| Title | : | Scent of Darkness (Darkness Chosen, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0451221737 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780451221735 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 392 |
| Publication | : | First published July 3, 2007 |
Then one day a dangerous prophecy reveals the truth: One family has been chosen to battle the darkness—or face damnation.
Ann Smith loves her dynamic boss, Jasha Wilder, but her daring plan to seduce him goes awry when she encounters a powerful wolf who, before her horrified eyes, changes into the man she adores. She soon discovers that she can't escape her destiny, for Jasha is Konstantine's descendant, and Ann is the woman fated to break the curse that binds his soul.
Scent of Darkness (Darkness Chosen, #1) Reviews
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Normalde kitap okurken kitabın konusunu, yazarın tarzını beğenmesem bile bir şekilde sevecek küçücük de olsa ayrıntı bulmaya çalışırım. Ancak Karanlığın Kokusu normalde keyifle okunacak bir konuyu hem karakterleri ile hem de yazım dilinin okuyucu rahatsız etmesi sebebiyle neresinden tutsam elimde kaldı.
Hayatımda ilk defa bir kitabın hem kurgusunu hem de karakterlerini bu kadar gereksiz buldum sanırım. Karakterlerden bahsetmeden önce kurgunun zayıflığından bahsedeceğim ilk önce sizlere.
Pnr dediğimiz, Paranormal- Romantik (bol bol erotizm, pnr'ın açılımı bu sanırım, yanlışsam düzeltin) örneklerinden birisi Karanlığın Kokusu. Çok eski zamanlarda şeytanla anlaşma yapan Kostantine ailesinin her üyesi bir yırtıcı hayvan olarak lanetleniyor. Ve bu aile bir nevi iyi ve kötü oğul olarak ikiye ayrılmış durumda. Birisi aşk evliliği yapıp kendi düzenini kuruyor diğeri tecavüzle, kötülükle kadınları alıkoyup sadece erkek evlatlarını sağ bırakıyor.
Kitabımız iyi tarafın ilk doğan oğlu Jasha Wilder ile onun asistanı Ann'ın hikâyesini konu alıyor. Ann çok önceden beri patronuna âşık ve bir gün bir cesaretle süslenip püslenip patronuna "bekâretini" vermeye gidiyor. Amacı en başından beri bu, tamam seviyor ama bekâret onun için daha önemli gibi lanse ediliyor kitabımızda. Anlayacağınız en baştan rezalet bir olay ile kurguya adım atıyor kitabımız. Patronun evine vardığı sırada ise büyük bir şok yaşıyor küçük Ann çünkü vahşi bir kurt ile karşı karşıya. Ve az sonra görüyor ki aslında bu yırtıcı hayvan âşık olduğu bekâret kovar Jasha Wilder. Basıyor çığlığı kaçıp gidiyor ormana doğru. Eh; sonuç olarak yakalanıyor çünkü kitabımız bir şekilde devam etmek zorunda ve Ann'imizin en başından istediği şeyi bir çırpıda gerçekleştiriyor. Canımız ciğerimiz Ann artik kötü emellerine ulaşıyor sonuç olarak. Ama adama ne diyor dersiniz, sen bir tecavüzcüsün diyerek yüzyılın ayarını verip kaçıp gidiyor. Ancak katiyen tecavüz olayı yok. Zorlama yok. Adam gayet nazik. (En azından bir kurt kadar). Kurgu Jasha'nın ailesinin düşmanları tarafından kovalanması ve birtakım acayip garip sırlar ile devam ediyor.
Konu ilk başta gayet dikkat çekici. Sırlar, şeytanla anlaşma yapan bir aile, dönüşümler... Okuyucunun kitaba odaklanmasını sağlıyor. Ancak şöyle bir şey var ki ilk baştaki olaya tahammül ettikten sonra düzelmesini umut etmekten başka hiçbir şey yapamıyorsunuz. Çünkü yazar kurguyu deyim yerindeyse harcıyor. Ayrıntı vermiyor. Sürekli soru işaretleri ile okuyoruz ve Ann'in, afedersiniz ama, salaklıkları yüzünden bu soru işaretleri hiçbir zaman giderilmiyor.
Kurgu böylece okurun nezdinde tamamen bitiyor. Acayip laçka karakterler ile desteklenince de kitabı kötü bir kitap olarak addetmek maalesef yetersiz kalıyor bir yerde.
