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mstapel's review against another edition
4.0
With the flood of paranormal romance novels, this one stands out with a deep story line, descriptive characters, and a thrilling murder mystery set on a campus for parahuman students. Highly enjoyable and a quick read! I look forward to more!
chllybrd's review against another edition
4.0
Reviewed by http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com
Book two in the Dark Brethren series has some of the characters as book one NIGHTS COLD KISS but mainly follows Kitt Jordan an Animalian (shifter). We are taken on a action packed ride trying to solve a string of killings. Kitt is brought into the fold and has to re-visit her past to move on to her future. The story complements book one and continues and builds stronger onto the problem of the Dark Brethren. The plot is entertaining full of twists and turns and moves along with no problems between the slower and faster paces of the book. The relationships built up nicely, and I enjoyed reading about Kitt and Ravens past. I'm not crazy about books that have different character POV's but Tracey O'Hara made them blend perfectly and I am happy to say they didn't get confusing like some books tend to do. If you enjoyed NIGHTS COLD KISS I definitely recommend that you pick up DEATHS SWEET EMBRACE, I'm excited to see what comes next.
Book two in the Dark Brethren series has some of the characters as book one NIGHTS COLD KISS but mainly follows Kitt Jordan an Animalian (shifter). We are taken on a action packed ride trying to solve a string of killings. Kitt is brought into the fold and has to re-visit her past to move on to her future. The story complements book one and continues and builds stronger onto the problem of the Dark Brethren. The plot is entertaining full of twists and turns and moves along with no problems between the slower and faster paces of the book. The relationships built up nicely, and I enjoyed reading about Kitt and Ravens past. I'm not crazy about books that have different character POV's but Tracey O'Hara made them blend perfectly and I am happy to say they didn't get confusing like some books tend to do. If you enjoyed NIGHTS COLD KISS I definitely recommend that you pick up DEATHS SWEET EMBRACE, I'm excited to see what comes next.
rclz's review
4.0
I'm really enjoying this series. I'm glad you get a smattering of characters from the book before.
The world building is getting a bit deeper. Hope she has plans beyond the next one.
The world building is getting a bit deeper. Hope she has plans beyond the next one.
lalabristow's review against another edition
4.0
Previously Published on my blog: Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life
Rating: 4.5 Stars
*Spoiler FREE.
After loving Night's Cold Kiss and the world Tracey has created, I was really looking forward to Death’s Sweet Embrace. I am happy to say that this second installment in Tracey’s Dark Brethren series did NOT disappoint.
This time around we get to focus on two next main characters, Kitt and Raven. They are both Animalians from feuding clans that had a love affair 20 years before. Kitt’s new job teaching at the Academy and a series of gruesome, ritualistic murders, bring these two start-crossed lovers back together.
Tracey O’Hara has created a very intricate world in the Dark Brethen series, I love a good world building and she has done it in spades. She also does an incredible job of not boring the readers with explanations. We get to learn about this incredible world piece by piece, without feeling like we are being fed a “history” lesson. It’s subtle and keep things intriguing, all at the same time. This time around we finally start leaning a bit about what/who are the Dark Brethen and I am scared for the characters I have come to feel so close to.
One of my favorite things about this series is the perfect balance between the Romance and the Plot. Death’s Sweet Embrace is full of action and very disturbing mystery, but at the same time there is a love story being told, one very reminiscent of Romeo & Juliet, however with a much happier ending.
I was utterly shocked by the mystery’s conclusion, I did NOT see it coming at all and it has been a while since that happened. I loved being so surprised and am still in awe as to how Tracey has woven such a plot right before my eyes and I never saw it coming.
Now, the romance was just as awesome! Tracey got out a bit of the PNR comfort zone and told the story of a couple that were already together, but because of reasons bigger than they could handle have been apart for 20 years. Not only that, but they even have children together, twin 18-year-old girls, that were just fundamental to the story as anybody else.
I loved Death’s Sweet Embrace and I really enjoyed getting a little bit of Night's Cold Kiss main characters, Antoinette and Christian. I really like the friendship that is being built between Antoinette and Kitt. However I would have rather had less POV moments from Antoinette. I feel that those moments stole a bit from Kitt and Raven’s story. That’s the only reason Death’s Sweet Embrace didn’t get full marks.
All is all, Death’s Sweet Embrace was a brilliant addition to this incredible series that has officially been added to my favorites. If you love all things Paranormal, this is definitely a series you need to check out! I am really looking forward to book 3 later on this year, Can’t wait!
