Dark Union

Descent #3

by S.M. Reine

Every fifty years, the most powerful ethereal and infernal beings convene on Earth to resolve conflicts with mediation by kopides--humans born to police relations between Heaven and Hell. They're meeting in Elise Kavanagh's territory this year, and she used to be the greatest kopis in the world. But she's not invited.

An old friend, Lucas McIntyre, asks her to attend the summit in his place. But when she arrives, she discovers that a human faction called The Union has taken charge of the summit, and they're not playing nice. Worse yet, someone has killed a prominent Union member...and now they're demanding blood.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Demons, Ebooks, Romance, Angels

115 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 21, 2012

About the author

Hi everyone! My name is Sara, and I write urban fantasy and paranormal novels as SM Reine. I collect swords, cat hair, and typewriters (which I do use for writing!). It's a good day when those three things have nothing to do with each other.

If you would like to know the instant my next book is available, you should enlist in my Army of Evil! We have a wicked cool secret handshake, but you'll have to sign up to learn it. ;) Check it out -- http://smarturl.it/armyofevil

Reviews

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

➽ And the moral of this rereread is: and...on the Descent Characters I Want to Kill Horribly Dead this Week List (DCIWtKHDtWL™)...we have...cue drum roll and stuff...Gary “I Hope Your Last Breath is Excruciatingly Painful and Horribly Agonizing” Zettel and Allyson “I'm Going to Cut You Into Tiny Little Pieces and Feed You to the Crustaceans” Whatley! Yay and stuff!



Oh, and also:



👋 To be continued and stuff.



[January 2017]

❣ Marital Buddy Read (MBR™) with my Dearest of Wives (DoW™), aka Choko ❣

Previous rating: 3.5 stars. For the books 1-3 bundle as a whole and stuff.
New rating : what are you, blind? Can't you see the little stars up there? Open your eyes, my Little Barnacles, open your eyes!

this review is longer that the story it attempts not to review. you're welcome.

sooooo, it seems that goodreads has been killed dead this week, which means i can do the karen and write in lower case, go all hardcore and not format anything, go with minimalistic giffing interior decorating, say whatever the shrimping crap i want to say, and the clueless little barnacles will be none the wiser and stuff. i thought i'd be super wicked and do the brigid by GOING ON AN UPPER CASE RAMPAGE BUT EVEN I AM NOT THAT CRUEL I LOVE YOU TOO, MY CINNAMON BUNS WIELDING PRINCESS SO I GAVE UP THE IDEA. DAMN, I'M SO KIND HEARTED SOMEONE SHOULD GIVE ME THE FIELDS MEDAL OR SOMETHING. oooops, sorry, i forgot i was kind hearted and therefore not supposed to do the upper case thing. so. where were we? oh, yes, someone should give me the fields medal or something. what does the fields medal have to do with my all-encompassing compassion, you ask? dunno, i hate maths.

but i digress.

damn, that whisky (yes WHISKY not whiskEy, you of the despicable booze taste) is good stuff.

but i digress.

by the way, if you came here looking for a review, well, you know, too bad and stuff.

but I digress.

damn that lower case business is going to be the death of me. i am currently fighting a losing battle against my bloody shrimping word processor. that bloody shrimping piece of bloody shrimping software keeps insisting on following each bloody shrimping period and starting each bloody shrimping new paragraph with a bloody shrimping upper case character. plus the stupid thing keeps talking to me and interrupting my ever fascinating train of thought for no reason. what? you don't believe it's talking to me? here, have a look:



see? silly little bugger is freaking annoying. it sometimes gets downright aggressive, too:



is ibiza in ukraine, you harebrained oaf of a paperclip?! does what i'm typing look like freaking cyrillic to you, you nitwitted boor of a stationery piece of crap?! ha. so shut up shut up shut up. oh, and don't insult ukranians like that. it's beneath you. besides, i'm pretty sure bill & melinda wouldn't approve. they are all one love one heart let's get together and feel alright and whoa whoa whoa and stuff.

but I digress.

