Seize the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon is the story of Valerius Magnus, the hated Roman General who has previously been seen briefly in other Dark Hunter novels. 

Readers of the other stories in the series will recall that it was the grandfather of Valerius who killed Kyrian (Night Pleasures).  Valerius was only a child of five at the time and a witness to the murder.  The image of his grandfather he is hated by the other Dark Hunters, many of whom are Greek.

So how did a Roman know to call on the Goddess Artemis? 

We find out now as Valerius reveals that he witnessed far more than his grandfather's brutality in his life which ended in a betrayal that was remarkably similar to that of Kyrian.

Based in New Orleans, Valerius knows that the other Dark Hunters hate him and does his best to keep out of their way.  But his world and theirs is about to collide as Tabitha Devereaux (twin sister of Amanda, Kyrian's wife) comes across him in her own crusade against the Daimons and accidentally stabs him through the heart.

Tabitha is one of the few humans who is aware of the world of the Dark Hunters.  When she accidentally stabs Valerius she is relieved to find that he is a Dark Hunter and not someone else who had inadvertently been in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Her relief turns to concern though when she realises who he is.  Unable to contact Ash she enlists the reluctant help of Squire Nick to get Valerius to safety.  She knows without asking that her family would leave him to die rather than come to her.

Thrown together by circumstances, and Ash, Tabitha finds that Valerius is not the man that she has been told about.  Met with hatred at every turn he is tormented by his half brother Zarek (who has the power to thrown lightening bolts at him when he is bored), Nick's friends, who make him run a gauntlet of humiliation if he ventures into their territory, and the other Dark Hunters who do not help him as they do the others.  Even worse, as a Roman he found that he was screwed when it came to giving out powers, Kell, the Hunters weapons expert won't trade with him, and the Squire's Council will never make a decision in his favour, something he found out when he wanted to request Squire status for Gilbert who he had taken in when he was a teenager. 

Tabitha finds that Valerius has been a victim of being judged before being met so many times that now he simply strikes out in defence before trouble starts. 

Deciding not to be one of those people Tabitha gives Valerius a chance and finds herself falling for him.  But she knows that being with him will tear her family apart...that is if they survive the return of an old enemy who is determined to kill everyone she holds dear.

This story is one of the best of the series and possibly my favourite to date.  Not so much for the story of Valerius and Tabitha, which is good but at times a little rushed, but rather for the back story that continues in this book as it has in the previous ones.

We find out more about the mysterious Ash in this book and we find out just what happens when he loses his temper and speaks in anger. 

We also, as promised at Sherrilyn's website, see the birth of a new Dark Hunter and the scenes surrounding this are some of the best I have read from Ms Kenyon.  Just be sure to have a box of tissues handy.

A truly great addition to the Dark Hunter series and one which answers a lot of the questions previously raised in other books of the series. 

RATING : 

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Also by Sherrilyn Kenyon: Link to the Complete Dark-Hunter series List. (at least to date)

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