Rating: 4.5 Stars
*Spoiler FREE.
After loving Night's Cold Kiss and the world Tracey has created, I was really looking forward to Death’s Sweet Embrace. I am happy to say that this second installment in Tracey’s Dark Brethren series did NOT disappoint.
This time around we get to focus on two next main characters, Kitt and Raven. They are both Animalians from feuding clans that had a love affair 20 years before. Kitt’s new job teaching at the Academy and a series of gruesome, ritualistic murders, bring these two start-crossed lovers back together.
Tracey O’Hara has created a very intricate world in the Dark Brethen series, I love a good world building and she has done it in spades. She also does an incredible job of not boring the readers with explanations. We get to learn about this incredible world piece by piece, without feeling like we are being fed a “history” lesson. It’s subtle and keep things intriguing, all at the same time. This time around we finally start leaning a bit about what/who are the Dark Brethen and I am scared for the characters I have come to feel so close to.
One of my favorite things about this series is the perfect balance between the Romance and the Plot. Death’s Sweet Embrace is full of action and very disturbing mystery, but at the same time there is a love story being told, one very reminiscent of Romeo & Juliet, however with a much happier ending.
I was utterly shocked by the mystery’s conclusion, I did NOT see it coming at all and it has been a while since that happened. I loved being so surprised and am still in awe as to how Tracey has woven such a plot right before my eyes and I never saw it coming.
Now, the romance was just as awesome! Tracey got out a bit of the PNR comfort zone and told the story of a couple that were already together, but because of reasons bigger than they could handle have been apart for 20 years. Not only that, but they even have children together, twin 18-year-old girls, that were just fundamental to the story as anybody else.
I loved Death’s Sweet Embrace and I really enjoyed getting a little bit of Night's Cold Kiss main characters, Antoinette and Christian. I really like the friendship that is being built between Antoinette and Kitt. However I would have rather had less POV moments from Antoinette. I feel that those moments stole a bit from Kitt and Raven’s story. That’s the only reason Death’s Sweet Embrace didn’t get full marks.
All is all, Death’s Sweet Embrace was a brilliant addition to this incredible series that has officially been added to my favorites. If you love all things Paranormal, this is definitely a series you need to check out! I am really looking forward to book 3 later on this year, Can’t wait!
lesliethewanderlust's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5
I was a little disappointed in this book to be honest. Since this was a series I was expecting the same characters to be the focus in this book. I was looking forward to another book about Antoinette and Christian, but instead got a new story told by a few different characters—Antoinette was in the book mind you but more in a supporting role.
The story mainly focus on Kitt, (who is a great character just unexpected) a snow leopard who has been banished from her pack and had her kids taken away from her when she refused to live under their abusive society. Her kids are now eighteen years old and she finally meets them when they get enrolled in the school she is teaching at.
While this reunion is happening a killer is targeting kids at the school and Kitt and Antoinette among others are attempting to track down the perp.
If I knew before I started reading that the series takes on different leads each book, I would have been a lot less disappointed, because overall the plot was pretty good. Kitt was a likeable and interesting character, who had been through so much in her life and it was nice to see her get some happiness. The book would have redeemed itself for me if it just stuck to Kitt’s POV. It got confusing with the constant switching, from the killers POV, to her friends, to Antoinette’s and then to her lovers POV. It was just a bit much. Not sure if I will read book three anytime soon but from the synopsis I’m gathering it’s going to focus on another character again.
geleeregina's review against another edition
3.0
I originally started this book, and then had to set it aside 50 pages into it because it was too overwhelming and I got confuzzled. Once I picked it back up and started over, I found myself falling back in love with the world Ms. O'Hara created. I enjoyed the different cultures and backstory of the Beastiabo (sp?). The lore is what really kept me turning page after page, as I could not make myself more than just passingly interested in the main characters of Kit and Raven. I found myself questioning the rationale for not having any contact with the twins Kit left behind when she left the pride. Raven is supposed to be a "bad-ass" but he seems neutered as a character; there could have been so many other ways to showcase his Alpha-ness then the way he was. I'm still holding my breath to read Oberon's story (the ursian) and now I'm interested in more about why Tones is a Vegan Aeternus as well as Cody's(the incubus) story. It was nice to read more about Antoinette & Christian (from the first novel) but it was hardly even a "bump" in the novel.
shelleyrae's review against another edition
3.0
I'm supporting Aussie Author Month during April and so I am pleased to host Tracey O'Hara on her blog tour for the Australian release of Death's Sweet Embrace.