damn. elise kavanagh is going to beat the living crap out of me when she finds out i am not even reviewing her glorious adventure here. could be kinky though. her beating the crap out of me, i mean. i love it when she gets rough and stuff. and our shrimpy lord knows how much elise loves to get rough and stuff, too. i mean, in general. you know, as in not necessarily on me. which is a shame really because you know, i love it. when she gets rough and stuff on me as opposed to on everyone and everything i mean. but i don't like her only because of the physical stuff, you know. come on now, you know i'm much more profound and philosophical and intellectual and deep than that
i want elise to marry me because she can be the coldest, most heartless, anti social bitch sometimes. and that is quite delicious. plus, she's the freaking godslayer. plus plus she's a double falchion wielding badass. plus plus plus she hates the asshole angels' guts with a vengeance. just like me. she thoroughly enjoys beating the crap out of big, bad demons, too. and she made it her mission in life to eradicate all lying, bastard assholes and all lying asshole bastards from the face of this world. and of hell. and of heaven. and of all neighbouring quarantined supra-ethereal dimensions. no discrimination whatsoever. gotta love such an equal opportunity chick. elise kavanagh, exterminating the scum of all worlds since the bronze age. more or less. anyway, my ass-kicking wife to be has her work cut out for her. so many otherworldly (or not) sobs, so little time and all that crap.

damn. looks like i'm really getting the hang of that lower case shit nonsense! go me!

elise and i do have a problem, though. we have to ditch her pathetic boyfriend before we can get married. she doesn't mind polygamy but i personally think that all that "to share is to care" stuff is bullshit. i care, therefore i don't share. ha. besides, anthony (the pathetic boyfriend) is pathetic. ergo, he deserves to die. that's pure logic for you. then i'd also have to get rid of james, elise's bonded witch, because their mind connection kinda gets freaky sometimes. plus he tends to piss me off. nothing personal, james, you know i love to hate you and stuff, but you lost your turn when you decided to go frolic in sunny california with stephanie the bitch from hell. while elise was busy annihilating stuff in the nevada desert, while being crassly and boorishly importuned by gary zettle, aka the giant asshole extraordinaire (tgae™).

then there's the problem of elise not really being into marital crap bliss. that might prove to be a tiny obstacle when it comes to, you know, marrying her and stuff. oh well, even if she doesn't want to become my beloved wife, we will always have zombies, giant spiders, murders, asshole angels, bloodthirsty demons, bastard humans or the end of the goddamn world. so i guess i can't complain.

damn. looks like i did say some stuff about the book after all. i am such a failure. i should be ashamed of myself.

and the moral of this i have no bloody shrimping idea what the freaking fish just happened here but i am innocent as a new born babe this is case you were wondering and yes i am indeed sane thank you very much crappy non whatever this thing is (ihnbsiwtffjhhbiaiaanbbticywwayiaistyvmcnwtti™) is:



but sometimes i do.



· Book 0.6: Deadly Hearts ★★★★★
· Book 1: Death's Hand ★★★★
· Book 2: The Darkest Gate ★★★★
· Book 4: Damnation Marked ★★★★
· Book 5: Dire Blood ★★★★
· Book 6: Defying Fate ★★★★★
· Book 7: Paradise Damned ★★★★★

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 4 ***

This was very short and kind of different than the rest of the books in the series. Elise and Anthony go to Las Vegas to help facilitate the periodically scheduled summit between the Demons, Humans and Angeles. However, they get sidetracked by a murderer, a bunch of humans who have, for some reason, decided that they should monopolize all human-demon-angel relationships and control it all with an iron hand! The Union, as they call themselves, are ruthless and self-righteous prigs whom I disliked since the moment they were introduced on page. However, we did get to meet a very cool kid who can see the future and is kept by the Union as a slave, the bastards!

I enjoyed this story and thought it was written very nicely and just the right length:-) Can't wait to get to the next book in the series!!!

I wish you all Happy Reading and many more wonderful books to come!!!

