Bu kadına ve yazdıklarına bayılıyorum!

Kitabın iki noktası beni olumsuz etkileri altına almıştı en başta. Talon ve Sunshine’ın sevişme kapasiteleri beni bile bayacak konuma getirmişti. Ki ben böyle tavşan misali çiftlerden rahatsız olmam. Neyse ki kuru seks sahneleri okumadık. Öyle olsaydı daha sıkıcı olurdu. Aralarındaki bu hızlı yakınlaşma ve bağlanma durumu beni Nynia faktörü yüzünden tedirgin ediyordu. Çünlü Talon sürekli bu iki kadını karşılaştırma eğilimdeydi. Ve o gerçek ortaya çıktığında… İlk hissettiğim rahatlama oldu.
Böyle bir şey beklemesem de yazar müthiş bir atak yapmıştı gerçekten. Kitap bir anda yön değiştirdi benim açımdan ve merakım katlana katlana okumaya devam ettim.

Zengin bir kadroya sahip serimizde yan karakterleri ve geçmişte okuduğumuz kahramanlarımız görmek beni çok mutlu etti. Kyrian ve Julian’ın diğer kitaplarda da karşımıza çıkmasını çok isterim. Bunun dışında devamı için kuduruyorum çünkü Zarek… Onunla ilgili öğrenmemiz gereken çok şey varmış gibi görünüyor ve o son ortaya çıkanlar içimi titretti.
Başlamak için sabırsızlanıyorum!

★★★★☆

Estoy embriagada con esta saga. Talon me gusta por lo que dice y por lo que no dice pero siente. Y Sunshine es encantadora, divertida, sincera y que sabe lo que quiere en la vida y no piensa dejarse mangonear por ningún hombre.
De momento están teniendo todos buena puntuación. Es que lo paranormal me encanta ainsssssss

Rating 4.5

This is Talons story and my oh my was it hot! I am not sure where to even begin, I guess I will keep this review short and sweet and just say that Kenyon has done a fantastic job with her characters. Sunshine was so laugh out loud funny! Her eccentricities never became too much, she was just warm and very believeable. I really like all the additional information we get throughout the story as well. Talon and Sunshine are the central love story but Kenyon throws in all kinds of hilarious moments with so many unique characters that I am chomping at the bit to read their stories. I have to say that I am really liking this new world that Kenyon has created. Her characters are all made of awesome and if you have read my other reviews of the past two books then you know that I am definitely a fangirl. I dropped a half star just due to two scenes that I thought were too hokey, not bad just hokey imo. Still a great book and a great addition to an awesome series.

Greek Gods + Vampires + Daimons + Were-Wolves + Dark Hunters + Celtic Gods + Insignificant Humans blabbering = the whole book!
Concept: 2.5/5.0
Execution: 2.5/5.0
Characters Bespoken: 3.0 /5.0
Cover: 3.0/5.0
Overall: 3.25/5.0
As for Talon and Sunshine:

I am amazed how Sherrilyn Kenyon does it? How does she make you feel so home with Vampires, Daimons, Were-Wolves, all sorts of Gods, curses, boons, and more importantly it’s like in her world you feel more human!
The best point of the book - Captivating Dry Humour!
All the time I was like:

P.S.: Next book is about Zarek! The Darkest soul in all Hunters! I am excited!

