Review: Deliver Me from Darkness

Once a revered Paladin, a warrior for good, Roland is now a vampire. He believes himself lost... irredeemable... without a soul. He never dreams that he'll be granted a mate. But then he meets Karissa. She is beautiful, innocent, and she has no idea that she is part-Paladin.

There are no female Paladins left on Earth, and the remaining males are desperate for mates. But Roland knows without a doubt that Karissa is his. Unfortunately, he thinks he doesn't deserve her. How can you be a soul-mate to someone if you have no soul?

Karissa is fearful of Roland at first. Her grandfather taught her that all vampires are evil. But she quickly comes around and makes it her mission to convince Roland they should be together. Their relationship drama unfolds as vampires, demons, and Paladins all hunt for Karissa, hoping to make her their own.

I had a hard time connecting to the book at the beginning. Maybe I'm reaching my threshold of 24 year-old virgin heroines, because when Roland scented her innocence, my eyes rolled. Then, after Karissa spent the first few chapters solidly rejecting him, I found her about-face terribly abrupt. She went from trying to get away from him to being completely sure of him in the blink of an eye.

But the book started to really come together once our hero and heroine hook up. The sexual tension was great, since Roland feared hurting his mate. The payoff was really good too. The ending sets up a potential story for vampire hybrid Gabrielle, which I feel torn about. She is definitely an interesting character, but she has the body of a 13 or 14 year-old, which skeeves me out in the romance department, no matter how old she is chronologically. We'll see if it comes to pass. 3 1/2 stars.

*ARC Provided by NetGalley

Click to purchase: Amazon

Deliver Me from Darkness

by Tes Hilaire

Release Date: February 7, 2012

Publisher: Sourcebooks