January 6, 2012

Review: Prince of Air & Darkness by Jenna Black


January 6, 2012
Prince of Air & Darkness
by Jenna Black
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: IGLA
Release Date: December 23rd, 2011






Author Summary
It’s not easy being the son of evil incarnate…

Hunter Teague is the prince of the Unseelie Court, the dark half of Faerie. Raised in an atmosphere of unspeakable cruelty, Hunter has learned the lessons of his mother, the Queen of Air and Darkness, and he’s ready to put them to use. He’s on a mission, one that will shift the balance of power in Faerie forever: he will seduce the Seelie king’s mortal daughter and sire a child upon her—a child who will be heir to both the Seelie and the Unseelie thrones. Hunter has never met a mortal woman he couldn’t seduce...until now.

Kiera Malone is a self-employed web designer and a self-professed cynic. She doesn’t believe in magic or soulmates, let alone her mother’s ridiculous claims to have slept with the mythical Faerie King. But when Hunter hires her to design a website, Kiera finds herself drawn to him in ways that seem almost magical. He’s gorgeous and sexy as sin, the kind of man any woman would swoon over—but her every instinct warns her there’s something dangerous lurking beneath his charming façade.

To succeed in his mission, Hunter must let himself get closer to Kiera than he ever planned. Soon, he finds himself burdened with the one thing a prince of the Unseelie Court can’t afford: a conscience. Now Hunter must betray either the woman who is slowly working her way into his heart, or the Queen of Air and Darkness...who would destroy him and Kiera both.

My Thoughts
Suspenseful and captivating, this is a well-crafted story with the essence of a wonderful paranormal romance.

Both characters matured substantially throughout the course of this novel.  Until they met each other, they were nonchalant about love and detached from others.  But who could stay the same after someone says this to you…

“I want you more than I want my next breath, he whispered, making her own breath hitch.  I can’t promise you a future. Hell, I can’t promise myself one.  But I can promise….”     Wow!!…

The hero, Hunter, starts out on a shameful mission and in true likeness of an Unseelie Prince; he’s cold-hearted enough to think it will be an easy assignment for him.  Understandably, the merciless torture he endured at court his entire life lead to deep feelings of hatred and contempt for others.  However, when he meets Kiera, he discovers that he has managed to hang onto a bit of his humanity and sense of right and wrong.  What I found appealing about Hunter is that he admits to being afraid of the consequences of defiance.  It made him a very likeable and realistic character.  It’s refreshing to read about a hero who can acknowledge his fear to himself even though he’d never show it to those meting it out.   

At first, I wondered if I was going to like Kiera.  I found her to be extremely stubborn and detached from emotion.  Eventually she started to become less headstrong and showed her tender and empathetic side and she grew on me. 

The complications of their romance were at time worrisome and I was even doubtful how Ms. Black was going to get these two together given their obstacles - evil Queen and mother to Hunter, pesky goblin watching Hunter’s every move and interfering at every turn, Kiera’s doubts that the supernatural world even existed, absent King of Seelie (Kiera’s father) who could have helped.   Like I said..suspenseful!

Secondary characters were delightful as well.  I would love to have heard more about Jackson (Kiera’s best friend), Conan/Phantom/the phooka (Kiera’s and her mom’s guardian), and Kiera’s mom’s story of her time with the King of Seelie. 

My Viewpoint
My only complaint is that it was too short.  I didn’t want it to end. There are so many more directions this story can go and certainly more stories that can be written.  Sequel please??

Happy Reading!!

4 Bad Boys – Loved It!!!!

Buy now from Amazon...






2 comments:

  1. Amazing review. Jenna Black is a great author. I need to put this on my TBR list. I love a good Fae story and this sounds like a good one. Sucks that it wasn't as long, but what better compliment can you give by wishing it was longer. Thank you so much for the review hon :)

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  2. Thanks Diana! This was the first book I read of Jenna's. I'll be sure to read more of her writing.

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