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Tales of the Darkworld #6.5
Breathe Me In
Life is good for vampire Wilson North. His family left him well off. His job as an estate attorney is prestigious, well paying, and non-demanding. He’s gay and out and never had any issues being either. In fact, until the day he ended up beneath his car, bleeding out and only a few pints of blood from a sure trip to the Afterworld, life had never been a challenge.
When Will meets his destiny in the form of an enigmatic Magia named Garrick Forrester he finds the challenge of his life. Garrick’s gay but doesn’t live an openly gay life. Instead, he hides his nature behind his ownership of a BDSM club. The two men instantly know they are mates, but that doesn’t smooth the path to their bonding. Garrick wants Will but threats from his past convince him that the only way to protect his lover is to leave him. Shocked by Garrick’s ability to walk away, Will struggles to understand why his mate doesn’t want him. For the first time in Will’s life, something isn’t easy and he must fight for what he needs or give up his chance for happiness.
Drawn together by destiny. Torn apart by self-doubts and fear. Two men on the cusp of a dream must set aside the lives they’ve always lived for a chance at a new and brilliant future.
This book contains virgin sex between a sexy self-sacrificing wizard who’s never been catcher and an angelic-faced vampire who’s never pitched, a BDSM bad guy with dark magic, a mysterious royal Acerbian, and a host of characters from previous Tales books who do everything from implode buildings to change diapers…all to help two reluctant heroes find true love.
When Will meets his destiny in the form of an enigmatic Magia named Garrick Forrester he finds the challenge of his life. Garrick’s gay but doesn’t live an openly gay life. Instead, he hides his nature behind his ownership of a BDSM club. The two men instantly know they are mates, but that doesn’t smooth the path to their bonding. Garrick wants Will but threats from his past convince him that the only way to protect his lover is to leave him. Shocked by Garrick’s ability to walk away, Will struggles to understand why his mate doesn’t want him. For the first time in Will’s life, something isn’t easy and he must fight for what he needs or give up his chance for happiness.
Drawn together by destiny. Torn apart by self-doubts and fear. Two men on the cusp of a dream must set aside the lives they’ve always lived for a chance at a new and brilliant future.
This book contains virgin sex between a sexy self-sacrificing wizard who’s never been catcher and an angelic-faced vampire who’s never pitched, a BDSM bad guy with dark magic, a mysterious royal Acerbian, and a host of characters from previous Tales books who do everything from implode buildings to change diapers…all to help two reluctant heroes find true love.
163 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2011
3 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Lex Valentine
83 books198 followersAward-winning author Lex Valentine writes across genres from contemporary to urban fantasy but mostly M/M these days. A native of California, Lex lives in Orange County, with her husband Rott and a bunch of cats she collectively calls “babies.” She's a 17 year employee of a 100+ year old cemetery, builds her own computers and is generally considered the IT geek at work and to her family and friends.
A member of the Romance Writers of America, Lex is active in her local Orange County chapter and is a past treasurer for PASIC. Her publishers include Loose Id, Ellora's Cave, and MLR Press. She's the author of the self-published ARe and Amazon best selling series Souls in Bondage.
Lex loves to hear from her readers. Her door is always open at lex@lexvalentine.com or on her personal or author Facebook pages.
Website: http://lexvalentine.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/lexvalentineauthor
Facebook: http://facebook.com/cemeterywinter
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lexvalentine
A member of the Romance Writers of America, Lex is active in her local Orange County chapter and is a past treasurer for PASIC. Her publishers include Loose Id, Ellora's Cave, and MLR Press. She's the author of the self-published ARe and Amazon best selling series Souls in Bondage.
Lex loves to hear from her readers. Her door is always open at lex@lexvalentine.com or on her personal or author Facebook pages.
Website: http://lexvalentine.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/lexvalentineauthor
Facebook: http://facebook.com/cemeterywinter
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lexvalentine
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 12, 2011
How can someone live after finding their mate and abruptly losing him, all within a short period of time? Would you fight for your love or would you let it slip through your fingers? After a near death experience Wilson North realizes that he cannot continue to live his life as he has been doing. When he meets his mate his world is turned upside down. Garrick and Wilson are wonderful together but Garrick has fears and secrets that pull the two apart. After a great week of being together things make a turn in the wrong direction. Out of the blue Garrick announces that he is leaving and that Wilson must go on without him but Wilson is not ready to give up on his mate and follows Garrick to find his secrets.
