I read through all of Kenyon's Dark Hunter novels with a fervor that bordered obsession (yes, my screen saver is Acheron, and my mouse pointer is Arte..Show More »mis' bow, so what?). Then I read the first of Kenyon's Belador Code books and was disappointed in a big way. So I started this book with a lump in my throat. I so badly wanted a decent Kenyon fix, and I wasn't willing to wait until the next Dark Hunter novel comes out.

Kenyon has a thing for tortured heroes. Often they experience childhood trauma of the worst possible sorts, leaving them crass and sometimes mean-spirited, but still with a core of goodness, of honor. The point behind them, I believe, is that even when life throws these guys the worst life has to offer, their spirit is so strong that their basic decency survives. Nykerian, the hero of Born of Night, is that sort of hero.

Kiara is a princess in pretty much every sense of the word. The world Kenyon builds is a rough one, and Kiara's life hasn't been completely trauma free, but for the most part she has been protected and pampered by her powerful father. Her character isn't always likeable, but you can see the discoveries she makes about herself and about others. She is a judgmental girl when she meets her hero, but she becomes a more understanding woman as the book progresses. It's easy to feel harshly about her, but she is a product of her upbringing, and her growth as a person is necessary to the story line. All in all, I thought she was the perfect foil for Nykyrian.

This book is a romance set in a sci fi world. I wouldn't recommend it for pure sci fi fans, nor would I recommend it for someone wanting a "sweet romance". This book is about a man who has been handed the worst life has to offer and survives the best way he can, and a woman who allows herself to love him. The sex isn't crass but it is explicit.

I thought the narrator did a fine job, building tension in the right places, adding appropriate inflection and doing believable character voices.





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