Dark Alpha's Need

DARK ALPHA’S NEED is the eleventh instalment in Donna Grant’s contemporary, adult REAPERS paranormal, romance series focusing on Death’s Reapers. This is Reaper assassin Torin, and Breda’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 of the Reapers series, overlap with the events of the Dark Kings series. DARK ALPHA’S NEED 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 but a group known as the Others, have declared themselves the rulers of the Fae, and their next ‘mission’ is to take down the Reapers, having failed to destroy the Dark Kings.

Told from third person perspectives, following several pathways, DARK ALPHA’S NEED focuses on the hunt for the Others. Ainsley and Torin have located Breda, a young woman, a Fae who has recently escaped the group known as the Others. Hoping to ferret out information from Breda, Torin and Ainsley begin to question our heroine, only to realize she, and thusly the Others, are aware of more than they could have imagined but the appearance of the Other soldiers finds Ainsley and Torin watching from afar when a Fae they long thought dead and missing takes down the soldiers like a trained assassin. While Ainsley goes in search of the long lost Fae, Torin and Breda must face the Reapers, and the woman they have come to call Death, and friend. What ensues is the building relationship between Torin and Breda, as the Reapers devise a plan to take down the Others but in doing so use our story line heroine as a target and as bait.

Breda knows betrayal first hand, and in this, she is reluctant to reveal the truth about her past but Torin suspects Breda is keeping secrets, and in this, he must convince our heroine to trust in an effort to uncover the whereabouts of the Others.

Meanwhile, Ainsley goes on the hunt for Xaneth, the missing and broken Fae who mind and spirit have been tortured and abused. Xaneth is no longer the Fae male he once was, and in this, I suspect the betrayal will make him a candidate for the next chosen Reaper.

The relationship between Torin and Breda is one of immediate attraction but Breda is on the run, and her inability to trust threatens her relationship and friendship with our story line hero. When Torin reveals the truth about his past, Breda must come clean about the abusive childhood she had to endure, a childhood in which her powers would be used for evil rather than for good. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Xaneth, and several members of the Reapers, and Death.

DARK ALPHA’S NEED is a story of betrayal and vengeance; power and control; retaliation and humiliation; acceptance, relationships, family and love. The premise is intriguing and captivating; the romance is seductive; the characters are animated and energetic.

Another Reaper novel, another chance to learn more about these amazing characters! Dark Alpha‘s Need tells us the story of Torin and Breda. Through the previous Reaper books we have come to know some of Torin’s story but it wasn’t enough. Between the pages of this volume we come to learn more of this elusive warrior. Breda is on the run from The Others and fearful for her life. Knowing about the Reapers and actually encountering them are two different sides of a frightening coin. Caught between what she knows and the rumours she has been told, she has to trust her heart to keep her safe. Something about the striking warrior calls to her, daring her to trust him when everything else is falling apart. These two broken and guarded beings are so well written that one can’t help but root for them to succeed. Loved every word of their adventure!

This is a book you will not forget, Donna has bought several loved characters back into the reaper world. The first time one of the main characters has a different gift that shows how much love and evil there can be. This character shows that dark are not necessarily dark by choice and gives you room to think about how actions can change how everything is perceived. Death continues to soften and be tough when needed. I love how the reaper world continues to show so many different personalities and sides to much loved characters from past books.

This newer threat is one that will hopefully play out into many more books.