Breathe Me In is another great installment to the Darkworld series. Wilson North is a great character and I am happy to see that he finds a mate and gets his story told. Garrick and Wilson make a wonderful couple. Always there for one another and so full of love for each other. I loved seeing Wilson come into himself and fight for Garrick. Garrick may love Wilson but he is afraid and thinks the best way to protect Wilson is to leave him. Garrick is a strong man who finds his life and emotions in upheaval win he meets Wilson. Their story is a great romance that kept me enthralled and turning those pages all the way to the end.
Full of great characters and strong emotions this book takes you on an emotional roller coaster. I loved the ride that this author takes the reader on in this book and cannot wait for the next book to come out.
originally posted at http://whippedcream2.blogspot.com/201...
Breathe Me In is another great installment to the Darkworld series. Wilson North is a great character and I am happy to see that he finds a mate and gets his story told. Garrick and Wilson make a wonderful couple. Always there for one another and so full of love for each other. I loved seeing Wilson come into himself and fight for Garrick. Garrick may love Wilson but he is afraid and thinks the best way to protect Wilson is to leave him. Garrick is a strong man who finds his life and emotions in upheaval win he meets Wilson. Their story is a great romance that kept me enthralled and turning those pages all the way to the end.
Full of great characters and strong emotions this book takes you on an emotional roller coaster. I loved the ride that this author takes the reader on in this book and cannot wait for the next book to come out.
originally posted at http://whippedcream2.blogspot.com/201...
October 25, 2015
2011 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)
November 3, 2012
Way too mushy and disjointed for me
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 5/10
PROS:
- The story begins with vampire Will seriously injured from a car accident, and it was refreshing to see a “mostly immortal” character living with the realization that he’s not invincible.
- Valentine does a good job of establishing the supernatural bond between Will and Garrick. Not only are they sexually attracted to each other, which is commonplace in stories about “mates,” but they also have a psychological connection as well as a strange physical sharing of sensations, as though they share the same body.
- The paranormal world of the story seems rather expansive, although we don’t see a lot of development of that in this volume. (I got the impression that the earlier books in the series do most of the development in that area.) Still, this story mentions a host of fantasy creatures that all intermingle--fae, werewolves, wizards/mages, vampires, demons, dragons, etc.--which I thought was fun.
CONS:
- The writing isn’t smooth; it’s jumpy, moving from one idea to another, and then back to the original idea again. Passages that describe the characters’ feelings are often repetitive--sometimes from one scene to another and sometimes within the span of just a few paragraphs--and the dialogue is often awkward and over-the-top.
- I’m not sure whether I got a corrupted file or the electronic version of this book is just terribly formatted, but my version has (obviously unintentional) line breaks in the middle of sentences and sometimes even in the middle of words. It’s difficult to read when “something” appears as “so
mething.” This especially tripped me up when the break occurred at a point where the first part of the word is an actual word by itself, like this: “a/che.” (I wondered briefly when I came across that one what a “che” was.) Even assuming that the chaotic paragraph breaks are just the result of a formatting snafu, the editing in this book leaves much to be desired. Here’s a random example of the many errors that would have been quite simple to fix: “I’d be happy to show what I look like naked you a/ny time you like.”
- The sex scenes contain some silly hyperbole that seemed out of place to me when compared with the rest of the story. Example: “…connection between them opened, a shining stream of / consciousness like a silver ribbon unwinding acros/s the plush velvet of their souls.” The characters also take frequent trips into Mushville when they’re in bed together: “Gods, Garrick. You’re turning me into a puddle of want. How do you expect me to hold onto my sanity when you intoxicate me with your every touch?”
Overall comments: I didn’t hate this, but I wasn’t impressed either. There’s a statement at the beginning of the book that all the stories in this series can stand alone, and that’s essentially true here, although the explanation of who all the characters are and how they fit together is pretty sparse. And my thoughts on the dialogue during the sex scenes can be summed up with one word: ugh. It’s nothing but melodrama and mush.
