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Dark-Hunter #27
Stygian
-MAJOR SPOILER WARNING-
While the books don’t have to be read in order, if you haven’t read Dragonsworn, this synopsis will contain massive spoilers for DS. We just wanted to warn you!
-MAJOR SPOILER WARNING-
Born before man recorded time, I lived for thousands of years, believing myself to be something I’m not.
Someone I’m not.
Lied to and betrayed by gods, Daimons, and Dark-Hunters, I’ve struggled to find my way in a world where I’ve been cursed since the moment a vengeful goddess prematurely ripped me from my mother and planted me into the womb of an innocent woman who thought me her son.
Trained as a slayer and predator, I’ve learned to fit in and stay low. To become a tool for evil. Until I was sent to kill the one woman I couldn’t. My hesitation cost her, her life.
Or so I thought. In an act of betrayal that makes all the others pale in comparison, I’ve learned that things are not what they seem in this world and that my Phoebe still lives.
Now I will have to travel into the very pits of Hades to try and save her, even as everyone around me attempts to steal what little soul I have left. There’s only one person at my back and I’m not sure I can trust her either, for she was born of an enemy race. Yet sometimes the road to redemption is one that singes us to our very core. And if I fail to find the answers I need to save Phoebe, more than just my wife will die.
We will lose the world. Both human and Daimon.
~Urian of the House of Aricles
While the books don’t have to be read in order, if you haven’t read Dragonsworn, this synopsis will contain massive spoilers for DS. We just wanted to warn you!
-MAJOR SPOILER WARNING-
Born before man recorded time, I lived for thousands of years, believing myself to be something I’m not.
Someone I’m not.
Lied to and betrayed by gods, Daimons, and Dark-Hunters, I’ve struggled to find my way in a world where I’ve been cursed since the moment a vengeful goddess prematurely ripped me from my mother and planted me into the womb of an innocent woman who thought me her son.
Trained as a slayer and predator, I’ve learned to fit in and stay low. To become a tool for evil. Until I was sent to kill the one woman I couldn’t. My hesitation cost her, her life.
Or so I thought. In an act of betrayal that makes all the others pale in comparison, I’ve learned that things are not what they seem in this world and that my Phoebe still lives.
Now I will have to travel into the very pits of Hades to try and save her, even as everyone around me attempts to steal what little soul I have left. There’s only one person at my back and I’m not sure I can trust her either, for she was born of an enemy race. Yet sometimes the road to redemption is one that singes us to our very core. And if I fail to find the answers I need to save Phoebe, more than just my wife will die.
We will lose the world. Both human and Daimon.
~Urian of the House of Aricles
670 pages, Hardcover
First published August 28, 2018
1214 people are currently reading
7636 people want to read
About the author
Sherrilyn Kenyon
233 books30.1k followersOfficial Author site
Official Nevermore site
Official Deadman's Cross site
Official Chronicles of Nick site
Official Silent Swans site
Official Hunter Legends site
Official Witch of Endor site
Official Lords of Avalon site
Official Facebook site
New York Times and international bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon is a regular at the #1 spot. With legions of fans known as Paladins (thousands of whom proudly sport tattoos from her series and who travel from all over the world to attend her appearances), her books are always snatched up as soon as they appear on store shelves. Since 2004, she had placed more than 80 novels on the New York Times list in all formats including manga and graphic novels. Her current series are: Dark-Hunters, Chronicles of Nick and The League, and her books are available in over 100 countries where eager fans impatiently wait for the next release. Her Chronicles of Nick and Dark-Hunter series are soon to be major motion pictures while Dark-Hunter is also being developed as a television series. Join her and her Paladins online at MySherrilyn.com and www.facebook.com/mysherrilyn
Official Nevermore site
Official Deadman's Cross site
Official Chronicles of Nick site
Official Silent Swans site
Official Hunter Legends site
Official Witch of Endor site
Official Lords of Avalon site
Official Facebook site
New York Times and international bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon is a regular at the #1 spot. With legions of fans known as Paladins (thousands of whom proudly sport tattoos from her series and who travel from all over the world to attend her appearances), her books are always snatched up as soon as they appear on store shelves. Since 2004, she had placed more than 80 novels on the New York Times list in all formats including manga and graphic novels. Her current series are: Dark-Hunters, Chronicles of Nick and The League, and her books are available in over 100 countries where eager fans impatiently wait for the next release. Her Chronicles of Nick and Dark-Hunter series are soon to be major motion pictures while Dark-Hunter is also being developed as a television series. Join her and her Paladins online at MySherrilyn.com and www.facebook.com/mysherrilyn
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 655 reviews
August 30, 2018
Ok, what to say about this book...
First of all: I will tackle spoilers and plot points here so if you want to go into it blind skip this review.
OVERALL RATING: 3*** (Only because the ending (last 20 pages or so) it's really nice, if extremely rushed, otherwise it would be 2 1/5)
OVERALL OPINION: This book disappointed me greatly.
_______________________________________________
I'd like to point out that I've been a long time fan of the series. I've read all the books, and over the past week I re-read Styxx and every book that came after it just so I would be caught up for Urian. I expected it (and wanted it) to be as good or better than Styxx, so I was expecting a lot of the plot points tackled in past books to be explored and further developed here. Then, the prologue of this book is also a bit of a plot bomb, so after reading the prologue I was ready for a wild ride.
Boy, was I wrong. There are so many things wrong with this book I don't even know what to tackle first so let's just go in order of least to more aggravating, ok?
1 - This is the book with the greatest amount of inconsistencies I've seen in all my years reading DH.
Now, maybe is just me, but ever since the release of Acheron I feel that the books that came after it, have progressively been losing quality when too many plot points and weird world building has been introduced into each new book and the main relationships have been pushed to a second and sometimes even third plane. The series has gotten extremely confusing with so many lines happening at the same time. But for a few exceptions (One Silent Night, The Guardian, Styxx, Son of No One) the past books since Acheron have been unremarkable when it comes to the romance. However, they have starred one after the other in the info-dump category. So much weird information has been floating around at this point I think there are more open plotlines than there are actual characters. Stygian was supposed to address and resolve some of those plot-points. For example:
The book doesn't touch a single one of these plot points, and even worse, in trying to reconcile its story with what we know so far, it pops one inconsistency after the other, to the point in which it starts to contradict and sabotage itself by revealing inconsistencies that were actually introduced or addressed earlier in the story.
For example,
In the same way,
Stygian is fraught with this little inconsistencies that makes me wonder whether it actually ever went through a proper round of content editing. In a series already confusing because of too much content, it gave me a headache just to try to put everything in place.
Almost 200 pages of repeated content wasted
Now I had this same issue with Dragonmark and I'd admit the is not so bad in this book, but still, I wasn't happy with the amount of scene recycling, almost to the verbatim, that happens in Stygian. In this case, I believe it's even worse than in Dragonmark, because, just like in Acheron and Styxx, this book has 2 arcs: A past arc and a present arc. The past arc has a lot of character development for Urian, and because of this the fact that the present arc is basically the same old scenes we've already seen, the second part of the book suffers in comparison. The only part of the second arc that are interesting are the pages where his relationship with Phoebe is explored. Everything else, up until the end, is repeated content. I was pretty disappointed by this, because I came into this book wanting to see parts of Urian we hadn't seen before, such as how he adapted to not being a Daimon anymore, how his relationship with Styxx changed from friends to father-son, how he interacted with Styxx and Bethany as his new parents in a household dynamic, how he coped with the fact that Styxx, with whose loss he identified was now happy, and how he reacted to having a new, immortal little brother after having lost all 9 of his siblings. None of these conflicts were resolved or even addressed during Stygian, in fact, we did not get a single scene that featured an interaction between Styxx, Bethany and Urian as a family. The only psychological growth we see from the character during the second half of the book is his forgiveness and acceptance of Stryker at the very end. It bothers me that the author wasted so much time on the things that we had already read and didn't approach any of these topics which now will never be addressed as we are moving into a new story arc.
3- This book completely belies and shatters Urian's character
The only reason I finished this book instead of tossing it against a wall when I saw how the character of Urian was being portrayed, was because I kept hoping that it would get better, that somehow she would fix the bad things and create a believable justification for his actions within the story. Instead, the more I read, the more I saw this woman write herself into a corner and utterly destroy the character she was supposed to be showcasing.
Over the last 20 books, Urian's core appeal as a character has been his staunch devotion to his dead wife, and yet, in this book we see him sleeping around, holding relationships with 4 different women, a couple of them at the same time, professing his love for one woman while he sleeps with another one, and holding a "loving" relationship with a woman for 8000!!!! that somehow, someway, never made it into any of the 20 books of content that we've had since we met the character.
For Stygian, the author wanted to follow the structure that worked so well for "Styxx" by situating a love interest for Urian in the past, get separated for motives not of their doing and having them reconnect in the future. In fact, it follows almost the exact pattern, down to the fact that both Bethany and Sarraxyn end up turn to stone during the years they are away from Styxx and Urian. The only problem is, while the approach of the secret lover worked with Styxx because we were not that familiar with his characters, we have been following Urian's story for a while, and as such, such a big secret (so big that no one EVER has mentioned it) seems ludicrous and unbelievable. As a result, the book portrays Urian as fickle and lacking depth in the way in which he deals with his relationships.
In the past he meets Sarraxyn, and falls in deep, eternal, heartbreaking love with her (much like Styxx), he reaches Katoteros in her arms, she gives him the kind of love that will destroy him if lost, the kind of love no one recovers from. Except that then, of course, he loses it. Oh, poor Urian, we'll suffer with you, we'll hurt with you till the end of time... oh no wait, 2 chapters later, he meets Phoebe. Miracle! Miracle! Once again, eternal, heartbreaking love (not much like Styxx), once again, Katoteros in her arm, with the exact same love words and the exact same feelings. Once again, if he loses his love, this time, this time for sure, he will lose his mind. Wow, Urian, we are so happy that you managed to move on, after the horrible pain (of 2 chapters). But of course, as we know, Phoebe dies too. Poor Urian, poor poor Urian. We feel his hurt, his sadness, his despair, we see him thread the edge of suicide for 16 long years. 16 long years of loneliness and agony. 16 years of unimaginable pain that never ends... until Sarraxyn appears out of nowhere and he jumps into bed with her literally seconds after they meet again. With no regrets, grief, or hesitancy after those 16 long years, because hey, love is love right? Doesn't matter that it's 2 different women, he loves them both the same way, so exchanging them willy nilly is surely not that big a deal. Love is always good. Especially when the author has squandered 600 pages of her book and now needs to scurry around to pull a happy ending (however ridiculous) from out of her sleeve in the remaining 40 pages.
Not anything like Styxx.
I really wanted to like Urian and Sarraxyn, mainly because I like Urian, and I like Sarraxyn, but every time they came together it felt so shallow and fake to me. Like the author was bent on getting them together even if it didn't fit, even if their interactions were awkward and out of sync.
And then the author goes and makes Phoebe (whose relationship with Urian actually gets explored in depth and it's believable) the bad guy of the book. Phoebe, who has been Urian's character flag for 20 books. Who has been the staple by which people recognized the core of Urian's character. But hey, who cares about more than 10 years of relationship and 16 years of mourning, you are a bad guy now! So boom bara boom, I don't love you anymore.
