Dark Crusade

As a kid, I read all the paranormal and gothic books I could lay my hands on and in high school and college, I was quite the fan of the Silhouette Shadows line. When Silhouette launched the Nocturne line, I was very excited. Though many of the books here are quite different in tone from my earlier reads and tend to be heavier on vampire/werewolf themes, I have still found some treasures. Lori Devoti's Unbound series definitely falls into the category of books I enjoy. Incorporating elements of Norse folklore, the series tells really good stories featuring a host of different magical beings.

In Dark Crusade, we catch up with Kerr, a rogue garm (basically a wolf shapeshifter) who has been exiled to Gunngar with his fellows. He crosses paths with Heather, a human witch who'd joined the Garm and stumbled through the portal into Gunngar, an intriguing place caught between different magical worlds. Once free to roam between worlds, the inhabitants are now forced to stay as it has been effectively locked down and patrolled by the Jager, light elves who control it. It is an especially bad time for Heather to arrive since she's landed in the middle of a full-blown witchhunt.

When Kerr finds Heather he knows he must somehow get her back through the portal before his elfin masters find and kill her. Heather also receives pressure from one of the residents of Gunngar who helps her hide from the Jager, while also urging her to seduce Kerr so she can guarantee her way out.

Not that Heather needs all that much encouragement. The chemistry between her and Kerr is quick to develop, intense, and (most importantly) believable. Though both action and romance move at a rapid pace here, Devoti's worldbuilding is exceptional and the romance deeply felt. There are a few occasions where the romantic interludes seem to come out of nowhere, but I found Heather and Kerr to be both appealing and believable as characters. Given Kerr's honorable nature, Heather's sometimes halfhearted attempts at manipulation got a little annoying but, given also that she found herself being hunted in a strange land, I felt inclined to cut her some slack.

To tell much more of the plot would spoil things for readers, so I'll leave the rest of the various twists and turns for you to discover. Suffice it to say that the world in which the lead characters live has many layers and that the sometimes intricate plot of this book works hard to do it justice. While there are a few "too good to be believed" moments, the author introduces a certain degree of ambiguity that keeps the story from feeling too simplistic. I appreciated that.

Even though the pacing of the romance occasionally feels a little off, readers will want to see the likable lead characters succeed in their quest. The author does a good job of creating an ominous mood and a fascinating world in her story, so I found it an enjoyable read. Readers who've followed the series will have an easier time with Dark Crusade, but even if you haven't tried any of the prior novels, there are enough references to past events to make it possible to catch up - and this book is definitely worth it.

-- Lynn Spencer

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