Taste of Darkness, Volume 2

By: Katie Reus

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times and USA TODAY best-selling author Katie Reus continues her paranormal romance Darkness series with Taste of Darkness.

He spent more than a thousand years imprisoned in Hell....

Drake is an ancient dragon shifter, one of the most powerful beings in existence, but over a millennium trapped in utter darkness has left him ill-equipped for modern society. If it wasn't for Victoria, the sweet female brave enough to befriend him, he'd be lost. She's smart and gorgeous and everything he never dared dream of during his years of agonizing loneliness. He may not have anything to offer her, but one thing he knows for sure: he'd die to keep her safe.

Only to fall into the heaven of her touch.

Victoria is a wolf shifter, healer of the Stavros pack. She's seen a lot, but she's never met anybody quite like Drake, the fiery, fascinating shifter who can blaze through the skies unseen by mere mortals. He's lost, dangerous, and the last male she should fall in love with, but the more time she spends helping him navigate modern life, the deeper - and hotter - their connection becomes. She's thrilled when they finally locate his family, but reuniting with his people plunges them both into unimaginable danger. It's a race against the clock trying to figure out who wants them dead and who they can trust, especially when the threat is closer than they ever imagined.

©2014 Katie Reus (P)2015 Katie Reus

Another winner!

This book continues where the first book Darkness Awakened ended. We get to meet Drake our dragon hero and his sassy girl.

Being read to by Jeffrey Kafer is no hardship let me assure you. He keeps you engrossed from beginning to end. Another great addition to this fantastic series!

***A copy of this audio book was kindly provided by the Author in exchange for an honest review***

Great Book!

Any additional comments?

This is a great book; this is the second book in the Darkness series by Katie Reus and narrated by Jeffrey Kafer. Drake is an ancient dragon shifter who has spent a thousand years imprisoned in hell. He has known that Victoria was his mate ever since he first smelled her when he escaped hell. Victoria is a wolf shifter and has been attracted to Drake since the first time she has seen him. Drake wants to mate with Victoria but he wants to wait until he can better take care of her. He also wants to find out who sacrificed him and sent him to hell. I loved this book and how he met his family. I love all of the characters and can’t wait to see what happens next! The book is fantastic; it has it all romance, suspense, mystery, and hot sexy shifters. I can’t wait for the next book.

The narrator Jeffrey Kafer did a wonderful job, and was very easy to listen too. He did a great job with the different characters and their voices.

If you are looking for a great book then you need to read this book. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. Once I started listening to this book, I didn’t want to stop until the end.

A Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

Great Series!

I love this series! The characters have depth and each are intriguing in their special way. I look forward to reading all of the books in the series.

This series delivers!

What did you love best about Taste of Darkness, Volume 2?

Seeing the friends-to-lovers relationship grow between Drake and Victoria.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Drake. After thousands of years being in a Hell dimension, he still has a good heart and wants to give love.

Have you listened to any of Jeffrey Kafer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Jeffrey does a wonderful job with this performance. He voices both males and females very well, and keeps you engaged.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but I feel that way about every book in this series. It's just that good!

Any additional comments?

While I love all the characters in this world, I especially love Katie Reus' dragons!

Fascinating

Fascinating storyline!!! I’m so excited about this series. I love getting to know the characters and seeing how they all intertwine.

A rated...

My Review:
Overall: 4.5
Performance: 4.75
Story: 4.25

Drake's story is just one of those that's perfect for a hero that you absolutely fall head over heels in love with. Sent to hell at the age of 12, he's spent the last 1500 years there. He knows virtually nothing of the world or dragon shifters (which he is one of). He has no memory of how he got there or what happened before being sent there. It's obvious he's been traumatized by the time spent there...did you catch that...1500 years?!?!?

So, yeah, he's a little bit messed up. But from the moment he sees Victoria, he knows that she's his. It doesn't matter that she's a wolf shifter. He's connected to her.

But the best thing about Drake is that he's this vulnerable, wounded guy at the same time he's seriously tough and alpha and so much...just sexy male. Yum! I loved him and watching him love Victoria...yeah, it just made me happy.

I'm really loving this series and love that there's so many books of it out. I need to go grab book #3 now and download it onto my iPod because I adore Katie Reus's shifters. She writes some sexy shifters and I'm quickly falling in love with all of them.

