Darker Than Love

By: Anna Zaires, Charmaine Pauls

Narrated by: Shirl Rae, Sebastian York

Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

An Enemies-to-Lovers Stand-Alone.

Once upon a cold, dark night, a Russian killer stole me from an alley.
I’m dangerous, but he is lethal.
I escaped once.
He won’t let me do it twice.

The revenge is his.
The betrayal is mine.
But so are the lies to protect the ones I love.

We’re cut from the same twisted cloth. Both merciless. Both damaged.
In his embrace, I find hell and heaven, his cruelly tender touch destroying and uplifting me at once.

They say a cat has nine lives, but an assassin has just one.
And Yan Ivanov now owns mine.

©2020 Anna Zaires, Charmaine Pauls (P)2019 Anna Zaires, Charmaine Pauls

DARK, DEVIOUS & DELICIOUSLY DANGEROUS TOO

As soon as I knew this dark romance was scheduled to be released I pre-ordered it knowing that any book written by Anna Zaires was going to be good and, when it’s also being brought to life by Sebastian and Shirl.. well hello heaven. But huh, little did I know.. because this listen wasn’t just good.. it was brilliant. The main villainous dark anti-hero characters, the non-stop action, angsty tension, suspense, dark sizzling volatile chemistry, intrigue, hot sex, passion, secondary characters, betrayal, soul-bonding, character development, punch in the gut twists and romantic scenes were all perfectly placed and paced. Take it from me, this rollercoaster doesn’t quit.. the feels are endless.. the climb, anxiety and anticipation is wonderful.. and the HEA reward at the end is priceless. The dual POV we’ll-written plot slowly reveals itself in a cunning twisty kidnapping story that hides secrets, drops revelations, leads you through a minefield of dangers, gets you all hot and bothered.. and finally makes you swoon over the romance and purity of the love that has grown between them.

Worth a credit? Yes.. a damaged possessive alpha hero and a damaged strong resourceful heroine.. two anti-heroes who are enemies yet absolutely perfect for each other. It’s a non-stop action-packed ride of slowly lowering barriers, awakening emotions and letting each other in.. and you never know what the next chapter will hold or reveal. Great narration brought it all to life, added to the enjoyment factor and made it a very entertaining listen. Can absolutely be listened to as a stand-alone.

Perfection

I really enjoyed this audio book. Narrated to perfection by the Uber talented Sebastian York and Shirl Rae. I liked that everything wrapped up in one book as opposed to 3 or 4 books. Well worth the credit. Five Stars on this one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An intoxicating mixture of mushy and dark!

Good God, I didn't expect these characters when I went into this. Yahn (is that how it's spelled? I've only heard his name not even seen it) turned out to be a sentimental man that while unbelievably ruthless was also so compassionate and loving that I truly thought he was an amazing character. I don't want to spoil anything but say that I liked how this book was done with it's own ending in mind. Anna didn't fall into the cookie-cutter HEA type ending where the 2.5 kids and white picket fence are the ending and I liked that. Not all of us were built for that but we deserve a happy ending in a book too. I'm no assassin mind you, but you get what I'm saying I think that we don't all want children (or can have them) and that priorities are sometimes different based on your own experiences in life. They never gave up doing what they loved and Yahn really was a sweet guy. I expected a lot more kink than we got, but that's okay. This male protagonist was sweet and loving in the least cringey way possible which is hard to do in my eyes; he was created with great care it's easy to see. Ilya was another character I loved and I'd like to see a sequel with him finding love. These two twins are actually quite deep and emotional people but they just need the right person to let them be that vulnerable to show it. This is a really unique story to the point where I had to stay up all night to find out what would happen because I really wasn't sure at all! If you want a romance with an unconventional couple that falls deeply in love and survives the most difficult odds, this is the one. Just don't expect too much kink or you might be let down since the most you get is a bit of a spanking session and that's about it (you understand part of why it doesn't go further than that later in the book). This is a winner. For sure. Also, both narrators were excellent but gosh I just love Sebastian York. He is freaking excellent.

HOT! HOT! HOT!

This is the first enemies to lovers book I’ve taken the time to read and I absolutely love it! I will definitely continue with books like this one. The author did a wonderful job on the story line, and the narrators were a perfect match.

