Gwen Mosely’s life changes forever when she stumbles across a handsome stranger, unconscious and left for dead in the woods behind her farm. Cut up and bleeding, he’s barely survived a vicious battle, but the real shock is how quickly his wounds heal—a gift he shares with Gwen’s teenaged half-brother Chase.

Jarvis Donahue can’t keep his eyes—or his strong, capable hands—off the sexy redhead who rescued him. He finds warmth of Gwen’s smile and the desire in her eyes are impossible to resist, but there’s a problem. Jarvis immediately recognizes Chase as a fellow Paladin in the making, a warrior born to defend mankind in the relentless battle against the Others. Neither Gwen nor the boy know it yet, but Chase will need Jarvis’s help coping with the compulsion to fight that is written in his blood and in his bones. Although Gwen may hate him for it, Jarvis is duty-bound to secretly introduce Chase to the dangerous fate they both share.

As the barrier between the two worlds weakens, the threat grows perilously close to Gwen’s farm. Jarvis is torn between protecting his lover, but without revealing his true identity, or betraying his people’s secret and risk losing her forever.

Darkness Unknown by Alexis Morgan (Paladines of Darkness #5)
Available Now
Paranormal Romance
Paperback, 384 pages
Pocket Star
Reviewed by Karra

Gwen Mosely is just a sweet country bumpkin residing on her small farm in Missouri. She raises alpacas for a living, along with raising her seventeen year old half-brother Chase. Chase has the strange ability to rapidly heal from wounds, which is something that he and his sister have dealt with privately, keeping it a secret from the outside world.

After stumbling across a man’s nearly dead body in the woods that border her property, and witnessing the man heal at an incredible rate, she wheels him back to her farmhouse with the help of her brother and tends to the man’s more serious wounds.

Jarvis Donahue, the sexy left-for-dead man, awakens the next morning with the intentions of getting up and getting out. He’s not interested in answering any of Gwen’s questions, but when she coaxes him into staying for breakfast so he can meet her brother, his plans abruptly change: he realizes the teenage boy is a fellow Paladin, or warrior born to defend mankind against aliens that are known as the Others. Though the boy doesn’t know it yet, Jarvis knows that he must soon tell him that he will one day enlist in the secret army that spends the majority of their lives fighting creatures the rest of humanity doesn’t know exist; dying over and over again with no relief in sight. This reality is the one thing that all Paladins must keep secret from the world, even their loved ones.

Not looking forward to that confrontation, Jarvis decides to ease into the Mosely’s lives by volunteering to help train Chase in martial arts, thus also earning Gwen’s trust. While Jarvis keeps busy, the Others are finding their own ways to thwart the Paladins, and it’s only a matter of time until the truth is out and Jarvis’ world comes crashing down around him.

Darkness Unknown is the fifth book in Morgan’s Paladins series, and though I typically like to read all of the books of a series in order, I’m kind of glad I didn’t follow that routine this time around. Darkness Unknown was the perfect book to use as a diving board into the world of the very masculine Paladins.

Now, the whole Paladin aspect isn’t unique to the genre, as most paranormal books have a band of heroes who fight some kind of evil, but I liked how they war against aliens instead of other, more standard beasties. These aliens, known as Kalith in their world and Others to the Paladins, escape into our world to escape the darkness that is consuming theirs. That would be fine and dandy, except by the time they cross the barrier, they’re typically insane and hell bent on doing whatever they can, including slaying innocents, to remain in the light.

The Paladins are Earth’s only hope in keeping those aliens at bay and since they’re all as hot as Jarvis, there aren’t any complaints on my end. Rippling, sun-kissed muscles? Yes, please. A guy who can swing a sword with ease and is genuine and cares about others’ feelings? I’ll take him. Preferably against the wall.

Jarvis and Gwen’s relationship is the highlight of the book and it’s done in such a way that my only description of it would be believable. Well that, and cute. Their dialogue reminded me of two teenagers; where the girl’s innocent and sweet, and the guy is just bold and funny in his efforts to sweep the girl off of her feet. I enjoyed their interactions and how intense they both felt, not only for each other, but for what matters in their lives. The secondary characters are also well done, and leave me hoping that Alexis Morgan writes future Paladin books about them so they can find their own happiness.

Overall, Darkness Unknown is definitely a recommended read. Not a “stop what you’re doing and buy this now,” book, but one that I think any fan of a good paranormal romance will enjoy.

Rating: 4/5

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