#BookReview: Taste of Darkness by Katie Reus - 5 Wine Glasses

Title: Taste of Darkness 
Series: Darkness, #2
Author: Katie Reus 
Format: ebook
Published: July 24th 2014
Links: Goodreads | B&N | Kindle | ARe
Source: NetGalley
Reviewer: Linda
Rating: 5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

He spent more than a thousand years imprisoned in hell…

Drake is an ancient dragon shifter, one of the most powerful beings in existence, but a millennium trapped in utter darkness has left him ill-equipped for modern society. If it wasn’t for Victoria, the sweet female brave enough to befriend him, he’d be lost. She’s smart and gorgeous and everything he never dared dream of during his years of agonizing loneliness. He may not have anything to offer her, but one thing he knows for sure: he’d die to keep her safe.

Only to fall into the heaven of her touch.

Victoria is a wolf shifter, healer of the Stavros pack. She’s seen a lot, but she’s never met anybody quite like Drake, the fiery, fascinating shifter who can blaze through the skies unseen by mere mortals. He’s lost, dangerous, and the last male she should fall in love with, but the more time she spends helping him navigate modern life, the deeper—and hotter—their connection becomes. She’s thrilled when they finally locate his family, but reuniting with his people plunges them both into unimaginable danger. It’s a race against the clock trying to figure out who wants them dead and who they can trust, especially when the threat is closer than they ever imagined.

Length: 90K words (full length novel)

Thoughts:
"Growl all you want. The sound is...appealing." 

TASTE OF DARKNESS by Katie Reus is an incredible paranormal urban fantasy romance and I loved it!  It's the second novel in Katie's Darkness series and there are interconnected characters, but it can be fully enjoyed as a standalone;  That's the way I read it.  I was drawn into the tale right away.  As the story opens, Drake, a dragon shifter, is learning to drive a car under the tutelage of Victoria, a wolf shifter.   LOL! 

“Always strap in. As supernatural beings we're pretty much going to survive any crash, especially you, but the police are more likely to pull you over if you're not strapped in."
"I'm certain they could pull you over for many other infractions," he murmured, doing as she instructed with the seatbelt.” ...  “I've seen you burn trained vampires to a crisp and swat supernatural beings away with your wings as if they were insects bothering you, and my driving is terrifying?"
"Well it's not good.” 

As a bit of background information, Drake had joined with the Stavros wolf shifter pack after escaping from hell.   At that time, Drake was strongly drawn to Victoria, who is a member of the Stavros pack.  
The pack believes that Drake may be the only dragon shifter in existence as they aren't aware of any other dragons.  

Drake is a super-yummy  hero, tough, strong and innately protective of those he cares for.  Drake is the epitome of a tortured hero as he was betrayed as a young innocent child, sacrificed and subsequently imprisoned in hell for fifteen hundred years.  He is a fighter and a survivor having lived through unimaginable horrors and loneliness that words can't begin to describe.   Drake is tormented by guilt for the things he was forced to do in hell to survive, yet he has retained a strong sense of right vs. wrong and has not lost his capability to love.   My heart broke for the injustice dealt him and that he subsequently felt so unworthy.  Our heroine describes him thusly:

He was six feet six inches of confusing male. Lord, the man was huge, muscular and smelled heavenly. She just wanted to run her nose all over him, inhaling that spicy, earthy scent that made her inner wolf want to jump up and strut around for him. 

Victoria, our heroine, is a strong, caring, young female were shifter who is strong in the ability to heal. The pack has insulated Victoria in their quest to insure her safety.  Victoria appreciates their concern but she also craves some independence.   Victoria has taken Drake under her wing helping him circumvent this new world.   Both are neophytes in the realm of romance.  

There was much humor within these pages starting with the driving scene and interspersed throughout.  One of the scenes I found most hilarious occurred after a fight scene when Gabriel had the following conversation with Drake:  

“Want to grab a beer at Howler's?"
Drake blinked, unsure he'd heard him right. After just battering each other to a pulp, Gabriel wanted to get a drink with him?...
"Why are you asking me?"
Gabriel shrugged, then winced.
"Because that's what males do. We beat the shit out of each other, then go have a beer afterward.” 

Shifters aren't that different from humans after all. :-)

This was the first book I've ever read by Katie and it won't be the last.  As soon as I finished TASTE OF DARKNESS, I purchased the first novel in this series, DARKNESS AWAKENED.  You may expect to see a review of it here soon.  

TASTE OF DARKNESS is guaranteed to keep your adrenaline climbing with plenty of paranormal, suspense, twists you won't see coming, sexy and sweet romance, humor and heat.   The world and characters the author created are incredible and addicting.  The word building and character development are fabulous.  There's not a dull moment in the book!  I highly recommend TASTE OF DARKNESS to all fans of dragon shifter romances!