Burn the Dark: The Elwood Legacy, Book 2, by Nicola Rose

Paranormal Romance.

4 Stars

A Darker, Grittier Continuation of a Dark and Gritty Romance.

One reckless girl and two vampire brothers – battling forces of love over lust, and light over dark.

Jess

All the years of therapy and labels, and it turned out the real reason for the chaos in my life was something none of us could have dreamed up.

Destiny and fate have grand plans for me. Apparently I’m supposed to play along, but what if I don’t want to? What if the lines got so blurred that I can no longer tell which way I’m supposed to turn? Whose arms I should fall into? And what if that question doesn’t even seem to matter anymore?

I’ve spent my life chasing down adrenalin-highs, but I didn’t see this coming. Something dark is brewing inside me… and maybe I like it.

Alex

She was only supposed to be part of the game.

Yes, I wanted her from the moment I saw her, but not for the right reasons. Not for love. Not for passion. I wanted her for my own agenda – bringing down Zachariah’s carefully erected walls. And maybe, just a little bit, because of the way her presence called out to me like a glimpse of something big, glowing on the horizon.

I should never have let that light grow. I should have squashed it when I had the chance. Now she’s under my skin and it’s all twisted. But this time, I won’t lose focus. I won’t lose her.

This time… I win.

Burn the Dark is a full-length paranormal romance/urban fantasy, intended for adult audiences. It contains coarse language and explicit scenes.

Book Two in the Elwood Legacy series. Book One – Taste the Dark – should be read first.

After a bit of a slow start, this book really delivers!

Jess’ strange talents and what they meant for the path of her life are explained in the beginning pages, and I especially enjoyed the addition of new characters that boost the supernatural world Nicola Rose has built. Along with the new, we get to know characters briefly introduced in book one which only adds to the excitement.

Throughout book one, I wanted to kill Jess. I hated Jess (see my review), but in Book 2, her temperament is easier to swallow which made the ride all the more fun. Verbal repartees with those who would have others paralyzed in fear had me laughing while the suspense over how it would all play out got me turning pages without stop. And this was all in the first twenty percent of the book.

I love Alex. From Taste the Dark, this love only grew as Burn the Dark continued. His blunt, no-nonsense, I-don’t-give-a-crap attitude, added to his newfound angst made me love this story. Jess continues to fight her attraction which made for the perfect dynamic.

The way Nicola Rose weaves conversations and arguments from Book One into ammunition for Zac and Jess’ drama is superb. Reason that seemed sound for Jess’ actions are suddenly thrown into new light, and we all wonder whether she really is just some crazy bitch with a death wish. Jess’ struggle that finally is figured out when she accepts some things, discards others, and finds that everyone has a place to belong is one of my favorite points about this book.

Did I mention I love Alex? There’s so much more of him in this second book, its reason enough to read it.

I was pleasantly surprised by how everything comes together at the end. All my heart-strings were pulled, as well as getting the perfect dose of blood and carnage.

Book Three is sure to be a wild ride!

Happy Reading 🙂

Check out more of my reviews HERE.