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, albeit short. It just doesn’t feel like any progress was made. The most interesting parts were with Benjamin and he was barely there. Im not entirely sure why this one was so much shorter than the others but I shan’t question it. I enjoyed myself well enough but I won’t be continuing on with this series. Although, I am curious to know what happens in the next installations.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time connecting with this one so it took me forever to finish. I would read a few pages and put it down for days. I did really like the ending, however, so I'll pick up the next.

[♥¸.•*´Tanya`*•.¸♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchaxed this as an ebook from Amazon.

Ok this is going to be a little weird. My review will actually be for Books 1-6 in The Descent Series,
Death's Hand
The Darkest Gate
Dark Union
Damnation Marked
Dire Blood
Defying Fate
The reason is I became so obsessed in reading the next book that I didn't bother to stop to write a review. Really who'd want to write a review when you could be with James and Elise traveling through inter-dimensional gates to hell, fighting angels and demons or coming back from the dead.

I loved the books even managed to read all six in two days I just couldn't stop reading. Great writing, Amazing storyline and superb well thought out characters.

I highly recommend reading the series. Only down side is now that I've finished Defying Fate, Paradise Dammed isn't released until June. How does S. M. Reine expect me to wait it going to be freak'n torture.

[Elena Linville-Abdo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick little read that I finished in half a day. This book starts a few months after the events of book two, with Elise and Anthony dealing with the aftermath of Betty's death... As in not dealing with it all.

I think this book does an excellent job showing us just how hard it is for Elise to cope with her own feelings of grief and guilt, and how bad she is at reading those feelings in others. She is emotionally shunted, damaged beyond repair, broken into pieces in His garden and remade into someone who can kill without remorse, but is incapable of reading other people's emotions...

That's one thing Anthony can't quite see about her. He keeps trying to make her normal, like any other typical girlfriend. He keeps trying to fit her into the mold he has in his head, then gets upset when she refuses to fold all her sharp edges to fit into the perfect square box he built in his head... which only widens the chasm growing between them. Elise's actions don't help either, but at least she genuinely doesn't know how to comfort others, or how to reach out and share the pain they are both feeling.

James might have been able to help her deal with all these feelings, but James has voluntarily checked out of their kopis/aspis relationship. Something tells me, this will come back and bite him in the ass in later books.

But Elise isn't entirely an unfeeling monster killing machine. This book shows us that she can care. The fact that there are very few people who she cares about and that she trusts also shows just how painfully isolated she is in this world. And when she thinks one of them betrayed her, she reacts badly.

I love this series so far. It's dark and different, and I can't help but feel like it's heading into even darker territories, but I can't stop reading it!

[Eppie · Rating 1 out of 5]

You call that a book? That was like half of a book.

[Debra Johnson]

Acquired on September 30, 2013 Amz

Not For Me
Young Adult

[Ara Prado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Dark Union (Descent #3)
Author: S.M. Reine
Publication Date: July 21, 2012
Published by: Red Iris Books
Source: Bought

ARA'S NOTE:
James - 1 and Elise - 1. What am I counting? The number of times they've died. But in terms of who's saving who, James is obviously losing. A quick recap of some things that happened in The Darkest Gate: Elise and James, along with Anthony and Betty, had to fight two opponents; one a giant spider who rules Las Vegas and the other an aspis-kopis pair with a need for vengeance. On the process, Betty died, Anthony avenged him by killing her killer, Elise also dies because He almost got her, Thom brought her back to life, Elise and James suddenly shared this weird and intimate connection, and Elise is even more dedicated to protect the world.

So basically, nothing much happened, eh? So what of the Union? Let me introduce you to the group of people I hate the most. Oh, by the way, there is not a lot of James in here. Probably for the best though.


SYNOPSIS:
Every fifty years, the most powerful ethereal and infernal beings convene on Earth to resolve conflicts with mediation by kopides--humans born to police relations between Heaven and Hell. They're meeting in Elise Kavanagh's territory this year, and she used to be the greatest kopis in the world. But she's not invited.