Yummy Yan!

While reading Anna Zaires and Charmaine Pauls newest release, my breath began to quicken, my face became flushed my toes started to tingle, my core overheated and contracted so hard and then, BOOM a burst of pleasure escaped from inside of me and I yelled Yan! Wait what? Yan!!!! Why yes, Yan! You know that sexy Russian who was part of Peter Sokolov’s assassin squad from the Tormentor Mine series? Oh the passion, the pain the pleasure and that was just what I was feeling! Darker Than Love is another sexy spinoff of the Twist Me series created by Anna Zaires. This time around she has teamed up with another member of the dark royal court to pen Darker Than Love – Charmaine Pauls.

This book had me all in my dark feelings! Who knew Yan was such a sexy, jealous possessive alpha? I mean for four books I was panting after Peter in the Tormentor Mine series oblivious to the sexy side assassin waiting to pounce on my libido! In this standalone we get a fully fleshed out Yan in all of his yummy alpha glory as he carrys on the Zaires and Pauls’ tradition of sexy dangerous men becoming obsessed with beautiful heroines. And what a lucky little minx this heroine is in this book.

The heroine Mina AKA Minx is no shy, weak damnsel in distress. She is in fact a force to be reckoned with! Dangerous and lethal in a pint size body. She is in many ways as deadly as Yan. Yan sees in her his perfect dark match. But what he doesn't see is the secrets that she is hiding that could force the sand through the hourglass of their love. Can Yan and Mina's dark love endure as forces all around them lead them like a siren to peril?

There's plenty of action and angst to keep you engaged throughout the book as well as "friendly" exchanges between Yan and his twin assassin Iilya to keep you entertained. My only complaint about this book is it is a standalone and we don't get to continue the Yan fun in another book. Maybe Illya...

The wonderful narration by Sebastian York and Shirl Rae brings even more depth and richness to this book!

Until the next dark adventure, (fingers crossed for Iilya) thanks Ms Zaires and Ms Paul for another swoony read!

Amazingly Dark!

OMG! A book from Anna Zaires and Charmaine Pauls together? Yes, Please! Yan and Mina's enemies-to-lovers story is intense, very suspenseful, breathtaking, and filled with drama, and twists and turns. Yan is handsome, dark, alpha, possessive, protective and ruthless. Mina is a wonderful strong woman. Her past is heartbreaking. I love their sizzling chemistry and the instant attraction. This story isn't for the faint-hearted! I love the perfect ending! The secondary characters are great and intriguing. I would love to have Ilya's story. I need more! Shirl Rae and Sebastian York did an amazing job with the narration. I enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it!

Darker Than Love can be listened as a standalong, but I highly recommend to read/listen to the interconnected series in this order:
1) The Twist Me Trilogy (Julian and Nora's story)
2) The Capture Me Trilogy (Lucas and Yulia's story)
3) The Tormentor Mine Series (Peter and Sara's story)
and then Darker Than Love

Absolutely incredible !!

Don't even hesitate, press buy!! I loved this book!! I listen to 5-7 books a week and rarely leave a review but this book deserves all the stars !! Narration was perfect and the story kept me captivated 100% of the time!! My only complaint is that the book is over 😪

And the story goes on!

I was shocked to see the continuation of the series. I loved listening to Yan’s story. Anna made us fall in love with the male brutes and now we get to hear/read their own stories! Can’t wait for more to come!

WOW, DARK BUT DELICIOUSLY HOT!!

This is an awesome book with fantastic narration by Sebastian York and Shirl Rae.
It is so well written, taking us from the beginnings of Yan and Mina's first meeting from previous books and their interactions that followed. I love that, when characters from previous and wonderful books come to life again with in-depth stories of their own. This one is especially poignant because of the back-stories on each of these characters. Anna Zaires and Charmaine Pauls really knocked this one out of the park. Five stars doesn't seem like enough.
Thank you for this wonderful book.
(Super Bowl plays in the background today)

A great listen

I really enjoy how this author writes romance with a bit of a dark edge. The characters are flawed and damaged but they make for a great story.

oh Yan I surrender... hot damn...

