Scent of Darkness

This urban fantasy has 1000-year curses and shapeshifters. Ann Smith is Jasha Wilder's office assistant. She has harbored a crush on him for all of the years that she's worked for him. The time has come for her to confront him and let him know. She thinks a trip to his mountain home to seduce him is a great idea.

However, the time isn't good. Jasha has just learned that the enemies who have been tracking his family for many years have gotten close. Also, his mother had a vision at the annual fourth of July picnic which indicates that they have a limited time to find a mysterious relic that was broken and scattered 1000 years ago if they want to save their father from damnation.

Jasha has gone to his retreat where he can turn to a wolf and show more think about what he can do to save his father. The last thing he wants to do is bring anyone into the danger with him. But Ann arrives and the enemies arrive shortly after.

Ann is keeping secrets of her own. She was found abandoned in a dumpster as in infant with a strange tattoo on her lower back. Raised by a convent of nuns, she has been taught that evil follows her and that she has an unknown destiny.

When Ann finds the relic during a particularly strong storm, Jasha knows that he needs to protect it and her from the enemies who want to destroy his family. He also wants to convince her that he is her intended mate which might be harder to accomplish than defeating a number of shapeshifters sent to kill him.

This was entertaining urban fantasy and is the first of four books in the story arc. I enjoyed the characters and the worldbuilding. show less

Ann Smith secretly loves her boss, the virile Jasha Wilder. After much prodding by her friends, including a makeover, a new car, and laser corrected vision, Ann sets out to seduce Jasha in his remote Washington home. Her plans, however did not in anyway include a gigantic wolf in the middle of her boss's living room, especially when "Fido" becomes something else. Have to say I find wolves majorly attractive after this one...lol. Read and you shall understand the connection.

Scent of Darkness by Christina Dodd
Book #1 in Darkness Chosen
4 stars

Synopsis:
The Wilders must break the pact their vicious ancestor forged with the devil or be cursed for all eternity. On the night Ann Smith decides to seduce her boss, Jasha Wilder, she is astonished to see him transform into a wolf and soon learns that she holds the key to his family’s salvation. Chased by shapshifting assassins, Ann and Jasha must control their passion and work together to outwit these dangerous predators or they will never survive.

Review:
A fresh and invigorating story in a genre inundated with vampires. Christine Dodd has crafted an spellbinding mythology involving demons and holy relics that grip the reader throughout. The characterization is show more excellent, especially Ann who begins her journey as a naïve girl and develops into a proud and strong willed young woman. The back story regarding her mysterious childhood and tattoo is particularly intriguing. Jasha, however, can be a little overbearing but Ann has no problem putting him in his place.
Recommendation: For lovers of paranormal romance. I will definitely be continuing with the series. show less

The concept of the book was really good. A very interesting good versus evil book going back 1,000 years. I am curious to see how the story unfolds so I will finish the series. That being said, there was something that irritated me about the book. I just couldn't buy Jasha having feelings for Ann after her being a complete stalker. I mean who packs their bags, goes to their "loves" house, walks right in the front door and hangs their clothes in the closet? Had I come home to that I would've been beyond pissed and called the cops. I could see her going to his house to seduce him but just making herself at home was wrong like she never thought for a second that he would reject her. Had she been that confident why didn't she approach him show more about her feelings earlier? Ann seriously irritated me in the beginning. In the beginning of the book, I kept shaking my head and thinking what the hell is wrong with this girl. Is she deficient? I did grow to somewhat like her. On to the good things. Seeing Jasha's battle within was intriguing. He is a demon after all and to see him struggle to keep his emotions under control in order to protect Ann was good. I loved the interaction between Jasha's family. They are the reason that I will continue this series. That and the fact that Ann will not be the focus point in the other books. Seeing his birthright and what Konstantine fought for and left behind for love was beautiful. I want to see if they are able to save his soul and if we will ever meet the mysterious bad brother. show less

Scent of Darkness danced around the line between seduction and rape but I've decided to call it seduction in the end but only just. Besides Jasha gets slapped around for this later as the heroine tries to explain that it wasn't like that. Hmmm.

But anyway despite this, it was well-written, the plot was interesting, the villains were...not very bright, died quickly and were too few though this was explained away so I'll forgive that but on the plus side the characters all had distinct personalities.

Even Ann Smith, who before her radical transformation seemed as boring and plain as her name though her birthmark certainly sets her above everyone else, making her the perfect bait. That plus her perceptive yet innocent nature and acute show more business mind placed her as perfect as Jasha's mate, and it's in his best interest to keep her happy considering she was practically running his business.

However, my absolute favourite character was the the patriarch of the family, Konstantine. He was an immensely interesting and hearty character. I only wish there was a book on him and his wife, Zorana so we could see what made him turn away from dark despicable deeds to kidnap a sixteen year old girl, marry her and escape the Russian compound to make a new life in America. Come on, there's definitely a story there, and I want to read it.