Daha birçok eksik noktası var söylemek istediğim ama bir yerden sonra satırlarla başa çıktığımız için kısa kesmek zorundayım.
Tecavüzü meşrulaştırmak değil de dillere pelesenk edip kitap boyunca naz, niyaz malzemesi yapmak hiç hoş bir şey değil. Bir yazarın bunu bu kadar kolay dile getirmesi de hiç hoş değil. Çünkü tecavüz diye bir şey yok kitapta.
Bunun dışında şeytanla anlaşma yapıp yüzyıllar boyunca hayatta kalan bir mirası üzerinde taşıyan bir adamın, kızının altı aylık hamile olduğunu anlamaması kadar büyük bir aptallık olamaz.
Sanırım ilk defa bir kitap için bu kadar sinirliyim. Ve olmaya devam edeceğim. Vaktimi boşa kaybettiğime mi yoksa paramı harcadığıma mı yanayım bilemedim. -
I dont know what to say about this. The sexyness was intense but bordering on rape. And I couldn't believe the hero's "instant whatever you want to call this " after ignoring her for so long. And her going from desperately trying to fight him off during sex to then a page later entreating him to come back safely to her... Yeah I'm just not buying what this is selling.
the final straw for me was their 2nd time being intimate: -
DNF (Syf. 110). Berbat. Devam edemeyeceğim. Bunu okumaya ayıracak kadar boş vaktim yok.
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This review can also be found at
Carole's Random Life in Books.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. This was a re-read for me. I first read this book around the time of its original release, which was 2007, and didn't remember a whole lot about it besides the fact that the Hero is able to turn into a wolf and I liked it. As I read the book, there were some things that were somewhat familiar but in a lot of ways, it was like experiencing the story all over again for the first time. I am really glad that I decided to pick this one up again.
I love the set up for this series. The Wilder family is descended from a man that made a deal with the devil years ago. Since that deal was made, only male children have been born and each of those children is able to transform into a predator once they reach puberty. These are violent men who don't form attachments or marry but take what they want. Jasha's father broke tradition when he married his mother and hid his family from the larger family.
Jasha knows that his family is in danger from his mother's prophecy. Jasha is the oldest and is quite the businessman, owning a winery. He is the oldest of the four children in his family and he is able to turn into a wolf at will. Ann works for Jasha as his assistant but has wanted him for a very long time. She doesn't realize that when she goes to see him at his home that she is going to get more than she bargained for.
I found this book to be really exciting. I think that the fact that these characters are faced with a situation that is bigger than they are is really interesting. Their goal is really just to keep their family safe and despite the fact that their abilities come from a deal with the devil, they do want to do the right thing. I liked that the enemy could pop up anywhere and really that anything could happen.
I did like Jasha and Ann and thought that they did make a good pair. They did have a lot of chemistry and liked each other before the book actually began. I thought that Ann's history was really interesting and I liked the fact that she was able to accept everything going on as quickly as she did. Jasha really did care for Ann although he sometimes did need to learn to include her in the decisions that were being made.
I would recommend this book to fans of paranormal romance. I found this to be a fast-paced story with a rather unique premise. I am looking forward to continuing my re-read of the series very soon!
Initial Thoughts
This was a re-read for me. I think that I originally read this book sometime around its release in 2007. I didn't remember a whole lot about the story besides the fact that the Hero could turn into a wolf. I also remember really enjoying the book. I still enjoyed it but I think that I probably had more problems this time around. It was a quick read and I definitely plan to re-read the rest of the series.
Book source: Purchased -
WOW, I loved this book. Maybe because I wasn't expecting to find such an amazing read due to the reviews it had. But I'm glad I actually read it, because I've really enjoyed it.
I loved everything about this book. I was extremely happy with the world that was created. I loved the demons who turned into animals at will and the fact that there was a family totally normal but so different from the rest. I was fascinated that even though Jasha's father was one of the Varinski he changed and left everything he knew because he felt in love with a gypsy. And the relationship established between the members of the family was great. It made the story look very real.
Jasha was a perfect hero, so dominative and alpha, very possessive. Maybe it took him a while to love Ann but I would't change a thing of the story.
But what I liked the most was Ann. She was a terrific heroine and a box of Pandora, LOL everything about her was a possible new surprise coming. You knew that if she was close something would happen. And that she was totally obsessed with Jasha for so long and he didn't pay attention to her was a great plus to the story because once he explained to her the reason for it I totally melt. They were a great couple.
