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Shrouded In Blackness (2014)

by Norma Jeanne Karlsson(Favorite Author)

4.25 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

It's Publishing

series

The Blackness

review 1: This is the third book in the Blackness Series and another intriguing story with dark and gritty aspects. We first saw Kieran Delaney in Blackness Awaits, as he worked to locate and save Shannon Kelly from her kidnappers. Since he is a fighter, and paid to kill the scum of the earth, he stays away from his large extended family to protect them. The timeline of this story is after Shannon has been rescued but during several events in her life in Blackness Awaits. Quinn has been on the streets for eight years, staying in the shadows to stay alive. The details of her life are intricately woven throughout the story, and we find out what happened to cause her to leave her home and live on the streets. During her life on the streets, she met Ian, who runs a training facil... moreity for fighters. He’s an older man and wants to take care of her but Quinn will only allow him to let her shower and wash her clothes every couple of weeks. Quinn meets Kieran at the gym and ends up stabbing him, thinking he is going to hurt her as he gets close. She can’t trust anyone with the things she knows.A small boy with a newborn baby, seek out Quinn for help and she realizes with their dark hair and blue eyes, she could pass them off as her own. She doesn’t know anyone except Ian to help her and when she returns to the gym, she sees Kieran, along with Connor and Owen, who become the protectors that she and the children need.Owen and Conner go to the store for items for the baby and it is hilarious with 4 men and a woman reading directions, and even the group staring at the bottle nipples boiling! It is so funny when Kieran shows Jack how to eat an Oreo with milk. Kieran thought about Jack, “His eyes bug the f@ck out and he takes another cookie, mimicking my way of eating it.” Jack is the cutest little boy and says some of the funniest things. It is so heart meltingly sweet to see how he adjusts and is such a wonderful child. Kieran thinks he knows Quinn’s story but he finds out it’s not what he thinks. He realizes that she lied to keep those kids safe and she’s their mother no matter how they came to her. He upsets Quinn and apologizes but she tells him to stay away from her and the kids or she will do a better job of stabbing him than she did before. Kieran thought, “Wow. I was not expecting that. I figured she’d be a typical girl and fall for my admission of wanting her. Shit! Okay, so in real life, women don’t just change their mind because some smooth-talking man says the right thing. Good note.” I laughed out loud after reading his thoughts!Kieran to Quinn, “I’m tryin’ to be nice, but you’re makin’ it really f@ckin’ hard,” I growl, leaning into her face. “You’re mine. They are mine. Say somethin’ different again and we’re gonna have f@ckin’ problems. Tell me you understand.” Again, Kieran made Quinn definitely “feel stabby.”As a teenager, Kieran has to grow up fast and learn to fight quickly. He took to it and it became his life, but knew he would live his life ‘shrouded in blackness’. As various events happen, I ached for this couple and the children. Kieran can’t believe how much he loves Quinn and the children and had never hoped for this life, thinking he didn’t deserve it. Quinn realizes that “He takes care of me, not because I need it, because he wants to. Kieran’s a murderer, a fighter and probably a bad guy to the outside world. But with me and the kids, he’s a loving father, protector, partner and savior.” How wonderful it is to find a man that wants a woman who can take of herself but also one that allows a man take care of things for her! This story includes a fascinating view of criminal life and some of the heartbreaking things people do or have to live with. This story also has some very black moments with revenge beatings and killings, but I could emphasize with several of the events in the story. This story includes a great plot, with twists and turns you don’t expect, but is darker than most.I loved the characters from the first two books so much and was happy to see some of them again in this story. Shannon is also heard from on the phone and later in person. The woman accepts more people into her life, and with such love. But she is still the same kick-ass person as usual.I am addicted to these stories and the characters have become a big part of my life! You never doubt the fierce love between Quinn, Kieran, Ian and several friends, who all become part of an extended family.This may be read as a standalone book but I enjoyed knowing more about the characters after reading the first two books and how they fit into each other’s lives with this story. I am so thrilled to find a new author who writes such an intriguing and fascinating story. I couldn’t flip the pages on my Kindle fast enough and highlighted sections often. I love Quinn and Kieran and that no matter the difficulties they have faced in the past, they have each other. They find that with their love, the darkness recedes.I loved that the Irish heritage is continued in this story. This story includes alpha males, independent women, sweet and sexy times, love unlike anyone could hope for, and so much more. This story had me in tears several times and, at others, laughing like crazy!Ms. Karlsson is a new-to-me author and after reading this third book of the series, I am so happy to read such a compelling story. She is excellent at writing a suspenseful story, drawing the reader along with bits and pieces, and I was holding my breath for what comes next. She has a talent in developing characters that we learn to love or hate. I can’t wait to read about Nick in the next book, Into the Blackness. I loved him as part of Shannon’s history and involved in helping her escape from her kidnappers in the book Blackness Awaits. He has lived with a lot of darkness in his life and I can’t wait to see what woman helps him through that!
review 2: This was my first book of the series and I'm hooked. The story has everything you would look for in a book, alpha male, strong caring heroine, great story line, beautiful moments, smiles, cries...Our heroine has been on her own for years, having been on the run and having no one but herself to depend on she becomes hard on the outside, though inside she is soft and caring. You see glimpses of this throughout the story. Along the way she comes across situations that causes her to open up and change the course of what she's known for years, but she finds herself along the way. I know that's vague, but I don't want to give too much away!The H is awesome. Alpha, caring, loving, fierce LOYAL...He was everything. He was bad - ass and it oozed off of him. I would for sure recommend this book. less

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