Into the Shadow by Christina Dodd
Penguin
Paranormal, Contemporary, Action/Adventure
Full length, Spicy
Review by Magnolia

Blessed-or cursed-with the ability to change into a sleek, cruel panther, and driven by a dark soul he's accepted as his fate, powerful Adrik Wilder abandons his family and his honor to pursue a life of wickedness. He excels at every vice, kidnapping strong-willed Karen Sonnet and forcing her to welcome the helpless pleasure only he can give her. But Karen's spirit and passion make him question the force of his family's curse, for she could be the key to their survival. And when a new evil emerges, Adrik must choose whether to enact revenge on his enemies and redeem his soul or save Karen from a fate worse than death.

♥ ♥ ♥

Into the Shadow is the third book in the Darkness Chosen series and I believe the best by far.  While the general plot of each book is the same, dealing with the individual children of Zorana  and Konstantine and their role in breaking the curse, the books do stand alone. Into the Shadow is Adrik Wilder’s story.  I like the twist of his story and him.   

The first two books were Jasha and Rurik stories.  Adrik is by far in my opinion the most likeable of the Wilder brothers.  While he would fall under the dark hero label, he did not ‘creep me out’ like Jasha did.  Adrik’s character growth is engaging and the pivot point of the story caught me off guard.   This hero is fill of surprises and by the last three-quarters of the book had won my heart completely.

Karen’s issues with Adrik are totally real.  She has every reason in the world to be ticked.  Ms. Dodd does a wonderful job having Karen work through these issues.  She doesn’t go, ‘oh well, we need a happily ever after so let’s have sex’  nor does she dwell on the issue to the point the reader is sick of hearing about.  This is a hard balance to achieve but Ms. Dodd has accomplished it with Karen.   Karen is a strong heroine but not the point of ‘super woman.’   Again, in my opinion Karen is the most likeable heroine so far in the series. 

Most of the secondary characters are Adrik’s family.  Jackson Sonnet, Karen’s father, was a delightful addition to the cast.  He added humor and insight into Karen. 

Into the Shadow makes a great beach read.   The story flows along at a easy pace, with mild twist and turns and the characters are enjoyable.