#BookReview – “Night Falls Darkly” by Kim Lenox

Blurb

Ever since an accident took away her memory, Miss Elena Whitney can't recall the secrets of her own past. All she knows is that with her mysterious benefactor Archer, Lord Black, returning to London at the behest of Queen Victoria, she should seize the chance to get some answers.

A member of the immortal Shadow Guard, Archer has been summoned to London to eliminate the soul of an evil demon-Jack the Ripper. Archer feels not only bound to protect the women of the night, but also his beautiful young ward, Elena, whom he spared from death two years before. But with a wave of panic spreading across London, Archer fears that Elena is his weakness-a distraction he can't afford, especially since she's likely to become the Ripper's next target.

Review

In book 1 in the Shadow Guard series, Elena has severe, permanent amnesia (she lost all her memories from birth to the “accident,” which happened a year earlier), but her guardian, Lord Black, provides everything she needs financially. Even though she lives in his manor, she’s never met him since he’s been aboard. When he returns, she hopes he’ll help her uncover her lost memories.

Archer, Lord Black, is an ancient immortal and the oldest of the Shadow Guard. For his age, the book states he’s been around since the beginning of time. He saved Elena’s life the year prior and purposely gave her amnesia to protect his immortal secret. When they meet again, he’s torn three ways: he needs to concentrate on finding Jack the Ripper (a Transcending soul who’s part of a larger conspiracy); he wants to spend time with Elena because she’s intriguing; and he wants to avoid Elena because his immortality forbids him from falling in love with a mortal.

Archer and Elena barely talked or spent any time together, so I didn’t feel much romance between them. There’s only one sex scene and it was breezed over.

I couldn’t relate to the H/h. Archer destroyed Elena’s chances for medical school because he wanted her to marry and have kids like a “respectable” woman should. Also, what kind of hero gives the heroine amnesia?

Elena is infatuated with Archer and forgives him very easily for stealing her memories. She also spurns the love of a much better, more decent suitor. Her actions didn’t seem logical.

The Shadow Guard is a special warrior branch of the Amaranthines race, and their job is to kill corrupt human souls that are in the process of Transcending. Their special power is that they can literally turn into a shadow to better stalk their targets and use immortal blades to kill with. (This information is revealed in bits and pieces. Most of it didn’t make sense to me.)

The beginning captured my interest, but then the pacing slowed. The book could use a light edit to add in missing periods and fix stray POV shifts. Even though this story just wasn’t for me, opinions are subjective. I have two other books in the series and I’m interested in reading those.

2 Stars

Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.