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Tempt Me with Darkness (The Doomsday Brethren, Book 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Shayla Black
Publisher: Pocket
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $2.94
You Save: $4.05 (58%)
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Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 58423
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 4.1 x 1
ISBN: 1416558586
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781416558583
ASIN: 1416558586
Publication Date: August 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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Product Description
centerbHe's an immortal knight hungering for satisfaction..../b/centerPAs soon as Marrok sees Olivia Gray's dark windswept hair and burning violet eyes, he's sure they've met in eons past. He's felt her soft gentle curves writhing in pleasure beneath his own hard powerful body...Morganna! For centuries, towering Marrok, once the mightiest of King Arthur's warriors, has endured a terrible curse cast upon him when he spurned the witch. PcenterbShe's a modern woman about to discover ancient magic.... /b/centerPOlivia shares a mystical -- and irresistible -- connection with brooding Marrok. Soon after the sexy warrior appears in her erotic dreams, he abducts her, demanding she uncurse him. Their intense passion is more powerful -- and intimate -- than either of them has ever known. Olivia may be the key to unlocking the diary that will break Morganna's hold on his life. But in the wrong hands, the book also holds the power to destroy all magickind. As they search for answers, a ruthless wizard returned from exile is building an army of evil. When he discovers Marrok and Olivia have the diary, only their love -- with the help of a powerful group of magical Brethren -- can save them.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Utter crap - avoid this poorly written garbage January 5, 2009
Holly Lewis (Medina, OH USA)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I love good paranormal romance - and this is NOT it. I'm a fan of Arthurian legend, which this writer lays some ties to in her characters, but this is so far from The Mists of Avalon that they can't be compared. [Zimmer-Bradley was not writing PNR, but high fantasy, but I had to throw people a bone there for a decent read.] br / br /Clearly constructed to get us to the sex scenes ASAP, which I generally have little quibble with, this book attempts to create a sub-world within our own of the Magickind. Toss in an immortal warrior and a virgin - meh. The writing is poor as is the plot development. I forced myself to get through half of it on the off chance it would improve. Not. Didn't finish and will avoid the planned sequels like the plague. Fans of the genre are much better off reading Dark Lover: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood to see how it's done right.
 Tempt Me With Darkness-A Joyfully Recommended Title December 29, 2008
M. Nix
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Centuries ago, Marrok of Cadbury was cursed with immortality by a witch seeking vengeance. Morganna le Fay used the Doomsday Diary to trap Marrok. Centuries later, evil wizard Mathias d'Arc seeks the diary to create his own page of horror. Marrok has the diary and seeks a way to end his curse so that he can finally die. When he meets beautiful Gallery Owner Olivia Gray, Marrok's feelings begin to change. Marrok is convinced that Olivia can unlock the diary and end his curse. Olivia is trapped between her intense feelings for Marrok and her fear that he is crazy. Soon she realizes his tale is all too horrifyingly true, and that she may just be the answer Marrok has been seeking. While Marrok and Olivia adjust to the new bond between them, Olivia is confronted with a father she never knew, power she can't comprehend, and an evil that will stop at nothing to get what it wants. For so long all Marrok wanted was to break his curse, but Olivia has given him something worth living for. br / br /Tempt Me With Darkness is a tale of enchanting eroticism. Marrok is sinfully sexy and very charming. He's an old world warrior stuck in a new age. Olivia is vulnerable yet strong, innocent yet a siren. Her fire is matched by Marrok's intensity. The Doomsday Brethren has a fantastic storyline where battles often play out like a very cool video game and passion lurks on every page. Magickind, the Privileged and the Deprived, the Anarki, and the sexy and mysterious men of the Brethren are fascinating. Tempt Me with Darkness is a delicious cocktail of passion, romance, and mystical power with a twist of evil goodness. It's intoxicating. I can't wait for the next Doomsday Brethren novel! br / br /Nannette br /Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
 Pale imitation of other Paranormal Romances out there. December 17, 2008
Zeek (Lancaster, PA USA)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Marrok just wants to die already. Cursed by the evil Morganna Le Fey to live an eternity without companionship and sexual satisfaction, he's lived a long lonely fifteen centuries. When he stumbles across Olivia Gray at her art gallery in London, he's sure it's the witch Morganna in another form come to torment him further. br / br /He isn't far off. Though not Morganna, she has in fact descended from the line of Le Fey but Olivia, in England to find the father who abandoned her years ago, has no clue about her magical roots. Of course, she's about to find out! br / br /Marrok kidnaps her to his secluded house in the woods, determined to break his curse once and for all, but things turn on a dime when he discovers that though she is the key to releasing him- she's also his mate! br / br /Naturally, an evil faction led by a psychopathic wizard are out to capture her too- because if she can release Marrok from his curse then she can will also release the untold power in the diary which Morganna used to curse Marrok. (You get the key, you get the power!) br / br /In this the first book of Shayla Black's Doomsday Brethren series we get a mixed bag of myth's and magic. Par for the course any more, there are magical creatures, ancient magic and bonded mates to be had, unfortunately it didn't work for me here. I sensed elements of Ward, Moning , Whedonverse throughout it- (A group of Brethren out to save the world- including one eerily like Ward's Zhadist and Kenyon's Zarek, An eternally cursed Highlander one character obviously based on the uber sexy Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel tv shows. OH and the diary? A total knock off of Harry Potter and the Chamber of secrets!). Though I love all these authors and their work- in this book, it felt like a pale imitation and simply became decidedly annoying. br / br /Olivia and Marrok were definitely a romantic couple, but through much of the book they fought their attraction, each holding back because of trust issues, and after awhile- it just got old. (Especially Olivia- indecisive and whiny she got on my nerves.) br / br /The thing is, it didn't completely suck and there was enough hook that I am mildly interested in continuing the series. br / br /So. There is that. br / br /Still, it's all together average as far as I'm concerned and I'm afraid, not good enough to hold a place on my keeper shelf.