It read to me like a cheap, lazy exit. Almost as if the author wanted Sarraxyn to be Urian's HEA but she didn't want to go through the trouble of actually resolving the 16 years of grief that Urian had carried around and give him and Phoebe the ending they should've had.
To be honest, I didn't want Urian ending with Phoebe. I wanted him to end with Sarraxyn, but the way she did it, just makes me feel like I was cheated out of the story I was promised, and out of the true, deep and heartfelt romance she never delivered.
First of all: I will tackle spoilers and plot points here so if you want to go into it blind skip this review.
OVERALL RATING: 3*** (Only because the ending (last 20 pages or so) it's really nice, if extremely rushed, otherwise it would be 2 1/5)
OVERALL OPINION: This book disappointed me greatly.
_______________________________________________
I'd like to point out that I've been a long time fan of the series. I've read all the books, and over the past week I re-read Styxx and every book that came after it just so I would be caught up for Urian. I expected it (and wanted it) to be as good or better than Styxx, so I was expecting a lot of the plot points tackled in past books to be explored and further developed here. Then, the prologue of this book is also a bit of a plot bomb, so after reading the prologue I was ready for a wild ride.
Boy, was I wrong. There are so many things wrong with this book I don't even know what to tackle first so let's just go in order of least to more aggravating, ok?
1 - This is the book with the greatest amount of inconsistencies I've seen in all my years reading DH.
Now, maybe is just me, but ever since the release of Acheron I feel that the books that came after it, have progressively been losing quality when too many plot points and weird world building has been introduced into each new book and the main relationships have been pushed to a second and sometimes even third plane. The series has gotten extremely confusing with so many lines happening at the same time. But for a few exceptions (One Silent Night, The Guardian, Styxx, Son of No One) the past books since Acheron have been unremarkable when it comes to the romance. However, they have starred one after the other in the info-dump category. So much weird information has been floating around at this point I think there are more open plotlines than there are actual characters. Stygian was supposed to address and resolve some of those plot-points. For example:
The book doesn't touch a single one of these plot points, and even worse, in trying to reconcile its story with what we know so far, it pops one inconsistency after the other, to the point in which it starts to contradict and sabotage itself by revealing inconsistencies that were actually introduced or addressed earlier in the story.
For example,
In the same way,
Stygian is fraught with this little inconsistencies that makes me wonder whether it actually ever went through a proper round of content editing. In a series already confusing because of too much content, it gave me a headache just to try to put everything in place.
Almost 200 pages of repeated content wasted
Now I had this same issue with Dragonmark and I'd admit the is not so bad in this book, but still, I wasn't happy with the amount of scene recycling, almost to the verbatim, that happens in Stygian. In this case, I believe it's even worse than in Dragonmark, because, just like in Acheron and Styxx, this book has 2 arcs: A past arc and a present arc. The past arc has a lot of character development for Urian, and because of this the fact that the present arc is basically the same old scenes we've already seen, the second part of the book suffers in comparison. The only part of the second arc that are interesting are the pages where his relationship with Phoebe is explored. Everything else, up until the end, is repeated content. I was pretty disappointed by this, because I came into this book wanting to see parts of Urian we hadn't seen before, such as how he adapted to not being a Daimon anymore, how his relationship with Styxx changed from friends to father-son, how he interacted with Styxx and Bethany as his new parents in a household dynamic, how he coped with the fact that Styxx, with whose loss he identified was now happy, and how he reacted to having a new, immortal little brother after having lost all 9 of his siblings. None of these conflicts were resolved or even addressed during Stygian, in fact, we did not get a single scene that featured an interaction between Styxx, Bethany and Urian as a family. The only psychological growth we see from the character during the second half of the book is his forgiveness and acceptance of Stryker at the very end. It bothers me that the author wasted so much time on the things that we had already read and didn't approach any of these topics which now will never be addressed as we are moving into a new story arc.
3- This book completely belies and shatters Urian's character
The only reason I finished this book instead of tossing it against a wall when I saw how the character of Urian was being portrayed, was because I kept hoping that it would get better, that somehow she would fix the bad things and create a believable justification for his actions within the story. Instead, the more I read, the more I saw this woman write herself into a corner and utterly destroy the character she was supposed to be showcasing.
Over the last 20 books, Urian's core appeal as a character has been his staunch devotion to his dead wife, and yet, in this book we see him sleeping around, holding relationships with 4 different women, a couple of them at the same time, professing his love for one woman while he sleeps with another one, and holding a "loving" relationship with a woman for 8000!!!! that somehow, someway, never made it into any of the 20 books of content that we've had since we met the character.
For Stygian, the author wanted to follow the structure that worked so well for "Styxx" by situating a love interest for Urian in the past, get separated for motives not of their doing and having them reconnect in the future. In fact, it follows almost the exact pattern, down to the fact that both Bethany and Sarraxyn end up turn to stone during the years they are away from Styxx and Urian. The only problem is, while the approach of the secret lover worked with Styxx because we were not that familiar with his characters, we have been following Urian's story for a while, and as such, such a big secret (so big that no one EVER has mentioned it) seems ludicrous and unbelievable. As a result, the book portrays Urian as fickle and lacking depth in the way in which he deals with his relationships.
In the past he meets Sarraxyn, and falls in deep, eternal, heartbreaking love with her (much like Styxx), he reaches Katoteros in her arms, she gives him the kind of love that will destroy him if lost, the kind of love no one recovers from. Except that then, of course, he loses it. Oh, poor Urian, we'll suffer with you, we'll hurt with you till the end of time... oh no wait, 2 chapters later, he meets Phoebe. Miracle! Miracle! Once again, eternal, heartbreaking love (not much like Styxx), once again, Katoteros in her arm, with the exact same love words and the exact same feelings. Once again, if he loses his love, this time, this time for sure, he will lose his mind. Wow, Urian, we are so happy that you managed to move on, after the horrible pain (of 2 chapters). But of course, as we know, Phoebe dies too. Poor Urian, poor poor Urian. We feel his hurt, his sadness, his despair, we see him thread the edge of suicide for 16 long years. 16 long years of loneliness and agony. 16 years of unimaginable pain that never ends... until Sarraxyn appears out of nowhere and he jumps into bed with her literally seconds after they meet again. With no regrets, grief, or hesitancy after those 16 long years, because hey, love is love right? Doesn't matter that it's 2 different women, he loves them both the same way, so exchanging them willy nilly is surely not that big a deal. Love is always good. Especially when the author has squandered 600 pages of her book and now needs to scurry around to pull a happy ending (however ridiculous) from out of her sleeve in the remaining 40 pages.
Not anything like Styxx.
I really wanted to like Urian and Sarraxyn, mainly because I like Urian, and I like Sarraxyn, but every time they came together it felt so shallow and fake to me. Like the author was bent on getting them together even if it didn't fit, even if their interactions were awkward and out of sync.
And then the author goes and makes Phoebe (whose relationship with Urian actually gets explored in depth and it's believable) the bad guy of the book. Phoebe, who has been Urian's character flag for 20 books. Who has been the staple by which people recognized the core of Urian's character. But hey, who cares about more than 10 years of relationship and 16 years of mourning, you are a bad guy now! So boom bara boom, I don't love you anymore.
It read to me like a cheap, lazy exit. Almost as if the author wanted Sarraxyn to be Urian's HEA but she didn't want to go through the trouble of actually resolving the 16 years of grief that Urian had carried around and give him and Phoebe the ending they should've had.
To be honest, I didn't want Urian ending with Phoebe. I wanted him to end with Sarraxyn, but the way she did it, just makes me feel like I was cheated out of the story I was promised, and out of the true, deep and heartfelt romance she never delivered.
December 31, 2018
670 pages for my Urian 😍
My final book for this year. It took me about a month to finish it.
Review pending
My final book for this year. It took me about a month to finish it.
Review pending
June 19, 2018
Let me start this by saying that I do talk about some specific plot points in this review. I do not spoil anything but if you want to walk into this story completely blind than this review is not for you. I tried to keep it as simple as possible while reviewing but as you all know, with the stories being so intricate its hard not to spoil anything so I had to be a wee bit vague. I tried!!!
Also, Kenyon’s books need to be read in order!!! If you haven’t read the first 28 books you cannot just pick this one up and start the series. It just won’t work. They like to say you can read these books out of order but you really can’t.
Stygian is a lot like Acheron and Styxx. Kenyon gives us the back story to who Urian is- how he came to be the man we’ve all found a soft spot for. I loved the first 80% of this book (I know the percentages because I read it on my kindle). It was so interesting seeing Urian and his brothers and sister grow up- the dynamic, the drama, the fights. Diamons have always been the bad guys, the ones that go bump in the night, but as Kenyon does so masterfully, she turns everything we thought we knew on its head. It truly is amazing the way Kenyon can make you sympathize with the bad guys so easily (remember reading Styxx’s book?). Being able to see another side of Urian was the best part of this book. I was especially fond of watching Phoebe and Urian grow as a couple. Which was something we didn’t get to see much of in the other books. Urian has been a favorite character of mine for a long time now and this book just made me love him more.
This book does revisit some of the major things that have happened in past books, especially Phoebe’s death and Styxx and Bethany coming back into Urian’s life. These repeats I was fine with. It refreshed my memory and it was actually nice to get Urian’s perspective. However, after getting past that and the first 80% we head into Dragon territory and we know how that goes. The past 4 books (Son of No One, Dragonbane, Dragonmark, and Dragonsworn) have been a little rough- they were confusing and repeated plot lines. I was excited about Stygian because I thought we were finally moving away from that, however, we get a little bit of the dragon confusion at the end of this book. It was hard to get through and kind of brought the book down from being a five star read for me. I think that entire section could have been skipped or at least shortened because the end (after the dragons) felt rushed and was over way before I thought it should have been. I would have preferred to see the ending (which I will not spoil so this will be a little confusing) more detailed and have more interaction between Urian and some of the lead characters.
If the book had less of the dragons and had been a little more flushed out at the end, it definitely would have been a five star read! Although, the epilogue has me so excited for the next book in the series!!!! Like super excited!!! Bring on more Dark-Hunters!!! Even though the last few books have been a little, shall we say off, Stygian gives me hope that the rough patch is over and a new and brighter horizon is in sight!
Kenyon will always be an automatic buy for me. Even with the rough patch. She is just such a master story teller. She weaves such intricate tales that bring you to your knees. It’s hard not to get caught up in the mythology and love. This book wasn’t perfect but it was still pretty amazing! I got to see the writing I fell in love with once again with this book. I love this series and I hope it never ends! Ever!!!
For more reviews go to literarylovebooks.com
Also, Kenyon’s books need to be read in order!!! If you haven’t read the first 28 books you cannot just pick this one up and start the series. It just won’t work. They like to say you can read these books out of order but you really can’t.
