ARC Review: Darkest Heart (Dominion #1) by Juliette Cross ~ #Excerpt

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Darkest Heart Book Cover Darkest Heart
Dominion #1
Juliette Cross
Paranormal Romance
Entangled Publishing, LLC (Amara)
August 20th 2018
eBook
265
NetGalley

 

Wrong side of heaven...right side of redemption.

Anya—a stoic, blue-winged angelic warrior— was bitten by a demon prince in battle, and now she has precious little time to find a cure for his deadly venom. But the only archangel with the power to stop the dark poison from corrupting her body and soul is missing. She’ll have to trust her guide, the outcast high demon Dommiel, who is as handsome as he is dangerous if she has any hope.

An outcast of his own kind, high demon Dommiel stays under cover while the war between angels and demons rages on. But when the only person who ever showed him kindness asks for his help, he has no choice but to try to save the angel. Venturing back into the dens he has avoided for so long, Anya makes him want and feel things he never thought possible.

But Dommiel knows there is no way an angel can ever love a demon…

Each book in the Dominion series is STANDALONE:
* The Deepest Well
* Darkest Heart

 

 

Darkest Heart is book one in the Dominion series by Juliette Cross.

This book takes part in the same world as the, Vessel Trilogyseries. It’s a spin-off. Even if you haven’t read the other series, you are ok to pick this one up. It stands on it’s own! As for me I will tell you I couldn’t get threw book one, in the authors Vessel Trilogy, so I’m comfortable saying you don’t have to read one to read the other.

In Darkest Heart we quickly learn that the apocalypse has happened on earth. Angels and Demons are battling it out on earth and that the humans are in short supply, going extinct.

Our story focuses on Anya, an angelic warrior and Dommiel, a demon prince outcast. It’s opposing forces, light and dark, coming together to find love and redemption.

I have to say the author did a superb job in describing Dommiel. Oh my is he one HOT demon. Their is so much more to this demon then what everyone sees. He’s got layers that he doesn’t let the world see and I loved this about him. He’s not good, yet he’s not all bad. He had that perfect blend of both to make him enticing and help him find love and redemption. Anya our warrior angel has a heart. She used to help children before the war, but now she is a fighter. I won’t say I fell for her, but I didn’t dislike her. She just didn’t pop like Dommiel.

The secondary characters where nice to meet and I hope we get to see more of the Angel’s that where introduced and one or two of those Demon’s Dommiel is friends with.

This story puts opposites, light and dark, together in one common goal and on the way they both find that balance between the two and eternal love.

Darkest Heart was a satisfying read. At times it was slow, but things do pick up and we get some great action scenes and sexy times too. I’m curious to see what comes next in the Dominion series.

Rated: 3.5 Stars

*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy provided by Entangled Publishing, LLC via NetGalley with the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

Was this review helpful? If so, please consider liking it on Goodreads (Angela)!

 

 

I glanced up the street. Six cloaked figures strode in our direction, the mist curling around their billowing capes. High demons on the prowl with malicious intent. They moved as if they had a specific destination. But they’d derail plans in a heartbeat to pluck a pretty angel apart.

“Well, it’s worth a try.” Anya started toward the bridge.

Instinct gripped me hard. I stepped in front of her, covered her mouth with my hand, and pushed her back into a niche against the wall.

“Tighten your wings,” I commanded in a low whisper.

She did, making it easier to flatten them against the alcove wall behind her. I pressed my body hard against hers, minimizing our presence.

“Don’t make a sound.” I emphasized with force. “Not a whimper.”

Her violet-blue eyes widened, but she only nodded. I covered as much of her as I could, pressing my chest to hers, then cast illusion to hide her wings with a snapping summons of my power. She didn’t see the demons coming, and I had to hide her wings quickly. The shock of my dark touch, my invisible armor wrapping her in a hard grip, had her lips parting in a silent gasp. Our breath mingled in the frosty air as the gang of demons drew closer. They’d sense us and see us. I counted on my instincts being right. That they’d bypass a pair of lovers in the shadows. But if they’d seen her wings, they’d stop for a bit of sport with her.

Like I’d fucking let that happen.

“Play along,” I commanded again, hearing the grating dominance in my voice and expecting her to push me off.

Combing my hand into her hair, I reveled in the feel of the silky strands sliding over my skin before I gripped that black silk in a fist and leaned forward. A force not my own pulling me closer. Her eyes remained wide, her body stiff. But not as stiff as mine. Hell, I’d had a hard-on from the first moment she arched a defiant brow at me.

The need to get my mouth on hers drove me like a bullet train. I needed to know what she tasted like. Needed to feel the slide of my tongue past those full pink lips. Needed to get inside of her. But she wasn’t ready for me. Not yet. She was hard to read, my angel. But we could play pretend lovers for a minute.

Gripping her hip with my mechanical hand, I pressed harder against her body. My cock, like an iron rod, pushed against her pelvis. She flinched in my arms and stiffened but didn’t pull away. No. She softened, for fuck’s sake. And that was my undoing. I tilted my mouth toward her neck, breathing her in.