An old friend, Lucas McIntyre, asks her to attend the summit in his place. But when she arrives, she discovers that a human faction called The Union has taken charge of the summit, and they're not playing nice. Worse yet, someone has killed a prominent Union member, and now they're demanding blood.

Elise has to bring justice to the summit in DARK UNION, a 33,000-word (120 page) urban fantasy novella featuring a decrepit ghost town, angry men with guns, and even angrier angels.

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:
Elise Cavanagh is more emotionally distant than ever, because she just can't process the pain that comes with them. She pushes people away, and quite frankly she doesn't care anymore if they leave or stay. She tries to shut down the connection he has with James, because it pains her to see -- or rather feel -- that James is doing okay without her.

Anthony Morales has just lost his cousin, and his girlfriend is acting like it doesn't even matter. He feels neglected and taken for granted because of the way Elise treats him. He's given everything up for her, if only she can see that.

TO LOVE:
We get to meet new people in Elise's life. We also learn about the Kopis-Aspis bond.

"More permanent than marriage, more fatal than family, closer than the oldest friends."

For me, this sheds a whole new light to the relationship between the two. After the emotional turmoil Elise suffered from the loss of her best friend as well as the wall James built between them, it's nice to see Elise finally learning to shut James out. There were times -- namely when she's in pain -- wherein the connection strengthens and we "hear" the genuine concern James feels for Elise. I know it's very sadistic of me, but I like knowing that James gets all worked up and worried for Elise. Coz like dude, you sort of left her hanging first. We also get to see how much Elise actually values the people in her life. She's hell bent on proving the innocence of Lucas, even if that means putting herself in so much trouble.

TO BLEH:
I felt like Elise was weak in this book. We all know how kickass she truly is, but here, she seems to be of no importance to most people. Also, she seemed to be too cold, and it's kind of upsetting the way he treats Anthony like trash. I mean, I get that he's kind of annoying, but he does support her every step of the way.

SUMMARY:
I give Dark Union 3.5 stars. I found it okay, it's just that Elise seemed a bit weak here. Like she's not destined to kill Him or anything. The story also didn't progress well, and the strain between Elise and Anthony is really starting to get frustrating. But still, a good book. We get to meet more people. Some we'll love more in future books, while others...well, you'll just hate them and wish them death. Can't wait to continue to the next installment, Damnation Marked. Ooohhh, it's going to be awesome.

[Mike Alexander · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard pass. It's about one quarter of an actual book, being significantly shorter than both prior books. It introduces some characters, and just barely managed to mention what the driving mystery is before it gets cut off with no real resolution and the book just ends abruptly.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story fell very flat for me. It felt more like a novella setting up the next story than an actual instalment in the series. The focus is solely on Elise and Anthony, and it didn't work. Anthony has basically become a nonverbal bratty child, and Elise isn't the same without someone to compare her to. The plot seemed weak, I'm not sure how it develops the overall series arc, other than to set up the next book.

Overall, I was just very disappointed in the book.

[Kaisa "Giga" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elise needs to go and help an old friend Lucas McIntyre with this conference between Heaven And Hell. Union of Kopides and Aspides has took over the meeting, and they want Elise dead. Elise tries to go undercover but things don't go as planned...

I must say I hate Anthony. I hate him with fiery passion of a thousand sun. Hee's just so annoyng and whiny and stupid. Elise, why? And I'm so mad at James. He just needs to dump that bitch Stephanie and realize Elise is just waiting for him to get over himself. Oh come on!

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

the author keeps getting better with each book in this series. too bad the main character still isnt very likeable....

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark Union (Descent #3) by S.M. Reine
Rating: ★★★½

A Tense Supernatural Showdown with a Few Stumbles

S.M. Reine’s Dark Union, the third book in the Descent series, plunges readers into a volatile supernatural summit where tensions between Heaven, Hell, and humanity reach a breaking point. With a gripping opening—"Michele Newcomb’s body was still dying, but her mind was long gone."—the novel immediately sets a dark and eerie tone that persists throughout the story.

