Dark Alpha's Awakening

4.5 stars—revealing, energetic and fast paced

4.5 stars--DARK ALPHA’S AWAKENING is the seventh instalment in Donna Grant’s contemporary, adult REAPER paranormal/fantasy romance series. This is Reaper Cael’s story line. The REAPERS is a spin off from Donna’s DARK KINGS series which is a spinoff from Donna’s DARK WARRIOR series which in turn is a spin off from Donna’s DARK SWORD series- all set in the Highlands of Scotland. You do not have to have read any of the previous series to understand the premise but many of the events overlap with the events of the Dark Kings. DARK ALPHA’S AWAKENING can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion.

SOME BACKGROUND: The Reapers (believed to be a folk lore amongst the Fae) are a group of Dark and Light Fae, selected by Death (aka Erith), on their own deathbed, to do her bidding-Death is the judge and jury; the Reapers are the executioners. The Reapers are not harbingers of death, but are tasked with destroying the Light and Dark Fae who have crossed a line from which there is no return. All Reapers must follow two rules: never to fall in love; and never to reveal their existence to anyone. If you have read Donna’s DARK KINGS series you will recognize the familiarity between the two series as both follow a similar plot and premise including betrayal by one of their own. Bran is a former Reaper who fell in love but Death ended their relationship by destroying his heart and the woman he loved, sentencing Bran to Netherworld for millions of years. Upon his escape, Bran sets about to destroy the Reapers, and seeks revenge against the woman known as Death.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Cael and Erith) DARK ALPHA’S AWAKENING follows Cael, the leader of the Reapers, and Death aka Erith, as they prepare to do battle with former Reaper Bran. Bran has been amassing an army of the Dark Fae in a build up towards war, a war wherein Bran has plans to destroy the Reapers, and take down the woman known as Death, for destroying his heart and the woman he loved. Erith, or more precisely, the Mistress of War, has reinvented herself as Death-the judge and jury of the Dark and Light Fae- but also a woman who has fallen in love with one of her own. Bran’s betrayal and need for focused revenge against the family that were once his brethren and fellow Reapers forces Death and Cael to being together all of the Reapers in an effort to stop Bran’s destruction of the world.

DARK ALPHA’S AWAKENING is a revealing, energetic and fast paced story of family, betrayal, vengeance and love. We are privy to Erith’s beginnings: her development into the Mistress of War, and eventual leadership of Death’s Reapers. Erith has fallen in love with one of her Reapers, a man who is equally smitten with our story line heroine. Cael’s own powers begin to grown exponentially, powers that will directly affect his standing with the Reapers and Death. For fans of Donna’s Dark Kings series surprising revelations will bring to rest a few unanswered questions and concerns, yet continuing to tease the readers about Rhi’s King, and Con’s mate.