Stygian is a lot like Acheron and Styxx. Kenyon gives us the back story to who Urian is- how he came to be the man we’ve all found a soft spot for. I loved the first 80% of this book (I know the percentages because I read it on my kindle). It was so interesting seeing Urian and his brothers and sister grow up- the dynamic, the drama, the fights. Diamons have always been the bad guys, the ones that go bump in the night, but as Kenyon does so masterfully, she turns everything we thought we knew on its head. It truly is amazing the way Kenyon can make you sympathize with the bad guys so easily (remember reading Styxx’s book?). Being able to see another side of Urian was the best part of this book. I was especially fond of watching Phoebe and Urian grow as a couple. Which was something we didn’t get to see much of in the other books. Urian has been a favorite character of mine for a long time now and this book just made me love him more.
This book does revisit some of the major things that have happened in past books, especially Phoebe’s death and Styxx and Bethany coming back into Urian’s life. These repeats I was fine with. It refreshed my memory and it was actually nice to get Urian’s perspective. However, after getting past that and the first 80% we head into Dragon territory and we know how that goes. The past 4 books (Son of No One, Dragonbane, Dragonmark, and Dragonsworn) have been a little rough- they were confusing and repeated plot lines. I was excited about Stygian because I thought we were finally moving away from that, however, we get a little bit of the dragon confusion at the end of this book. It was hard to get through and kind of brought the book down from being a five star read for me. I think that entire section could have been skipped or at least shortened because the end (after the dragons) felt rushed and was over way before I thought it should have been. I would have preferred to see the ending (which I will not spoil so this will be a little confusing) more detailed and have more interaction between Urian and some of the lead characters.
If the book had less of the dragons and had been a little more flushed out at the end, it definitely would have been a five star read! Although, the epilogue has me so excited for the next book in the series!!!! Like super excited!!! Bring on more Dark-Hunters!!! Even though the last few books have been a little, shall we say off, Stygian gives me hope that the rough patch is over and a new and brighter horizon is in sight!
Kenyon will always be an automatic buy for me. Even with the rough patch. She is just such a master story teller. She weaves such intricate tales that bring you to your knees. It’s hard not to get caught up in the mythology and love. This book wasn’t perfect but it was still pretty amazing! I got to see the writing I fell in love with once again with this book. I love this series and I hope it never ends! Ever!!!
For more reviews go to literarylovebooks.com
August 29, 2018
Congratulations Ms. Kenyon - you’ve single handedly ruined my favourite character of this series. I loved Urian in every other book but this one, he really disappointed me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2019
** 2 KASTAPAZANDA STARS **
PopSugar 2019: 15. Un libro con un animal extinto o imaginario
WHAT THE SHIT? SHERRILYN KENYON WHAT THE SHIT?
No entiendo como SK pudo arruinar de esa manera la historia de Urian uno de mis personajes favoritos que lo he visto sufrir a lo largo de casi toda la serie al hacerle un libro TAN MEDIOCRE it's so unfair.
SPOILERS SPOILERS
Sorry no me pude contener y voy a soltar un chorro de Spoilers
Para empezar…
Es absurdamente largo no hay justificación para la extensión no como los libro de Acheron y Styxx que de verdad necesitábamos saber toda su vida para ir descubriendo cada uno de sus secretos.
No voy a negar que saber un poco de la niñez de Urian y como fue creciendo era interesante pero para mí hubiera estado perfecto en unas cuantas páginas no el 45% del libro donde la mayor parte no pasó absolutamente NADA Y el otro 45% fue un retelling de los libro de Wulf, Ash y Styxx el resto es parte de la historia de Falcyn sólo como el 5% es donde en realidad se quedó el libro anterior y lo que queríamos saber.
Voy a admitir que la mayor parte del libro la leí en diagonal.
La sinopsis es engañosa, es mas este libro no debería tener sinopsis sólo debería de decir las memoria de Urian porque es de lo que se trata este libro NO TIENE TRAMA
Sólo estamos conociendo a Urian que se la pasó de emo en todo el libro, quejándose de que sus hermanos lo trataban mal de niño que los demás no lo querían porque era diferente, tiene los ojos azules ajá que triste, que se sentía sólo que no tenía lugar en el mundo y seguimos, cuando en realidad tenía una familia que lo quería unos padres que lo adoraban, era el orgullo y favorito de su papá, tenía un amigo siempre fiel, gente que lo admiraba y é dice que la pasó mal ay PARFAVAR Stryker tuvo un pasado más triste.
La autora hizo que Urian pareciera un niño mimado.
Y luego el romance, en este libro no hubo romance nada, nadita NOTHING
Al menos con la “protagonista” no hubo y la autora desperdicio totalmente una historia de amor épica.
Xyn la hermana de los dragones protas de los libros anteriores conoce a Urian cuando son niños ya que ella está recluida en kalosis sirviendo a Apollymi se hacen mejores amigos se enamora de él pero para él es sólo su amiga ya que la conoce en su forma de dragón y no en la humana.
Cuando al fin ella se da a conocer él se da cuenta que la ama pero se enoja y que hace el muchacho se van con otras y luego regresa y resulta que si la ama y shalala se acuesta con ella pero no pueden tener una relación porque ella es un dragón y él no se puede alimentar de ella y él necesita sangre fresca, aaaah pero es que no les había dicho que la alimentación conlleva un acto sexual. Entonces hacen un pacto de encontrarse una vez al año y mientras tanto él se acuesta con medio mundo y déjenme decirles que esos encuentros duran 7 mil años… AGGG QUE CORAJE Urian fue totalmente EGOÍSTA con Xyn en todo el libro
Aaaah y ella sólo aparece en sólo unas cuantas escenas del libro
Por otro lado tenemos la relación de Urian y Phoebe, que fue un poquito más romántica pero no me pareció justo que la autora nos haya puesto las dos historia de amor juntas cuando sabía con quien se iba a quedar.
Además que durante 24 libro tuvimos a Urian deprimido y sufriendo por ella diciendo que era el amor de su vida y descubramos que está viva para después ponerle a otra que ya la conocía de siglos anteriores.
SK quiso meternos a Xyn por los ojos y desvalorizando la relación de Urian y Phoebe para que digamos no pues quédate con Xyn yo se la creería más si Xyn hubiera tenido más protagonismo y su relación hubiera sido bien romántica.
Y luego el final, mejor ya ni digo nada. En serio me siento ESTAFADA.
Y hay muchas cosas más que estuvieron mal pero buee..
No voy a negar que tuvo muchos momentos que me gustaron pero esos no fueron suficientes además que la mayoría eran escenas de otros libros y la única escena original fue la de Styker, Bettany y Styxx esa escena me llegó.
Y si se preguntan si voy a seguir con la serie a pesar de que estos últimos 4 libros que leí la mayoría fueron malos la respuesta es SI
WHY: Por la sencilla razón que amo esta serie y todavía tengo la esperanza de seguir descubriendo más secretos sobre mi querido y adorado Ash PUNTO. No me juzguen.
Espero que el próximo libro sea muy bueno y que por fin deje la trama de Avalon porque no es nada interesante.
Pd: Otra petición para agregar a la larga lista LIBRO PARA SHADOW PLEASE!!!
PopSugar 2019: 15. Un libro con un animal extinto o imaginario
WHAT THE SHIT? SHERRILYN KENYON WHAT THE SHIT?
No entiendo como SK pudo arruinar de esa manera la historia de Urian uno de mis personajes favoritos que lo he visto sufrir a lo largo de casi toda la serie al hacerle un libro TAN MEDIOCRE it's so unfair.
SPOILERS SPOILERS
Sorry no me pude contener y voy a soltar un chorro de Spoilers
Para empezar…
Es absurdamente largo no hay justificación para la extensión no como los libro de Acheron y Styxx que de verdad necesitábamos saber toda su vida para ir descubriendo cada uno de sus secretos.
No voy a negar que saber un poco de la niñez de Urian y como fue creciendo era interesante pero para mí hubiera estado perfecto en unas cuantas páginas no el 45% del libro donde la mayor parte no pasó absolutamente NADA Y el otro 45% fue un retelling de los libro de Wulf, Ash y Styxx el resto es parte de la historia de Falcyn sólo como el 5% es donde en realidad se quedó el libro anterior y lo que queríamos saber.
Voy a admitir que la mayor parte del libro la leí en diagonal.
La sinopsis es engañosa, es mas este libro no debería tener sinopsis sólo debería de decir las memoria de Urian porque es de lo que se trata este libro NO TIENE TRAMA
Sólo estamos conociendo a Urian que se la pasó de emo en todo el libro, quejándose de que sus hermanos lo trataban mal de niño que los demás no lo querían porque era diferente, tiene los ojos azules ajá que triste, que se sentía sólo que no tenía lugar en el mundo y seguimos, cuando en realidad tenía una familia que lo quería unos padres que lo adoraban, era el orgullo y favorito de su papá, tenía un amigo siempre fiel, gente que lo admiraba y é dice que la pasó mal ay PARFAVAR Stryker tuvo un pasado más triste.
La autora hizo que Urian pareciera un niño mimado.
Y luego el romance, en este libro no hubo romance nada, nadita NOTHING
Al menos con la “protagonista” no hubo y la autora desperdicio totalmente una historia de amor épica.
Xyn la hermana de los dragones protas de los libros anteriores conoce a Urian cuando son niños ya que ella está recluida en kalosis sirviendo a Apollymi se hacen mejores amigos se enamora de él pero para él es sólo su amiga ya que la conoce en su forma de dragón y no en la humana.
Cuando al fin ella se da a conocer él se da cuenta que la ama pero se enoja y que hace el muchacho se van con otras y luego regresa y resulta que si la ama y shalala se acuesta con ella pero no pueden tener una relación porque ella es un dragón y él no se puede alimentar de ella y él necesita sangre fresca, aaaah pero es que no les había dicho que la alimentación conlleva un acto sexual. Entonces hacen un pacto de encontrarse una vez al año y mientras tanto él se acuesta con medio mundo y déjenme decirles que esos encuentros duran 7 mil años… AGGG QUE CORAJE Urian fue totalmente EGOÍSTA con Xyn en todo el libro
Aaaah y ella sólo aparece en sólo unas cuantas escenas del libro
Por otro lado tenemos la relación de Urian y Phoebe, que fue un poquito más romántica pero no me pareció justo que la autora nos haya puesto las dos historia de amor juntas cuando sabía con quien se iba a quedar.
Además que durante 24 libro tuvimos a Urian deprimido y sufriendo por ella diciendo que era el amor de su vida y descubramos que está viva para después ponerle a otra que ya la conocía de siglos anteriores.
SK quiso meternos a Xyn por los ojos y desvalorizando la relación de Urian y Phoebe para que digamos no pues quédate con Xyn yo se la creería más si Xyn hubiera tenido más protagonismo y su relación hubiera sido bien romántica.
Y luego el final, mejor ya ni digo nada. En serio me siento ESTAFADA.
Y hay muchas cosas más que estuvieron mal pero buee..
No voy a negar que tuvo muchos momentos que me gustaron pero esos no fueron suficientes además que la mayoría eran escenas de otros libros y la única escena original fue la de Styker, Bettany y Styxx esa escena me llegó.
Y si se preguntan si voy a seguir con la serie a pesar de que estos últimos 4 libros que leí la mayoría fueron malos la respuesta es SI
WHY: Por la sencilla razón que amo esta serie y todavía tengo la esperanza de seguir descubriendo más secretos sobre mi querido y adorado Ash PUNTO. No me juzguen.