The premise is compelling: a summit meant to mediate celestial and demonic conflicts turns into a battleground of power struggles, conspiracies, and murder. The idea of The Union asserting human dominance over supernatural entities adds an intriguing twist to the established lore. Elise Kavanagh, a once-formidable kopis (demon hunter), is an engaging protagonist. Her reluctance to return to this world, paired with her sharp investigative skills, makes for a layered character arc. The ghost town setting amplifies the book’s eerie, suspenseful atmosphere, making every interaction feel tense and unpredictable.

However, the pacing stumbles at times, especially in the middle of the book, where exposition slightly outweighs action. While the tension builds, some sections feel drawn out. As a short novella, Dark Union lacks the depth of plot building found in previous installments, making the climax feel underwhelming rather than exciting. The murder mystery element is intriguing but doesn’t always deliver the sharpest twists. Some developments feel predictable, and a few characters lack depth, making their motivations less compelling. Additionally, this book functions more as a stepping stone for the sequel rather than a fully developed story on its own. While the world-building remains strong, readers unfamiliar with the previous books may struggle with the dense lore and relationships between characters.

Dark Union offers an engaging continuation of the Descent series, filled with supernatural politics, moral dilemmas, and a protagonist caught between duty and personal stakes. While it has pacing issues and some predictable moments, the book’s eerie setting and high-stakes conflict keep it entertaining. Fans of dark urban fantasy will find plenty to enjoy, but new readers may want to start with the earlier books for full immersion.

Recommended For: Readers who enjoy supernatural thrillers, urban fantasy with strong female protagonists, and stories blending mystery with celestial and demonic intrigue.

[Melanie Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way details about this world are slowly rolled out across the book. I finally get (to some degree) what the Council of Dis is and what kopides and aspis are supposed to be -- they protect a gate in a city. When The Union decides to give single kopides an aspis in exchange for taking over the kopides's city, I wondered what the pair of them would then do. Why does The Union want to take over territory unless they're planning something bad?

The way James was "in" the story but not actually in it was great, giving the duo some space but also emphasizing how attached they are (Elise can now see James thoughts more often than she would like, and vice versa). Though she needs help, she refuses to call on him.

Anthony got more space to become human. His grief over his Jeep and Betty and learning that Elise is intersex are all palpable, and I'm eager to learn how their relationship with develop or come apart.

Reine has such a talent for making Elise the most fierce person ever without writing her like a caricature. She's more like Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 than any other character I can think of. Remember how cold, hard, and muscular Hamilton was. She was a survivalist and yet behaved like she didn't care if she lived (she man not have, as John was the important one). And this line really got to me and made me whoop:

"Elise didn't think there was a kopis on the planet who could beat her. But it wasn't a fair fight -- she was a Godslayer, she was legend, and the other kipides were only men."

Awwwwww, yis.

[Mayhem-RW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elise and Anthony, Elise’s boyfriend, have had a tough time lately. Anthony lost his scholarship because he had spent too much time demon-hunting with Elise, and his cousin Betty had died in a fight with a rogue witch, and now his Jeep was gone as he had just sold it because they needed the money. Then McIntyre called Elise for help, and she knew she could not refuse. When they arrived in McIntyre’s area, Vegas, she found out that McIntyre’s wife was about to have a baby, and he needed Elise’s help in impersonating him and his wife at The Summit. The Summit is held every fifty years, and it is an argument between angels and demons arbitrated by the strongest kopis as a peacekeeping force. But someone got it in their head to organize the kopis; in short, they are called the Union. So, Anthony was to impersonate McIntyre, and Elise was to pretend to be his wife, Leticia, but would all go as planned?

This is the third book of the series. The world-building is fuzzy often, and the ethereal world-building is lacking some of the time. The character interaction is believable.

This read is the continuation of Elise’s journey through life. The adventure in the books is just getting better, and this story seems to point out, like the previous two did, that there is something special about Elise. I give this tale four stars out of five stars.