Reviewed for THC Reviews
"3.5 stars" I know that the Dark-Hunter series is an extremely popular one, and after reading and thoroughly enjoying Fantasy Lover, the prequel, I truly thought that the series would become a favorite of mine too. Unfortunately, I have yet to be completely sucked in by it. The next two stories in the series both suffered from some of the same problems, and for me, Night Embrace has followed in their footsteps. While there were some things that I really liked about the book, there are quite a few things that I disliked as well, so I'll start with those. First, there was a huge overabundance of characters, so much so that they stole a lot of face time away from the hero and heroine, and it became difficult to keep track of all of them. To begin with, there are six different classes of beings: deities from Greek and Celtic mythology; daimons (vampires); humans; one ghost; a bunch of demons that were briefly unleashed; and hunters (slayers), of which two different sub-sets, Dark-Hunters and Were-Hunters appear in this story. Then there is the impossibly long list of characters who fall into each of those categories. I literally started jotting down all the ones I knew had appeared in previous Dark-Hunter books or would appear in future books, just so that I could keep them all straight. Here's my quick-reference: Common characters who appear in most of the stories in the series – Acheron, the leader of the Dark-Hunters; Nick Gautier, their main squire or human helper; Selena, another human who has knowledge of the Dark-Hunters; and the Greek goddess, Artemis. Characters from previous Dark-Hunter books – Julian (Fantasy Lover), Kyrian and Amanda (Night Pleasures), and the Greek deities Eros and Psyche who also first appeared in Fantasy Lover. New characters who were introduced in Night Embrace - Zarek (Dance with the Devil), Wulf (Kiss of the Night), Vane and Bride McTierney (Night Play), Valerius (Seize the Night), Wren (Unleash the Night) although he had no dialog, Ravyn (Dark Side of the Moon) although he was only briefly mentioned, and Fang (Bad Moon Rising which will be released in August), plus there was one other Dark-Hunter and a large assortment of Were-Hunters who were either merely mentioned or made very brief appearances, but I'm not aware of them starring in their own books yet. And this wasn't even all the characters, just the ones that appear in other books of the series. Whew! It just seemed like the author thought, “Let's see how many characters I can cram into one book,” and in the end, I thought many of them were very diluted, including Talon and Sunshine who were supposed to be the main characters.

My next major issue with Night Embrace is an excess of supernatural powers. Nearly everyone in the book seems to have them, including the humans having mystical psychic powers, which became a bit too much for me to swallow. I think the only prominent “normal” character in the book was Nick. Thus far he does not seem to possess any powers at all which is actually a relief. Again it just seemed like the author tried to cram as many powers into the story as she possibly could, which in my opinion, watered down everyone's powers and made things far too easy. In other paranormal romances I've read, it is only the supernatural creatures who possess abilities, and those are very well defined, usually with base powers that are common to every creature of their race. Then there are a few special ones who have some additional but limited powers. If Dark-Hunters have common powers, I'm having a difficult time identifying them. It seems that so far in this series and especially in this book, Ms. Kenyon makes up powers for the characters as she goes along, and they arbitrarily work or don't work to conform to a given plotline, rather than the plot conforming to the powers that are available. To my way of thinking this is somewhat lazy storytelling, and it is also very confusing to me as the reader, since I have no clear frame of reference as to what any of the characters can do or not do.

My last major issue with Night Embrace and the Dark-Hunter series in general is the mythology. I still think that it is rather interesting that Ms. Kenyon decided to base her mythology on real Greek, Celtic and perhaps other myths I'm not aware of. What I dislike though, is that she tends to throw out the names of the various gods and goddesses with little or no mention of who they are. This is all fine and dandy if you've studied mythology, but I haven't since grade school, so once again, trying to keep up can be confusing. Also Ms. Kenyon's own Dark-Hunter mythology is not as well-defined as I would like to see. As she keeps adding new characters to the palette, of course the mythology changes and becomes more complex as well, and in the end, I had just as hard a time remembering all the myths as I did remembering all the characters. No sooner did I think that I had a decent grasp on things than a new myth or character was introduced. I also never had a good feel for the curse placed on Talon by Camulus. As I understood it, anyone Talon loved would die, but Talon's loved ones started dying long before the curse supposedly took effect. I really like to have a good comprehension of the world that an author has created, so feeling like I frequently needed a Dark-Hunter encyclopedia to keep everything straight definitely detracted from my enjoyment of it.