I sensed the sinister air surrounding the demons drawing closer, but I refused to give in to the urge to turn and draw a blade. The menace rolling off of them claimed they were not a group to overpower or escape quickly. If worse came to worse, I’d just sift us away. But something told me they were on the move. Better prey in mind. As long as they thought us harmless lovers, we were safe. 

So I focused on Anya. Her grip on the lapels of my leather jacket tightened while her body melted against me. Pure, fucking heaven. 

I grazed my lips against her soft throat, featherlight. Her desire—an innocent, fragile thing—flared hot when she let out a little moan. Christ. I was going to lose my mind. 

I sensed the demons passing behind us. That danger drifted away but another kind took its place. Uncontainable lust had me in its iron grip. Unable to taste just a little, I flicked my tongue over the lobe of her ear. She flinched again, exhaling a breathy moan before she clamped her mouth shut. 

Curling my hand into the collar of her leather jacket, I pulled it aside so I could taste her where her neck met shoulder. The soft patch of exposed pale skin lured me like a dying man in the desert to the coolest drink of water. 

Fuck, the things I wanted to do to her. Dirty, dark, delicious things. 

Her innocence was a beacon, a red flag waving in the breeze, and my bull wanted to charge. Right fucking now.

Feeling my control slipping, I scraped my teeth gently up the side of her neck, my beast jerking on the leash I was strangling him with.

I eased my lips off her skin, a new addiction that would surely cripple me, because that wasn’t nearly enough. A slight sound of protest escaped her lips. I lifted my gaze to hers.

“Not a whimper,” I said. 

The urge to bind her and force every possible sound of pleasure from those luscious lips pushed me like a primal compulsion. A vibrating need I never saw coming threatened to choke the air from my lungs.

Her eyes—dilated with lust—trailed down to my mouth.

“Dommiel. Your teeth.” Her panting breath curled out in white puffs. “And your eye.”

That’s when I realized my beast had come to the surface. The monster I kept at bay so as not to frighten mere mortals. And sweet angels. He wanted to play. He wanted more.

Flicking my tongue over one canine, I backed up, removing my body from the achingly sweet alignment against hers. It would take a few minutes to simmer my blood, for my canines to recede. I turned away, facing the direction those night prowlers had gone, heaving in a deep breath of cold night air. I needed a dip in the Arctic to get my brain and my dick off the gut-punching pleasure one little taste of her had given me.


 

Juliette lives in lush, moss-laden Louisiana where she lives with her husband, four kids, and black lab, Kona.

Multi-published author of paranormal and urban fantasy romance, she loves reading and writing brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes.

From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.

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I'm an outdoor sun loving reader living near San Fransisco. I’m a mother, wife, animal & book lover. I'm the owner, reviewer & mind behind Angel’s Guilty Pleasures. My favorite animals are horses & dogs. As for reading I love all things paranormal & urban fantasy & my favorite shifters are dragons.

14 comments on “ARC Review: Darkest Heart (Dominion #1) by Juliette Cross ~ #Excerpt

  1. Sounds like a good start to the series. I haven’t read anything from the author but I think I should! Great review!

    Mary

    • Thank’s Mary for visiting. I love Ms. Cross’s dragon series books. This new series is different. I hope you enjoy!

  2. I read another great review for this. It’s been a long time since I read an angels and demon book. I have added this to my list.
    Heidi recently posted…Audiobook Review: Visions(Gainesville #2) by Kelley ArmstrongMy Profile

    • Glad you enjoyed the review and I’ve helped add to your TBR. ^_^

  3. Fantastic review and oh my indeed. I have yet to try this author. Do you have a favorite series?
    Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer recently posted…Blackout by Dannika DarkMy Profile

    • I LOVE dragons, so her Nighwing and Vale of the Stars are wonderful. Love them! I also really loved her Vampire Blood series and the fairytale aspect to the novels. As for her Vessel Trilogy, I couldn’t get into book one and stoped and now we are in the spin-off with the Dominion which was good. I’m not won over probably because I don’t have all the backstory on the world that I would have gotten in the Vessel Trilogy. I did enjoy how she portrayed her angels and demons.

  4. One day I am gonna read one of her books!! Great review!
    The book Disciple recently posted…Imposter’s Lure by Carla NeggarsMy Profile

    • I love her The Nightwing Series. So much fun!!! I do hope you enjoy when every do try out Ms. Cross. Thank’s for visiting.

  5. Great review and excerpt!! Angela,I love this cover,so different!! Shared on all my socials!!

    • The cover is great. Glad you enjoyed the review and excerpt. Thank’s for visiting.

  6. Robin reviewed it and had the same rating. I guessed you would know the dragon series. lol Anne – Books of My Heart

    • I love her dragon series. I can’t wait for her to write more in that world. This one is different. I liked it, but didn’t fall in love with it, but still enjoyed. ^_^

  7. It’s been a while since I haven’t read one of her books

    • I lover her dragon series. This new one is different, but still good.