I won't be able to stop until I finish, so I will pause my other readings,LOL. I hope the next books are as good or better. -
No es el libro, soy yo... pero no puedo darle mejor puntuación!
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Yorum:
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Karakterlerle Röportaj:
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Aklıma takılan bir iki nokta olsa da sevdim kitabı.Serinin diğer kitaplarını da merakla bekliyorum. :D
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I REALLY wanted to like this book. But, unfortunately the story just didn't work for me. On numerous levels.
The main problem i had with the plot, was the fact that we are supposed to believe that Jasha worked with Ann for all that time, and never thought of her as anything other than his assistant, But, have him chase her through the woods in his wolf form, and suddenly she's irresistible? And within hours, he has decided she's his mate (aided by a few very complicated, very silly supposed 'signs')? Speaking of the above encounter...the entire scenario of Ann deciding to drive out to his house (which the author describes as looking like a giant penis) to surprise her boss and offer him her virginity was downright laughable. Possibly handled by another author, i MIGHT have been able to get past it. But here, it came off as ridiculous, and made me cringe while reading it. I know it's important to suspend reality while reading a book like this, but this was just one of a few aspects to this story that i just couldn't buy. -
Scanning....scanning....scanning....that what I found myself doing about 40% in.
This one started out strong. Action, quirky storyline, hot alpha chase-n-mate then it just stalled.
Too much inner dialogue and not enough character to character interaction. Especially Ann she was constantly asking herself questions. Ann kept referring to herself as plain Ann, and I would have to agree. She started out strong and hot express to snoozeville.
Jasha came onto the scene chasing Anna down in a storm and ravishingly her, sexy as hell. Then beep beep beeeeeeeeeep (flatline). Cue the never ending inner dialogue.
I could not latch onto the world either. There was a tremendous emphasis on every little detail from the mortar on the brick to the number of the blades of grass in the forest (slight exaggeration).
This was scan it till it’s over snooze fest for this reader.
Happy reading! DD 💕 -
3.5 stars so I rounded down because there were issues.
Good story although the ending fell a little short for me. I felt as if Jasha and Ann deserved a more succinct HEA. The serpent and the rose birthmark explanation seemed a bit weak and I would have liked more focus placed on it. As it was, it seemed as if it was an afterthought since we didn't find out about until 80% of the book was concluded. I think the conclusion, which was the weak link in the story, would have felt more authentic if a stronger connection was made between the birthmark and the pact. Why did the rose grow as Ann grew? Why was the snake "alive"? How did her tattoo impact the pact? The questions were not answered to make for a satisfactory conclusion in my mind.
Another issue that unsettled me was the not-completely-consentual sex they had the first time. Ann went to Jasha's house with seduction on her mind so she sorta-kinda knew what she wanted. However Jasha chased her down as a wolf and essentially ravished her in human form when he caught her. That part of the storyline squee'd me a bit.
Also, Jasha and Ann seemed a bit ill-suited in the compatibility department. He was cocksure and she was repressed. Not exactly a match made in heaven.
Overall, and in spite of the challenges, the story was very enjoyable. I read it in one evening. -
Pek kötü yazılmış ya, hızlı okunuyor kabul ama bir terslik var tüm kitapta. Hiçbir karakteri sevemedim, olaylar birbirinden bağımsız gibi. Genel olarak anlatılmak istenen konu ilgi çekici olabilir ama yazılma stilini hiç sevmedim gerçekten. Bir de sonlardaki gereksiz drama çekilir gibi değil.
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Wilder
This maybe the fifth time I read this book and it is still an enjoyable experience. The history, violence, and love make this a fascinating read. I can't wait to re-read the next book in the series. -
There is something special and unique about this book. The chemistry between Ann and Jasha was inevitable. Looking forward to the other books - the Turkish publisher is raaather slooow.
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although it has a good story line. I did not see much growth in the characters. I did not like how the virgin in this story acted after she got excatly what she wanted. I foud myself more interested in the relationship of the father and mother rather than their offspring.