Ummmm yes please Yan take me take me nooooow...
From the moment I started I couldn't stop listening to this book. yes it's not as long as Lucas julians and Peter's stories but it's well worth the credit.
Yan is a hot dominate alpha male that had my lady bits humming a song of oh holy hotness. Peter has always been my favourite alpha from these stories but oh boy I think Yan may have just changed my mind... (pant pant pant deep breaths pheeew)....
This book follows on from the last book forever mine peter and Saras story. I do suggest you read the twist me capture me and tormentor mine books first.
You get to know more about Yan and his twin brother llya they maybe twins but they are nothing alike. (yummm)
Mina knows loss and pain and has chosen to close herself off from feeling anything. An accidental eavesdrop of a dangerous conversation puts her in the path of these men.. shes drawn to yan like he is to her but.. She runs... Then one bad choice puts her back in his sights once more and this time he isnt letting go this time he wont let her run.
Yan and llya normally dont mind sharing but yan isnt sharing, shes his and noone and nothing is going to get in the way of his claim on mina.
His ruthless controlling and obsessed with her and theres nothing his not willing to do or kill to keep her.
The connection between these two is twisted and wrong on so many levels but you cant help but love it and crave it.
Its deliciously dark, erotic and sexy as sin. The authors know how to suck you into this dark dangerous world and make you never want to leave.
i barely survived Peter's and Saras story but Yan and mina had me glued to my phone longing for it to never end. Yes I wish it had been a trilogy (just so it didnt end) but non the less it was still worth abandoning my adult responsibilities and chores to listen to this tasty treat.

I'm obsessed with sebastian yorks voices he could read dog food ingredients and still make it sound panty wetting knee bucklingly sexy. I couldn't imagine anyone else reading these books both narrators switched back and forth between voices perfectly.

I'm just gutted it ended...

cant wait to see if llya will get his own story too..

Anna Zaires Books

Enjoy a adventure of mass excitement in Darker than love , Well and truly amazing Audible journey from the very start to finish, found myself holding my breath taking in every word action and emotions Well waiting for more now ....😊

fanrastic and leaves you wanting more

welcome to the underground world of crime. mixed with live passion and action it makes the pulse beat fast whilst throwing you deeper into their lives.

a must read and the readers are so good you would think they were the character themselves.

could not stop

Love her books

Have listen to a few now love her books really good story’s would recommend can’t wait for the next one

loved it!

Couldn't stop listening loved the twists and the narrator's did a great job! could listen to it all over again!

Beautiful.

I loved it. The plot was intriguing, the narrator's brought the storyline to life, in an amazing way it almost seemed like you were watching a movie.

wow

loved it! unputdownable. loved York and Rae's narration. it was like watching it in film

Wow!! They just need to write Illya's story and Anton to make it complete..but I love this

I loved this story, it was a dark romance with an edge. Mink aka Mina is an assassin, Yan is a cold blooded killer and through coincidence they meet and ignite the chemistry that has been dormant within. This is packed with action and sorrow and secrets.. their relationship is enigmatic due to their vocation, their childhood and experiences. Because of this they are guarded but through their passion emerges love, it is unplanned and inconvenient to their lifestyle.

My only gripe is Yan's team feeling guilty that Mink is being held against her will and giving Yan stick about it . This is odd and inconsistent behaviour considering Peter, their previous team lead kidnapped Sarah who eventually became his wife.

Even though this is a standalone i would suggest reading the "tormentor mine" series since the first quarter weaves into the timelines and events from that.

Amazing read

it was such a captivating and intriguing book. absolutely love the fact that she isn't a powerless heroine. 5/5

Fantastic

The book was fantastic. The story flows and the connection between them grew nicely and not rushed. The brother/twin bond also was refreshing. The sex scenes were described perfectly with just the right amount of smut. The only part that had me skwimish was the castrations of the old team members. Yes they were all evil men, but just beat and kill them, really didn't want the hear about them being castrated. The twist at the end had me wanting the story never to end. The Epilodge was also touching, but was hoping for a baby or adoption. Hopefully there will be books for the other two men on the team, than Yan and Mena's story will continue then.