Bookish Thoughts: Darkest Heart by Juliette Cross

I love the smell of sex and brimstone in the morning. ~ Opening of Darkest Heart

Darkest Heart (Dominion, #1) by Juliette Cross

Entanged/Amara, 2018
Romance/Fantasy; 348 pgs
Source: E-copy provided by the publisher

I can always count on Juliette Cross to write an addicting novel that has me craving more. Darkest Heart is an apocalyptic novel set during the war between angels and demons, where humans are surviving by a thread. Dommiel is a high demon on the outs with his own kind. He is both powerful and dangerous--not someone you would expect to have a blood vow with an archangel, one he would do anything for. When she asks him to assist an angel in her quest to find another archangel, Dommiel agrees. It has little to do with the beautiful stoic angel in front of him who stirs something deep inside him, although that does not hurt. 

Anya has spent time on the battlefield as a warrior fighting for the angels, having long ago given up her post as a guardian angel. What Dommiel does not know is that she carries the deadly poison of a demon prince and her only hope is to find the Archangel Uriel. She must find him--and fast--or risk coming under the prince's control. 

Anya feels the attraction to Dommiel too, but tries to fight it. She is innocent in her own way--at least when it comes to vice, although can definitely hold her own. Dommiel plays the role of the big bad guy, but he is more complex than that. Although Anya helps melt his dark heart, I got the impression his heart wasn't as dark to start as he would want everyone to believe.  There is definite chemistry between the two characters, and they are well matched in personality and skill. Both of them struggle with whether a match like theirs could possibly work--and, of course, there is the little matter of Anya's secret. 

The world the characters live in is indeed dark. The signs of the war are everywhere and a person (or angel or demon) can never be sure who to trust. The reader meets quite a few different types of characters throughout the novel, from human to witch to angel and demon. The author has crafted a world that is not necessarily one I would want to live in myself, but certainly would visit again. 

Darkest Heart has plenty of action and romance, which is just what I was hoping for when I began reading. I will definitely be reading more in this series in the future. 

On a side note, I once had a cat we called Anya, named after a demon in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. She was definitely more like an angel though.

You can learn more about Juliette Cross and her books on the author's website. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

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