RESISTING DARKNESS, the third Forest of Darkness novel by Kate Wendley, is an entertaining and intriguing paranormal romance that improves greatly on the previous two novels. I give it 3 stars.
In the novel, each character seems to have some darkness that must be resisted. While Ethan may be strong enough to be a Master vampire, he's not THE Master of Atlanta; instead, the son of his wife's killer is the Master of Atlanta, and Ethan has struggled for seventy years against hating and wanting to kill the man who reminds him so much of his wife's murderer. With some help from a friend, Ethan has learned how to beckon the killer back to Atlanta so he can finally have his revenge. Harmony arrives in town before the murderer, though, and distracts him from his mission.
Harmony has been alive for more than two hundred years, and has been afflicted with extreme wanderlust at least the entire time she's been a vampire. There's something, or someone she has to find, but she's not certain who or what it is. Fortunately, her Master allows her to roam freely, only requiring her to return to him in Malibu once a year. In the meantime, she tutors and teaches where she can until she feels it's time to move on, until she arrives in Atlanta and meets Ethan. With Ethan she finally stops feeling the need to seek. Their relationship isn't easy though. Ethan seems to be caught up in his dead wife, and Harmony doesn't want to share him with anyone, especially not a ghost.
Meanwhile, Anthony and Kaia struggle with the next steps in their relationship, which are not aided by human illness or the return of Anthony's father, Isaiah. It's been seventy-five years since he left, and he didn't stay in touch. Anthony's uncertain about his father's motives and intentions, and after he harms Kaia, there may not be room for Isaiah in the family. All of that drama would be enough, but Isaiah brought some old friends to town with him, and their presence shakes things up even more.
I absolutely enjoyed this novel. The plot was rich and complex, with some hidden minefields. (I will do my best to talk about what I enjoyed without giving any spoilers. Apologies if my comments are too vague!) Ethan is such a sympathetic character that one can't help but love him and want him to deal with his grief and live happily ever after with Harmony. Their romance seems to be nearly a love at first sight thing, but it is supported by the context of the novel. Their journey to HEA is a difficult one, but well worth the read.
I thought that Isaiah would eventually play a larger role in the novel, but perhaps his story will unfold in future novels or maybe a prequel. (He certainly has a lot to answer for in my book.) Or it could be that his arrival was merely a catalyst for other characters' development. I also enjoyed the drama with Anthony and Kaia and am happy about where their relationship is going.
There's also some introduction of new beings and further explanation of the magic in this world. I felt bad for some of the characters who needed more information about their magical world than they had, but they are learning right along with the reader.
On the technical side, the pacing of the novel was good, without any sticky points, and aside from a few grammar errors and wordy sentences, there weren't any editing issues that significantly detracted from my enjoyment of the novel.
On the whole, I was impressed by how much better this novel is than the first two in the series. I would still recommend reading the first two novels to gain an appreciation of the characters' lives and motivations. While there are some parts in this novel that summarize the backstory, it was just vague enough that anyone new to the series might still be lost. With the intriguing plot and steady pace, though, I think any lover of the vampire/shifter genre would like this novel.
**Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com.