As for Talon and Sunshine, the hero and heroine of the book, I can't say that I ever became fully invested from an emotional standpoint in either their individual characters or their relationship. They fall into bed with each other on the first day that they meet (not my favorite way to begin), and their entire relationship develops in a matter of days. Talon and Sunshine share a number of steamy love scenes throughout the story, a couple of which I will admit were rather creative, but without that deep emotional connection, the scenes simply weren't as sensual as I have found in some other romances. They also didn't practice safe sex which is an annoyance to me when there doesn't seem to be any good reason not to. The author relies heavily on the concept of reincarnation to explain the instant attraction the couple has, but it just didn't work for me. Additionally, I'm not a big fan of the push-and-pull conflict in a relationship, and this one definitely had that. First Sunshine acts like her time with Talon was nothing more than a fun fling, and she adamantly has no interest in marriage due to an unhappy first one. Then she comes around in a just a few days only to have Talon be the one who is doing the pushing away, because he is afraid that he will loose her to his curse just like everyone else he ever loved in his mortal life. I really like when characters are able to show their vulnerabilities by sharing their hopes, dreams and life experiences with each other, but Sunshine comes into an awareness of what Talon is and the things he suffered through her own past life memories and her friend Selena's knowledge of the Dark-Hunters. Having things happen this way effectively shut down the lines of communication and consequently suppressed the intimacy of their relationship. As I mentioned before, I felt that Talon and Sunshine were very overshadowed by the other characters and plotlines too. I did like Talon who was a very tortured hero, one of my favorite kinds, and I thought that Sunshine could be very endearing with her sweet scatterbrained ways. I just felt like they were short-changed, and I never really got to know either of them well enough for them to truly stand out to me.

Now for some of the things I really liked about Night Embrace that made me give it a few extra points. First, just one word...Acheron. Acheron is almost a larger-than-life character who carried a large part of this story on his very broad shoulders. He literally emanates power and sex appeal right off the pages of the book, and absolutely walks away with every scene he is in. In retrospect, this may not have been such a good thing, but I don't really care. I'm already crazy about him and can't believe I have seventeen more books and novellas to go before I get to his story.:-( The next thing I liked...Zarek. He may have had plenty of moments when he acted like a total jerk, but it was easy to tell that there is much more depth lurking beneath the surface. I for one can't wait to find out more about him, and see this hardened warrior find some peace and happiness. Another thing I enjoyed was the historical flashback sequences with Talon and his first wife Nynia. Although tragic, I found those scenes to be the most romantic in the entire book, and strangely, I felt far more connected to these two as a couple than I did to Talon and Sunshine. Also, I rather enjoyed the testosterone-laced interactions between Acheron, Zarek, Talon and Valerius when they all meet together early in the story. Having that much alpha maleness concentrated in one place was something of a heady brew. Finally, even though there were some minor plot holes and inconsistencies in it, I still really enjoyed the climactic scene of the book, although that's probably because Acheron pretty much took center-stage for it.

In addition to my major complaints there were a few other more minor ones as well. I thought there were quite a few passages that were repetitive. The author begins by giving certain parts of Talon's backstory and then filling in the details as the tale progresses, but each time something new was added, there were also things that were reiterated. There were also a few inconsistencies in the details, such as how Talon is able to call Acheron and actually get him one time and Styxx another. I thought that the explanation as to why Talon was allowed to marry Nynia in the past even though she was far beneath him in station was rather weak. There was also mention of Vane being indebted to Ash, but I was left wondering exactly what that debt was. Perhaps this will be explored in a later book. Lastly, Ms. Kenyon tends to throw in new terms specifically related to the world she has created. While it is important that these new words be defined, she always seems to bring the story to a screeching halt while giving the explanation, which is a little annoying. Although, Night Embrace failed to wow me, and the jury is still out on the Dark-Hunter series as a whole, I do plan to continue with it. I was extremely intrigued by Zarek, and his story is the next full-length novel in the series, making me want to read it right away. I'm also so enthralled by Acheron, I don't think I would be able to quit the series at least until I've reached his story. Since Fantasy Lover is still one of my top five all-time favorites, I know that Sherrilyn Kenyon can write a romance with the kind of relationship development I crave, so I'll just have to hope that there will be more books in the Dark-Hunter series that exhibit this type of storytelling. Night Embrace is the second novel in the series. There are currently a total of 19 full-length novels in the Dark-Hunter series and quite a number of related novellas and graphic novels as well, with more still to come. A complete list of all the books and their recommended reading order can be found on Sherrilyn Kenyon's website.

*Review updated 9/14/10

3 1/2 "Soulmate" Stars!

I had read the first book "Dark Pleasures" in the "Dark Hunter" series like years ago, but i still remember Talon appearing naked in the first book if i am not mistaked,and i remember strongly liking this blonde sexually character and reading about his story in "Night Embrace" is a pleasure i can`t deny. He is the goldenhearted badboy i wish for myself and his romance with the half-crazy and bold Sunsine undid me...they are so beautiful and sexy together..just YUM!