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 5/10
PROS:
- The story begins with vampire Will seriously injured from a car accident, and it was refreshing to see a “mostly immortal” character living with the realization that he’s not invincible.
- Valentine does a good job of establishing the supernatural bond between Will and Garrick. Not only are they sexually attracted to each other, which is commonplace in stories about “mates,” but they also have a psychological connection as well as a strange physical sharing of sensations, as though they share the same body.
- The paranormal world of the story seems rather expansive, although we don’t see a lot of development of that in this volume. (I got the impression that the earlier books in the series do most of the development in that area.) Still, this story mentions a host of fantasy creatures that all intermingle--fae, werewolves, wizards/mages, vampires, demons, dragons, etc.--which I thought was fun.
CONS:
- The writing isn’t smooth; it’s jumpy, moving from one idea to another, and then back to the original idea again. Passages that describe the characters’ feelings are often repetitive--sometimes from one scene to another and sometimes within the span of just a few paragraphs--and the dialogue is often awkward and over-the-top.
- I’m not sure whether I got a corrupted file or the electronic version of this book is just terribly formatted, but my version has (obviously unintentional) line breaks in the middle of sentences and sometimes even in the middle of words. It’s difficult to read when “something” appears as “so
mething.” This especially tripped me up when the break occurred at a point where the first part of the word is an actual word by itself, like this: “a/che.” (I wondered briefly when I came across that one what a “che” was.) Even assuming that the chaotic paragraph breaks are just the result of a formatting snafu, the editing in this book leaves much to be desired. Here’s a random example of the many errors that would have been quite simple to fix: “I’d be happy to show what I look like naked you a/ny time you like.”
- The sex scenes contain some silly hyperbole that seemed out of place to me when compared with the rest of the story. Example: “…connection between them opened, a shining stream of / consciousness like a silver ribbon unwinding acros/s the plush velvet of their souls.” The characters also take frequent trips into Mushville when they’re in bed together: “Gods, Garrick. You’re turning me into a puddle of want. How do you expect me to hold onto my sanity when you intoxicate me with your every touch?”
Overall comments: I didn’t hate this, but I wasn’t impressed either. There’s a statement at the beginning of the book that all the stories in this series can stand alone, and that’s essentially true here, although the explanation of who all the characters are and how they fit together is pretty sparse. And my thoughts on the dialogue during the sex scenes can be summed up with one word: ugh. It’s nothing but melodrama and mush.
February 29, 2016
In lieu of writing reviews – I’m taking an extended break – I decided to leave this list showing some of the reasons for the stars I’ve given to the stories I’ve read.
5 Stars – Given to stories that had me falling in love with the characters or stories where I hated the characters but the author had me hooked. For stories that had me so engaged in the plot I couldn’t put the book down and stories that either made me cry buckets and/or laugh until I cried. In short…. these ones rocked my world!!!
4 Stars– Given to stories that I REALLY, REALLY enjoyed reading but had me wishing for just a bit more.
3 Stars – Given to stories that I thought were worth the read but they didn’t knock my socks off.
2 Stars – Given to stories that didn’t work for me. I couldn’t connect to the MCs or feel any sort of connection between them. I couldn’t follow the plot or there wasn’t a plot. Every so often one of these stories just needs work to fix what went wrong but mostly 2 star reads are stories that leave me wondering why I kept reading until the end.
1 Star - I RARELY give out 1 Star so when I do it means the story was a complete train wreck.
I know what I may love another reader may wonder what the hell I was thinking and vise versa but I’m okay with that!
5 Stars – Given to stories that had me falling in love with the characters or stories where I hated the characters but the author had me hooked. For stories that had me so engaged in the plot I couldn’t put the book down and stories that either made me cry buckets and/or laugh until I cried. In short…. these ones rocked my world!!!
4 Stars– Given to stories that I REALLY, REALLY enjoyed reading but had me wishing for just a bit more.
3 Stars – Given to stories that I thought were worth the read but they didn’t knock my socks off.
2 Stars – Given to stories that didn’t work for me. I couldn’t connect to the MCs or feel any sort of connection between them. I couldn’t follow the plot or there wasn’t a plot. Every so often one of these stories just needs work to fix what went wrong but mostly 2 star reads are stories that leave me wondering why I kept reading until the end.