Espero que el próximo libro sea muy bueno y que por fin deje la trama de Avalon porque no es nada interesante.
Pd: Otra petición para agregar a la larga lista LIBRO PARA SHADOW PLEASE!!!
August 31, 2018
I love the DH world, but when I finished Stygian, I felt disappointed.
I'm wondering if Kenyon is losing her touch, because the last DH book I really liked was Styxx's. I was keen to get back on track with one of the original DH characters, especially one so closely connected to Styxx, but this book lacked a lot of important things like plot continuation and romance.
One of the reasons I love the DH books is because usually the characters have great relationship development, and I can really believe they fall in love. What we got from Urian's book was a few chapters of his childhood spent with Xyn and a few chapters describing his yearly "appointment" with her, and then BAM they're together forever with maybe a quarter of the book dedicated to their relationship.
At least a quarter of Stygian uses recycled material from the last dozen books, in which we re-read events from Urian's perspective, and half of it is there to give his life story from the last eleven thousand years. Unlike Acheron's or Styxx's books, I don't think Urian needed so much time spent in his past. I was still wondering who he'd end up with in the last hundred pages (and on my iPad the page count was 830)!
I'm hoping this book served as a bit of a break from the usual break-neck speed of this series, and that we'll get back to plot development in Xander's book.
I'm wondering if Kenyon is losing her touch, because the last DH book I really liked was Styxx's. I was keen to get back on track with one of the original DH characters, especially one so closely connected to Styxx, but this book lacked a lot of important things like plot continuation and romance.
One of the reasons I love the DH books is because usually the characters have great relationship development, and I can really believe they fall in love. What we got from Urian's book was a few chapters of his childhood spent with Xyn and a few chapters describing his yearly "appointment" with her, and then BAM they're together forever with maybe a quarter of the book dedicated to their relationship.
At least a quarter of Stygian uses recycled material from the last dozen books, in which we re-read events from Urian's perspective, and half of it is there to give his life story from the last eleven thousand years. Unlike Acheron's or Styxx's books, I don't think Urian needed so much time spent in his past. I was still wondering who he'd end up with in the last hundred pages (and on my iPad the page count was 830)!
I'm hoping this book served as a bit of a break from the usual break-neck speed of this series, and that we'll get back to plot development in Xander's book.
October 8, 2019
Started well before digressing into centuries of boredom. A decent end saves it. 5 of 10 stars
February 24, 2019
Their have been many mixed reviews on this book because of some of it going over past books. Anytime I crack open a sherrilyn Kenyon book I know I'm in for a up and down of mixed emotions and that was the case with stygian. I think in my opinion that looking back at what we already knew was part of knowing understanding Urian story. I also loved seeing apollymi and urian's relelationship I saw her from a different perspective,I have always felt sorry for all she endured,but with urian she was different letting down her guard and showing her softer side. Also we saw how urian became hard hearted predator who was feared.When he finds out phoebe is alive he goes to find her in the pits of hell ,but she isn't who the person he remembers she's become a evil bitch! Just when you think all's lost theirs a awesome twist and the beautiful Dragon Xyn from his past and who I wanted him to love rather then the manipulative phoebe , is the real love story!! Xyn brings redemption and love to urian's life,she's what he needed all along. In all honesty when urian picked phoebe over Xyn who was their for him from the very beginning I was pissed i never really cared for phoebe ,so him ending up with Xyn made me happy. I have loved the Dragon series from the beginning ,so doing a rerun didn't bother me. Over all I really liked this read,but I'm ready to move on. I personally can't wait for jaden's book, I've been intrigued with this character from the beginning!💖😉
August 29, 2018
More copy and paste
I’m so disappointed by this book and feel kinda of let down. After previous books had basically copy and paste through 50 percent of the book I was hoping after all the hype that this would be a original. Sadly it is not. There are close to 100 or more pages that are word for word of Styxx and falycns book. If you didn’t read those then this book will be wonderful. If you have sorry only the first part is new material.
I’m so disappointed by this book and feel kinda of let down. After previous books had basically copy and paste through 50 percent of the book I was hoping after all the hype that this would be a original. Sadly it is not. There are close to 100 or more pages that are word for word of Styxx and falycns book. If you didn’t read those then this book will be wonderful. If you have sorry only the first part is new material.
August 31, 2018
** This is NOT a romance **
I have conflicted feelings about Stygian. It started very well, I loved everything about Urian and his family. The only thing that bothered me was how shallow a certain major character portrayal was.
The second half of the book was a total mess. A lot of jumping, a lot of copy chapters from other books. They weren't even rewritten. Very few sentences about Urian were added here and there, but for somone who read the other books, and it's necessary to understand the story since this is not a standalone,it was very annoying and boring. I didn't like Dragonsworn the first time I read it. I didn't need whole chapters of it.
Some characters aren't even reintroduced, they're just there. While others who we know and love are described again and again.
Now about the romance, which I think is a very big part of Urian's story
The Urian/Phoebe relationship was awefully depicted, and like Stryker I, too didn't understand why Urian even liked Phoebe. Plus we don't see their mariage at all, except for some sex scenes... *eyeroll*
I read this book in two days, all of 600+ pages, that's how much I wanted to know what happens to Urian. But to think I waited for his book for over 5 years... It's such a let down.
Best thing in this book is Stryker. Crazy but I just loved how much he cared and adored his children. And after all, all he ever did was for their sake.
So I would give 4/5 for the first half, and 1.5/5 for the second.
-- Update : one day later
The more I think about the second half the more angry and frustrated I become.
Ugh...
I have conflicted feelings about Stygian. It started very well, I loved everything about Urian and his family. The only thing that bothered me was how shallow a certain major character portrayal was.
The second half of the book was a total mess. A lot of jumping, a lot of copy chapters from other books. They weren't even rewritten. Very few sentences about Urian were added here and there, but for somone who read the other books, and it's necessary to understand the story since this is not a standalone,it was very annoying and boring. I didn't like Dragonsworn the first time I read it. I didn't need whole chapters of it.
Some characters aren't even reintroduced, they're just there. While others who we know and love are described again and again.
Now about the romance, which I think is a very big part of Urian's story
The Urian/Phoebe relationship was awefully depicted, and like Stryker I, too didn't understand why Urian even liked Phoebe. Plus we don't see their mariage at all, except for some sex scenes... *eyeroll*
I read this book in two days, all of 600+ pages, that's how much I wanted to know what happens to Urian. But to think I waited for his book for over 5 years... It's such a let down.
Best thing in this book is Stryker. Crazy but I just loved how much he cared and adored his children. And after all, all he ever did was for their sake.
So I would give 4/5 for the first half, and 1.5/5 for the second.
-- Update : one day later
The more I think about the second half the more angry and frustrated I become.
Ugh...
Read
January 9, 2019Ni siquiera quiero puntuar el libro ahora. Soy capaz de darle 1 con el coraje que traigo encima.
FELICIDADES SK... Te cargaste una de mis series y personajes favoritos y los convertiste en...ESTO!?
ATENCIÓN:
Esta reseña si la voy a subir porque tengo mucho veneno que soltar y si no lo hago se me puede adentro.
No me gustan las reseñas haters pero si la hago ahorita me van a salir 🤬🤬🤬🤬 de los dedos así que mejor ya que se me pase vuelvo.
Tendrá spoilers porque así soy de masoquista y mala onda, me gusta recordar y revivir lo que no me gustó 🙃🙃🙃
FELICIDADES SK... Te cargaste una de mis series y personajes favoritos y los convertiste en...ESTO!?
ATENCIÓN:
Esta reseña si la voy a subir porque tengo mucho veneno que soltar y si no lo hago se me puede adentro.
No me gustan las reseñas haters pero si la hago ahorita me van a salir 🤬🤬🤬🤬 de los dedos así que mejor ya que se me pase vuelvo.
Tendrá spoilers porque así soy de masoquista y mala onda, me gusta recordar y revivir lo que no me gustó 🙃🙃🙃
September 4, 2018
Yei! excited for this book, even do it will be release in a year (BOOOOOOOOOO).
I kind of want Phoebe not to be the heroine, cause she died in like book 4(?). So I am rooting for Xyn, cause she is a freaking dragon. BUT!, I seriously hope that this book is nothing like the last 4 books, with a bazillion characters all running around a mystical forest in another dimension crap, cause that S*&T is getting old. Mrs. Kenyon, lets go back to the first books, where the story line was passive and actually had a story line were the characters met in a "normal" world. (by normal I mean in earth, not so mystical forest crap).
I kind of want Phoebe not to be the heroine, cause she died in like book 4(?). So I am rooting for Xyn, cause she is a freaking dragon. BUT!, I seriously hope that this book is nothing like the last 4 books, with a bazillion characters all running around a mystical forest in another dimension crap, cause that S*&T is getting old. Mrs. Kenyon, lets go back to the first books, where the story line was passive and actually had a story line were the characters met in a "normal" world. (by normal I mean in earth, not so mystical forest crap).
September 3, 2018
So I guess this is a recurring theme now. Make 85% of the book a recap of things that happened in previous book and then rush through the end. I’m exaggerating. 60% of the beginning was character development. I appreciated learning about Urian’s life. Buuuuuuuuut then when I realized I was more than 1/2 way and we still weren’t anywhere near the whole point of the book I began to get annoyed. And then 30% of the exact same story from the last books. Really?!?! So we get a measly 10% to wrap things up in a way that made no sense. The book started off with so much promise. I was excited and thought she was redeeming herself from the disaster that was born of vengeance (different series). But alas it wasn’t meant to be. I’m once again left disappointed and wanting my $15 back. I feel betrayed.
September 14, 2018
04/09/2018: When you 're not the main character even in your own book. I'm so disappointed. Urian deserved better.
Rant to come.
09/09/2017: Urian is one of the most beloved characters of this series. His book is one of the most awaited, probably. I just discovered that the next book is his and I'm both excited and terrified. I know that Sherri loves here characters dearly, but her latest books have not been my favourites. PLEASE DO URIAN JUSTICE. I JUST WANT HIM TO BE HAPPY. PLEASE?

Rant to come.
09/09/2017: Urian is one of the most beloved characters of this series. His book is one of the most awaited, probably. I just discovered that the next book is his and I'm both excited and terrified. I know that Sherri loves here characters dearly, but her latest books have not been my favourites. PLEASE DO URIAN JUSTICE. I JUST WANT HIM TO BE HAPPY. PLEASE?

September 4, 2018
I really don't want to say this but I'm done with this series... It was one of my most favorite of all time but the past few books have put me off if it... I wish she could go back to her old style of writing and her books made sense but I couldn't finish this one that has only ever happened to me twice but just less than a third of the way through I had to give up... maybe it's time for "All good things must come to an end" and for Ms. Kenyon to wrap this series up.
April 13, 2019
AFTER READING:
SPOILERS AHEAD, BE WARNED!
Dragons Rising trilogy came to an end.