The ending was also very weak. I dont think ive ever had one end so lame. Once again the "man" saves his woman and the day but not really. I don't think it came as such a surprise--the ending i mean-- laughable
The story built and built without coming down it seemed like it was unfinished and unrelated. By the way for those who think that this review is totally without cause. Read the first book then go to the next, they dont match
My opinion
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Şekil değiştiriciler mitine farklı bir bakış açısı getirmiş yazar.Diğer kitaplardaki gibi kalıtsal değil de Şeytanla yapılan anlaşma sonucu şekil değiştirici olmaları hoşuma gitti.Kitaba dört vermemin tek nedeni de sanki devamı gelecek gibi bitmesiydi.Diğer kitaplar farklı kardeşlerin hikayelerinden oluşuyor yani Jasha ve Ann'ın hikayesinin devamı yok gibi görünüyor ama kitap kısa olduğu için bir yarım kalmışlık vardı.Bakalım belki diğer kitaplarda ara ara çiftimizin yarım kalan hikayesini tamamlarız.Okuyup göreceğim artık.
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A shapeshifter/vampire theme seemed to be everywhere at one point but I've never been fond of this sub-genre. They are too weird. Sadly this story dissapointed too. I didn't care for the characters nor plot. There's no relationship development, they just start to have sex. Was it something to do with that "animal" attraction? Ah, whatever.
I did enjoy Dodd's Virtue Falls and Cape Charade series but I guess this series is just not for me. -
great new series by a wonderful author.
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Judged by nineties retro standards
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Having read and enjoyed other books by Christina Dodd, I was more than a little surprised by this one and not in a good way. It was both confusing and had me checking again and again that no, it was not the author's first book and that yes, she did write it.
I had only read half of the description and seeing the "secretary in love with her boss who she discovers turns into a wolf", I just jumped in, expecting a very different kind of story that would deliver feels.
Unfortunately, no part of it did until the 70% mark, so I decided to cut my losses and so on the on hold indefinitely pile it goes. Such a shame, since the story had potential... -
This book is a DNF for me at this point.
Let me explain. I think the world building in the first chapter or so set’s up what should be an awesome book. But then Ann happens. And I just can’t explain without spoilers.
The sad thing is. I’ve read another book by this author that I really enjoyed. But this one. No. -
I did enjoy this book but there were a few things that nagged at me. First, the positives: the style of plot and format reminded me somewhat of Kresley Cole, with a fast-paced beginning (no mucking about), before a slide into a quieter, get-to-know-the-characters stage complete with meet-the-family scene and some light humour. But I still prefer Cole. There's well-established history and back-story here, and unlike Date Me Baby, One More Time, it makes relative sense. And I liked the early parts in the wilderness, and the nod to the environment. Dodd's descriptions aren't too lengthy or flowery, but her sex scenes (there are only three), are perhaps not detailed enough. Well, the first one was ok, but the other two were so quick and lacked any kind of connection between the characters.
Now for the other negatives: I would have loved Ann and Jasha except for when they interact. They don't quite click together, and I didn't buy their attraction. It was never really explained (to my liking at least) why Jasha was suddenly interested in her, and Ann's "love obsession" with him wasn't real love, and after that first wild night in the storm, she seemed to just be trying to convince herself she loved him still, even though he turned into a wolf. And that's another thing - here's a sweet, innocent-ish young woman raised by Catholic nuns, and she doesn't seem very disturbed by the whole "pact with the devil" thing at all. What it comes down to is that I felt Dodd forcing her characters into place, into situations, into feelings, too much. I shouldn't feel that at all - good characters write themselves.
