Review // Dark Longing by Aja James

"Pain is transitory despite its depths. Hate eventually eats itself into a hollow void. Sadness can only last as long as life itself. But love, love extends beyond reason and time." - Excerpt from the Lost Chapters of the Ecliptic Scrolls

Dark Longing by Aja James

Pure/Dark Ones #2
Release - January 18, 2018
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Multiple POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5 / several scenes
Format/Source - borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Page Count - 335
Publisher - Indie

“Every story has more than one side, like a crystal that captures and reflects different colors of light. Do not take for granted what you think you know, for until you hold the entire jewel in your palm, the temptation is to fall prey to illusion and deception.”

This is a story of the Dark Ones…

Inanna: the vampire warrior

Known as the Angel of Death among her kind, she has lived millennia alone, one of the remaining True Bloods in existence, unconsciously longing for the one male she could never have.

Gabriel: the forbidden human

His soul recognizes hers from the first encounter. With the first touch, he is awakened. Though he does not know it, he has been searching for her across the ages.

But even as they are finally reunited, their love faces seemingly impossible odds. Will history repeat itself or will they break all the rules and chart a new course together?

Buy it here: Amazon

FREE to read with Kindle Unlimited

I'm telling you... if you are a fan of paranormal romance, you need to get on the Pure/Dark Ones train!

Dark Longing was primarily about Inanna and Gabriel and it was beautiful! The way the author created their love against the backdrop of history (kudos on creating that history btw) and linked it to the present and gave their growing relationship depth, foundation, and a past... How could I not fall in love with these particular characters?!

The mysterious theme that was introduced in book one was still being explored here and I'm still left guessing about who is behind all the anarchy and mayhem amidst the Dark and Pure communities. Who is the creature? Who else is allied with it? And how will the author keep me on my toes in the next book? I'm so excited to find out!

This review wouldn't be complete if I didn't include my rambles and questions and ponderings too. If you don't want to be spoiled, stop reading here!

★ I loved Inanna and Gabriel's story! I loved how the author created their background, highlighted the Dark vs. Pure Ones war, and even the idea of reincarnation. I'm curious about who Inanna's parents are. To be born of a Dark and Pure One... I'm hoping this is explored further. I found the scenes of the past to be full of hope and heartbreak.
★ Why did Inanna and Gabriel brush off Benji's description of Mama Bear? Why not explore the possibility that he was right, especially as we know that there is a shapeshifter in their midst? Why not explore why this woman would disguise herself as an old woman and why a boy could see past this disguise? Is she Inanna's mom?
★ While Jade Cicada fascinates me... I'm not a fan of how she's depicted, especially when it comes to sex. If she is supposed to be eventually paired with Seth (which is what is hinted at), I'd like her to be a bit more into him. Having sex with a ton of men in front of him doesn't exactly warm me up to their union. And why the heck is he allowing it? I need to learn more about Blood Contracts.
★ I get that what's happening between Sophia and Ere is supposed to feed the story in some way, but it only annoys me. I get that she's supposed to be naive to normal human interpersonal relationships, but that doesn't mean she has to be stupid and immature. Shoot, I'm naive sometimes too! But she was raised by the Elite. I'm supposed to believe that nothing about Ere and what he does seemed suspicious to her? To her guards?

... her curiosity about him and the desire to see him overruled what few reservations she had. - Bitch be crazy

★ I think the shapeshifter creature thing may be Inanna's lost brother, the one who is supposed to be dead. Could the creature be Ere? I can't wait to learn it all!!

Vampire.

That is what I and my Kind are called.

Bloodsucker. Demon. Devil’s Spawn. Fiend. Incubus.

Monster.

I cannot say whether I am or am not these things.

I suppose it depends on one’s point of view.

To the humans whose blood, and sometimes souls, I take for survival, I suppose I might appear somewhat… dangerous. But it is all a matter of perspective.

So allow me to give you mine.

I was born. I was not made.

Nor am I a Pure One who chose the so-called Darkness over an excruciating death when they surrendered their love to the wrong person.

I am simply, and always have been, as I am.

There have been times, oh so many times in the millennia that I have lived, that I resented, raged, railed against my existence.

To the Goddess. To the Heavens. To the Universe at large.

But it wasn’t always that way.

I was born into privilege and luxury. Royalty, even.

There was a time, all those thousands of years ago, when vampires ruled the earth. Pure Ones were inferior chattel and humans were our livestock.

And then the Great War reversed the balance of power.

History, as they say, is written by the victors.

And now I and my Kind are hunted like vermin by the very creatures who used to kneel at our feet. There are also human factions who know of us (or at least think they know) and target us for extermination, torture, experimentation, even just for the sport of it. What was once the most powerful civilization the world has ever seen is now in crumbled ruins, its noble citizens degenerating over time into renegades, thieves, lawless parasites.

Few of us True Bloods remain.

Most have either perished in the Great War or in the Purge of the aftermath. Over time, Pure Ones who have lost their faith joined our ranks.

And in this new era, vampires can also be made.

It is this last type of predator that we should all guard ourselves against, for they have no compunction, no morals.

Only thirst.

Never-ending, unquenchable thirst for the blood and souls of others.

But this is no longer my concern—this galactic battle between Good and Evil. I ceased to care which was good and which, evil, the day that he betrayed me. I only live for my daughter and son.

My beloved Dark Ones...

Aja James just completed the Pure/ Dark Ones paranormal-fantasy romance series in 2020. If you want your heart battered, bruised, shattered and skewered, then put back together in the most glorious ways, check out the series below. Every couple gets an HEA, but they fight like hell for it on the way.

Aja is now working on her new series, Dragon Tails, because dragons are her favorite shifters of all!

Visit https://aja-james.blog/ for more information!