I loved an insight into the Urian's and Xyn's past. It made them more real characters for me. The only parts of this book that I found boring or unnecessary were rehashing of the Wulf/Cassandra/Phoebe plotline and rehashing some of the plotlines from the previous book, Dragonsworn. I would love to read more about Sarraxyn and Urian in the present time. Stygian was so much similar to the Acheron and Styxx in terms of story-telling. A major part of the book was his (Urian's) past including his childhood and his early years.
As you may know, Urian had a lot of brothers and a sister. While his sisters' death was in the book, Sherrilyn decided to not show the deaths of his brothers. She just time skipped it and casually mentioned it in later chapters. I think that this was a good idea because Stygian would just be full of heartbreak and sadness for the main character.
Phoebe was featured too. Honestly, I do not know how I feel about her. Sherrilyn added her to cause some unnecessary drama. I like that she called out Urian in the end for lying to her but besides that, she was just a filler.
There was one thing that surprised me a lot; Urian knew Xyn from his early age. Even though I would love to see more of them in the current time this little "story device" made their HEA believable for me.
Only thing that somewhat bugged me was the fact that we did not see any kind of reunion between Xyn and her brothers, Illarion and Maxis. This book was hers too, I would love to see any kind of development of her character as well.
There was this one scene that definitely resonated with me... It's a scene with Zephyra, Stryker, Bethany, and Styxx, in which Stryker shares his memories of Urian's life with Bethany and Styxx. I am not going to lie, it was a monsoon season for me.
"Bethany wiped away her own tears. 'Thank you for loving my son so. I am honored to share him with you.'" - Bethany to Stryker
This book introduced some new characters. Most memorable and most alive are Ruyn the Widowmaker. He hinted that his father was one of the primal gods and that his father was on good terms with Braith long time ago. So Verlyn or Set or maybe even Noir?
Next one is Xander. He is a powerful sorcerer turned Dark-Hunter. I have a vision that Sherrilyn will probably say something like "he was mentioned in the first book, he was on the merchandise ten years ago, fans were begging me for his story, etc."
If my brain serves me well still, he is officially introduced in this book and I think that he never appeared or was mentioned in the books by name. I know that he was mentioned in the web profiles for some characters but that was it. How he gets the priority over so many already well-established characters and get his story told in the next book, titled Queen of All Shadows? I do not know... It was heavily hinted that his heroine is probably Brynna Adams, a prominent recurring character from Chronicles of Nick. Whoever his heroine is, she is/will be a queen of all shadows. I doubt Brynna is the type, but who knows?
One thing I know is that we are probably taking a break from all this super-powerful characters, sons and daughters of primal gods. We are back to the Dark-Hunters, which I am looking forward to.
PS: I would very much appreciate it if Sherrilyn decided to put some kind of glossary at the beginning of each of her books. There are so many species and divisions that characters are/have that I need to keep my notes open and add new terms and details of every character so I could understand who/what/why/how? in the upcoming books. I love doing that, to be honest, but still...
AFTER THE SYNOPSIS RELEASE:
"There’s only one person at my back and I’m not sure I can trust her either, for she was born of an enemy race."
This sentence practically confirmed that it's not Pheobe who is Urian's HEA. Whoever is "at his back" is the heroine of the Stygian. I strongly hope it's Xyn.
BEFORE RELEASE:
Urian & Sarraxyn?
Even though his heroine is not officially confirmed I am 100% sure that it is her. She has been hinted at and Sherrilyn said that we will meet Urian's heroine in the Dragonmark. Xyn was the only new female character introduced in that book.
She is sister to Falcyn, Maxis & Illarion. Can't wait to read more about her and Urian!
Hunter Legends universe/Hunterverse series reading order:
~ prequel book
- novella
= Dream-Hunter book
+ Chronicles of Nick book
* bonus scene/chapter/short story
! Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter book
? Sea Wolves book
< Deadman's Cross book
~ Fantasy Lover (Dark-Hunter Prequel Novel)
Night Pleasures (Dark-Hunter #1)
Night Embrace (Dark-Hunter #2, Mardi Gras Trilogy #1)
- A Dark-Hunter Christmas (Dark-Hunter #2.5)
Dance with the Devil (Dark-Hunter #3, Mardi Gras Trilogy #2)
Kiss of the Night (Dark-Hunter #4, Mardi Gras Trilogy #3)
- Dragonswan (Were-Hunter #0.5)
Night Play (Dark-Hunter #5, Were-Hunter #1)
- Winter Born (Were-Hunter #1.5)
Seize the Night (Dark-Hunter #6)
Sins of the Night (Dark-Hunter #7)
Unleash the Night (Dark-Hunter #8, Were-Hunter #2)
Dark Side of the Moon (Dark-Hunter #9, Were-Hunter #3)
- A Hard Day's Night Searcher (Dark-Hunter #9.25, Deadman's Cross #0.5)
- Until Death We Do Part (Dark-Hunter #9.5)
- Fear the Darkness (Dark-Hunter #9.75)
- Phantom Lover (Dream-Hunter #0.5)
= The Dream-Hunter (Dream-Hunter #1, Dark-Hunter #10, Harbinger Trilogy #1)
Devil May Cry (Dark-Hunter #11, Harbinger Trilogy #2)
= Upon the Midnight Clear (Dream-Hunter #2, Dark-Hunter #12)
= Dream Chaser (Dream-Hunter #3, Dark-Hunter #13)
Acheron (Dark-Hunter #14, Harbinger Trilogy #3)
~ Daemon's Angel (Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter Prequel Novel)
- Where Angels Fear to Tread (Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #0.75)
- Shadow of the Moon (Were-Hunter #3.5)
One Silent Night (Dark-Hunter #15)
= Dream Warrior (Dream-Hunter #4, Dark-Hunter #16)
Bad Moon Rising (Dark-Hunter #17, Were-Hunter #4, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #1, Sanctuary Forever Duology #1)
+ Infinity (Chronicles of Nick #1, Nick Chronicles #1)
No Mercy (Dark-Hunter #18, Were-Hunter #5, Sanctuary Forever Duology #2)
+ Invincible (Chronicles of Nick #2, Nick Chronicles #2)
Retribution (Dark-Hunter #19, Were-Hunter #6, Blood Moon Duology #1)
= The Guardian (Dream-Hunter #5, Dark-Hunter #20, Were-Hunter #7, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #2)
* Redemption (The Guardian, Epilogue) [http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/book/t...]
+ Infamous (Chronicles of Nick #3, Nick Chronicles #3)
Time Untime (Dark-Hunter #21, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #3, Blood Moon Duology #2)
+ Inferno (Chronicles of Nick #4, Nick Chronicles #4)
- House of the Rising Son (Dark-Hunter #21.5) [Prequel Novella to Styxx]
Styxx (Dark-Hunter #22)
+ Illusion (Chronicles of Nick #5, Nick Chronicles #5)
! Sword of Darkness (Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #1)
! Knight of Darkness (Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #2)
- The Wager (Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #2.5)
Son of No One (Dark-Hunter #23, Were-Hunter #8, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #4, Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #3)
+ Instinct (Chronicles of Nick #6, Nick Chronicles #6)
Dragonbane (Dark-Hunter #24, Were-Hunter #9, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #5, Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #4)
+ Invision (Chronicles of Nick #7, Nick Chronicles #7)
Dragonmark (Dark-Hunter #25, Were-Hunter #10, Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #5, Dragons Rising Trilogy #1)
? Master of Seduction (Sea Wolves #1)
? A Pirate of Her Own (Sea Wolves #2)
< Deadmen Walking (Deadman's Cross #1, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #6, Sea Wolves #3)
Dragonsworn (Dark-Hunter #26, Were-Hunter #11, Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #6, Dragons Rising Trilogy #2)
+ Intensity (Chronicles of Nick #8, Nick Chronicles #8)
< Death Doesn't Bargain (Deadman's Cross #2, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #7, Sea Wolves #4)
Stygian (Dark-Hunter #27, Were-Hunter #12, Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #7, Dragons Rising Trilogy #3)
SPOILERS AHEAD, BE WARNED!
Dragons Rising trilogy came to an end.
I loved an insight into the Urian's and Xyn's past. It made them more real characters for me. The only parts of this book that I found boring or unnecessary were rehashing of the Wulf/Cassandra/Phoebe plotline and rehashing some of the plotlines from the previous book, Dragonsworn. I would love to read more about Sarraxyn and Urian in the present time. Stygian was so much similar to the Acheron and Styxx in terms of story-telling. A major part of the book was his (Urian's) past including his childhood and his early years.
As you may know, Urian had a lot of brothers and a sister. While his sisters' death was in the book, Sherrilyn decided to not show the deaths of his brothers. She just time skipped it and casually mentioned it in later chapters. I think that this was a good idea because Stygian would just be full of heartbreak and sadness for the main character.
Phoebe was featured too. Honestly, I do not know how I feel about her. Sherrilyn added her to cause some unnecessary drama. I like that she called out Urian in the end for lying to her but besides that, she was just a filler.
There was one thing that surprised me a lot; Urian knew Xyn from his early age. Even though I would love to see more of them in the current time this little "story device" made their HEA believable for me.
Only thing that somewhat bugged me was the fact that we did not see any kind of reunion between Xyn and her brothers, Illarion and Maxis. This book was hers too, I would love to see any kind of development of her character as well.
There was this one scene that definitely resonated with me... It's a scene with Zephyra, Stryker, Bethany, and Styxx, in which Stryker shares his memories of Urian's life with Bethany and Styxx. I am not going to lie, it was a monsoon season for me.
"Bethany wiped away her own tears. 'Thank you for loving my son so. I am honored to share him with you.'" - Bethany to Stryker
This book introduced some new characters. Most memorable and most alive are Ruyn the Widowmaker. He hinted that his father was one of the primal gods and that his father was on good terms with Braith long time ago. So Verlyn or Set or maybe even Noir?
Next one is Xander. He is a powerful sorcerer turned Dark-Hunter. I have a vision that Sherrilyn will probably say something like "he was mentioned in the first book, he was on the merchandise ten years ago, fans were begging me for his story, etc."
If my brain serves me well still, he is officially introduced in this book and I think that he never appeared or was mentioned in the books by name. I know that he was mentioned in the web profiles for some characters but that was it. How he gets the priority over so many already well-established characters and get his story told in the next book, titled Queen of All Shadows? I do not know... It was heavily hinted that his heroine is probably Brynna Adams, a prominent recurring character from Chronicles of Nick. Whoever his heroine is, she is/will be a queen of all shadows. I doubt Brynna is the type, but who knows?
One thing I know is that we are probably taking a break from all this super-powerful characters, sons and daughters of primal gods. We are back to the Dark-Hunters, which I am looking forward to.
PS: I would very much appreciate it if Sherrilyn decided to put some kind of glossary at the beginning of each of her books. There are so many species and divisions that characters are/have that I need to keep my notes open and add new terms and details of every character so I could understand who/what/why/how? in the upcoming books. I love doing that, to be honest, but still...
AFTER THE SYNOPSIS RELEASE:
"There’s only one person at my back and I’m not sure I can trust her either, for she was born of an enemy race."
This sentence practically confirmed that it's not Pheobe who is Urian's HEA. Whoever is "at his back" is the heroine of the Stygian. I strongly hope it's Xyn.
BEFORE RELEASE:
Urian & Sarraxyn?