1 Star - I RARELY give out 1 Star so when I do it means the story was a complete train wreck.
I know what I may love another reader may wonder what the hell I was thinking and vise versa but I’m okay with that!
August 10, 2016
This was book 6.5 in the Dark World series. It was the first one I read and it was no trouble reading it out of order though naturally there were spoilers of the mated couples from earlier books.
The plot was simple. Will looks on with envy at his friends wedding ceremony realizing that he hates the idea of his own loneliness. He has just been in a near death car accident and it has made him stop and think. While he sits pondering these things, a stranger appears before him where he sits on a bench. But it is not just any stranger; this man Garrick is his mate. Will is a vampire and Garrick is a sorcerer. They both feel and recognize the connection and spend about a week exploring and reveling in their matehood. Then suddenly Garrick ups and leaves Will. Will is devastated and feels that it was his fault for not being what Garrick needed. Garrick's reasons for leaving are two-fold. He is afraid that by taking a mate then he will endanger Will by bringing down an old enemy on him. He is also just afraid of coming out of the closet and making a lifelong commitment. His precautions are for nothing because his enemy Stefan is well aware of Will. I will stop there of course and not blow the exciting part of the story for you.
The plot had a good storyline and I enjoyed the world building in the book. Though I jumped into the middle, I was able to follow things pretty well. The only weakness I noticed was a tendency to keep reminding me of the heroes' reasons for things. It was not a huge turnoff; just something that I noticed.
The characters were well written and I enjoyed the relationships between the mated pairs, the friends, and the main couple. The romance comes on fast and steamy leaving the relationship building in the dust- though that eventually happens too.
I will definitely be going back and reading the other books in the series.
The plot was simple. Will looks on with envy at his friends wedding ceremony realizing that he hates the idea of his own loneliness. He has just been in a near death car accident and it has made him stop and think. While he sits pondering these things, a stranger appears before him where he sits on a bench. But it is not just any stranger; this man Garrick is his mate. Will is a vampire and Garrick is a sorcerer. They both feel and recognize the connection and spend about a week exploring and reveling in their matehood. Then suddenly Garrick ups and leaves Will. Will is devastated and feels that it was his fault for not being what Garrick needed. Garrick's reasons for leaving are two-fold. He is afraid that by taking a mate then he will endanger Will by bringing down an old enemy on him. He is also just afraid of coming out of the closet and making a lifelong commitment. His precautions are for nothing because his enemy Stefan is well aware of Will. I will stop there of course and not blow the exciting part of the story for you.
The plot had a good storyline and I enjoyed the world building in the book. Though I jumped into the middle, I was able to follow things pretty well. The only weakness I noticed was a tendency to keep reminding me of the heroes' reasons for things. It was not a huge turnoff; just something that I noticed.
The characters were well written and I enjoyed the relationships between the mated pairs, the friends, and the main couple. The romance comes on fast and steamy leaving the relationship building in the dust- though that eventually happens too.
I will definitely be going back and reading the other books in the series.
Read
April 26, 2012I'm not going to rate this book as I don't think it would be fair. This book is part of a series of which I have not read any of the others. It is also not the sort of story I would normally read.
I read it simply because it was a free read. Sometimes these free stories can widen your reading horizons. This one didn't.
Reasons I should never have read this book.
The characters are supernatural, not only vampires and wizards but werewolfs, dragons, demons and fey fairy things.
There was an undercurrent of BDSM.
It was insta-love (I know that could have been the whole lifemate thing, but it was still insta-love).
If you like any or all of the above then maybe this book is for you.
Also, I did find the inclusion of some of the characters (who were presumably introduced in earlier books) unnecessary to the overall story, it made the storyline overly cluttered and confusing in places.
I read it simply because it was a free read. Sometimes these free stories can widen your reading horizons. This one didn't.
Reasons I should never have read this book.
The characters are supernatural, not only vampires and wizards but werewolfs, dragons, demons and fey fairy things.
There was an undercurrent of BDSM.
It was insta-love (I know that could have been the whole lifemate thing, but it was still insta-love).
