Seize the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dark Hunter #11, St. Martin's Paperbacks, January 2005, Rating: A

In SEIZE THE NIGHT we get to know Amanda's twin, Tabitha, better, as well as meet the Dark-Hunter Amanda's husband (and former Dark-Hunter himself) Kyrian despises because he is the spitting image of the man who beat, tortured and killed by crucifixion Kyrian years ago. We also delve further into Acheron Parthenopaeus' identity.

Tabitha Devereaux is used to being the odd one, despite having eight sisters that are all odd in their own right. Attacked as a teen by Daimons, she wasn't gifted with the ability to close her eyes to the reality of the world and became a Daimon hunter. She's a flighty person, in that she doesn't seem to be able to settle down. She had a dozen different majors in college, has held many different jobs, can't seem to hold onto a relationship, etc. That all changes when she inadvertantly stabs Dark-Hunter, Valerius Magnus. It isn't until later that she realizes that it's the Dark-Hunter her brother-in-law hates, the man that is the spitting image of his grandfather - who killed Kyrian. But for the first time, she's happy and accepts his differences, even twin Amanda notices Tabitha's lack of phone calls to her complaining about Valerius' faults. If only bringing him into the family wouldn't mean potentially World War III.

Valerius Magnus is used to being alone, used to the rest of the Dark-Hunter's and Squires shunning him. He can't even walk down Bourbon Street without beingn accousted by someone who knows of his association with Kyrian, despite the fact he was only 5 years old at the time of Kyrian's death. Never having known love, always the outcast because he was more tender hearted than he should have been (Valerius is the brother who tried to stop Zarek's mistreatment, only to cause him more harm when his father caught him). For thousands of years he has kept a promise to a servant who was frightened of the dark by keeping oil burning near a statue he had made of her likeness. He never knew the girl, was never able to get up the nerve to speak to her. When Tabitha is willing to be with him despite it putting her against her twin, Valerius is dumbfounded. Acceptance has never been something he expected.

It was good to read that Kyrian and Zarek were both able to put the past behind them in this book. It was neat to get to know Valerius, we'd heard so much about him in Kyrian's and Zarek's stories that it was nice to see the other side. A lot happened in this book, the return of the Daimon killed in Kyrian's book being one of them, suggesting something big is going down with the gods, the Destroyer wants free. I'm enjoying the build-up and the ride. I rate SEIZE THE NIGHT an A.

©Susan Falk and phantomroses.com