A
princess of Hell, the only thing the demon Lucinda rules over is the
territory she is charged to protect in her role as guardian. Demon she may
be, but she is honorable as well. When she is tasked with the capture of a
rogue Monére warrior, she soon finds herself in the role of protector rather
than hunter, adding her prisoner to her troupe of companions: a rare Floradëur,
Monére warrior Stefan, and the Mixed Breed Jonnie.
Although determined to not become attached to those under her protection,
she finds Stefan irresistible, and is pulled into a web of erotic desire
with him unlike any she has felt before. Knowing he needs more than she can
ever give him, she intends to find him a place with a Monére Queen, leaving
him and the others behind.
But an unforeseen danger binds her to her men in a way she could never have
anticipated, making the very idea of separation impossible…
Lucinda, Darkly
is the first book in Sunny’s The Demon Princess Chronicles
which is connected to her Monére, Children of the Moon series,
but works very well as a standalone series for those who have not read the
other books – like me. This was the first book by Sunny I have had the
pleasure of reading, and it will not be my last. Not only am I eagerly
anticipating the sequel to Lucinda, Darkly, but I have already
added the Monére, Children of the Moon series to my book
shopping list. Although I was able to follow this story without issue, the
references to characters in the other series made me intensely curious!
This book has been compared to Laurell K. Hamilton’s writing, and I can
definitely see why. While classified as a romance and it has some romantic
elements, the story is more an adventure following the main character,
Lucinda, and her companions. Yes, there is love, and oh my gosh are there
some sexy scenes – but this book doesn’t fit the ‘mold’ of a classic romance
in that her story does not end in this book. While this particular part
of her story has completed, her exploits will be continued in the following
stories, if the series title is any indication. Most noticeably, there
isn’t a traditional happy ending in this book. Yes, the story ends well for
our main characters, but since this isn’t really the end of Lucinda’s tale,
it is largely up in the air still as to who she will end up with in the long
run. Fans of sagas that star the same hero and/or heroine in each of the
books will appreciate this immensely, as did I.
Lucinda is an extremely likable heroine. She might be a demon, but she is
nowhere near evil, as she proves by her actions over and over again. It is
easy to fall for her, just like the men who accompany her do.
I see the next book in this exciting new series is due out in *sigh* 2009!!!
I suppose I am going to try to have some patience, but it will be extremely
hard when I am so anxious to see what happens next with this intriguing
group of people! I will be using that time to catch up on Sunny’s other
stories in the meantime…
J
Reviewed by Jennifer
