Shadowed (Dark Protectors)

Shadowed
by Rebecca Zanetti
Release Date: October 3, 2013
Publisher:  Kensington
Book #6 in the Dark Protectors series
Number of pages:  274
Kindle edition
Source: MCL
Paranormal Romance M/F
Rating: XXX
Read 7/11/19 to 7/13/19

 

Jase Kayrs was the fun brother. The warm, charming, easy-going brother of the vampire leaders. Until he was taken and tortured by demons with their evil mind tricks for nearly five years. Upon his return, he’s dark, violent, and not the man they all thought they knew. Not the man he once was. He’s haunted that the only reason the demons would have let him live was to use him as a weapon against his family—but he can’t figure out when or how he’ll explode. Plus, once again the demons are after Jase with a vengeance…or rather, a female demon he rejected is out to destroy him. 

Then the king asks Jase for a favor… a big one. To mate with one of their allies in order to save her. She’s everything that’s good and light in the world… while he’s at home with darkness. Yet he agrees… knowing mating may be the only chance to save them both.

I cannot express to you enough how much I am loving this series.  It’s truly amazing.  Amazing writing, amazing characters, amazing chemistry, amazing storylines, amazing world building.  Amazing!

While all of the stories in the Dark Protectors series seem to put me on the edge of my seat at one time or another, this one really had me going nuts for the last 25% of the book.  My husband could do nothing but sit and watch me and laugh.  It took me much longer to read that last portion than I would have liked because he kept asking me what was happening, and I was so excited I was trying to tell him while filling him in on backstory.  It was a lot of fun.

I don’t feel a reader can truly understand Jase Kayrs unless they read Provoked already. I am of the firm belief that the books in this series are not meant to be standalones or be read out of order.  The author does a phenomenal job of weaving the characters into the whole over-arcing story of the series and one book leads into the next seamlessly.  Getting to know ALL the characters as this series progresses helps the reader to appreciate them all the more when it’s their turn for a story to center more on them.  Never more so than with Jase. 

The man has been through so much and I cannot blame the feelings of wanting revenge that he has carried with him through the years since being rescued from the demons.  I have always had a soft spot for Brenna and wasn’t always happy with Jase’s decisions when it came to their relationship.  But I could really understand him so couldn’t hold these things against him.

Brenna has been coddled her whole life.  Although her family knows she is a strong witch and they know she is brilliant, I don’t think they really see Brenna for who she really is inside.  And they definitely don’t trust her to be able to protect herself.  While Jase is a typical Kayrs male and wants to protect Brenna, when she asks him to put some faith in what she can do he gives her the benefit of the doubt like nobody else.  No matter how messed up Jase thinks he is, it’s obvious he is still a morally strong person who cares deeply for those around him.

Being as the mating between Jase and Brenna is arranged, with their consent, I wasn’t quite prepared for how heartbreakingly sweet they’d be together before the mating even happened.  They both have such good hearts and just want to take care of others, so I should have known.  But still, it touched me their lifelong friendship shone through from the start.

So much happens in this story.  Things are really barreling down the track when it comes to Janie, Kalin, and Zane.  And we finally “meet” Zane!  Just a teaser, but still very gratifying.  We find things out about Brenna and the oddity of her being the 8^th sister than we hadn’t yet known and they may yet play out further than it does in this story.  And, of course, we are set up for that final confrontation that has been fated from the beginning.

I will admit, I’m a bit afraid to read Janie’s story.  I want to love Zane and I’m so afraid he will not be who I think he is, just like he’s been telling Janie from the beginning.  At the same time I am beyond excited to read the story of Zane with the hopes that in the end Janie will get her HEA with her Prince Charming.

No matter what happens, I can pretty much guarantee I’ll spend another afternoon making noises, waving my hands about, and pulling crazy faces as I’m reading the story.  Ms. Zanetti brings out the emotions in me for sure!

5 stars