Also, the ending was very abrupt, which spoiled the last line, obviously meant to create more tension, not less. Because Dodd rushed it, it fell flat and silly. I quite enjoyed the book while I was reading it, but afterwards - especially after the last bit - I just felt disappointed. I'm not sure if I'll read more of this series or not. -
เนื้อเรื่องบิวท์อารมณ์ได้ไม่ค่อยดีเท่าที่ควร คาแรคเตอร์ของนางเอกอย่างแอนน์คือจุดด้อยของหนังสือเล่มนี้ ทั้งๆที่การปูเรื่องในตอนต้นทำได้ดีแล้วแท้ๆ แต่พอนางเอกโผล่มาทุกอย่างก็ดรอปลงไปเรื่อยๆ จนกระทั่งถึงตอนที่นางเอกเริ่มคิดมาก(เกินความจำเป็น) เก็บทุกรายละเอียดเช่นที่ว่าพระเอกกลับไปหาครอบครัว ทุกคนคุยกันสนุกสนานจนแอนน์คิดว่าเธอเป็นส่วนเกิน ไหนจะเรื่องที่แอนน์ปฏิเสธคำขอแต่งงานของจาชาอีกด้วยเหตุผลงี่เง่าว่าเขาไม่ได้รักเธอ เขาเก็บเธอไว้เพราะเธอมีประโยชน์ต่อเขา แล้วทำไมตอนแรกเธอถึงยอมพลีกายถวายตัวให้ผู้ชายคนหนึ่งถึงขนาดนั้นเพื่อที่สุดท้ายจะลงเอยแบบเละเทะเพราะความเรื่องมากของเธอ
คาแรคเตอร์นางเอกในตอนแรกกับตอนท้ายแทบจะหลุดออกมาเป็นคนละคน เราขำตอนที่จาชาต่อสู้กับวารินสกี้และแอนน์คิดว่า 'ฉันทนมองไม่ได้ แต่ก็หันหน้าหนีไปไม่ได้เหมือนกัน' คือแบบ ... นี่น่ะหรอนางเอก ไม่มีความหนักแน่นอะไรเลย เหตุผลในการผลักไสพระเอกก็ดูไม่ค่อยดีเท่าไร อย่างที่บอกว่า ฉันดึงดูดคนเลวเข้ามาหาฉันเสมอ การปูพื้นก็ไม่แน่นพอที่จะไกด์ให้เรารู้ว่าแท้จริงแล้วนางเอกเป็นอะไร แล้วมีความเป็นพิเศษยังไง
สรุปว่าเลยอ่านเล่มๆนี้จบแบบอึนๆ และไม่ค่อยได้อะไรจากหนังสือเล่มนี้มากนัก เหอๆ -
It might be my feminist side, which I have developed last week in sociology classes, but god I really hated how Jasha wanted to make Ann dependent off him. He keep saying how he wanted to protect her and show her how he was going to give her everything she needed. I also hated how he associated sex with love. :-( "I love you!" "No you don't cuz I look like a giraffe" "I'll show you!" *takes of clothes*. oh yeah, you told her! -__-
oh I almost forgot to say: I still don't understand how he suddenly fell in love with her. She has been his assistant for three years and he has always know she had a mega crush on him. However, he never returned the feeling. Then she went to his house to make him sign some paper work late at night so he can tell her to stay over cuz its late and she could seduce him. -I have to stop and complain about her logic. If you are planning on doing this you have to make not so obvious. Taking extra clothes with you like if you were already planning on staying over is a dead give away.- So then she accidentally finds out he's a werewolf and runs to her car in fear. She fails in her escape and ends up in the woods were he finds her to have sex with her......? All of sudden because she ran from him he is turned on by her, when all three years she has been giving out erotic sex smell (is that the correct term?) which his werewolf nose picked up but he never noticed it?.
I had to come back again to mention how creepy Ann is. Jasha was going to marry his ex he had asked Ann, the assistant, to buy the ring. Ann bought it thinking he was going to propose to her. She was broken up when she found out it wasn't for her but for his fiancé. Really Ann?
Lastly, I didn't understand her tattoo thing. It would make the bad people come? really? The author didn't really explain it much. Sounded last minute. -
Interesting concept. I am happy to know that there are only 4 books in the series, and I wont have to do the typical wait and wait and wait for the new book to come out. I really enjoyed it, liked the characters. The one main thing that caused me to give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because at times I felt like Jasha was too agressive. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the alpha male, agressive attitude. But sometimes I felt like he was crossing the line, or at least dancing extrememly close to it!
Also, there were several parts of the story that I felt went by way too quickly and I would have liked to seem them be a bit more developed. Overall though, very enjoyable. I intend to keep reading. -
These are the reasons why I didn’t like this book:
> The story starts off in a really uncomfortable way. The h gave me the impression of a stalker or a stage-5 clinger with her thoughts and behavior, tbh.
> I didn’t like the vibe of their first sexual encounter. I didn’t find it hot or steamy at all.
> I didn’t like the h. My first impression of her wasn’t good to begin with (the stalker behavior from the first few chapters). And it didn’t get better as I kept on reading. She, at times, exhibited doormat-like behavior.
> But the biggest thing for me is this: I didn’t buy into the romance between the MC’s. The H seemed like he was resigned to being with her rather than in love with her. -
This author took what could have been an interesting plot and turned it into something a grade-schooler might have written if she sneaked peeks at her mama's romance novels and reassembled the pieces incorrectly. Terrible prose (wonder boobies?), terrible characterization, poorly plotted.
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Way too rapey. And the heroine is an idiotic stalker.
