Novella Arc-Review: Darkyn's Mate by Lizzy Ford

Darkyn's Mate 

Rhyn Eternal #3

Author: Lizzy Ford

Publication Date: July 3, 2013

~Synopsis~

Caught between Fate and the Dark One ...

Stuck in Hell, human-Deidre struggles to hold onto her hope that she can change the course of events that landed her as the mate of Darkyn, the Dark One. The chances of her leaving Hell plummet when the Dark One takes a drastic step to ensure he never loses his latest possession and blood binds her in an ancient rite from the time-before-time. In doing so, he is forced to share his power with her. Rather than despair, she begins to see that she has unexpectedly found her place in the world: protecting innocent souls from the bloodlust of the demon she's forever bound to.

Rather than accept her place at his side docilely, she begins to use her newfound influence to help those she cares about, including Gabriel, the former lover she's not yet ready to let go of, even knowing she'll never leave Hell.

~Review~

Novella's are ususally hit or miss for me. Since they are so short, sometimes it can be hard to connect with the characters in such a short time or really get involved with the story which is what I need to really enjoy a book. However, Darkyn's Mate is different because I know these characters and I know the story.

Darkyn's mate is human Deidre's side of what happened with her during Deidre's death. They are both pivotal characters to the plot of this story so I loved the way Lizzy wrote this novella so we know what happened with human Deidre and Darkyn. We also got to see another side of Darkyn since he is so prevalent in the story. While there is no mistaking that he is pure evil and really shows no compassion, I think he is as close to caring as he can be with Deidre. He is more honest with her than any other immortal or deity has been and he has bonded with her in the highest way that he can.

Deidre is scared and who can blame her. I mean she has basically been forced to marry the devil, turned into an immortal sex demon and has no choice but to spend an eternity in hell. She is pure and innocent and the only pure soul in hell. She quickly realizes that this along with being Darkyn's mate does give her some power. She is always looking for the silver lining and while the situation is dire, she still manages to find it and that is what I love about her. While she questions her feelings for Darkyn and Gabriel, she knows the immortal laws and she begins to accept them and look for ways to use them for good.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novella. I was very curious how things were going for human Deidre while reading Deidre's Death and I love her so I was happy to get a look into the events from her perspective. I can't wait for The Underworld to see what happens since there was a little cliffhanger ending.

*An e-arc of this book was provided to me by the author for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own and unbiased*