Even though his heroine is not officially confirmed I am 100% sure that it is her. She has been hinted at and Sherrilyn said that we will meet Urian's heroine in the Dragonmark. Xyn was the only new female character introduced in that book.
She is sister to Falcyn, Maxis & Illarion. Can't wait to read more about her and Urian!
Hunter Legends universe/Hunterverse series reading order:
~ prequel book
- novella
= Dream-Hunter book
+ Chronicles of Nick book
* bonus scene/chapter/short story
! Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter book
? Sea Wolves book
< Deadman's Cross book
~ Fantasy Lover (Dark-Hunter Prequel Novel)
Night Pleasures (Dark-Hunter #1)
Night Embrace (Dark-Hunter #2, Mardi Gras Trilogy #1)
- A Dark-Hunter Christmas (Dark-Hunter #2.5)
Dance with the Devil (Dark-Hunter #3, Mardi Gras Trilogy #2)
Kiss of the Night (Dark-Hunter #4, Mardi Gras Trilogy #3)
- Dragonswan (Were-Hunter #0.5)
Night Play (Dark-Hunter #5, Were-Hunter #1)
- Winter Born (Were-Hunter #1.5)
Seize the Night (Dark-Hunter #6)
Sins of the Night (Dark-Hunter #7)
Unleash the Night (Dark-Hunter #8, Were-Hunter #2)
Dark Side of the Moon (Dark-Hunter #9, Were-Hunter #3)
- A Hard Day's Night Searcher (Dark-Hunter #9.25, Deadman's Cross #0.5)
- Until Death We Do Part (Dark-Hunter #9.5)
- Fear the Darkness (Dark-Hunter #9.75)
- Phantom Lover (Dream-Hunter #0.5)
= The Dream-Hunter (Dream-Hunter #1, Dark-Hunter #10, Harbinger Trilogy #1)
Devil May Cry (Dark-Hunter #11, Harbinger Trilogy #2)
= Upon the Midnight Clear (Dream-Hunter #2, Dark-Hunter #12)
= Dream Chaser (Dream-Hunter #3, Dark-Hunter #13)
Acheron (Dark-Hunter #14, Harbinger Trilogy #3)
~ Daemon's Angel (Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter Prequel Novel)
- Where Angels Fear to Tread (Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #0.75)
- Shadow of the Moon (Were-Hunter #3.5)
One Silent Night (Dark-Hunter #15)
= Dream Warrior (Dream-Hunter #4, Dark-Hunter #16)
Bad Moon Rising (Dark-Hunter #17, Were-Hunter #4, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #1, Sanctuary Forever Duology #1)
+ Infinity (Chronicles of Nick #1, Nick Chronicles #1)
No Mercy (Dark-Hunter #18, Were-Hunter #5, Sanctuary Forever Duology #2)
+ Invincible (Chronicles of Nick #2, Nick Chronicles #2)
Retribution (Dark-Hunter #19, Were-Hunter #6, Blood Moon Duology #1)
= The Guardian (Dream-Hunter #5, Dark-Hunter #20, Were-Hunter #7, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #2)
* Redemption (The Guardian, Epilogue) [http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/book/t...]
+ Infamous (Chronicles of Nick #3, Nick Chronicles #3)
Time Untime (Dark-Hunter #21, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #3, Blood Moon Duology #2)
+ Inferno (Chronicles of Nick #4, Nick Chronicles #4)
- House of the Rising Son (Dark-Hunter #21.5) [Prequel Novella to Styxx]
Styxx (Dark-Hunter #22)
+ Illusion (Chronicles of Nick #5, Nick Chronicles #5)
! Sword of Darkness (Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #1)
! Knight of Darkness (Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #2)
- The Wager (Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #2.5)
Son of No One (Dark-Hunter #23, Were-Hunter #8, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #4, Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #3)
+ Instinct (Chronicles of Nick #6, Nick Chronicles #6)
Dragonbane (Dark-Hunter #24, Were-Hunter #9, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #5, Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #4)
+ Invision (Chronicles of Nick #7, Nick Chronicles #7)
Dragonmark (Dark-Hunter #25, Were-Hunter #10, Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #5, Dragons Rising Trilogy #1)
? Master of Seduction (Sea Wolves #1)
? A Pirate of Her Own (Sea Wolves #2)
< Deadmen Walking (Deadman's Cross #1, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #6, Sea Wolves #3)
Dragonsworn (Dark-Hunter #26, Were-Hunter #11, Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #6, Dragons Rising Trilogy #2)
+ Intensity (Chronicles of Nick #8, Nick Chronicles #8)
< Death Doesn't Bargain (Deadman's Cross #2, Hellchaser/Hell-Hunter #7, Sea Wolves #4)
Stygian (Dark-Hunter #27, Were-Hunter #12, Lords of Avalon/Grail-Hunter #7, Dragons Rising Trilogy #3)
September 8, 2018
I wrote an even longer, spoiler filled post here. I was pretty disappointed in this book.
66 points/100 (3 ½/5 stars)
Urian was born different. He was left excluded by the Appolites. Grew strong enough to lead the Daimon's in battle. Wounded of heart, Urian lives on despite the obstacles life has thrown at him. He just has to figure out how to live with it.
I have major emotional damage after reading this. I feel so utterly drained right now.
Reading about Urian's life was hard. He was so lonely. He lost so much. I've read everything up until this point. I knew what was going to happen. Just when things were stable in his life, after deadening himself to the world, he met Phoebe. You know what happens there. I was shaking trying to contain myself as things were happening because I just was so wound up, emotionally. It was hard, but good.
That said, I'm a bit upset at this book. It feels like a rewrite. It was internally inconsistent as much as it was inconsistent with the rest of the series. It felt like Kenyon wanted a specific outcome, and had to change so much that she already written previously to make it work. Entire scenes that were in other books had a line or two added to make it consistent with this book. There were scenes in this book where Urian forgot major parts of his own life somehow, to make scenes from previous books make sense. It was just aggravating by the end.
And that is another thing. The last quarter of this book, easily, was word for word scenes from other books. They didn't even always come from Urian. They'd come from Savatar or Styxx or something. This is the second or third, and probably even fourth time I've seen some of these scenes now. I've actually lost count. There was no new perspective added on these scenes this time, nothing. They were just repeats. The last few books have felt this way. I knew it would happen in this book, but I didn't realise the end of the book was going to be to this extent. Honestly, I'm really getting tired of it.
The beginning of the book was amazing. It wasn't as brutal as Acheron or Styxx, but I consider Stygian the third book in an arc containing these three characters. But, the end didn't make up for it. I rely on these books, especially the ones with this family, to drag me down into depression, and then give me an overwhelmingly happy ending. This did not do that. I've still got this deep, clawing depression in my bones that I cannot shake. This wasn't a happy ending, it was a content ending. A way to end it without dragging it out longer. Yet, it really needed a happy ending after the hell it put me through.
Until Stygian, I was still enjoying this series. Now I'm a bit on the fence with it. I want to continue liking it. I was so excited for this one when I found out who it was about. I'm just worried about the future of the series.
To read more reviews, check out keikii eats books!
66 points/100 (3 ½/5 stars)
Urian was born different. He was left excluded by the Appolites. Grew strong enough to lead the Daimon's in battle. Wounded of heart, Urian lives on despite the obstacles life has thrown at him. He just has to figure out how to live with it.
I have major emotional damage after reading this. I feel so utterly drained right now.
Reading about Urian's life was hard. He was so lonely. He lost so much. I've read everything up until this point. I knew what was going to happen. Just when things were stable in his life, after deadening himself to the world, he met Phoebe. You know what happens there. I was shaking trying to contain myself as things were happening because I just was so wound up, emotionally. It was hard, but good.
That said, I'm a bit upset at this book. It feels like a rewrite. It was internally inconsistent as much as it was inconsistent with the rest of the series. It felt like Kenyon wanted a specific outcome, and had to change so much that she already written previously to make it work. Entire scenes that were in other books had a line or two added to make it consistent with this book. There were scenes in this book where Urian forgot major parts of his own life somehow, to make scenes from previous books make sense. It was just aggravating by the end.
And that is another thing. The last quarter of this book, easily, was word for word scenes from other books. They didn't even always come from Urian. They'd come from Savatar or Styxx or something. This is the second or third, and probably even fourth time I've seen some of these scenes now. I've actually lost count. There was no new perspective added on these scenes this time, nothing. They were just repeats. The last few books have felt this way. I knew it would happen in this book, but I didn't realise the end of the book was going to be to this extent. Honestly, I'm really getting tired of it.
The beginning of the book was amazing. It wasn't as brutal as Acheron or Styxx, but I consider Stygian the third book in an arc containing these three characters. But, the end didn't make up for it. I rely on these books, especially the ones with this family, to drag me down into depression, and then give me an overwhelmingly happy ending. This did not do that. I've still got this deep, clawing depression in my bones that I cannot shake. This wasn't a happy ending, it was a content ending. A way to end it without dragging it out longer. Yet, it really needed a happy ending after the hell it put me through.
Until Stygian, I was still enjoying this series. Now I'm a bit on the fence with it. I want to continue liking it. I was so excited for this one when I found out who it was about. I'm just worried about the future of the series.
To read more reviews, check out keikii eats books!
September 11, 2019
To much retailing from previous books and I'm tired of never getting answers to questions. Hell by this pace it's going to be 20 years before we know anything. I'm so tired of reading recycled material - the last three books are so full of it. If she is doing this for new readers it's just fucking stupid. If they start a book this far into a series then they deserve to be lost. Plus I wouldn't call this a romance at all. Urian and Xyn don't even get together for real till the end and even then you don't see it. They don't even have a chapter of showing them together. It's of him going off to save Phoebe then Phoebe wanting a divorce and then he's with Xyn... the end. We also didn't get any good scenes with Styxx and Beth and baby Ari - That would have been great seeing him with this biological family. I'm also kinda pissed that the author is giving away important information to the DH series in her other series(CON). If you don't read those books then you are screwed. So so disappointing when her earlier books were so freaking great. She needs to slow her roll and tone down her world that she is making to big.
FYI - There are bonus scenes in some copy's of the book. The books with the bonus content are ONLY sold at Walmart and B&N. The book at Walmart has a DIFFERENT bonus scene from the one at B&N. hmmm I kinda call bullshit on this. These books are expensive as it is. It's shitty to put different bonus scenes in two different versions and then not to put them in the others!
***Its confirmed that they are indeed different scenes from her Facebook page.
From Newsletter
"They also have autographed copies available at Walmart, Amazon and BN, as well as the copies with bonus scenes. I'm not sure where the rumor is that it has different endings started. The ending is the same in every book, just that there are three versions of the book. Walmart & BN both have books with bonus scenes in them and are marked as such like this book so that you can tell them apart from the other copies"
FYI - There are bonus scenes in some copy's of the book. The books with the bonus content are ONLY sold at Walmart and B&N. The book at Walmart has a DIFFERENT bonus scene from the one at B&N. hmmm I kinda call bullshit on this. These books are expensive as it is. It's shitty to put different bonus scenes in two different versions and then not to put them in the others!
