Hearts of Darkness

Starred review from April 23, 2012
In this dazzling debut, Brady blends Norse, Babylonian, and Native American mythology to create a dark and compelling story set in an alternate present day. After Philadelphia nurse Kayla Friday’s beloved sister is killed, Kayla goes to Seattle (which looks like “some war-torn, third world country”) to identify the body and promptly plunges into a world of dueling ancient clans. The soul-eating Drekar seek to open a Gate between worlds, while the shape-shifting Kivati are equally determined to prevent the breach they know will unleash a deadly apocalypse. Through it all, Brady weaves a compelling love story between virginal Kayla and Hart, a Kivati mercenary and werewolf. Hart believes himself to be damned thanks to events in the past—not to mention his current work for the evil Dreki Sven Norgard—but Kayla sees the good at his core, while he helps her navigate the strange world her sister inhabited. This dark paranormal moves quickly to a thrilling finish, setting the stage for the next installment of this irresistible new series.

Xe Sands's sultry delivery brings the shadowy, sensual world of the Deadglass trilogy vividly to life. When Kayla Friday arrives in Seattle to identify the body of her murdered sister, she finds herself in the middle of an ancient battle between powerful shape-shifters. Her only ally is the sexy, tortured werewolf Hart, whose quest to find the key to the Gate of the Land of the Dead brings him and Kayla to the edge of hell itself. Sands's haunting narration makes every scene feel like a shared secret and heightens the longing and emotional tension throughout the story. Though her characters, especially the males, aren't always easy to distinguish, listeners will be engrossed in this promising series and left hungry for more. B.E.K. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine