Darkness & Lies: A Brotherhood Novel

Darkness & Lies
A Brotherhood Novel, book one
Brandi Salazar
ebook, 256 pages
Published September 20th 2011 by Brandi Salazar (first published September 16th 2011)
ISBN13
2940013423190
Amazon Free Read

Explorer Cheyenne Oppenello lives for adventure and has made it her life’s work to seek out the world’s most notorious myths and legends, and she’s determined to make sure that nothing stands in her way. Accompanied by a colorful band of teammates and friends, their most recent hunt has brought them to Iceland where, up on a mountaintop lies a legend so great that, if true, could thrust them into the spotlight making all of their wildest dreams come true. Unfortunately they have no idea that this mission could very well be their last.

Erias is on a mission of his own. And this includes keeping Cheyenne and her teammates from sticking their noses where they don’t belong. Part of The Brotherhood, guardians to The Gate, Erias is charged with protecting the world from creatures bent on death and destruction and he will do whatever it takes to ensure they never see the light of day.

Can Cheyenne’s determination go up against a fierce man like Erias to get what she wants? Or will Erias prove to be the one adventure she wasn’t prepared for

• No man, unless they were a fictional character dreamed up by a woman, would ever be that incredibly devoted, loving, attentive and sexy.

Why does truth have to be so sad?

When we first meet Erias, he's a devoted husband and father. Then hell rains down and he loses everything, including his mortality. Centuries upon centuries later, in present day, he's become an alcoholic ass who uses women for the moment and casts them away with a "Get the fuck away from me" send off. Oh yeah, this guy's a real prince. His dreams are filled with his loss, of his wife to whom his marriage had been arranged but nevertheless with whom he'd grown to love on their very wedding night. He feels like he's cheating on her. Doesn't stop the son of a bitch, though. Not even for a second.

So yeah, the urge to console our dear Elias battled greatly with the overpowering compulsion to stab his still beating heart into oblivion.

Behr and Alastair... less infuriating. Actually, Alastair just wanted to kill the bitch so he didn't piss me off at all. Behr's only crime against my moral code was phone sexing a married woman. Tattling on Erias and Cheyenne didn't bother me so much.

Not sure how much logic made the foundation of this tale. No sane woman, after enduring the first few days Cheyenne did in meeting Elias, would still consider him a viable love interest. He'll, I doubt even an insane woman would.

I was about halfway through with this book when I decided to go ahead an add book two to my shopping list. WHY OH WHY didn't I read the blurb for that one before I jumped into this one? Just after I ranted about renegade writers swapping love interests, too. I'm so screwed.

A Warrior's Betrayal: A Brotherhood Novel, book two

Being a Brother and a caretaker isn't an easy job, especially when you find yourself coveting the one person you were meant to protect but never have- your brother's woman. That is exactly where Behr finds himself- in love and out of luck. Nothing a little killing can't remedy. While looking for a little trouble to take his mind off what's brewing at home, Behr finds the perfect distraction: hunting down the mythical Rage demon prowling his city's streets.

Lost and alone...

Cheyenne doesn't know what to do with herself. Weeks have passed with no sign of Erias, and as far as she knows, he's dead. Just when she resigns herself to the difficult task of moving on with her life, he reappears, but the Erias she knew no longer exists. He's a demon, the very thing he and his brother's hunt each night. Can Erias overcome this transformation and find the strength to make it back to Cheyenne and the Brotherhood, and if he does, will they accept him? In a world plagued with uncertainty, only one thing is definite: no matter how it ends, someone's heart is bound to get ripped to shreds.

What is it about Cheyenne!? First, Kris falls for her (after he cheats on her). Then Sebastian. Elias falls hard within seconds. Now I have Behr's dumbass self to look forward to! Ugh. Pickin's must be slim up in this world...

And oh look, a teaser: A Warrior's Betrayal Chapter One ... Somebody shoot me.

First she thinks him a serial killer, then a rapist. He tells her he's a guardian of the gates of hell then, flip the page, and she thinks she's in love. What the capital F-Fuck is wrong with this woman???? The one and I do mean ONE good thing Erias ever did was save her from choking, and he was the one that made her choke in the first place!

But no, he's the one because for the first time the little voice that tells her to hold onto her virginity didn't say a damn thing. Incredulous doesn't begin to cover it. I wanted to gut them both and I wasn't even done yet. Salazar definitely has talent as a writer but her characters are schizophrenic.

Go ahead and mark it down. This was the book that drove me to madness, because despite my rantings I'm going now to buy book two. But let me say first that I'm giving Behr the benefit of doubt. He doesn't love her. He just wants what Erias has and the dumbass is taking it far too literally.

Don't let me down, Behr.

3 out of 5 stars.