Bound By Darkness (Soul Gatherer, #2) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

May 22, 2010 Steph rated it liked it

Shelves: author-웃, year-read-2010, series-ongoing

Bound by Darkness takes us back into the world of the Soul Gatherers. This time the focus is on Brian Webster, the young but talented gatherer we met in Drawn Into Darkness. He struggles over his past, like all the gatherers, serving his time in purgatory under Death's control.

The gatherers negotiate with Death to be allowed to hunt for the relics while continuing their service of gathering souls.

The five relics, Ignobles, "are all unique to the Crucifixion but never handled by the Son of

Bound by Darkness takes us back into the world of the Soul Gatherers. This time the focus is on Brian Webster, the young but talented gatherer we met in Drawn Into Darkness. He struggles over his past, like all the gatherers, serving his time in purgatory under Death's control.

The gatherers negotiate with Death to be allowed to hunt for the relics while continuing their service of gathering souls.

The five relics, Ignobles, "are all unique to the Crucifixion but never handled by the Son of God. Thus, they were blackened by human shame but never blessed by his touch. "Each one has a unique dark power. They are stored separate and apart from each other b/c together they represent the darkest day of humanity and the blackest part of the human heart. The evil brewing within them expands as more of the relics come together, but it is the grouping of all five that has the most devastating effect - if they were ever brought together, they would display mankind's perfidies against the Son of God as stark, undeniable truth and every soul on the middle plane would be instantly blackened with shame. We'd all be doomed to hell. The relics affect angels and demons alike. Therefore they've been hidden on the middle plane. The impact is directly related to the dark power each relic possesses."

And as Brian so eliquently puts it, after hearing Archangel Uriel's description of the relics, "So, let me see if I have this straight. This little piece of silver in my hand may be the only thing standing between the devil and a cataclysmic butt-f*ck of humankind."

In the battle to save a girl, Brian comes across one of the coins. After learning the importance of gathering all the missing coins, Brian leads the gatherers on a mission to locate and retrieve them. During this mission, he comes face to face with someone he'd never expected, a female soul gatherer, Lena.

Lena Sharpe is not only a soul gatherer, but also a thief. Lately, her skills as a thief have been used against her in order to protect someone she loves. She will do anything to get those coins. Anything, but give Brian the truth behind her search.

Brian and Lena are drawn to each other in ways that neither of them has experienced in many, many years. They each have their own reasons for wanting to remain free of intimate relationships. In fact, Brian has been celibate for six years.

The story has some great fight scenes and Brian was a favorite character of mine from book #1. But, unfortunately this one just didn't live up to my expectations. The banter between Brian and Lena over their feelings was typical for PNR, the give and the take until finally they each finally give in. But, the constant "why are you doing this really, Lena?" talk seemed to go on and on, a bit too long for my tastes. Although they each learn what the other is so afraid of and how they can help each other, it was all "too little, too late" for me.

My OCD-itis doesn't allow me to stop a series once I've started it (unless book #1 thoroughly sucks, then I can reason with it LOL), so I'll eventually read book #3, Surrender to Darkness: A Soul Gatherer Novel which is due out Jan 2011.

There are still things about the story that intrigue me: Emily, the Trinity Soul and her boyfriend, Carlos for example. So, there may still be hope for the series. :) ...more

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