by Terrance Mc Arthur

Details on how to enter to win a copy of Darkness Splintered at the end of this review.

Risa Jones, half-werewolf and half-Aedh (angelic spirit), is pregnant by her former-soul-guide-Reaper lover, Azriel, and is being forced by vampires, rebel Aedh priests and her not-of-this-world father to search for the missing keys to the gates of Heaven and Hell. The keys keep getting stolen from her by dark mages in the Dark Angels series of paranormals by Keri Arthur.

In the sixth volume, Darkness Splintered, Risa is recovering from a days-long bender, triggered when Azriel took her from death, robbing her of future rebirths and dooming her to eternity as a Dark Angel like him. Her business partner still has a fire elemental inside of him, which is very bad for their restaurant’s insurance. Witches are working overtime to undo a nasty extortion threat being carried out by dear old Dad, who only wants to rule the universe. Vampires are urging Risa to take on the Vampire Queen who is making her own threats against Risa & Company…and carrying them out. The wants of Risa’s demon sword are simpler; it just wants to kill!

Risa and Azriel zip in and out of the gray fields between Earth, Heaven and Hell, bop through magic stone rings that transport people from place to place across Australia and battle nasty creatures that are normally a nuisance, but are more trouble because they have extra powers added by sorcery. A number of characters are biting the dust, friend and foe (and friend/foe), and it makes you wonder who will be left living (or undead) at the end of the series.

OK, what can I tell you to get you to try Darkness Splintered and the Dark Angel series? You have a hot angel and a hot part-werewolf in love, but torn apart by her anger at his actions, which she feels are just to find the missing gate keys and he feels were to save her life and to find the keys. You have a search to track down the baddies that keep stealing the keys, and you have the race to keep the key-thieves from opening the Infernal Gates and letting all Hell break loose (really). Friends in danger, really bad fathering techniques–Find the keys for me or I’ll kill your friends!– a horrible vampire boss–Find the keys for me or I’ll kill your friends!–rebel priests–Find the keys for us or we’ll kill you…heck, we may kill you anyway, just because we’re rebel priests!– rebel vampires–Kill the Vampire Queen or…you know the rest, right?…and hellhounds!

What’s not to love?

Check out our review of Keri’s book Who Needs Enemies, the first in a new mystery/fantasy series, and an interview with Keri, in last week’s issue.

To enter to win a copy of Darkness Splintered, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Darkness,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen November 30, 2013. U.S. residents only.

Check out more fantasy book reviews in our fantasy and fangs section.

Terrance V. Mc Arthur is a California-born, Valley-raised librarian/entertainer/writer. He lives in Sanger, four blocks from the library, with his wife, his daughter, and a spinster cat.