Published: May 8, 2018
I cannot profess my love for Sherrilyn Kenyon enough. I don’t think there has been a book that she has written that I haven’t liked. Of course, I have not dove into her horror novels because I do not do horror. The short story I read wasn’t too bad but I don’t want risk it by reading more. So this book is the second book in the Deadman’s Cross series. I believe there are only going to be three books in this Dark Hunter spin-off series but I would not feel put out if there were more.
This book picks up where the last book left off with Kalder Dupree being tortured in Hell because he took Cameron Jack’s spot. He believes he deserves to be in Hell but a good soul like Cameron cannot spend more time there than she is forced to be. However, when Kalder is free he cannot help but want Cameron. He knows she is too good for him but he cannot stay away from her; no matter the ugly glowers and terrible attitude her brother Paden is throwing his way. Through all of this he is no longer a deadman. Having earned his redemption when he gave up his life for Cameron’s. But sometimes being dead is better than being alive and when his past comes back can he really protect all of those who need it?
Cameron Jack is only on the ship because of Kalder Dupree. He gave up his life for her’s and she does not know how to repay him. Never mind that she cannot stop thinking about him or the way he makes her feel. Having to pretend to be a boy her entire life for her own “protection” she doesn’t feel like she even knows how to be a woman so why would a handsome male like Kalder want her? That is a question she continuously asks herself. Not only is she second guessing herself but her brother is not helping matters at all. She is furious with him and the fact that he thinks he can rule her life. Well he can’t. She will show him and take a risk for the only person that has ever made her feel beautiful.
Honestly, this book was another home-run for Sherrilyn. Like I said previously I will read whatever she puts out but I finished this book in a day and a half. I couldn’t put it down! To that end, I listened to the audiobook as well as reading the book. Holter Graham should read every audiobook ever!! If someone else were to do the Dark Hunter books I don’t know that I could listen to them. Holter Graham embodies these books to the extent that no one else would even sound right. I always know I will enjoy listening to the book when Holter is the narrator.
With this book happening during the golden age of piracy we get to learn more about our favorite immortals. In this one we get to see Savitar, Acheron, and Thorn (of course) interact in the exact same way that we would expect them too. WARNING THE NEXT FEW SENTENCES HAVE SPOILERS!! Thorn lets slip that he has a wife and son which we did not know about considering his son Cadegan is currently locked away. We get a hint as to where Acheron gets his love for his black leather duster. And we learn that Savitar have Charonte demons! Now maybe I’ve been in the dark but I did not know that he had any Charonte. Not only does he have them, he has a lot of them. The plot thickens as we wait to see the relationship between him and Apollymi come into the light. For the record, I am not on the team that thinks Savitar is Acheron’s father! But that is a discussion for another day.
I hope this whetted your appetite not only for more of the deadmen but also for the next Dark Hunter book, Stygian. That book is reported to be in the running of length as Styxx and Acheron. Which is super exciting!! As long as Holter Graham does the audio as well I will be as happy as Simi at an all-you-can-eat buffet with unlimited BBQ sauce.
—“I didn’t eat your little Thornkateers when they showed up on my beach without an invitation.” -Savitar, Chthonian, pg. 284—
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