Book Blurb:
t’s been a year, and I can feel my powers growing stronger, but almost too strong, too fast. I’m having difficulty controlling them, and it’s hurting the ones I love. The ones who I forced to be free of me after I took away my feelings for them.
Caleb is relentless though; he won’t stop fighting for me. There’s also Dorian, who’s now back in my life, and vowing to help protect me when I need.
A shadow lingers again, an enemy from my past. He wants me back. He will kill the ones I love to have me back. There’s a darker, more sinister plan he and the traitors of our kind are brewing, and once I find out what it is, I’ll kill them.
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“While the first book of this series introduced you to the characters and the fascinating world the author has created; this book brings the story to a whole new level.”
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Mercy’s life changed forever when she discovered that not only is she a witch, but that she was born to rid the world of vampires once and for all.
After a year of intense training to hone her powers, she and her coven are pulled into a murder case in her hometown of East Greenwich. The coven, with the help of a friend with direct ties to the investigation, discovers that a vampire attack claimed the victim’s life. Mercy suspects the killer belongs to a new clan in town, The Black Horse, and goes undercover in the vampire underworld. There, she’ll discover dark, long-hidden secrets and face her father from her previous life, who she learns is the leader of this ruthless undead.
New relationships will develop, friendships will be tested, and lives will be lost.
As Mercy draws closer to finding the killer, a villain from her past creeps out of the shadows. Maurice, centuries-old vampire, is thirsty for revenge after her coven took down his clan.
The Chosen Coven will now have to combine the forces of the Universal Elements, to fight the darkness that falls on their city.
Author Notes & Disclaimer:
Violence, mild language, non-graphic intimacy scene and attempted rape scene.
This will be a three-book series. It is recommended to read book one, ‘The Dark Awakening’ before reading book two. Their final battle will conclude in book three, and will be released in the fall of 2019 or spring of 2020
My Review:
This is the fantastic follow up book to The Dark Awakening, book one in the Chosen Coven series and they must be read in order. If you loved the first book as much as I did then you will be blown away by this follow up. If you have read my review for the first book you will know the basic idea of the book and who the main characters are and this review will contain spoilers if you have not read the first review or book. This book contains even more drama, suspense and heartbreak.
The Dark Underworld is set almost a year after the events of the first book and everyone has moved on with their lives, after Mercy cast her spell to forget about her feelings for both Caleb and Dorian. She is no longer the innocent girl who is in the dark about her life as she was in the first book. She is now a cold warrior who is focused on her powers and getting revenge.
Riley is now dating his pack member Amber and they are at Brown University together but have promised Mercy pack support when needed. Cami has been left mentally effected after being possessed by Kylan and needs to be cared for full-time in an institution. Her other human friends have moved away for school after struggling with the idea that the supernatural world exists. Caleb lives with his family who have now been made human and he is trying to move on with his life by dating the medical examiner Melissa, who helps them with supernatural autopsies. While Caleb cares for Melissa it is obvious that his heart still belongs to Mercy and he is struggling to deal with her decision to cast the spell. Dorian is living with his shifter friend Noah and has no physical contact with Mercy, only keeping in touch by occasional text as she requested. But it is obvious that Dorian does not want to forget and move on. Mercy lives with the remaining members of her coven but does not let them in and tries to do everything by herself. Joel and his husband have moved nearer so that he can be there for Lily and Mercy and to help her with her training. Lily has also moved on and has found a new boyfriend Bradley. He is kind, cute and cares so much for Lily but he does not know anything about the supernatural world. However, can people be part of that world and not find out the truth?
Knowing that her blood can make vampires human, Mercy is on the hunt and gives bad vampires a choice; she will either turn them human or kill them. But the vampires who are not hurting anyone, they agree to form a truce and if the vampires do not kill then neither will Mercy. But the evil in the town and the killings continues and evidence leans towards the vampires again. Mercy suspects that Maurice, the evil vampire clan leader that they defeated in book one, is seeking his revenge and is responsible for the deaths. But is he really responsible for the deaths or is there another threat in their town.
Mercy was a very difficult character to understand in this book. After taking away her feelings she was obviously very cold towards both Caleb and Dorian, but she could not understand why they were so hurt by her actions. She came across very irrational at times and it was very much her way or the high way. Despite being the most inexperienced and part of a very powerful coven, she is very set in her opinions and jumps into things by herself without thinking things through. But I think it is obvious that she is going through a very rough time and struggling with the power that she has and her erratic actions are as a result of her pain.
One of the things that is did struggle with when reading this book is that there seemed to be lots of different creatures and characters being introduced. At times I found it difficult to keep up with all the different introductions, but maybe that was just something that I found when reading. I think to create a whole supernatural world, a lot of characters are needed to make it realistic so this may have been an unavoidable problem.
Overall, this is a fantastic book that is filled with lots of drama, angst, violence and lust. What I loved is that no matter how much I read, I do not know which of the boys Mercy will end up with. I literally change my mind constantly and that is a true talent created by D.L. Blade. It is obvious that Mercy shares a strong bond with Caleb and that their love is very strong. But with Darian they are full of heat and passion. Even after casting the spell to forget her emotions, their chemistry is still palpable and cannot be erased. I hate to pick sides because I love them both but if I am being honest Dorian gets my vote. He is brooding, kind and incredibly sexy. He cares for Mercy and wants to be with her but most importantly he treats her as his equal rather than telling her what to do.
I know that there is going to be a third book in the series, so I knew there would be some unresolved issues. But, my word, I cannot express how much D.L. Blade killed me with this cliff-hanger. It literally left me with my mouth hanging open and grasping for more, so I hope I don’t have to wait too long until book three is available. This whole series has been fantastic so far and I have loved being dragged into the supernatural world of the Chosen Coven. But there is no denying how great this book is and that it has left me twisted up and desperate for the next book!
Note: I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book is available for Free on Kindle Unlimited or can be purchased here:
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2jKU1Dl
Emma's Romantic Reviews 