Sherrilyn Kenyon knows her genre and she writes it with such a flow and presents characters that you can`t wait to explore. It was interesting that Sunshine is a reincarnated version of Talon`s wife Nynia who died..and that while having the same souls they aren`t the same person. And watching Talon falling in love all over again in his soulmate was heavenly to watch.He never could let go of her, and it all was so painful to watch when the whole world was against them. Even then these two stubbornly fought for their love and that was so epic that i felt everything they felt together. Sunshine with her honesty and humor made me laugh out many times, and how her sex-drive matched with Talon`s was so HOT HOT DOUBLE HOT! These two could make love a whole night without ever having enough, damn how perfect they are for each other..and how i love them! The painful emotions of rage and sadness Talon had buried inside himself all the time being a Hunter, he undid me with his great, lonely but oh so beautiful heart that when Sunshine heals him that i nearly cried of joy for him.He had suffered so much in his life that losing Sunshine would have killed him,that much was clear.So he of all deserved happiness with Sunshine the most, and i am so glad for him.

The enemies that are in fact twins, Styxx and Acheron are highly intriguing and i know that they are the very favourite characters of many fans of this series, and i so look forward to reading their stories in "Acheron" and "Styxx". Zarek and Valerius are said to be half-brothers and i especially look forward to reading the brooding Zarek`s book, he seems so lonely that its gut-wrenching to read from his POV. And Nick was so funny that i instantly liked him, i also know that he has his own series. Oh i knew there would be something between Bride and Vane, the way he was looking at her, KYAA and they have their story in "Night Play" which i find exciting! Damn awesome book overall, with fantasy, excitement, humor and irresistible warriors that made me drool...and best of all: the all-consuming, lustful and eternal love-story between the bright Sunshine and the one man who would give up his life for her without a thought, the fearless warrior Talon.!

Talon is a Celt. Born 1,500 years ago, he has a tragic backstory... like all demon-hunters in this series. (I refuse to call them Dark-Hunters... it's just so silly sounding.) ANYWAY.
- At age 7, he and his infant sister Caera were thrown out of their Druid tribe because their parents died.
- They're taken in by their birth clan, the Celts, but are hated and despised because their mother left the clan to marry a Druid.
- Talon has to put the beat down on everyone to gain respect for him and his sister.
- His uncle, his only semi-ally in the clan, is murdered.
- His aunt is raped and murdered.
- His loving, wonderful wife Nynia dies in childbirth and their son is stillborn.
- The last straw comes in the form of the clan killing his beloved little sister right in front of him.
- Oh, and he's cursed by a god that any mortal he loves will die.

He sells his soul for immortality and vengeance and becomes a demon-hunter. Acheron (head ancient demon-hunter) teaches Talon to kill his feelings and be calm and level-headed instead of consumed with rage and grief.

All his feelings are dangerously reawakened upon meeting Sunshine Runningwolf in 2003.
...

THINGS I LIKED:
- Talon is so flippin' patient. There's nothing sexier than a man who has no temper. This is a personal turn-on of mine, and rating romance is really all about whether you agree with the author's idea of sexy or not. Sunshine, especially, needs this kind of guy because she's a flake who forgets stuff, gets distracted, and loses things. He never loses her temper with her or makes her feel bad for being a ditz.

- Talon being a carnivorous he-man type and Sunshine being a strong vegetarian, hippie-dippy artist person with a house that is like a pink explosion. It's cute seeing them deal with the "opposite"-ness of each other.

- The "bring-home-the-wounded-dangerous-man-and-heal-him-while-letting-him-sleep-at-your-place" trope. I love this trope and thoroughly enjoy it every time it is wheeled out. Sunshine gets saved by Talon when she's attacked by demons. Then he's hit by a car and she takes him home to tend to his wounds. So cute! A total predictable plot device, but I love it.

- I'm making plans for all side characters in this novel. I am shipping Vane and Bride really hard. I love romance novels with fat heroines and really want Kenyon to write this book about chubby little Bride for me! Then - dark, psychotic, snarling, Zarek - the demon-hunter that everyone fears but we, the readers, see has a secret heart of gold. TOTALLY want to see him get tamed by some sweet, loving woman with infinite patience. I can't wait to see that! Happily dreaming about future pairings was half the fun of this novel. :)

- Sunshine refuses to take orders from Talon or her father. No matter what's going on, she's fierce about protecting her autonomy and independence. I liked it. Usually the heroine gives in because "oh, it's so dangerous" or something, but Sunshine stays strong. She doesn't let the men tell her "it's for your own good" and I really appreciated that. It rarely happens in romance novels.

