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Within the Darkness #2
A Dance Within the Darkness
The darkness thickens, and secrets come to light. Patience and Lucius embark on a heart-stopping adventure to unravel the mysteries that bind them. Brace yourself for unexpected twists, intense emotions, and a love that refuses to be denied.
As the weight of Askaria's destiny hangs in the balance, Patience and Lucius find themselves at a crossroads.
Together, they must reconcile their conflicting desires, untangle the threads of their shared past, and navigate a treacherous path to sever their blood bond. For only by breaking free from the shackles that bind them can they confront the formidable forces threatening their quest for redemption.
Amidst the labyrinth of political intrigue and the looming threat of Lilith, the mother of all vampires, Patience and Lucius must unravel the secrets that lie dormant within their souls. Their journey takes them to the watery realm of Amare, where they encounter Queen Azalin and her loyal maladrias, Ennes and Nikita. The fate of their world rests on their shoulders as they seek the key to reclaiming the throne and safeguarding Askaria from impending doom.
In their relentless pursuit, Patience and Lucius will be tested like never before. Embracing the dance within the darkness, they will discover the depths of their own courage, resilience, and love. Will they succeed in their mission, forging a future where love and destiny intertwine? Or will they succumb to the relentless forces that threaten to tear them apart?
Get ready for an epic tale of sacrifice, passion, and self-discovery as Patience and Lucius embark on a journey that will challenge their very existence. Brace yourself for a mesmerizing adventure that explores the power of love, the resilience of the human spirit, and the triumph of hope in the face of darkness. The destiny of Askaria awaits.
Prepare to be enthralled as the second installment of the Within the Darkness Trilogy, "A Dance," delivers a riveting blend of suspense, passion, and unexpected twists. Brimming with heart-pounding action, witty banter, and sizzling chemistry, "A Dance" takes readers on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. With a tantalizing cliffhanger that will leave you yearning for more, so buckle up and immerse yourself in this captivating world, designed for mature audiences seeking an unforgettable journey through darkness and desire.
Prepare for an electrifying next chapter that will leave you breathless and craving for more.
As the weight of Askaria's destiny hangs in the balance, Patience and Lucius find themselves at a crossroads.
Together, they must reconcile their conflicting desires, untangle the threads of their shared past, and navigate a treacherous path to sever their blood bond. For only by breaking free from the shackles that bind them can they confront the formidable forces threatening their quest for redemption.
Amidst the labyrinth of political intrigue and the looming threat of Lilith, the mother of all vampires, Patience and Lucius must unravel the secrets that lie dormant within their souls. Their journey takes them to the watery realm of Amare, where they encounter Queen Azalin and her loyal maladrias, Ennes and Nikita. The fate of their world rests on their shoulders as they seek the key to reclaiming the throne and safeguarding Askaria from impending doom.
In their relentless pursuit, Patience and Lucius will be tested like never before. Embracing the dance within the darkness, they will discover the depths of their own courage, resilience, and love. Will they succeed in their mission, forging a future where love and destiny intertwine? Or will they succumb to the relentless forces that threaten to tear them apart?
Get ready for an epic tale of sacrifice, passion, and self-discovery as Patience and Lucius embark on a journey that will challenge their very existence. Brace yourself for a mesmerizing adventure that explores the power of love, the resilience of the human spirit, and the triumph of hope in the face of darkness. The destiny of Askaria awaits.
Prepare to be enthralled as the second installment of the Within the Darkness Trilogy, "A Dance," delivers a riveting blend of suspense, passion, and unexpected twists. Brimming with heart-pounding action, witty banter, and sizzling chemistry, "A Dance" takes readers on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. With a tantalizing cliffhanger that will leave you yearning for more, so buckle up and immerse yourself in this captivating world, designed for mature audiences seeking an unforgettable journey through darkness and desire.
Prepare for an electrifying next chapter that will leave you breathless and craving for more.
Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2023
72 people want to read
About the author
Charley Black
7 books101 followersCharley Black is an up-and-coming writer and author who has been creating stories since she was twelve years old. Her early short stories dabbled in different genres, but her passion for romance novels — paranormal romance in particular — always shone through. Charley currently resides in Rhode Island, with her family and works at a local university. Entwined will be the first of three novels set in the Within the Darkness universe.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 1, 2023
I love this book and the love story that it has in it. I can't wait for the next book to come out.
August 21, 2023
Patience and Lucius share a blood bond, but he hates her. Or so she thinks. The truth is that she is all he can think about. Unsettled by this, his number one priority is to sever the bond. Until Patience discovers something more urgent: Alazar, the half-demon who has been haunting her nightmares for half a century, is hunting and killing the Silverlands witches. Which means that he understands the risk that they pose to his plan of freeing his mother Lilith, the mother of vampires, in order to restore her powers. This would finally allow her to take her place as the ruler of the Silverlands, while he places himself on the throne in Evictus.
And there is also the matter of those missing memories, which, as events unfold, seem to hold the key not only to Patience and Lucius's connection and to their past, but they may also be pivotal in ensuring the safety of Patience, Lucius and of all other creatures across all worlds and realms.
