Dark Enchantment (Dark Magick #3) by Anya Bast
Paranormal Romance
April 5, 2011
Paperback
Berkley

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “Did you think we were going to the Rose; the tower of sunshine, lollipops, and unicorns that poop rainbows?”

Charlotte Bennett never imagined that succumbing to an erotic dream would catapult her into the middle of the battle between mankind and Fae.

During the Great Sweep, the Seelie and Unseelie courts were defeated by mankind and imprisoned in a place called Piefferberg. Policed by the Phaendir; the Fae have been secretly working with humans sympathetic to their cause to find five hidden Fae relics that combined together will free them.

Charlotte Bennett has been raised to hate the Fae; taught from birth that they had killed her mother. When Charlotte has an erotic dream filled with unbelievable passion she never dreams that it is actually a spell to bind her to Kieran Aindreas Cairbre Aimhrea.

Kieran is of the Unseelie court. A cursed Fae, he has bond Charlotte to him in order to unlock her memories. For she alone holds the key to the other piece of the bosca fadbh. As Charlotte enters the Unseelie court her life becomes a unstoppable whirlwind as she battles both court and Kieran for her freedom.

Dark Enchantment is the third installment in Anya Bast’s dark and sensual world of the fae. Well-plotted and cast with characters that are strong and personable, Dark Enchantment is filled with taunt suspense, delicious betrayal, and dangerous antagonists. A fascinating read that captured me from page one. Strong characters drive this story opposed to the last two installments which spent more time laying the foundation of the arc and it’s key players. Now we are in the present and it has enhanced the storyline for me.

Ms. Bast takes Fae mythology and mixes it new lore to produce a stunning urban fantasy world that first starts in Wicked Enchantment and continues it’s dark and dangerous journey in Dark Enchantment. Instead of being overburdened by overwrought interpretation and world building at the sacrifice of story, or being heavy on story but leaving the world largely undefined, Dark Enchantment continues the arc’s perfect balance and hits all the right notes. The world building is a perfect blending of seductive romance, non stop action, realistic main characters, secondary characters, and intriguing betrayal. Well thought out and fast paced, it creates a satisfying arc of development for the main characters and culminates in two very different sort of conflicts – one that threatens the lives of Kieran and Charlotte and one that threatens their hearts.

I loved Charlotte from the first page. She doesn’t take kindly to having her free will stripped from her and she fights Kieran every step of the way in the beginning. Both of them intelligent, strong willed, and very independent. Watching the two of them pit their will against each other is very funny at times. One humorous moment is when Charlotte realizes that the bond actually dissipates the closer they are to each other. When she tries to escape, Kieran sarcastically tells Niall not to worry, that she can’t get far.

“What were you saying about how she wouldn’t get very far?”

“Goibhniu, looks like she’s gotten herself cab.”

“Kieran, I hate to point the obvious, but she’s getting away.”

Even though she is understandably furious with Kieran for his duplicity; the issue is negated in a realistic manner and the focus slides elegantly to the issue at hand-finding the relic.

Kieran is a fascinating mixture anger and remorse as he deals with Charlotte. Angry and unsocial through the last two installments; in this one we dig deep into his background and emotional make up to see why he is the way he is. He must use Charlotte and keep her at arms length yet he goes out of his way to show her the beauty of the Fae and make her stay comfortable. As Charlotte’s memories are unlocked, she learns more about her family and the night her mother died, leaving her with more unanswered questions.

The chemistry between Charlotte and Kieran is apparent from the beginning, but it flairs hot and sweet as they spend more time getting to truly know each other. I found myself completely engrossed in their very romantic affair. There are some steamy smexy scenes that made me think I need to find me a Fae for my own.

All in all Dark Enchantment is a satisfying read in every way. A unbelievable ride that I could not and did not want to end. I cannot WAIT for #4 of the Dark Magic series, Midnight Enchantment, which is due out in January 2012. We finally get Niall’s story. I will definitely continue to read and recommend this series to everyone. One small note-I do not recommend reading this as a stand alone. Even though each one has a resolvable main conflict, the arc and characters bleed over into each book and you miss much by not starting at the beginning.

Rating: A

Recent Reviews:
Goodreads

Author’s Website l Series Listing

Amazon l Kindle l Nook l Book Depository