- Sunshine's kick-butt grandma.  Who turns out to be the goddess Morrigán!

- Sunshine's emotions and thoughts regarding  herself as Sunshine in this life, and her past self as Nynia in her past life. Does Talon love her for herself? Or does he love her because she's his dead wife reincarnated? Will he expect her to be meek and submissive like Nynia was? Or will he accept that she's strong and independent? Will marriage with him be a form of indentured servitude as it was with her ex-husband Jerry?  I'm glad these issues are discussed and addressed.

- The fact that  both Talon and Nynia are virgins when they have sex for the first time as a couple. I'm sick of the men being super-experienced and the females being virginal. Nice equal footing, here.

- Sunshine refusing to allow Talon back into her bed until he tells her some pertinent details about himself.
...

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
- Talon piercing Sunshine's vein and drinking her blood. This is portrayed as a sexual, erotic activity. I think it's disgusting.

-  At the end, both Talon and Sunshine are granted human lives but immortality for no reason that I could see. It's ridiculous and cheesy and unnecessary.

- Talon having a little showdown with Sunshine's putz ex-husband. I understand that it's a common female fantasy (your ex shows up and you're with an amazing-looking man who can kick his butt) but it seemed ridiculous and out-of-place in this book. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Here, it didn't.

- The whole Eros subplot. Lame and unnecessary.

- Sex drugs. At one point Sunshine is dosed by the bad guys with a potent sex drug that makes her into a nymphomaniac. The bad guys don't take advantage of her, which I'm grateful for, but I expected Talon to be more of a mensch here. He initially refuses to have sex with her while she's under the influence, but then quickly gives in. I don't like this dubious consent garbage. I'm disappointed in Talon and Kenyon.

- I hate seeing Ash trapped in sexual slavery. I expect Kenyon to deal with this at a later date, but I was hating HATING having to read about poor Ash having to kneel and submit and have sex with that disgusting woman.

-  The whole "you're my dead wife reincarnated" trope. I hate this trope. I want people to fall in love for who they are - not who they WERE. Although it is handled more delicately and with more thoughtfulness in this book than I've seen in the past - I'm still not a fan of this plot device.

- I didn't understand the "emotions are key to Talon's powers" crap AT ALL. I can't even say I disliked it because I didn't comprehend it enough to like it or not. Kenyon didn't do a good job at explaining what was going on here. Fail.

- OMG. The objectification of men in this book is just disgusting. Sunshine strips Talon's unconscious body. When he wakes up, both she and her mom talk about him and his naked body as if he weren't even in the room, making complimentary remarks on the size of his penis, etc. Her mom unilaterally decides to call him "Steve" - without even asking what his name is - as if he's a stray dog that her daughter brought home and they get to name and claim as their own. IT'S NOT OKAY. It's supposed to be cute and funny - after all, what threat are these women to him? He could kill them with a flick of his wrist, etc. but I am not amused. It's not right, and it's definitely not "cute." This happens often. Sunshine frequently looks at and appraises Talon's body as if it's a flippin' piece of art and not a living, breathing human being. No me gusta. And after Sunshine and Talon have sex, Sunshine immediately gives her best friend all the intimate details. Am I the only one left who thinks that what you do in the bedroom with your boo is private? Geez Louise. Sunshine was not winning any points with me!
...

Overall, a fun book, but still not Kenyon's best. Close, we're getting closer...

3 REAL STARS, 4 ROMANCE STARS

1st reread

So much was revealed in this one. We also met so many important characters. This is an important one.

I loved the first 1/3 of this book, the heroine was really interesting, not the simpery virgin you usually see, but then the book rabbit-trailed off into a million different directions, not the most satisfying conclusion. I dunno. I am intrigued about a few of the other characters so I might try a few more books.

Also the Alpha male thing is getting old to me, too many in a row, I've burnt out lol.

another enjoyable read in this series, even if it is only the second book....LOL
will continue to read the rest of the series