BTW, you can read any of these books as stand-alones.

Drake and Victoria's story was even better

I really enjoyed this audiobook. I let it languish on my TBR because book 1 was just okay. I knew it had potential and in this sequel, the author brought it.

Drake was the dragon shifter who escaped from hell with no memory of who he is and whom he belongs to. He was adopted by the Stavros wolf pack and his connection with shifter Victoria was instantaneous. Victoria was a guide in this world as 1500 years in hell left Drake overwhelmed in current day Earth. They both felt orphaned due to circumstances that left them alone so Victoria and Drake found companionship. They were fiercely loyal and they both worked hard not to their attraction overwhelm their friendship.

The story of finding out about Drake was well developed, interesting and full of passion. Drake knew he had been betrayed and probably forgotten so trust was fragile. He was also very proud so he wanted to work and earn his keep. I loved that he wanted to be a man worthy of Victoria. I enjoyed the chemistry between Drake and Victoria. They were clear in communication and action. None of that contrived drama that I despise. Drake and Victoria were drawn to each other and they went with it and fought for it. They were equally protective of the other and that partnership gave them strength. Victoria and Drake's love felt like a natural progression and I have to admit the set up from book 1 was a perfect lead in.

I am currently reading Katie Reus' Deadly Op series and I can't tell which one I like more. The writing consistently gets better which each installment in both series. One thing I know is that Katie Reus is becoming one of my favorite authors. I look forward to audiobook 3.

Dragons, Wolves and More!

Another awesome story and performance, loved every minute of it!

Katie Reus's Darkness series is definitely a worthy series to listen too and reminds of Coreene Callahan's Dragonfury series. If you like dragons and wolf shifter stories, this is a series you'll want to add to your collection. These stories are slightly shorter than the average book; however, they are well written and both the characters and plot are well developed. There's plenty of action, suspense with lots of twists, and the romance is a steady burn that builds into an inferno.

Taste of Darkness picks up where book one ends, and now Drake is trying to adapt to the world he has not seen in over a 1000 years. When he was a young boy, he was scarified and cast into hell; however, four months earlier, he was freed when a hell gate was opened. During his escape, he meets his future mate Victoria and her pack and assists them in closing the hell gate to prevent demons from escaping into the world.

Even though Drake is now free, he has not claimed his mate. Victoria has been helping him learn his new world and is ready to take the next step in their relationship; however, before he will claim her, he feels he must first be worthy and able to provide and protect her. There's a lot of chemistry and build up between them.

Unfortunately, Drake doesn't remember anything from his past or how he ended up in hell. But when his brother and sister come to visit him, and he is reunited with his family, his memories start to slowly surface, and he soon realizes someone close to him betrayed him. After his family and mate are attacked, suspicions are cast on the wrong person.

This was a great story and well worth the time invested in listening to it! I'm looking forward to listening to the other stories.

Dragon & Shifter Romance

Where does Taste of Darkness, Volume 2 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Taste of Darkness definitely ranks among my top 10 audiobooks that I love. Actually, both books in the series ranks in my top ten.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Taste of Darkness, Volume 2?

One of the most memorable and favorite moments for me was when Drake made his intentions known to everyone for Victoria in the club after the fight. I also enjoyed the part where Drake finally met his siblings and his other family members and of course when Drake and Victoria finally came together as a couple.

What about Jeffrey Kafer’s performance did you like?

You can not only hear but you can feel the emotions in Jeffrey Kafer's voice and that is exactly what makes an audiobook worth listening too. In order for me to enjoy the audiobook, not only does the story have to be great but the narrator has to do an amazing job because all you have is his voice, and if the narrator cannot capture the feelings of the characters for listeners to hear that makes the audiobook worthless. Readers want to be able to hear and feel the emotions of the characters as if they were reading the book themselves and Jeffrey did an amazing job at capturing it all.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There was no part that made me cry but I did enjoy more than a few laughs while listening to this story and even felt a few chills.

gotta love dragons

If you could sum up Taste of Darkness, Volume 2 in three words, what would they be?

great shifter story

What other book might you compare Taste of Darkness, Volume 2 to and why?

the whole series is great.

Any additional comments?

if you love shifter stories, you will love this series.