Good Start to a New Paranormal Romance Series October 23, 2008
Carol A. Brown
I love Paranormal Romances, so when I saw this book, I was immediately interested. It's a good book, but not fabulous. The writing is well done, the premise good and the book felt fresh and not an obvious copy of other books out there (I didn't get a BDB vibe, like another reviewer). However, there were a couple of elements that didn't work for me, which kept it from being wonderful (or 5 stars), which I will share, as a way of venting. I just finished it last night and these things are still bugging me. *Warning- the following contains spoilers* br / br /I love the concept of having a "mate," but Marrok, accepted it waaaay too quickly considering it was a "witch/wizard" thing and he is just a cursed human. So just because he read about it while doing reserching on Morgana Le Fay (his arch enemy) he knows everything about it? And is okay with it when he ends up with one? Every time he said something like "because you are my mate," it made me cringe. It works for Lora Leigh's Breeds, not so much for this particular character. It even works for the other witch/wizards in the book, just didn't buy it for Marrok. br / br /The way the Doomsday Brethren was established just seemed a little silly. Let's all sit around and brainstrom names! Especially men some of us hate! It would have been better if they were already part of the Brethren, or descended from the original Brethren or followed some magical calling for them to become the Brethren. Also, if Olivia's father is still alive and he worked with the original Brethren, why wouldn't any of the original ones still be alive and able to help out? (We are told they are all probably dead, without anyone verifying this.) Also, these guys are all really muscular but don't know anything about fighting without magic and can only get help from Marrok? How'd they get to be so big? Working out at the gym? Magically enhancing their bodies? Couldn't they use a spell or magic to teach themselves how to be warriors? br / br /My main complaint is the subplot with Anka and Lucen. This is a romance novel and it was very disturbing for me to have Anka, who is portrayed as having such an amazing love with her mate Lucen, to be kidnapped and raped. Yes, there is just one violation depicted in the book, but we read about all the horrible things that Mathias has done to other women, and he has obviously sexually abused her prior to the scene in the book. We are also left to believe she has been teleported by Mathias to be gang raped by dozens? hundreds? which will likely kill her. And even if she is rescued how would we expect her to recover from this? Yeah, there is some indication that Shock, a past love interest may be involved, so perhaps he has protected her from some really awful stuff, but this whole thing is pretty disturbing to me. And then there is the sex/infidelity thing her husband has to deal with. So because of the bond and the way wizards/witches need energy, they keep supplying him with witch hookers to give him energy so he won't die? Oh and he's pretty much insane and possibly abusing the women sent to him? Yuck. Maybe this would work in an Urban Fantasy, but not a Romance, even a Paranormal Romance. Also, and this is a minor complaint, I don't think Olivia tried very hard to rescue Anka or was described as sufficiently upset that she was rescued and her mate saved, but Anka was still out there being raped and abused and Lucen left dying without her. br / br /So, I'll definitely read the next book, but if the Anka and Lucen subplot isn't resolved quickly, or in a way that works within the boundaries of a romance novel, I won't be reading any more. br / br /This is the most worked-up I've been about a book in a while, so I believe this is a sign of how well the other elements worked for me. I really wanted to love this book and wanted it to be perfect, it just wasn't.
fascinating urban fantasy October 12, 2008
Harriet Klausner
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
King Arthur's loyal knight Marrok of Cadbury and Morganna le Fay shared a heated rendezvous that turned ugly. Outraged as no one affronts Morganna, she uses the Doomsday Diary to curse her former lover. For eternity Marrok will never obtain sexual satisfaction. Stunned and desperate, Marrok steals her Doomsday Diary, but over the millennium and a half he never found a way to break the curse; imagine, fifteen centuries of disappointing sex. br / br /In the present day in England, Marrok and untrained unaware witch Olivia Gray meet when they co-star in her passionate erotic wet dreams. Attracted to the nocturnal sleeping Olivia, Marrok realizes her DNA connection to Morganna so he abducts her, demanding she end her ancestor's curse on him. She agrees to try. As they work together and begin to fall in love, an evil wizard learns who possesses the legendary Doomsday Diary and sends his minion to steal it. With no options available, Marrok and Olivia obtain allies from amongst the Doomsday Brethren wizards as a magical civil war ignites. br / br /This fascinating urban fantasy stars a lead male who trusts no one, but especially distrusts anything associated with magic; and a courageous female who has no idea about her family tree or her bewitching skills. Fast-paced from the onset as a brooding frustrated Marrok feels he has found the key to opening the Doomsday Diary only to realize she is clueless. TEMPT ME WITH DARKNESS is an entertaining tale that will leave fans believing in the magic of a wonderful author who paints it black. br / br /Harriet Klausner br /
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