Publisher: Self-published
Publish Date: Out now
How I got this book: ARC from the author
Addison O’Henry has no idea magic is real or that the fragile peace between the magekind—humans who can use magic—and demons is about to shatter. All that changes the day she’s abducted by one of the magekind. After a ritual murder goes horribly wrong, Addison ends up with demon-sourced magic that nearly kills her. But for the intervention of demon Harsh Marit, she might not have survived. Though Harsh does what he can to help her return to what used to be normal, they both know her life will never be the same.
With corrupt mages threatening them both, her honor requires her to help Harsh and the demon warlord he serves. If that means accepting her power and the high rank it confers on her, so be it. Now her once distant relationship with Harsh turns hot and immediate as the two of them explore the dark passion of a forbidden relationship.
This blurb came from the author’s website.
My introduction to Carolyn Jewel was through book one of this series, My Wicked Enemy. I was browsing in a small city chain bookstore, long since absorbed into a megastore, looking for something new to read when the title caught my eye. I pulled it off the shelf and read a very interesting blurb. I decided to buy the book and the rest as they say, is history. Since then I have purchased a copy of all of her paranormal worked and enjoyed them. It had been a little since her last My Immortals release so I was happy to see that My Darkest Passion was set back in this world. When Jewel asked on twitter if any reviewers would like a copy I leaped on the opportunity. In fact when I finished reading it I had to do a glom of the entire series.
Jewel has created a very complex world for the My Immortals series. She does a far better job of explaining the history and world building than I could here. And yes I tried. I recommend that if this is your first book in this series that you either read about her world or read the previous four books first. My Darkest Passion builds on characters and events from the earlier stories.
Harsh was starting to come into his own as one of Nikodemus’ diplomats when he was sent along with Kynan, another demon, to the property owned by a mage named Giuseppe Infante. Nikodemus is a powerful demon warlord who has decided to stand up against abuses by both magekind and other demons. He carved out a substantial territory in California, and continued to gain both independent and sworn allies in his fight to bring balance. Harsh is one of those who has sworn an oath to Nikodemus when he was freed from being a mageheld. Nikodemus sent Harsh and Kynan to kill if necessary whatever they found imprisoned in a metal shed as part of Nikodemus’ promise to protect magekind and demons from each other. Instead of killing Addison,the prisoner, Harsh and Kynan decided they needed to hear the other side of the story and ended up rescuing her. Infante had ordered his mageheld to capture a woman and instead of his planned target they ended up capturing Addison. During the ritual murder of a mageheld Addison was able to break free long enough to injure Infante, and disrupt the ritual to the point that the mageheld’s power entered her instead of entering Infante. Addison, a human, now has the power and instincts of an ancient powerful demon but no knowledge or training of how to handle them. She was also traumatized by her treatment at Infante’s orders and the combination has made Addison a very unpredictable dangerous person to be around. Kynan, Addison, and Harsh all had a connection that went beyond the typical need for a demon to have others in close proximity. However, Harsh was too sensitive to allow Addison to work through her trauma without taking it personal so despite their attraction he left her alone until Infante returned, determined to make Addison and everyone who helped her pay, preferably with their lives.
Jewel takes an interesting tactic in her organization of this book. Addison’s healing and recovery occur off screen, which I think brings the reader closer to understand Harsh and his perspective of her when she returns. While I was reading I asked myself if I missed seeing her heal and came to the conclusion that I wanted to get back to the action when she was with Harsh. This technique might not work with all readers as was pointed out to me in a discussion about My Darkest Passion but it worked for me.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Harsh discover who Addison was after she incorporated her demon powers with her human nature. I also felt that while Addison was at relative peace with who she had become, she still did not know the extent of her power. Watching as she discovered new facets to what she could do when she was protecting someone she cared about was also very interesting. Together Harsh and Addison made a formidable team. I liked how they remained true to who they had been but also grew as characters. Jewel also moved the entire story line along setting up what appears to be a major confrontation between Nikodemus and those of his ilk against the magekind.
Overall I enjoyed reading My Darkest Passion. It was great to re-enter this world and see what new twists Jewel was throwing at her poor characters. Like I said in the beginning I do not recommend that you start the series with this book without at least reading her background information which is a drawback to a new reader. Once you are familiar with the world, the characters are all extremely vivid and the torment she puts them through is rather intense. I continue to look forward to what comes next and I have my eye on a few characters.
I give My Darkest Passion a B.