Jagger is a creature of the night - Skye Knightly soars in the sun. Natural adversaries, they are now joined in a mission entrusted to Skye's family centuries ago: nothing less than the salvation of the Earth.
Wounded and bitter, Jagger sought escape in the solitude of the jungle, driven by a need to disappear forever . . . until a mysterious shifter who calls to his soul and feeds a yearning long forgotten pulls him from his dark path. A courageous warrior, Skye's passion is equal to Jagger's - but can she trust a man whose secrets are as devastating as her own?
Each is the other's sole hope for survival. But a dark and twisted truth is leading them towards the ultimate sacrifice for a love they may never live to claim.
Jaguar Warriors Series:
His Darkest Hunger
His Darkest Embrace
His Darkest Salvation (July 2011)
For more information visit Juliana Stone's website
Review:
Jagger has spent the last 2 months living in the jungle in his jaguar form trying to forget the things he witnessed in the army. He has no intention of returning to the real world and wouldn't even have taken his human form if he hadn't witnessed an attack on Sky by 2 other jaguars. After stepping in to rescue Sky he finds himself attracted to her and feeling strangely protective of her. Sky has other ideas though, as an Eagle shifter the jaguars have always been her sworn enemy so the last thing she wants is one following her through the jungle as she tries to complete her mission. She is the last protector of an ancient artifact and she has to destroy it before her enemies can get their hands on it and cause the end of the world.
I really enjoyed His Darkest Hunger so was looking forward to reading the second installment in the series but unfortunately I have mixed feelings about His Darkest Embrace. From what I saw of Jagger in the first book I was really expecting to love him but the way he treated Sky was a complete turn off, especially at the beginning of the story. I did find myself liking him more towards the end but I found it hard to understand how Sky could be attracted to him after the things he'd said and done to her. It just made it difficult to believe the relationship that developed between them.
Sky was full of contradictions, on the one hand she was tough and independent and quite a kick ass heroine but then she would do something incredibly stupid (like take off in her eagle form leaving behind all of her clothes and other belongings) which I found irritating. On a more positive note I did enjoy the physical chemistry between the two them and the scene at the waterfall particularly sticks out in my memory.
I enjoyed the action but would have liked to have seen more of the other characters we already met in the previous book. I was disappointed that this seemed like more of a filler between the other books rather than a complete story in it's own right. While I think you could probably read this book without reading the one before it you're definitely left needing to read the next book to find out what happens. I would have read the next book anyway because I'm curious to find out more about the final brother Julian but I like to have more of a complete story even when a book is part of a series. I'm hoping that I'll love the next book as much as I loved the first one because I do really like the world that Juliana has created and the jaguars are definitely some hot shifters!
Source: Received for review from publisher via NetGalley and I also won a paperback copy from Ramblings of a Book Bitch (thanks Claire!)
Other Reviews:
Ramblings of a Book Bitch
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Great review! I love this series and can't wait for the next book.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laurie, I'm really looking forward to His Darkest Salvation too :o)
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