Twilight Fall: A Novel of the Darkyn [Mass Market Paperback]

Liling Harper has a secret, a very dark secret that is now coming to light. Fleeing from the nursing home where she has eased the lives of the residents, Liling is forced to turn to Darkyn Valentin Jaus for help in escaping the city. Unfortunately, someone is still chasing her... Will Valentin and Liling find love in the midst of danger?

Fans of the Darkyn series will remember Valentin from PRIVATE DEMON where he lost the use of his arm in a fight with Thierry Durand. His tortured soul has been haunted by the accidental damage he wreaked in the past, just as Liling's is. What a perfect match these two make! Lynn Viehl has created two characters who belong to each other in every way, each filling the void of the other.

TWILIGHT FALL is definitely understood best in the context of the series as a whole. I have been in a sort of love/hate relationship with this series but TWILIGHT FALL has some twists that have heightened my interest in the Darkyn series. Pieces that haven't made sense are starting to come together as some of the revelations revealed are nothing short of astonishing!

Lynn Viehl never shirks at taking chances. The Darkyn series is certainly a unique one and one I keep returning to if only to see just what twists and turns will occur next! TWILIGHT FALL has moments of violence that may offend some readers as Lynn Viehl continues to push the boundaries with this series. However, the conclusion practically guarantees I will read the next book as it is one heck of a cliffhanger!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I enjoyed this book but found the romance abit much for me. I like the romance to be heated but this one was very, very, hot. I do like where the story line seems to be going. It reminds me somewhat of the Feehan, Ghostwalker books. Maybe the women who are being turned have been made that way.

Valentin Jaus lost his arm in the last novel and Dr Keller reattached it. It is there but he has little feeling or movement in it. He is attracted to a young asian woman who is the landscaper at his rest home. He has no idea who she is or that possibly she has a connection to his people. When she must run for her life he offers to take her on his plane to Atlanta. But when the plane is hi-jacked and the hi-jacker kills himself they land in a lake in Florida.

Liling Harper is happy with her flowers and shrubs, but she is hiding from a sect of the church. Right, the Brethren, the same sect out to kill and destroy the Darkyn. She doesn't know that Jaus is a Darkyn until late in the book. But the sect is out to either capture or kill her. They have sent a Tracker to find her and he is determined that whatever it takes he will kill her. Liling has powers that even she doesn't understand. But she has used them sparingly at the rest home. She is afraid of them because even tho they help people heal she knows that they can also kill.

The story is full of action both in and out of the bedroom. I liked his character but didn't care for the type of romance. Still it is a good series. Liling is a wonderful character and I really wonder where this plot will go. This book also has several minor storylines going at the same time, just like the last few books.

Twilight Fall is the sixth and penultimate book in the Darkyn series. For anyone looking to get into the Darkyn books I can't recommend that you start here, you really need to go back to the beginning with If Angels Burn.

Twilight Fall is Valentin Jaus's story. His first major appearance was in Bk 2 Private Demon, when he lost the woman he loved. TF finds him in a kind of holding pattern, but all of that is about to change as he meets Liling Harper a woman with extraordinary talents of her own. Unbeknownst to the two of them, their enemies are closing in and are determined to see them dead.

As always in the Darkyn books this is a multi-plotline story. Michael and Alex's story continues, Val and Lilings relationship blooms, John Keller's story reaches breaking point. We find out more about what the Brethren have been up to and also catch up with Jayr & Byrne (from Evermore) and Luisa, the woman who was horrifically scarred at the beginning of the series. I think when all seven books are available it will be well worth reading back over the series and finding out how all the clues fit together.

So there is a lot packed into this book. Most of it leading back to previous books and starting to bring plot threads together.

Like Evermore this book has a much more sexual feel to it. Valentin is dominant which I think is something he repressed during his time with Jema. However it is this dominant side of him that attracts Liling.

Liling has a quiet strength, and even though she chooses to submit to Valentin. Everyone else would do well to treat her with caution. She may appear fragile, but at her core she's steel.

One of the best things about this series (for me) is Michael and Alex, they have been the major arc holding the series together.

"I could tie you to the bed, you know."
"No, you can't. It's round and you don't have any rope."

They prove that a love story written after the first happy ending is just as enthralling as the initial get together. It's also interesting to read about Alex's relationship with her brother - when is she going to look at him and truly see him?

We also have the introduction of a new 'species' for want of a better word. I think of them as elementals as they have power over fire or water. Initially I did have a problem with this and wondered if it was getting a little fantastical for me. But at the end of the story I think it works. Some people may also question how much coincidence plays in the plotline, but here I'm not sure how far the influence of the Brethren extends, so it may be less coincidence and more, good planning.

The Darkyn series is dark, real and intense. Some readers I think, find it too non linear and not neat enough. But I'm going to miss this series. I can't wait to find out how Lynn Viehl's going to tie it all together.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 23 reviews  4.1 out of 5 stars