I’m a nightmare.” He exhales loudly and looks at me for a reaction. I give him nothing, my face stoic and unreadable. “You’ve made me… happy. I didn’t expect you to, but you did.”

“No one has ever moved me like you, Gabriella. I’ve never been so affected.”
“I could say the same about you,” I whisper.
“That’s why I want you around at all times. I like the way you make me feel. I need it.” His words are desperate yet I understand that type of desperation. I feel it too- the magnetic pull to him. It’s so much more than sexual attraction. It is what sustains us.

The paranormal part of the book was interesting, but it wasn't anything that I haven't already read before.It lacked originality and I wish the author had focused and developed a little bit more that part of the story. The author has potential, but considering that this book is labeled as dark paranormal erotica I wish it was actually more dark, that the characters were more mature and that there was less teen drama. I think that this book will appeal more to the readers who are new to this genre. I read a lot of great book in this genre and that's why I can't give it more than 3 stars, but the book did keep my interest enough to give it one more chance and read the next one called The Dark Prince (The Dark Light Series #2) coming out March 15th 2013. Hope it doesn't disappoint.

"Piece by piece we pick up the shards, trying to recover just a fragment of who we once were. But what is broken can never be as it was; it will never be the same. So we create a new portrait of ourselves and let our secrets become the glue that holds us together. Because if we admit the depths of our depravity, we can never turn back. We won’t be able to pretend anymore. He will know me, and I will know him. And that’s just a risk neither of us are willing to take."

My rating:

xoxo