And here's the downside: I'm not particularly interested in any of Jasha's siblings' stories except of course Adrik's -the one character that didn't make an appearance but is marked as an outcast for his decision to turn back to the "old" ways aka raping, killing and robbing his way through life. A life to do the devil (and the pact) proud. Dodd tries to intrigue me with Firebird's situation, the 4th non-existent son and Rurik's disappearance but I just can't seem to care.

What next for this series: well for me, I may step over the next book to get to Adrik's but other than that I can't guarantee anything. show less

I love paranormal books that combine fantasy, sexy scenes, and romance together and leave you wanting more. So it was no surprise to me when I found myself in love with Scent of Darkness from the very first chapter-- actually, the prolouge was what hooked me and the first chapters reeled me in. The perfect start to a promising new series!

Ann wanted a normal life, a perfect life. She wanted a nice house, a great job *which she already had*, maybe some childre, and, oh yeah, Jasha, her boss. Doesn't sound to bad, right? Nothing abnormal there.

Of course, Ann doesn't know that her boss, her beloved Jasha, is really a demon, whose family has been 'cursed' and bound to the devil for thousands of years, becoming a preditor at will, in his show more case, wolf. Ann is horrified, scared... and yet strongly aroused, unable to stop herself from reacting to his coarse passions, demanding and yet somehow still gentle, if only slightly so.

When Ann finds an ancient icon of the Madonna, she finds herself to be part of a Prophecy told by Jasha's mother only a short time ago. If the true loves of 'their four sons' do not find the various icons before their father dies, he will be sent to hell and he will not be redeemed of his evils. Every day, Ann finds herself being pulled in farther and farther into a world that she never knew existed, and certainly never wanted to be part of. But now, she finds that world becoming a part of her...especially Jasha, who is steadily becoming a part of her heart- again. But can he love her back? Or is she simply a pretty woman whom he has great sex with and who will be able to help his father to be redeemed before dying?

You will be sitting on the edge of your seat from page one until the end, submerged in a world filled with fantasy and demons, curses and legends, love and hate, erotic moments and passionately- lovingly- possesive moments. You want to know what will happen next, what does Ann's unique birthmark mean, and who is watching them-- or, more importantly, how many.

Christina Dodd has proven that she can write both tender historical romances and sexy paranormals. Right now, I already have the next two books waiting to be read, and in a bit I will start on the second in her Darkness Chosen series, Touch of Darkness which tells Rourik's story. I can't wait until Firebird's story, the fourth one, due out in August, I believe. She sounds like such an interesting character.. and it seems like she has more secrets hidden from her family than they thought.

5/5 STARS! Scent of Darkness is the perfect start to an amazing new paranormal series. Sexy alpha males, passionate but sturdy heroines, a dangerous legend, deadly secrets.... How can you possibly resist? You can't, believe me! This is a must read for anyone who likes things that go bump in the night... show less

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. This was a re-read for me. I first read this book around the time of its original release, which was 2007, and didn't remember a whole lot about it besides the fact that the Hero is able to turn into a wolf and I liked it. As I read the book, there were some things that were somewhat familiar but in a lot of ways, it was like experiencing the story all over again for the first time. I am really glad that I decided to pick this one up again.

I love the set up for this series. The Wilder family is descended from a man that made a deal with the devil years ago. Since that deal was made, only male children have been born and each of those children is able to transform into a predator once they reach puberty. show more These are violent men who don't form attachments or marry but take what they want. Jasha's father broke tradition when he married his mother and hid his family from the larger family.

Jasha knows that his family is in danger from his mother's prophecy. Jasha is the oldest and is quite the businessman, owning a winery. He is the oldest of the four children in his family and he is able to turn into a wolf at will. Ann works for Jasha as his assistant but has wanted him for a very long time. She doesn't realize that when she goes to see him at his home that she is going to get more than she bargained for.

I found this book to be really exciting. I think that the fact that these characters are faced with a situation that is bigger than they are is really interesting. Their goal is really just to keep their family safe and despite the fact that their abilities come from a deal with the devil, they do want to do the right thing. I liked that the enemy could pop up anywhere and really that anything could happen.

I did like Jasha and Ann and thought that they did make a good pair. They did have a lot of chemistry and liked each other before the book actually began. I thought that Ann's history was really interesting and I liked the fact that she was able to accept everything going on as quickly as she did. Jasha really did care for Ann although he sometimes did need to learn to include her in the decisions that were being made.

I would recommend this book to fans of paranormal romance. I found this to be a fast-paced story with a rather unique premise. I am looking forward to continuing my re-read of the series very soon! show less