Review: ‘Burning Dawn’ by Gena Showalter
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Burning Dawn
by Gena ShowalterSeries: Angels of the Dark #3
Published by HQN Books on April 29, 2014
SubGenres: Paranormal Romance
Format: ARC
Pages: 445
Source: the publisher
Audience: 18+/Adult
Add to Goodreads
Purchase at Amazon | Barnes & Noble
New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter returns with a sizzling Angels of the Dark tale about a winged warrior renowned for his ruthlessness, and the woman who becomes his obsession...
A tormented past has left Thane with an insatiable need for violence, making him the most dangerous assassin in the skies.He lives by a single code: no mercy. And as he unleashes his fury on his most recent captor, he learns no battle could have prepared him for the slave he rescues from his enemy's clutches—a beauty who stokes the fires of his darkest desires.
Elin Vale has her own deep-rooted scars, and her attraction to the exquisite warrior who freed her challenges her every boundary. But Thane's unwavering determination to protect her means she must face her greatest fears—and enter a world in which passion is power, and victory means breathtaking surrender.
Burning Dawn is the third and final installment of Gena Showalter’s Angels of the Dark series. I just completed a reread of it and still have it as one of my top favorite books from Gena Showalter, and not only because it’s Thane’s book.
Some people say that Gena has lost her sexy touch to her books lately, but Burning Dawn will prove everyone wrong. Oh, it definitely will because, hello, it’s Thane’s book. Thane is not your typical Sent One because he is what you would call a sex addict. He’s not your average sex addict, though; he needs pain during sex on himself or the women he uses. He has his reasons behind the pain.
When Thane walks into a room, silence falls, immortal women start drooling, and immortal men try not to make eye contact because well, he’s one dangerous, scary, intimidating, sexy assassin. Just thinking about him the way Gena describes him…*sigh* Yup, Thane just became a top favorite book boyfriend for 2014.
Oh, and ladies, he has a huge surprise about him. Elin is the lucky gal who wins the heart of Thane in Burning Dawn, and she’s perfect for him. The way she meets Thane is during her time at the Phoenix camp. She has been through a lot, and she needs the help of Thane to rescue her from her fate with the Phoenixes and for her to maybe even get revenge for what was done to her family. Thane, though, is trapped as well by another Phoenix who is using him, and he’s under her spell. Elin will have to get the courage to help get him out of that spell, and hopefully, he will help her and protect her for what is to come. Thane becomes intrigued by Elin after he helps her, and he has no idea why. He has never felt this way about any woman before, especially one like Elin. Elin, though, has to keep a major secret from him; otherwise, she’ll end up like the Phoenixes that had Thane.
Elin’s spunky, feisty, funny personality is the complete opposite of Thane, but these two were meant to be. Thane is confused with Elin several times in the book, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen this Sent One be confused. If you’ve read the previous books in the series, you already know how Thane is, and he shows another side of himself in his book. I didn’t think anyone but Lucien from Darkest Kiss would win over my heart, but Thane did. He has a traumatic past, and so does Elin. Poor Elin! For someone like her who went through so much, she is handling it well, but she has the help of Thane, Bjorn, and Xerxes now and Thane’s workers at his club. Elin meets friends that help make her open up more, and these immortal gals, I hope to see more of them in later books. (They were hilarious together)
Gena gives us the LOTU, too, in Burning Dawn, and she ends up continuing what happened in The Darkest Craving with William in this book. The Sent Ones want to help, and LOTU ends up helping Thane during something that occurs with Bjorn in this book.
I could go on, but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. Let’s say this book will keep you turning the pages. The smexy times between Thane and Elin are SCORCHING!!! Oh my! Be prepared to have a cold shower after reading their scenes together.
Gena’s writing style is addicting to read because of how she can keep up with all her characters, manage a dramatic, action-packed storyline, and pull together two characters with some very HOT moments together. I have no idea how she does it because she has so many characters to keep up with, and she manages to pull in other characters from another series into the mix. Let’s say she is friggin’ amazing with it all. I adore everything about her Angels of the Dark series.
One last thing: the ending of this book was EPIC! Gena put these characters through bloodshed, tears, torture, and a lot more than throughout the book, but that ending. Yeah, be prepared to go through a lot with the characters due to your emotions going haywire for them. Poor Bjorn has his drama in this book that you will want to pay attention to in this book.
Story Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Steam/Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Angels of the Dark series and I recommend reading in order.
Would I recommend this book/series? Yes. I highly recommend it to paranormal romance readers out there.
Genre/SubGenre: Romance | Paranormal Romance
Trope(s)/Element(s): Fated Mates | Enemies to Lovers | Possessive/Jealous Hero | Alpha Hero | Kickbutt Heroine | Traumatic Pasts | Angels | Demons | Phoenixes
This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. It will help sponsor future giveaways but costs you nothing extra. You can read the full disclosure underneath the Privacy Policy.
About Gena Showalter
Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of nearly 100 novels. Most stories fall under the genre of romance, be they paranormal, fantasy, contemporary, or young adult. She’s also co-authored a (delightfully quirky) cozy mystery series as well as a nonfiction guide about how to write a book in a year.
Gena is a dedicated mother, grandmother, and fur-mom. A woman under construction, whose life took a few unexpected turns the past few years. But she’s learned a lot and firmly believes her best days are ahead of her, not behind her. Chances are good she’s writing her next novel and already in love with the hero.
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
- Review: ‘Keep Me’ by Sara Cate - December 19, 2024
- Review: ‘You Can Run’ by Rebecca Zanetti - December 17, 2024
- Review: ‘Love Kills’ by Lisa Renee Jones - December 16, 2024