Early Review: When Darkness Hungers by J.K. Beck

Title: When Darkness Hungers

Series: The Shadow Keepers #5

Author: J.K. Beck

Publisher: Bantam

Publication date: June 26th 2012

Source: Received a copy for review from the publisher via NetGalley

From Goodreads: 

FBI agent Alexis Martin knows that vampires exist—because one of them killed her sister. Assigned to investigate a series of bizarre homicides in Los Angeles, Alexis believes the murders are the work of rogue vampires—perhaps even the monster responsible for her sister’s death. Now she finally has a chance for retribution. Even better, Alexis receives unexpected help from a sexy stranger as hungry for rogue blood as she is.
Serge is a centuries-old bad boy who stays off the grid—keeping his secrets, his hunger, and his heart safe from exposure. A new breed of vampire that feeds off other shadowers, Serge finds sweet torture in Alexis’s arms. Loving her is a chance to be free from the hiding, the loneliness, the secrecy. But the truth about what he is, and what he’s done, may banish him to the dark confines of his own private hell—and destroy the beginnings of their love.

My Review

**WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS**

I have HUGE mixed feelings about this title and I honestly am not sure whether I enjoyed it or not. It’s true, I did read on until the end. Though, I believe that was more curiosity over what would happen and where the story was headed. In all honesty? The story turned out to be pretty predictable.
And that left me somewhat disappointed.

It’s not that it was bad. Because it wasn’t. It’s more that pretty much everything that happened in the story was unoriginal to the point it almost mirrored almost every other title out there with this kind of storyline and there are only so many you can read before your brain craves new stimulation. It was pretty much a typical plotline of vampire hunter, who only became a hunter out of a drive for vengeance for a loved one’s death, ends up rescued by one of those she ultimately despises, within no time—and I mean, no time, because they barely spend a few nights in each other’s company—she decides she’s in love with him and he realises he can’t live without her because she is the calm to his inner storm, she ends up kidnapped by his enemy and he turns up to rescue her.

I have to say, even the ending was pretty anti-climatic. I was expecting an epic fight scene—or at least a little more torturing of Serge’s woman—and what we actually got was a few paragraphs of a far too easy victory for the good guys. Which totally wasn’t helped with how easily Leena reclaimed her body that had been possessed by the witch, and to top it all, she offered to die so Alexis could live, though where that option came from I have no idea—the entire scene screamed of contriteness and convenience, like the writer simply wanted to wrap the story up as simply as possible.

So, was there anything I liked about the book? Well, Serge was okay until he started to talk all mushy. I kinda liked Luke & Sara, too. I’m unsure I’d want to read any more books in this series, though.

My rating: 2 stars

Have you read this title? What’d you think?