Author: J. K. Beck
Series: Shadow Keepers
Price: $6.99 Kindle
Where to buy: Amazon
**Contain Spoilers**
Description: FBI agent Alexis Martin knows that vampires exist—because one of them killed her sister. Assigned to investigate a series of bizarre homicides in Los Angeles, Alexis believes the murders are the work of rogue vampires—perhaps even the monster responsible for her sister’s death. Now she finally has a chance for retribution. Even better, Alexis receives unexpected help from a sexy stranger as hungry for rogue blood as she is. Serge is a centuries-old bad boy who stays off the grid—keeping his secrets, his hunger, and his heart safe from exposure. A new breed of vampire that feeds off other shadowers, Serge finds sweet torture in Alexis’s arms. Loving her is a chance to be free from the hiding, the loneliness, the secrecy. But the truth about what he is, and what he’s done, may banish him to the dark confines of his own private hell—and destroy the beginnings of their love.
REVIEW: When Darkness Hungers is the first book I read from J.K Beck and it will not be the last. I enjoy this book very much; I was fascinated by the characters and the story.
Alexis is a FBI agent who wants nothing more than revenge, she lives to find her sister’s killer. She is aware there are creatures that live to hurt others, to prey on humans to make them their victims. During her search for answers she meets Leena a witch who has an agenda of her own. Leena is the descendant of a very powerful witch. She uses magic to capture vampires and slay them. She finds in Alexis a friend and an ally and together their start to form a plan to find the vampire who killed Alexis’s sister while avenging her ancestors killer.
Serge is sexy & dangerous. He is an old vampire, a man with a dark past, with blood in his hands and a guilt that doesn’t let him live. Serge lives with the consequences of his past, he wanted eternity and what he got instead was a curse that transformed him in the beast he has become to despise the most. Serge’s dark side is more than a vampire preying on his next victim, he has become a legend. Serge’s curse makes him do the unimaginable he is a danger to his own species and humans alike.
I like how J.K. Beck put this story together, the details, the dialog and the action kept me glued to the book until the end. The author maintains such an interesting plot, vampire working with humans under the nose of modern society, kept as a secret for their benefit and that of the vampires. They work together to maintain order, the order that has been broken by rogue vampires who are starving for powers just as much as they starve for blood.
“For centuries – hell, for millennia – we’ve tried to keep our existence secret. The way we operate. How we live. And we’ve blithely believed that we’ve succeeded. And then you come along ad prove that no matter how careful we are, someone is going to fund us out. There is no hiding, there is no hiding at all.”
The characters are well developed, I enjoyed the way their interaction flowed, and their dialog did not feel forced or lacking. I totally loved how connected Alexis and Serge felt from the moment their eyes met. J.K Beck did an awesome job implementing all those different species: Vampires, Shifters, and Witches. Their abilities made the story more fun and exciting. As far as the villain, he is impatient, which seems to be a characteristic of most villains, he is smart, sexy, manipulative and evil which is exactly how I like the villains to be.
“It was exquisite. The fear. The Struggle.” She trembled, as if words couldn’t describe the extend of her rapture. “Foolish little worms to think they could come into our world and make demands. Ask about one of our kind. There is a price to pay for hubris, you know.”
“And you saw that they paid dearly”
“Of course”
Overall this is a great love story, one that will keep you entertained from beginning to end, I can’t wait to read the next book. I am considering reading the series in order, however it looks to me as if each book/story can be read as a standalone book , this is a series to keep an eye on.