Death's Sweet Embrace is the second installment in O'Hara's Dark Brethren series, [b:Night's Cold Kiss|6283478|Night's Cold Kiss (Dark Brethren, #1)|Tracey O'Hara|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255619500s/6283478.jpg|6467488] introduced the series that walks a line between dark urban fantasy and paranormal romance. merging humanity with vampires and shifters. The first book introduces Antoinette and Christian whose relationship develops as they hunt a psychotic serial killer and a corrupt politician.
A Death's Sweet Embrace introduces Kit, a Snow Leopard shifter who has joined the Academy as an instructor on parahuman forensic pathology. Her motivation is the enrollment of her twin daughters whom from she has been estranged since their birth after being banished by her Pride. For Kit, things are further complicated by the return of Raven - a wolf shifter, and the father of her twins, and her families antagonism. In addition, Oberon, the head of security and Kit's late brother's partner, hopes to recruit Kit into his elite team of investigators to deal with a ritualistic serial killer on campus and an escalating threat from a society once thought mythical.
A Death's Sweet Embrace maintains story threads that are complex, yet not complicated. O'Hara is still developing story precedents and introducing characters to establish the series in this second book. The foreshadowing, along with the story arcs, compete with both the main and minor plots so it can seem crowded. There are one or two aspects of the plot that don't quite coalesce and I feel that the editing process may have been a little brutal in places resulting in details being left out that can be disconcerting but ultimately has little impact on the main plot resolution. There is plenty of action and violence, the details of the murders can be graphic but it supports the gritty tone of the series. Kit allows O'Hara to develop the Animalian aspect of her world. The Animalian society conforms to the shifter trope (patriarchal societies that are concerned with territory and property as power), though she has created some interesting mythology and I thought the idea of the suits they wear is clever. I thought O'Hara managed to sustain the suspense well, the identity of the killer is a shocking twist in that it is not as cut and dried as you might guess. The pace is varied but well balanced.
I thought Kit was likeable, she comes off as quite weak both physically and emotionally initially (and I still don't understand the back story that led to her separation from her daughters) but reveals hidden depths as the story progresses. Raven is the expected Alpha, his background is interesting but I would have liked to have seen him as a more active participant in the story. The romance between Kit and Raven is anchored in their past so the development of their relationship is believable. While Kit is the protagonist of Death's Sweet Embrace, there is a large supporting cast and the point of view shifts on occasion to illustrate different perspectives. These are smoothly handled and allow insight into the minor plots. Several of the characters from Night's Cold Kiss reappear, Oberon, Antoinette and Christian briefly to name a few. Most of the newly introduced characters are tied directly to Kit's story though I would expect one or two may appear in future installments. More of the mystery of the Dark Brethren is revealed but they are still quite a nebulous group that doesn't have a particularly solid presence at yet.
Death's Sweet Embrace is a gritty yet entertaining read that offers an uncommon blend of mystery, action, horror and romance. O'Hara's Dark Brethren series is unique in the paranormal/fantasy fiction genre and I will be looking forward to the next installment.
Death's Sweet Embrace is the second installment in O'Hara's Dark Brethren series, [b:Night's Cold Kiss|6283478|Night's Cold Kiss (Dark Brethren, #1)|Tracey O'Hara|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255619500s/6283478.jpg|6467488] introduced the series that walks a line between dark urban fantasy and paranormal romance. merging humanity with vampires and shifters. The first book introduces Antoinette and Christian whose relationship develops as they hunt a psychotic serial killer and a corrupt politician.
A Death's Sweet Embrace introduces Kit, a Snow Leopard shifter who has joined the Academy as an instructor on parahuman forensic pathology. Her motivation is the enrollment of her twin daughters whom from she has been estranged since their birth after being banished by her Pride. For Kit, things are further complicated by the return of Raven - a wolf shifter, and the father of her twins, and her families antagonism. In addition, Oberon, the head of security and Kit's late brother's partner, hopes to recruit Kit into his elite team of investigators to deal with a ritualistic serial killer on campus and an escalating threat from a society once thought mythical.
