Thursday 8 February 2018

Review: Dark Embrace

Dark Embrace Dark Embrace by Elle Boon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve read a few Elle Boon books, and it seems to me I favour her contemporary work over her paranormal. It’s not often such a thing happens, as paranormal romance was my gateway drug into the romance genre, yet it has happened with a few authors. Based upon my feelings towards the Elle Boon paranormal romance books I have read, I think it is safe to say such is the case here.

It’s not that I dislike Elle Boon’s paranormal romance, I simply have not enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed her contemporary romance. Although the storylines in both Elle Boon’s paranormal and contemporary reads are gripping, I find them to be more so in her contemporary work. Although the characters are great in both her paranormal and contemporary work, I find myself favouring the characters in her contemporary work. Although we are given action in both the paranormal and contemporary books, I find myself enjoying the action in the contemporary books more. It’s just a personal preference, but in my mind Elle Boon’s contemporary books are her stronger books.

Of the Elle Boon books I have read, it is safe to say Dark Embrace is my least favourite read. I was not sucked into the story as much as I had hoped to be, and there were times when I wasn’t interested in the story at all. There were some good moments in this book, but not enough for me to rate this book any higher than the three-stars I gave it.

Dark Embrace may be the first book in the Dark Legacy series, but quite a lot of the references will be lost if you have not read the Iron Wolves MC series. In fact, book seven, Turo’s Fated Mate, is especially important if you want to understand Dark Embrace. As I have not read all of the Iron Wolves MC series, I felt somewhat lost when reading Turo’s Fated Mate, and the feeling of being stranded remained when I stared to read Dark Embrace. I had some knowledge, through reading Turo’s Fated Mate, but nowhere near enough. It’s a spinoff series that relies heavily upon other Elle Boon books, meaning this series will appeal heavily to her long-term fans and may not be the best place for new readers.

You can dive into this series as a standalone, though, if you’re brave. Not every detail will be a mystery, but enough will be. While this did contribute to some of my inability to get into this book, the bigger issue I had was with the characters. I’m sure many will enjoy the characters, but I just could not get into their story. Mostly it was their way of speaking. I couldn’t wrap my head around an all-powerful supernatural creature speaking like a teenager through text. I found myself unable to connect with our female lead because of this, and through that I never felt much towards many of the characters. Some will enjoy her unique ways, but I found myself put off by it.

Overall, this was an okay read. If you’re a fan of Elle Boon’s prior paranormal work, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this new series. Personally, I’ll probably stick to her contemporary work in the future.

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