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I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Book Review-Dark Redemption by Aja James

by | May 3, 2022 | Book Reviews | 3 comments

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

About The Book

All his existence, he’s fought for the wrong side…

Born and trained to be the most fearsome Dark warrior the immortal races had ever seen, Enlil of Anatolia had only ever known ruthlessness, brutality and rigid control. He was a weapon used by others, his life never his own.

Until he spits in the eye of Fate…

No longer able to abide by the atrocities he witnessed and engendered, he severs all ties to the past, risking his own life and sanity, and awakens a nameless man without memory.

And is taken in by a human woman in search of her own Destiny…

Raised in an orphanage, Clara Scott has always wanted a family of her own. Full of love, life and hope, she adopts a lost little girl and befriends a homeless man. In his eyes, she sees endless darkness and pain. But through his actions, she sees a strong, noble, imperfect, yet beautiful spirit—

She sees a soul worth redeeming.

His beauty was so raw, so elemental and devastating, that it reached physically into her internal organs, deep into her blood and bones, and made the primitively female part of her sit up and growl—mine.

My Review

First Impressions

Dark Redemption was such an interesting book that really held my attention and I was immediately drawn to it. This author is always so fun to read because she just pulls you immediately iinto a book and it’s the type of engagement that you know you are in for a wild ride. I have found that Aja James is such a dependable author that I can rely on her writing style to really work for me. When I picked up Dark Redemption, I was pretty amazed by the level of world-building that this author creates that can be so addicting from the first few pages. I will say I didn’t even know what this book was about, I literally just jumped right into it and as always this author knows how to write a story that has such a compelling feel to it and I have read her enough so far to know that I can trust her to write a brilliant romance and she definitely worked wonders with this book and even though it wasn’t my favorite of the series, I still had a wild fun time with it.

Summary

The major points of the story are that our characters Enlil and Clara meet on a public bus transport. Enlil has lived for centuries and is a dark one, but also has just lost all of his memories. He knows that he has a past, has lived for a long time, and is a danger to humans but he doesn’t remember where he came from or who he is. And then there is Clara, who is an art teacher and getting ready to adopt a little girl who has held her heart. When she meets Enlil, she is instantly attracted and the chemistry between them could burn your clothes off. But she also knows that he can be dangerous but at the same time there is a level of trust that she has with Enlil that doesn’t make sense, but she knows that he would never hurt her. As Enlil and Clara begin to explore what they have together in their relationship and building a family together, there is also dangers ahead as there is someone that seeks to destroy what they have built as a family and tear them apart….

His physical shell was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, but his soul was even brighter. If only it could be set free.

What I Loved

There were so many aspects to this story that I dearly loved. I really had a great time with the chemistry and its off the charts in this one here. I was actually so shocked by it, because it happened so quickly. This definitely had a instant love feel to the story so if that isn’t your cup of tea, just be mindful of that. I also really enjoyed the child aspect to the story. There is such a sense of love and found family in this book and seeing these three form a unit together was so endearing and precious. You see how they each are so lonely and in need of family in their lives and seeing them bond and connect was so satisfying. I also wanted so much from the romance and even though it wasn’t a perfect story, I was also really drawn into what we see build in this one. I was intrigued to see where our characters would go and what would be ahead for them. We also get flashbacks which aren’t really my favorite thing especially when they are back and forth all the time but to be honest, it wasn’t horrible in this one. But I will say that they need to be read in this book, its essential for the hero and to understand him more and when I realized whom he was connected to I was in shock because I literally never saw it coming and he is connected to one of my favorite characters in the series so that was so a unique twist where the author really shocked me (but it was a happy shock). It was such a treat to get some side action with other couples that were featured here and I am really intrigued to see where the author takes the series next.

What I Struggled With

There were a few things that I had some issues with and while I enjoyed the book as a whole, it had its flaws. The first being this was very insta love. While I love this trope, I do feel like it was a bit too rushed when it came to the romance and I really felt like this book could have used much more in length. Because I really just wanted more of this couple, and because the book is shorter as its only 250 pages, so it just felt like the story could have used more focus on the relationship.

Overall View

I found Dark Redemption to be a thrilling novel that took my breath away. It’s a novel of connection, redemption, and desire. Its emotional landscape will keep you thrusting for more and eager to read onto the next one in the series.

What is the point of living if there is no pleasure? No joy and laughter? Even if pain and sadness are ever in their company, isn’t it better to feel?

Title: Dark Redemption

Author: Aja James

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Format: eBook

Source: Kindle Purchased

Length: 250 Pages

Amazon| Goodreads| StoryGraph| Literal Club

Book Evaluation

Storytelling Quality: 4

Story Itself: 4

Character Development: 4

Writing Style: 4

World Building 4

Feels + The Romantic Heart 3.5

Pacing 4.5

Plot 4

Cover Art 4

Ending 4

Book Ratings

Overall Rating of the Book

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Steam Level

Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy

Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.

Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.

Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.

Series Order

Pure Healing-Pub 2017 #1

Pure Longing-Pub 2018 #2

Dark Desires-Pub 2018 #3

Dark Pleasures-Pub 2018 #4

Pure Rapture-Pub 2018 #5

Dark Redemption-Pub 2018 #6

Pure Awakening-Pub 2018 #6.5

Pure Ecstasy-Pub 2019 #7

Dark Obsession-Pub 2019 #8

Pure Providence-Pub 2019 #8.5

Pure Magnetism-Pub 2019 #9

Pure Surrender-Pub 2020 #10

Pure Darkness-Pub 2020 #10.5

Dark Possession-Pub 2020 #11

Pure Requiem-Pub 2020 #11.5

Pure Destiny-Pub 2021 #12

Dark Purity-Pub 2021 #13

About The Author

Best-selling author, Aja James, just completed the Pure/ Dark Ones paranormal-fantasy romance series in 2020. If you want your heart battered, bruised, shattered and skewered, then put back together in the most glorious ways, check out the series below. Every couple gets an HEA, but they fight like hell for it on the way.

Aja is now working on her new series, Dragon Tails, because dragons are her favorite shifters of all!

Check out Aja’s expanded distribution of the Pure/ Dark Ones series on Google, Apple, Kobo and Barnes & Noble Books.

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3 Comments

  1. nbiblioholic

    Stunning review, Renee! <3
    I’m loving that you’re sticking with this series. I do get that instalove isn’t for everybody (and I didn’t even like Clara that much) so I understand the struggle.
    I can’t wait to see what you think of the rest of this series!! xoxo

    Reply
  2. anovelglimpse

    I’ve read some other Aja James’ reviews, but I haven’t read her books myself yet. It sounds like she’s a great writer and that her series are fun. Sorry you struggled a bit, but I hope the books keep getting better and you have no more of that.

    Reply
  3. Christine @ Captivated Reading

    You made me want to check out this author… I just noticed that the first in the series is free, so I’ll give them a try. 🙂 Beautiful review, Renee… I personally love the instalove trope when done correctly–it all depends on execution. 😉

    Reply

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