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Liked It “Jack Harris works for a P-Cell an undercover branch of MI-5 which is the equivalent of a paranormal SWAT team. He had become a demon hunter after watching helplessly as his partner had been brutally murdered by a particularly nasty specimen. Now he sought revenge, for Monica and for the end to...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Jack Harris works for a P-Cell an undercover branch of MI-5 which is the equivalent of a paranormal SWAT team. He had become a demon hunter after watching helplessly as his partner had been brutally murdered by a particularly nasty specimen. Now he sought revenge, for Monica and for the end to the possibilities he’d been too afraid to explore with her. The world would be a better place without paranormal entities in it. Or so he thought until he met Mersey Bane.
PNRGroupManager wrote this review Tuesday, September 25 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
As a Cadre initiate, Mersey works for the opposition. The Cadre is a hermetic order, initiated by the first Earl of St. Yves, whose mission is to keep the balance between the dark realm and the mortal one. Their members trap demons rather than destroying them like the P-Cell death merchants. They then interrogated them and either returned them to the dark realm or cataloged them if they were too dangerous to release.
Jack’s approach to the job is black and white, it’s either kill or be killed. He is totally unaware of the collateral damage caused by his methods until the two meet while tracking the same demon. The attraction between them is undeniable, but Mersey had been told by her mother that there was only one man for her, her chosen mate. A barbaric death merchant could never be “the one”. Or could he?
Following their encounter Jack is assigned to follow Mercy and discover the whereabouts of the Cadre. Although he is an expert tracker she always manages to give him the slip until she decides to use their attraction to teach Jack the error of his ways. The truth seems the best way to begin but Jack is totally taken aback to discover that this beguiling woman is not quite human. Watching her transform takes Jack back to his childhood and a memory he had tried hard to forget. She was one of them, a paranormal entity but she was also so much more. She believed in him, thought he was a hero, and trusted him enough to lead him, the enemy, to her home in the hopes of making a believer out of him.
If this first offering is any indication the series is rightfully named Dark Enchantments. Mersey and Jack are enchanting together and as individuals, each fighting the darkness to bring the other light. Willing to sacrifice their very lives for the other, these two personify what true love is all about. And what a love it is to survive a powerful demon, a fairy’s enchantment, and the price demanded to leave the Cadre. It is a love that dwells in the heart, for they are soulmates, they are destined to be together. The ending is only unusual only in that for these two it is just the beginning.
Reviewed by PNR Reviews”
“Michele Hauf's Familiar Stranger is the first book in the Silhouette Nocturne paranormal romance series Dark Enchantments. The world building set up for the series by the author is carefully drawn so that the reader easily imagines the setting and the conflicts. The hero and heroine both will steal the reader's heart.
Merrimon wrote this review Sunday, September 2 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Jack Harris was recruited by the P-Cell, an elite and covert paranormal section of MI-5, the British Secret Service, to hunt and destroy demons. Jack is a modern day Rambo armed with all the weapons and gadgets needed to fight demons: an M4 carbine grenade launcher complete with salt grenades, an electromagnetic-field gauge with GPS function to create maps of the ley line gates of demon entry, a flame-resistant black shirt and trousers, a Dragon Skin vest made from Kevlar, a night-vision scope, a combat knife, salt spray and a silver dagger tipped with a UV cartridge. Jack is more, so much more than the typical Rambo figure. He has heart, charisma, innocence and depth.
Mersey Bane works for the Cadre, a hermetic organization that traps demons in order to study them. Mersey carries with her a crystal triangle that captures demons alive to return them to the scholars of the hidden Cadre. The Rambo tactics of the P-cell receive nothing but disdain from the Cadre. The two organizations are rivals and enemies in their methods and philosophy. Mersey not only works for the Cadre, but it was a substitute for family, a family from whom she desires independence and to which she feels loyalty. When Jack and Mersey meet on the rooftop in a battle with a demon, the attraction is is undeniable. Can the two find a way through the enmity of the these two organizations to save one another from a deadly demon and find their hearts? Can Jack and Mersey uncover their secrets and their hidden vulnerability in time? Can the love of destined mates survive the battle between warring organizations?
Michele Hauf's unique vision and writing will grab the reader from beginning to end. The characters are dynamic, eclectic, independent and yet full of wonder and heart. The connection between Jack and Mersey is passionate, soulful and suspenseful---humorous, deep and wonderful. One opens the other to a new dimension. The author pays careful attention to the rules of the altered world she has created without resorting to a quick sleight of hand to resolve plot or character intricacies.
Readers may take pause at the ending. Michele Hauf definitely adds a surprise or two within the context of a romance. A happy ending goes along with the romance genre as a reader expectation, but Michele Hauf makes her characters and readers work a bit harder for it rather than a simplistic ending tied up in a pretty bow. Readers may love or hate the ending once they reach the last word but upon further examination the ending may grow more and more on the reader. After contemplating the difference between the real ending and the expected but more more simplistic option, readers may discover the unique thrill of this romance. It expands beyond the book covers. It pushes the set boundaries of the genre just enough to make a familiar genre unique and refreshing and newly meaningful. Can a romance be more than a struggle against two individual partners or even their inner conflicts as individuals? Bravo!
© Merrimon Book Reviews 2007”
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