If you like any or all of the above then maybe this book is for you.
Also, I did find the inclusion of some of the characters (who were presumably introduced in earlier books) unnecessary to the overall story, it made the storyline overly cluttered and confusing in places.
March 3, 2019
I can't say how relieved I am that I enjoyed this book. I was bored and frustrated by the last one after loving the 3rd. I must also note that I did not have the formatting issues I experienced with the last story, but apparently at least one other reviewer did.
I started off concerned enough by the story, that I even made a comment in the update part which I rarely do. After a rough start, the story pulled me right in and kept me. I was a little appeased by the thought that Will's earlier stupidity might be explained by the weak dark magic curse. Of the m/m ones in this series, this one had the most actual story other than the trials of mating. It was also nice to see Emily come into her own. I liked the m/c's and found Will's surprise at his inner Alpha endearing. I loved the team effort in the end to free them from the curse. I enjoyed this story. There are flaws but nothing too serious that kept it from being the light adventurous read it was meant to be.
I started off concerned enough by the story, that I even made a comment in the update part which I rarely do. After a rough start, the story pulled me right in and kept me. I was a little appeased by the thought that Will's earlier stupidity might be explained by the weak dark magic curse. Of the m/m ones in this series, this one had the most actual story other than the trials of mating. It was also nice to see Emily come into her own. I liked the m/c's and found Will's surprise at his inner Alpha endearing. I loved the team effort in the end to free them from the curse. I enjoyed this story. There are flaws but nothing too serious that kept it from being the light adventurous read it was meant to be.
February 1, 2017
This was an offer book from the ARe newsletter for earthday, and whilst not one i would normally choose, it was a good read. I dont normally go for paranormal books but it wasn't too bad, based in the current world but with characters that are something more. It is a mid series book, so some knowledge would have made some parts quicker to grasp but ok as a standalone. It was a fairly easy read but i didnt feel involved with the characters and felt only a mild interest in finding out about the other characters.
13.5.15 : reread. Still OK as a standalone. An erotic through Will and Garrick's mating!
13.5.15 : reread. Still OK as a standalone. An erotic through Will and Garrick's mating!
May 8, 2012
I'm kind of particular when it comes to m/m, especially the sex scenes. I don't want to be bombarded with technical details and I don't want to have to draw it out to be sure it all makes sense. Neither was the case in this story of Will and Garrick. This is a good story where even though the attraction is hot, heavy and instantaneous, we are given a good reason. My only real complaint is the number of characters introduced in the book who don't necessarily apply to this story. I couldn't keep them all straight and got to the point where I stopped trying. I realize reading the first in the series might help, but as someone picking up this book first it was VERY confusing.
April 12, 2012
I really didn't like this one. I don't know why the author took the trouble to use so many different supernatural species when she doesn't use their specificity all that much (except for the need to mate, obviously). I don't know why the clubs are in Paris, it doesn't bring anything to the story (it does make this French reader cringe though). And the sex scenes aren't even that hot, mostly boring. Like the characters. Fortunately, it was a free read from aRe.
June 4, 2012
This was a giveaway on All Romance Ebooks during their April Earth Day promotion.
I tried to get into this one. It features a mage and vampire, bloodmates, both men. Apparently this is book 6 in the series, so that's probably why there are some gaps in my understanding of the world. Gaps aside, I just couldn't get into the story. Fated to be together, angst and a curse keep them apart. Blah, blah, blah.
It's not you, Lex Valentine, it's me.
I tried to get into this one. It features a mage and vampire, bloodmates, both men. Apparently this is book 6 in the series, so that's probably why there are some gaps in my understanding of the world. Gaps aside, I just couldn't get into the story. Fated to be together, angst and a curse keep them apart. Blah, blah, blah.
It's not you, Lex Valentine, it's me.
February 2, 2013
I haven't read all the previous books in this series but it didn't spoil my enjoyment one bit. The story is almost a stand alone, with just enough mention of previous characters and storylines to enhance rather than detract. The interaction between Will and Garrick is dominant and makes the story well worth reading.
Want to read
January 25, 2012$3.99 on Nook
October 19, 2012
Good covers do not always make for good books.
October 2, 2013
3.25 stars
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews