Tempt Me with Darkness
4.5 Stars

Synopsis:
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned . . . this is one adage that Marrok of Cadbury learns the hard way when he is cursed by Morgan Le Fay. Forced to endure an eternity of loneliness, Marrok dreams that Morgan has returned in the body of a modern woman named Olivia Gray and sets out to find her, believing she holds the key to releasing him from his curse. However, Olivia and Marrok soon learn that all is not as it seems, and as they seek answers become embroiled in a life and death struggle against an evil wizard determined to bring about the end of the world.

Review:
A spellbinding plot characterized by cleverly interwoven elements of Arthurian legend, witchcraft and magic. It is wonderfully refreshing to read a book about a group of warriors who are not vampires.

The romance between Marrok and Olivia sizzles. They are a great couple with an amazing chemistry and it is very easy to identify with their conflicting emotions. I like the fact that Marrok is not without his faults, and it can even be said that while his curse is harsh, he definitely had a lesson to learn and he learns it well. Olivia is also very engaging and I enjoyed reading about her discovery of magic and her powers. Nevertheless, her inability to believe that Marrok loves her despite all evidence to the contrary, and her constant doubts regard his motives become tiresome after a while.

The book is well written with some really spicy scenes that are not overdone and contribute to the plot and characterization. The action is also fast paced and Black has established an intriguing world with its own internal rules and hierarchies. To a certain extent the social dynamic of Magickind with its various class distinctions reminds me of the Wizarding World in Harry Potter and the evil wizard who manipulates this inequality in order to achieve his own immoral goals is reminiscent of Lord Voldemort. Mathias D’Arc is an especially diabolical villain and his preferred method of torture actually made my skin crawl.

The secondary characters are also well developed, especially the various members of the Brethren (Bram, Lucan, Ice and Shock). I will definitely be continuing with the series to find out more about the underlying tensions between them, and to see how they will ultimately be resolved. ( )

So, at first I was very unsure about this series. One of my biggest passions is Arthurian Legend, I love it, and don't deal well seeing it totally tore up. I started reading this book and I instantly felt better, Ms. Black wrote a romance in the present that has some Arthurian Legend elements, but she doesn't completely disfigure it, thank goodness. The plot was engrossing, and I enjoyed the characters, I really like Bram, he reminds me of Morganen from Jean Johnson's Destiny series, which is awesome because he is one of my favorite characters of all time. The heat between in the main characters is scorching and Ms. Black has already shown she has no problems putting her characters through nail biting terror and torment. Marrok is a bit more over bearing than a normal alpha male, but I think that's just part of his nature, and his female doesn't seem to mind so much. I am interested if she is going to write he own version of some of the original legend as a prequel to this series...I think that would be cool. I already have the next book in this series laid out...I hope its as enjoyable as this book. ( )

Love her books, ( )

It was pretty good. I debated at times whether or not to finish it, but I stuck with it and it got better. ( )

While I have enjoyed her other books, both those written under the name Shelley Bradley and Shayla Black, this one disappoints. You will definitely enjoy this book if you have short-term memory loss or if you just adore shows like CSI, where they must assume the viewers are too stupid to follow along. Just like CSI or any "reality" show, this book will sum up what just happened in the paragraph or chapter before. And the author keeps doing it. Yes, it is an interesting premise that the protagonist is a descendant of Morgan le Fay. Yes, it is interesting that the man she is romantically interested in was cursed by Morgan le Fay. But do you need to be reminded of that every few pages? There exists a book full of spells that will possibly undo this curse. I understood that the first time I read it. The twentieth time I read it, it was just annoying. It is as though the author had an interesting story idea, but was required to fill a certain number of pages, so she repeated herself, to the detriment of the story. Read every other page and you will completely understand the story and perhaps, even, enjoy it. ( )