***Its confirmed that they are indeed different scenes from her Facebook page.
From Newsletter
"They also have autographed copies available at Walmart, Amazon and BN, as well as the copies with bonus scenes. I'm not sure where the rumor is that it has different endings started. The ending is the same in every book, just that there are three versions of the book. Walmart & BN both have books with bonus scenes in them and are marked as such like this book so that you can tell them apart from the other copies"
September 18, 2023
March 2020 - ***Bumping down to 3 stars***
3.75 Stars!
I really loved 80% of the story but the rest part, especially last two chapters felt rushed. There was repetition of lots of pages from previous books which was irritating. I thought something was still missing in second half, especially when few things resolved quickly and too conveniently for my liking.
Still, I loved Urian and his significant other at the end. It was nice to see our beloved old characters once again (Stryker,Styxx,Bethany, Acheron and others). But this book was wayyy below my expectation and underwhelming.
3.75 Stars!
I really loved 80% of the story but the rest part, especially last two chapters felt rushed. There was repetition of lots of pages from previous books which was irritating. I thought something was still missing in second half, especially when few things resolved quickly and too conveniently for my liking.
Still, I loved Urian and his significant other at the end. It was nice to see our beloved old characters once again (Stryker,Styxx,Bethany, Acheron and others). But this book was wayyy below my expectation and underwhelming.
January 5, 2024
I was afraid to read this because I love Urian and it got a shocking number of negative reviews but I enjoyed it. There's plenty of funny lines and good banter. Though it wasn't without its issues.
The romance between Urian and Xyn was cute but Xyn should've been the one in denial about her feelings. She was lusting after a five year old! (Even though apollites age faster, he was still a kid.)
I didn't like Pheobe but I'm glad she was given time, so we understood why Urian would risk everything for her. And it wasn't just about her. Partly he was just sad and lonely and ready to give up and she made him feel better. (Though I think he loved her more after he lost her.)
The best relationship in this book wound up being Urian and his father. (Stryker) I found I cared much more about them repairing their relationship than him finding Xyn or Pheobe again.
I was impressed how well Kenyon handled the passage of time at the beginning. Unfortunately, when she skipped thousands of years it got a little choppy, since some stories never really finished. I don't understand why she included some parts but skipped over others .
As with so many books in this series (especially lately) past scenes were covered again. At least this time it's mostly in Urian's POV. (With a few random head jumps.) Styxx is important to Urian's story but we didn't need so much about him. Then Medea's story was awkwardly chopped.
The last book ended in a cliffhanger but it doesn't pick up until the last chapter! Then it was a rush to happily ever after.
How did this book get published without more editing? Stygian definitely went downhill as it went; with numerous continuity errors and plot holes. And what's up with Dec 2008? It's like a draft chapter that she forgot to cut. Speaking of editing;
At first I didn't understand the negative reviews, as I was loving this book. Now I get it. There really isn't a plot. Helios began as the villain, but then it's like Kenyon forgot where she was going with it. You can't throw a plot together in the last chapter.
And I know that's a lot of negatives. I do recommend this book. It's the best one in a while. It's just that it could've been the best in the series!
The romance between Urian and Xyn was cute but Xyn should've been the one in denial about her feelings. She was lusting after a five year old! (Even though apollites age faster, he was still a kid.)
I didn't like Pheobe but I'm glad she was given time, so we understood why Urian would risk everything for her. And it wasn't just about her. Partly he was just sad and lonely and ready to give up and she made him feel better. (Though I think he loved her more after he lost her.)
The best relationship in this book wound up being Urian and his father. (Stryker) I found I cared much more about them repairing their relationship than him finding Xyn or Pheobe again.
I was impressed how well Kenyon handled the passage of time at the beginning. Unfortunately, when she skipped thousands of years it got a little choppy, since some stories never really finished. I don't understand why she included some parts but skipped over others .
As with so many books in this series (especially lately) past scenes were covered again. At least this time it's mostly in Urian's POV. (With a few random head jumps.) Styxx is important to Urian's story but we didn't need so much about him. Then Medea's story was awkwardly chopped.
The last book ended in a cliffhanger but it doesn't pick up until the last chapter! Then it was a rush to happily ever after.
How did this book get published without more editing? Stygian definitely went downhill as it went; with numerous continuity errors and plot holes. And what's up with Dec 2008? It's like a draft chapter that she forgot to cut. Speaking of editing;
At first I didn't understand the negative reviews, as I was loving this book. Now I get it. There really isn't a plot. Helios began as the villain, but then it's like Kenyon forgot where she was going with it. You can't throw a plot together in the last chapter.
And I know that's a lot of negatives. I do recommend this book. It's the best one in a while. It's just that it could've been the best in the series!
October 25, 2018
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
I think I’ve put off reviewing this book long enough. I’ve been avoiding it because I’ve had conflicting feelings about it. I have been a big fan of Miss Kenyon’s work since I discovered her books years back but as of late, her books are not as good as they used to be.
Now, don’t get me wrong, parts of this book were still good. To start, Stygian is the hero I expected him to be in more ways than one. His story is not as good as Acheron or Styxx but I liked him. He’s powerful, a bit broken, and sexy to boot. You get to know Urian inside and out. His childhood love, current love interest, and family history revealed for readers to see. My favorite is his part in Acheron and Styxx’s life, and how he contributed to their story. I loved the drama, the action, and even the retelling of certain scenes from previous books. I especially loved reliving parts of Styxx’s story. I will admit there’s one particular part that still had me balling.
However. And this is where I felt most conflicted with. Almost the second half of the book was a retelling of scenes from previous books. At first, I was happy to relive scenes that hit me emotionally, but the familiar scenes kept going from one scene to the next. Retellings from previous books don’t usually bother me especially when they are told in different POVs. For the most part, most of the scenes are scenes I’ve enjoyed before. Unfortunately, a big chunk of this book felt like it was exact texts I’ve read before. It felt too much of a deja vu. Despite liking those scenes, I still felt robbed.
Another issue I had and this is a big spoiler, so if you don’t like spoilers, please stop reading now.
.
.
If you read the previous books, you know that there was a build up to Urian finding the love of his life, Phoebe. Unfortunately, after eons of mourning and yearning for her, he ends up with another. I’m not sure if I was resistant to the new romance because I was rooting for Phoebe and Urian from the start but the ending just didn’t sit right with me. All the heartaches Urian went through to get to Phoebe to only end it without a backward glance was just too easy. Way easy.
Despite my complaints, I’m still rating this book two and a half to three stars for the good parts of this book. Will I keep reading Kenyon? Most likely. I still like this world she brings me in and I’ll take any Acheron/Styxx page time anyway I can get.
Reviewed by Angela
ARC provided by publisher❤ ♡ Don't want to miss any of our posts? Subscribe to our blog by email! ♡ ❤
August 7, 2018
This is an excerpt, not the complete novel so I can only tell you want I thought of the excerpt I read. I can't believe we are at 29 books in the Dark Hunter series, yet Kenyon still manages to provide a fresh, surprising plot that gravitates the reader right into the Dark Hunter's world. This is a huge series and to really enjoy it, it should be read in order...you don't want to miss a thing. To give a brief description of the series, I'd have to say the Dark Hunter series is a world where magic and myth, legends and romance collide with a paranormal romance, historical paranormal romance and urban fantasy...MAKES FOR SOME AMAZING READING.
This excerpt of Stygian provides details and back history, that even me, a devoted Dark Hunter fan found startling and thrilled to learn. I can't wait to get the entire story, I was definitely left wanting more!
My Rating: 4 stars (but you can't really rate it until its complete and I, unfortunately, don't have my hands on the full book until my preordered copy arrives August 28th).
Written by: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Series: Dark-Hunter Novels
Sequence in Series: Book 22
Hardcover: 656 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: August 28, 2018
ISBN-10: 1250102685
ISBN-13: 978-1250102683
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stygian-Dark-H...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/styg...
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/styg...
This excerpt of Stygian provides details and back history, that even me, a devoted Dark Hunter fan found startling and thrilled to learn. I can't wait to get the entire story, I was definitely left wanting more!
My Rating: 4 stars (but you can't really rate it until its complete and I, unfortunately, don't have my hands on the full book until my preordered copy arrives August 28th).
Written by: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Series: Dark-Hunter Novels
Sequence in Series: Book 22
Hardcover: 656 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: August 28, 2018
ISBN-10: 1250102685
ISBN-13: 978-1250102683
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stygian-Dark-H...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/styg...
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/styg...
August 30, 2018
The first half of this book, while slow, was really good. Heartbreaking but good. Set just after Apollo curses the apollotite we got to know Stryker and the Apolloites better and they are not all the villains originally made out to be.
Urian is Stryker favorite son (he has 11 kids) and while he is surrounded by siblings he is lonely so he befriends a dragon. He marries twice before he realizes his dragon friend is his true love. They cannot be together because they are different species but agree to meet once a year. This goes on for about 2000 years until one day Xyn doesn’t show up for their yearly date and Urian assumes she is dead, mourns and moves on.
The second half of the book pissed me off. Once again Kenyon decides to rehash entire storylines we have already ready but from Urian’s perspective. He meets Phoebe and helps protect Cassandra. Phoebe is murdered by Stryker but of course we find out it was her fault because she went Telos (insane) and had to be put down. That pissed me off that Stryker gets to justify his betrayal that way. Next we move on to Acheron and Styxx figuring out how to be brothers again and Acheron meets Tori. I thought this was supposed to be Urian’s story and a romance novel but it turned into a terrible rehashing of events we already have been through.
Finally we make it to 2017 and Irian meets Xyn’s brothers and goes to Camelot. Yay more rehashing of old storylines. And finds out that Xyn isn’t dead but was frozen into a statue (you mean like his mom?! Say it isn’t so). I don’t understand if he loved her so much why he never tried to find out what happened to her before. He knew she had brothers.
All in all. The first half of this book is 3/5 but once we hit 1988, it’s a 1/5 because I cannot stand this trend Kenyon is on of rehashing old storylines.
A last note, in 1988, Cassandra was about 7, Phoebe is probably about 10 but she starts a romantic relationship with Urian who is 11,000 years old. They have sex about 2 or 3 years later. I know Apollites age quicker than humans but ewwww.
Urian is Stryker favorite son (he has 11 kids) and while he is surrounded by siblings he is lonely so he befriends a dragon. He marries twice before he realizes his dragon friend is his true love. They cannot be together because they are different species but agree to meet once a year. This goes on for about 2000 years until one day Xyn doesn’t show up for their yearly date and Urian assumes she is dead, mourns and moves on.
The second half of the book pissed me off. Once again Kenyon decides to rehash entire storylines we have already ready but from Urian’s perspective. He meets Phoebe and helps protect Cassandra. Phoebe is murdered by Stryker but of course we find out it was her fault because she went Telos (insane) and had to be put down. That pissed me off that Stryker gets to justify his betrayal that way. Next we move on to Acheron and Styxx figuring out how to be brothers again and Acheron meets Tori. I thought this was supposed to be Urian’s story and a romance novel but it turned into a terrible rehashing of events we already have been through.
Finally we make it to 2017 and Irian meets Xyn’s brothers and goes to Camelot. Yay more rehashing of old storylines. And finds out that Xyn isn’t dead but was frozen into a statue (you mean like his mom?! Say it isn’t so). I don’t understand if he loved her so much why he never tried to find out what happened to her before. He knew she had brothers.