A Death's Sweet Embrace maintains story threads that are complex, yet not complicated. O'Hara is still developing story precedents and introducing characters to establish the series in this second book. The foreshadowing, along with the story arcs, compete with both the main and minor plots so it can seem crowded. There are one or two aspects of the plot that don't quite coalesce and I feel that the editing process may have been a little brutal in places resulting in details being left out that can be disconcerting but ultimately has little impact on the main plot resolution. There is plenty of action and violence, the details of the murders can be graphic but it supports the gritty tone of the series. Kit allows O'Hara to develop the Animalian aspect of her world. The Animalian society conforms to the shifter trope (patriarchal societies that are concerned with territory and property as power), though she has created some interesting mythology and I thought the idea of the suits they wear is clever. I thought O'Hara managed to sustain the suspense well, the identity of the killer is a shocking twist in that it is not as cut and dried as you might guess. The pace is varied but well balanced.
I thought Kit was likeable, she comes off as quite weak both physically and emotionally initially (and I still don't understand the back story that led to her separation from her daughters) but reveals hidden depths as the story progresses. Raven is the expected Alpha, his background is interesting but I would have liked to have seen him as a more active participant in the story. The romance between Kit and Raven is anchored in their past so the development of their relationship is believable. While Kit is the protagonist of Death's Sweet Embrace, there is a large supporting cast and the point of view shifts on occasion to illustrate different perspectives. These are smoothly handled and allow insight into the minor plots. Several of the characters from Night's Cold Kiss reappear, Oberon, Antoinette and Christian briefly to name a few. Most of the newly introduced characters are tied directly to Kit's story though I would expect one or two may appear in future installments. More of the mystery of the Dark Brethren is revealed but they are still quite a nebulous group that doesn't have a particularly solid presence at yet.
Death's Sweet Embrace is a gritty yet entertaining read that offers an uncommon blend of mystery, action, horror and romance. O'Hara's Dark Brethren series is unique in the paranormal/fantasy fiction genre and I will be looking forward to the next installment.
schomj's review against another edition
3.0
This review is based on the advanced reader's copy I got through NetGalley. Based on the ARC, I'm not sure quite what to think of this one. It had its fun moments and its slow moments and its really over the top moments (which some will find entertaining and some will find irritating). So, I guess uneven would be a good description.
The romantic focus is on Kathryn "Kitt" Jordan, a were-lion, and her former lover, Raven, a wolf-shifter accused of killing Kitt's late husband. Kitt knows that Raven didn't kill her husband, because they were together when he was murdered, but that didn't stop Kitt's family from putting a bounty on Raven's head. Now, eighteen years later, a series of ritualistic murders are occurring that bear a remarkable similarity to her late husband's... and they're occurring on the same New York campus where their daughters are studying.
As a heroine, Kitt is very different from Antoinette from Night's Cold Kiss (although she also makes several appearances, which was nice). I honestly didn't really understand Kitt, especially in terms of how she related to her family and Raven. Raven, by the way, is pretty awesome, although I wish his screen time served more of a purpose than as crazy-fighter or devoted-lover guy. The hints about his back story make him sound way more interesting than what we're shown. The supporting characters are very heroic or very villainous, with lots of exclamation points, although there are a few characters whose alignments shift as you (the reader) understand their motivations better.
If you liked Night's Cold Kiss you might like this, if you didn't like NCK you're probably not going to like this one either. If you haven't read NCK, it's ok to start with this one -- NCK is more of a fast-paced vampire vs. vampire-hunter story, this one is more about shapeshifters, serial killers, and families.
The romantic focus is on Kathryn "Kitt" Jordan, a were-lion, and her former lover, Raven, a wolf-shifter accused of killing Kitt's late husband. Kitt knows that Raven didn't kill her husband, because they were together when he was murdered, but that didn't stop Kitt's family from putting a bounty on Raven's head. Now, eighteen years later, a series of ritualistic murders are occurring that bear a remarkable similarity to her late husband's... and they're occurring on the same New York campus where their daughters are studying.
As a heroine, Kitt is very different from Antoinette from Night's Cold Kiss (although she also makes several appearances, which was nice). I honestly didn't really understand Kitt, especially in terms of how she related to her family and Raven. Raven, by the way, is pretty awesome, although I wish his screen time served more of a purpose than as crazy-fighter or devoted-lover guy. The hints about his back story make him sound way more interesting than what we're shown. The supporting characters are very heroic or very villainous, with lots of exclamation points, although there are a few characters whose alignments shift as you (the reader) understand their motivations better.
If you liked Night's Cold Kiss you might like this, if you didn't like NCK you're probably not going to like this one either. If you haven't read NCK, it's ok to start with this one -- NCK is more of a fast-paced vampire vs. vampire-hunter story, this one is more about shapeshifters, serial killers, and families.