[Lissa Smith Reads'~A Bookaholics Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Star Read:
Among some of my favorites. Outstanding literary work. The characters are well developed, interesting. The liked characters are likable and the hated are unlikable. The writing is captivating enough to keep you interested until the end and leave you wanting more. It has a fairly original or uniquely well-developed plot. The pretense and romance were well balanced and done with properly distributed amounts of hints, behaviors, and chemistry. Not so much predictable if at all. Overall, loved it, I recommend reading!!

Full Disclosure : I participate in reviews with NetGalley, Author Review Requests, Publisher Requests, and Book Tours. An e-copy was provided to me by NetGalley and/or the Author, and/or the publishers. No payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was not any obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed here are entirely mine and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist, or the readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

[Alexandria Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

*****Spoilers*****

I liked this book but not so much the portrayal of Elise. She's drinking a lot in this book and even when it isn't a good time or place. Perhaps it's supposed to be her showing her grief for Betty's death in a way that she can express without tons of emotions or words but whatever the case, I'm not a fan of it. She's been stoic and unruffled by so much that the drunkard image doesn't really ring true.

Elise is slowly opening up emotionally and thankfully finally tells Anthony that she can't have kids. One thing I wonder though is whether she can carry the kids. Not sure in this world how advanced surrogates are or the science behind implantation.

The rest of the book isn't as interesting or involved as the other books. Elise and Anthony have a run in with the Union and we get a glimpse of the precognitive Ben. The summit occurs with the angel, demon, and Elise whereby she officially claims the territory of Reno. Finally, I'm not sure why she was waiting so long for it. Hope the next one picks up well.

[Autumn Marci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was actually a novella, and that was my only disappointing surprise (because the goodness was so short). Otherwise, I love Elise. I feel awful for Anthony, and I really am so damn pissed at James. I get it... he wants that normal life, but in truth he's clearly living in a delusion. His connection to Elise will always trump any attempts to be close to someone else... so unless he finds a woman confident enough to handle that relationship ... and I really don't think his current interest is the one.

SO curious about how things will progress, but interesting to be told Anthony would not be in Elise's life, and their recent distance has definitely already set things in motion on that front.

Can't wait for the next one!

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another great action-packed adventure where Elise battles on many fronts.

Following the death of her friend, her tainted relationship with James, her odd relationship with Anthony, Elise would rather drink away the pain of being who she is. However, she's asked for help and can never refuse...

The writing style has a great flow and is certainly fast-paced. I like Elise but I thought many of the males are lacking her 'punch'. She's vulnerable and yet always strives to do the right thing.

No spoilers, so I will just say that it a great read, filled with action and magic and all manner of things in between.

Recommended.

[Shaey Lutzow]

A couple of twists made it more interesting. Interesting and different to the standard books revolving around demons, hell and angels etc
I happen to really like this author. Although this book can be read as a stand alone book, it is better to read the other books in sequence and you will see cross over references to other people in other books.

[Giovanna Busa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Union

Oh my gosh, the author has captivated my attention once again. The heroine, demon God slayer is at it again. She's fighting to protect her territory. Onto the next sequel!!

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Read as part of Box 1-3 Set and didn't review any until I finished the set.]

The angels and the demons are having their summit but a group of humans is trying to unionise participants. As a rule, I like unions but this one is too coercive.

[Addison · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This novella delivers a fast-paced, tense story focused on a high-stakes supernatural summit gone wrong. Elise’s navigation through treacherous alliances and deadly politics highlights her growth since the earlier novels. The shorter format means less character introspection but plenty of suspense and action, making it a solid, thrilling installment for fans of urban fantasy confrontations.

[Angela Theel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt too short and a little long at the same time. It does give some hints of her past which I found compelling. Can't wait to get my hands on book 4

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was really short and not that interesting. Antony gets more annoying with each book.

[Sam Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little predictable but still pretty good.

[Julia Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting little break in the story, so to speak, brought a lot of new players and I look forward to some day seeing how it progresses! My only complaint is that it felt waaaay too short!

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enticing short story.

[Kenn Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best book of the series so far.