All in all. The first half of this book is 3/5 but once we hit 1988, it’s a 1/5 because I cannot stand this trend Kenyon is on of rehashing old storylines.
A last note, in 1988, Cassandra was about 7, Phoebe is probably about 10 but she starts a romantic relationship with Urian who is 11,000 years old. They have sex about 2 or 3 years later. I know Apollites age quicker than humans but ewwww.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2018
2.5 stars
Majority of the book was regurgitating previous books line by line.
Majority of the book was regurgitating previous books line by line.
October 14, 2018
From the moment Urian was introduced in the Dark Hunter series, I wanted to know his story and in Styxx, he was so cool with his thoughts and beliefs. In addition, the latest Dark Hunter books hinted at Urian’s powers and that he was part of something bigger.
Stygian tells Urian’s story from the very beginning, from his childhood to adulthood. Every event that had an impact on his life and made him into the man he turned out to be. The numerous Gods and Goddesses in the Dark Hunter world are seriously messed up, toying with lives as if they were playing Monopoly.
I was very surprised to see who Urian fell for and I was totally rooting for them even though I knew it wouldn’t turn out well. I did not like Phoebe and definitely did not like Cassandra as well. I can’t remember if I actually liked Cassandra back in the book Kiss of The Night.
Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of my favorite authors and I feel really bad about giving Stygian 3 stars when it was my most anticipated read for this year but some of the repeated scenes even from Urian’s point of view just felt kind of tiring.
And what about Apollo? When is that jerk of a God finally going to get his comeuppance? I’m getting kind of fed up of watching him wreaking havoc left and right with impunity, especially after everything he did to Styxx.
However, I did enjoy the ending a lot and I loved it that Urian ended up with who I’d been rooting for him to throughout the book.
Posted on Blog
July 12, 2018
This review is for an excerpt available from Netgalley.
Urian has been a favourite character in this long running series which is intricate, at times complicated and very addictive. If honest I do believe they are best read in order but having read this preview I can say that in the style of Acheron and Styxx the author gives us Urians life from the beginning which involves implanted him into an unsuspecting woman whose husband is the son of Apollo, so we see how Stryker struggled and raged against the curse that ravaged his family. Urian is precocious, brave and yet so very lonely but he befriends a dragon all the while feeling like an outcast amongst his own people.
This excerpt shows Urian learning about his powers and most of all it shows a humane side to him that’s at war with his violent nature. Urian is never what others expect him to be and I thought he deliberately put up walls in order to cope with feeling unwanted at times. This does stop at a crucial part when Urian is heartbroken and I’m very keen to see what happens next.
This author is so talented that her characters and worlds come to life. If you love mythology and legends then this series is a must read. If I’m brutal perhaps recently not every book has absolutely wowed me but from what I’ve just read I strongly suspect fans will be very happy with this book although I think perhaps you might have to believe in reincarnation.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
Urian has been a favourite character in this long running series which is intricate, at times complicated and very addictive. If honest I do believe they are best read in order but having read this preview I can say that in the style of Acheron and Styxx the author gives us Urians life from the beginning which involves implanted him into an unsuspecting woman whose husband is the son of Apollo, so we see how Stryker struggled and raged against the curse that ravaged his family. Urian is precocious, brave and yet so very lonely but he befriends a dragon all the while feeling like an outcast amongst his own people.
This excerpt shows Urian learning about his powers and most of all it shows a humane side to him that’s at war with his violent nature. Urian is never what others expect him to be and I thought he deliberately put up walls in order to cope with feeling unwanted at times. This does stop at a crucial part when Urian is heartbroken and I’m very keen to see what happens next.
This author is so talented that her characters and worlds come to life. If you love mythology and legends then this series is a must read. If I’m brutal perhaps recently not every book has absolutely wowed me but from what I’ve just read I strongly suspect fans will be very happy with this book although I think perhaps you might have to believe in reincarnation.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
April 25, 2019
This is about the adventures of Urian, Stryker's Daimon son who has so many obstacles placed against him. Can he fight with his enemies, save his ex-wife Phoebe and finally find the person that loves him? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a great installment of the Darkhunter series so if you like paranormal action adventure romance stories, you'll enjoy this one as its combined with greek mythology. Be sure to check this book out with the rest of the Darkhunter series at your local library and wherever books are sold.
This was a great installment of the Darkhunter series so if you like paranormal action adventure romance stories, you'll enjoy this one as its combined with greek mythology. Be sure to check this book out with the rest of the Darkhunter series at your local library and wherever books are sold.
September 4, 2018
Epic read five stars all the way
February 13, 2019
Só não consigo dar nota pior que 2 por que é a SK, o livro não começou tão ruim e ainda tenho afetividade no universo Dark-Hunter.
MAS QUE BAGUNÇA!
O começo foi indo bem, estávamos no passado revivendo a história de Urian um dos personagens que mais apareceram e mais me interessaram em DH. Ele conhece a suposta pretendente dele Xyn e há ZERO química entre eles, ele nem se quer sabe que ela pode assumir a forma humana. Eles instantaneamente são melhores amigos, ninguém os ama, ninguém os quer, bláblá. Aí rola uma situação absurda e o Urian casa com a primeira mulher que abre as pernas pra ele (alguém que faz isso praticamente no mesmo dia que ficou viúva). Há uma sucessão de coisas acontecendo de forma completamente bizarra.
MAS QUE PIORA!
Eu já tinha percebido a maneira preguiçosa como a SK vinha fazendo os últimos livros de DH, ela literalmente estava dando CTRL+C e CTRL+V e mudando umas coisinhas mínimas.... E FEZ DE NOVO NESSE LIVRO. À partir dos 60% há uma repetição de fatos já narrados em Kiss of the Night, Acheron, Styxx e Dragonsworn.
E uma coisa é você pegar um fato já narrado e mudar a perspectiva pra outro personagem, outra coisa completamente diferente é você copiar letra por letra um capítulo inteiro de um livro anterior e colar no atual livro. Isso é puro desrespeito com os leitores. Para mim foi a mesma coisa que ela dizer: Ah é bastante tempo entre um livro e outro, os leitores são burros não vão perceber!
MAS EU NOTEI!
E QUER SABER TOMA 1 ESTRELA POR DÓ, SK! A RAIVA CRESCEU ENQUANTO EU ESCREVIA ESSA RESENHA. (EDIT: Já me arrependi de dar uma estrela, nunca dei uma estrela antes e não vou começar com a SK)
E a quantidade de Retcon e a quantidade de irmãos, filhos, personagens aleatórios que começam a brotar de tudo quanto é lado em DH já está num nível em que a maior parte da leitura é feita revirando os olhos. É de dá vergonha alheia! A SK não tem ninguém pra ler a história dela antes de publicar e falar: querida, para o seu bem, sabe que eu te amo, mas isso aqui não presta não.
Eu queria mais do que tudo ter amado esse livro. Eu tinha muitas expectativas, mas não deu não foi trash.
Vai demorar para eu pegar um livro de DH pra ler novamente.
MAS QUE BAGUNÇA!
O começo foi indo bem, estávamos no passado revivendo a história de Urian um dos personagens que mais apareceram e mais me interessaram em DH. Ele conhece a suposta pretendente dele Xyn e há ZERO química entre eles, ele nem se quer sabe que ela pode assumir a forma humana. Eles instantaneamente são melhores amigos, ninguém os ama, ninguém os quer, bláblá. Aí rola uma situação absurda e o Urian casa com a primeira mulher que abre as pernas pra ele (alguém que faz isso praticamente no mesmo dia que ficou viúva). Há uma sucessão de coisas acontecendo de forma completamente bizarra.
MAS QUE PIORA!
Eu já tinha percebido a maneira preguiçosa como a SK vinha fazendo os últimos livros de DH, ela literalmente estava dando CTRL+C e CTRL+V e mudando umas coisinhas mínimas.... E FEZ DE NOVO NESSE LIVRO. À partir dos 60% há uma repetição de fatos já narrados em Kiss of the Night, Acheron, Styxx e Dragonsworn.
E uma coisa é você pegar um fato já narrado e mudar a perspectiva pra outro personagem, outra coisa completamente diferente é você copiar letra por letra um capítulo inteiro de um livro anterior e colar no atual livro. Isso é puro desrespeito com os leitores. Para mim foi a mesma coisa que ela dizer: Ah é bastante tempo entre um livro e outro, os leitores são burros não vão perceber!
MAS EU NOTEI!
E QUER SABER TOMA 1 ESTRELA POR DÓ, SK! A RAIVA CRESCEU ENQUANTO EU ESCREVIA ESSA RESENHA. (EDIT: Já me arrependi de dar uma estrela, nunca dei uma estrela antes e não vou começar com a SK)
E a quantidade de Retcon e a quantidade de irmãos, filhos, personagens aleatórios que começam a brotar de tudo quanto é lado em DH já está num nível em que a maior parte da leitura é feita revirando os olhos. É de dá vergonha alheia! A SK não tem ninguém pra ler a história dela antes de publicar e falar: querida, para o seu bem, sabe que eu te amo, mas isso aqui não presta não.
Eu queria mais do que tudo ter amado esse livro. Eu tinha muitas expectativas, mas não deu não foi trash.
Vai demorar para eu pegar um livro de DH pra ler novamente.
October 14, 2018
Man, there is so much to unload
One thing I love when Kenyon focuses on one character is unloading all the background, the history of this character who is 1100 years old. I kept waiting for the story to come to the present time, but to understand Urian, we had to know the situation in which he was born, his childhood as an Appolite, and his early life as a Daimon until he was 'killed' by his foster dad, Stryker. We saw how he grew up, his strength, his vulnerability and his resilience to not give up when most of his loved ones passed away in front of him.
It was a lot to swallow. Another character with a hard childhood and teenage life, doomed to die at 27 or live as a soul-sucker. But Urian wasn't a mere daimon. He is the Son of a great warrior/a bloody chthonian and son of the Goddess of War and Misery. You can't eff with our boy.
Some of the scenes were repetitive (from the previous books), I did not mind some of it but damn, you had to make us relive the Styxx' story again. OF COURSE, I CRIED! AGAIN!
It made me want to shake Ash again.
One character that surprised me was Saraxyn. I did not expect her to be acquainted with Urian from the beginning. I did not even notice their interactions in Falcyn and Medea's story. And I am so glad I did not. They are perfect for each other. I didn't know if she would end up with him or Phoebe the Psycho would be here. I was biting my nails while reading Phoebe's parts. I don't loathe the girl but yeah she needed to get out of the picture. Too whiny.
The ending was satisfactory. Not great af. But it didn't leave me frustrated. The Daimons, the Dark-hunters and the others are in accord to fight against Apollo, the other demons (which I can't remember their name) and the Primary Dark Gods (except for Braith).
I expect a fierce battle like the Primus Bellum.
Speaking about the Primary Gods - where the fuck is Kissare? I hope to all the Pantheons that he is not Savitar! I will shit brick! I still need his story and a wife to keep him company on his moving island. Need Thorn and Jaden stories as well.
So the next story will be about Xander? or will it be a novella?
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