THE DARKEST TOUCH

Author: Jaci Burton ISBN: 9780440244547 10/2008 PARANORMAL Publisher: DELL

Ryder. His name was as sexy as she remembered him: tall, lean, and dangerous, a demon hunter with the body of a god. . . . But archaeologist Angelique Deveraux has little time for lust. She's just unearthed a gleaming black diamond, a prize everyone wants—including Ryder—and now she's running for her life. Hot on her trail is Ryder, a legendary demon hunter she desires but doesn't quite trust, a man with an insatiable need for danger and a few dark secrets of his own. Now, as an all-out demon war erupts and Angie's family secrets unravel, Ryder's demon hunt and Angie's quest are about to collide. And when they do, it'll send these two wary hearts on the wildest adventure of their lives—and maybe even save humankind in the process....

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Jaci Burton sets her paranormal romance, THE DARKEST TOUCH, in contemporary Italy where archeologist Angelique Devereaux is hiding out and recovering from her last find—a black diamond in Australia that came with a whole host of demons. Fortunately for Angie, sexy Ryder and his contingent of demon hunters took the fight to another realm from the dark cave and she escaped with the stone. Unfortunately for Angelique, the demons and demon hunters are close behind her, and she is even more worried that she hasn't had any contact from her twin sister Isabel since her encounter in the cave.

Burton creates strong, courageous, sexy yet tortured characters to populate THE DARKEST TOUCH. Ryder and Dalton Gabriel, the demon hunter assigned to find Isabel, are both well-muscled, militarily trained, and used to operating without employing their emotions. Isabel and Angelique are brilliant archeologists following in their mother's footsteps. Ryder and Dalton were both recruited into the Realm of Light after dealing with their own internal demons, but nothing like the girls who find out that their father was a demon Lord.

Isabel has always fallen a bit to the dark side and now the demons want her for their queen. Her need for power and acceptance could be her undoing. In fighting off demons with Ryder, Angelique finds that she can physically "hulk out" when provoked, and having claws and fangs erupt without being able to control them is scaring her, to say the least. With their physical strength—Ryder with Angie, Dalton with Izzie—sexuality of the rough and tumble variety is just par for the course. The guys, of course, are both afraid of their strength and hurts from the past, so they are reluctant to go beyond love-making to loving, but Angie seems to be just the woman to help Ryder fight his inner turmoil and Izzie might be able to do the same for Dalton. They have a lot of pleasure in testing the waters anyhow.

I recommend THE DARKEST TOUCH to readers who enjoy strong sexual scenes as well as some butt-kicking demon slaying. You just gotta love a guy who sleeps with a sonic/laser combo and a gun with silver bullets at his side.

Susan Barton