Author:
Kristen Callihan
Publication
Date: February 26, 2013
Publisher:
Grand Central Publishing
Series:
Darkest London
Once
blissfully in love . . .
Poppy Lane is keeping secrets. Her powerful gift has earned her membership in
the Society for the Suppression of Supernaturals, but she must keep both her
ability and her alliance with the Society from her husband, Winston. Yet when
Winston is brutally attacked by a werewolf, Poppy's secrets are revealed,
leaving Winston's trust in her as broken as his body. Now Poppy will do
anything to win back his affections . . .
Their relationship is now put to the ultimate
test.
Winston Lane soon regains his physical strength but his face and heart still
bear the scars of the vicious attack. Drawn into the darkest depths of London,
Winston must fight an evil demon that wants to take away the last hope of
reconciliation with his wife. As a former police inspector, Winston has
intelligence and logic on his side. But it will take the strength of Poppy's
love for him to defeat the forces that threaten to tear them apart.
“‘I
gather you know this,’ Poppy answered. ‘However, I feel compelled to remind you
that being a Regulator is no easy task. They live a hard life, and it is often
quite short.’ Regulators were the SOS’s agents, men and women on the front
lines of the supernatural world. They came face to face with things that gave
monsters nightmares.” – ARC Copy pg. 10
“‘A
demon.’ Preposterous. ‘As in spawns of the devil and all that?’ A bark of
laughter left him, and he dragged a hand across the back of his aching neck. ‘It
just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?’ When she didn’t answer, he
rounded on her. ‘And what next? A bloody vampire? Ghouls? A wee banshee?’ He
glared out over the sea. He did not want to know. ‘Enough already, Pop. Leave
me be and let me fend for myself.’” – ARC Copy pg. 32
“Deep
inside her, the black, ugly feelings she’d kept bottled up boiled over, burning
her lungs, choking her throat. She rounded on him, fisting her hands so hard
her knuckles ached. ‘I took a vow, Win. An oath never to reveal what I was, or
what I did, to anyone. Anyone. Not to
you, not to my family. Have you any idea how difficult it was to keep it
inside? Or the isolation I felt in doing so? Bloody hell, do you think I do not
feel the depth of my betrayal to all of you? Miranda can barely meet my eyes
anymore. Daisy looks at me as though she has one over on me. And you. I ached
to tell you. I died a little each day I could not. But this is what I was born
and bred to do. My word is my honor. Break it and I am nothing. Break it and
everything I sacrificed is for nothing.’” – ARC Copy pg. 50
“Surely
fate would not be so cruel as to bless them now. But, God, what if she was with
child? Horror washed over Winston in a cold wave. Swallowing down bile, he
slumped into his chair. Winston sank his head into his hands and tried to
breathe.” – ARC Copy pg. 118
Winterblaze is third book in the
Darkest London series and I love it the best so far. These books are romantic,
suspenseful, dark, and involve a lot of strong, courageous heroine kicking some
serious supernatural butt. The third installment in this series follows Poppy
Lane and her rather estranged husband fight to rid the supernatural world of a
demon that could cause more destruction than necessary. Poppy and her husband,
Winston, are somewhat estranged in this book and you start to feel that the
book might center on their relationship, but it is so much more than that!
Poppy Lane is my kind of girl. She is
sometimes cold and seems heartless, but any woman that has been through what
Poppy has, it is expected. Poppy may be my favorite sister, and this book
definitely revealed more as far as the trio of sisters goes. They each made an
appearance in this book as well, alongside Poppy. I thought this was a nice
touch on Callihan’s part and really added to the suspense and effectiveness of
the plot. Poppy’s character takes some adjusting to because she is in your face
and so brutally honest. There were a few times, while reading, that I had to
pause and go back over what she just said to make sure I read it correctly.
However, I loved this aspect and I have read some reviews where others did not.
I think it adds to character development and sets her apart from her sisters.
This series continues to go strong in
all departments, including romance. The romance and sexual tension in this book
was not overkill and was very well paced. I feared for Poppy and Winston’s
marriage at first, but once I started reading, parts of their relationship were
developed that might have been left unclear before. So many questions were
answered and this book definitely tops the other two in the romance department.
Not that the others were not amazing, but for some reason I was just really
drawn to Poppy and Winston’s story. I am anticipating another book being added
to this series!
***A BIG thank you to the publishers
for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review***
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