Just like in the first installment of the trilogy, there is a lot of action and a lot of plot to this story. Characters that were introduced in 'Entwined' take a more prominent role, so I found myself having to go back to cross check as there are a lot of these. The world building and descriptions, which I felt were a bit toned down in the first book, step up beautifully in part two. I particularly enjoyed the description of Amare, the city of selkies, which came alive in front of my eyes in its crystal iridescent splendour.
Through the plot of this second installment, Black provides a better explanation of how the practical aspect of the magic is used in these worlds, which I felt was another missing part of the puzzle in book one. This also made me wonder whether the main character's name (or alias) being Patience, is a purposely placed, hidden tongue in cheek message for the reader?
The story again picks up at a quick pace, with enough plot to keep you engaged and there never is a slow moment. The spice is toned down from the first book, to a deliciously intense slow burn in the first half or so of this second part. As the story develops, there is a promise of this resolving into a very satisfying back love story and possibly a future pivotal plot line, that we are not yet completely privy to, although it is alluded to through dreams, visions etc. One of these is placed in the prologue, which I personally found a bit intense and long. Due to its setting in a completely different timeline, and describing events that have not yet been explained, I found it a bit confusing, but the purpose is to take note, as it comes together as we learn more when Lucius's memories are restored. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, although I found it a bit more demanding and as such maybe not the best introduction to fantasy as a genre, if this is what you're looking for. It does however challenge your imagination and leave you guessing how the overarching story line will resolve, by pulling in a lot of plot, characters and action, and I am looking forward to finding out how everything will come together in book 3.
For full disclosure, I received this book for free in exchange for a voluntary and unbiased review.
And there is also the matter of those missing memories, which, as events unfold, seem to hold the key not only to Patience and Lucius's connection and to their past, but they may also be pivotal in ensuring the safety of Patience, Lucius and of all other creatures across all worlds and realms.
Just like in the first installment of the trilogy, there is a lot of action and a lot of plot to this story. Characters that were introduced in 'Entwined' take a more prominent role, so I found myself having to go back to cross check as there are a lot of these. The world building and descriptions, which I felt were a bit toned down in the first book, step up beautifully in part two. I particularly enjoyed the description of Amare, the city of selkies, which came alive in front of my eyes in its crystal iridescent splendour.
Through the plot of this second installment, Black provides a better explanation of how the practical aspect of the magic is used in these worlds, which I felt was another missing part of the puzzle in book one. This also made me wonder whether the main character's name (or alias) being Patience, is a purposely placed, hidden tongue in cheek message for the reader?
The story again picks up at a quick pace, with enough plot to keep you engaged and there never is a slow moment. The spice is toned down from the first book, to a deliciously intense slow burn in the first half or so of this second part. As the story develops, there is a promise of this resolving into a very satisfying back love story and possibly a future pivotal plot line, that we are not yet completely privy to, although it is alluded to through dreams, visions etc. One of these is placed in the prologue, which I personally found a bit intense and long. Due to its setting in a completely different timeline, and describing events that have not yet been explained, I found it a bit confusing, but the purpose is to take note, as it comes together as we learn more when Lucius's memories are restored. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, although I found it a bit more demanding and as such maybe not the best introduction to fantasy as a genre, if this is what you're looking for. It does however challenge your imagination and leave you guessing how the overarching story line will resolve, by pulling in a lot of plot, characters and action, and I am looking forward to finding out how everything will come together in book 3.
For full disclosure, I received this book for free in exchange for a voluntary and unbiased review.
August 2, 2023
📚SERIES REVIEW📚
Within the Darkness by Charley Black (Books 1 & 2)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/3
Genres: Fantasy, romance
Tropes: paranormal, memory loss, intertwined fate, long life spans, forced proximity, enemies to lovers
Patience is a witch who has lost her memories. When she woke up 40 years ago, she had no idea who she was and where she came from; all she knows is that she keeps having nightmares with glowing red eyes.
In this world, witches and vampires are enemies. While searching for answers, Patience ends up having to work with Lucius (vampire who is a notorious witch hunter) to save her friend and his brother.
Lucius hates witches and blames them for his wife’s death, and consequently hates Patience. However, neither can avoid the undeniable chemistry between them.
During the first book, Patience finally finds some clues about her past and who is she. This also reveals details about why she has such a weird connection with Lucius. They both also discover that there are more sinister forces at play in the world, and they will have to continue to work together to defeat them (book 2).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think the plot and concept of this series is pretty unique. I always enjoy the memory loss trope as well, especially when it’s used to draw the plot together like it was in this series.
The world-building definitely could have been set a bit better though. I felt like there was a lot going on right at the beginning, but not enough clarification/explanation of things. The mechanics of the magic as well as the variety of creatures in this world was never really explained. This created plot holes later, because the characters magical abilities (and limits of those abilities) seemed inconsistent. Especially with regards to the mechanisms of the memory loss.
There was a big “surprise twist” in the second book which both answered questions and then created more. The lead up to this as well was confusing, due to the plethora of different names that each character was called. It felt unrealistic that Patience would just accept people calling her weird names without trying to question them for why (especially since she knew her memory was gone and was trying to find answers). Additionally, most of the plot twists were pretty predictable in general.
The POV jumps between the different characters, but it’s written in 3rd person. This got a little confusing because there was no clear indication of who had the POV, and sometimes it took multiple pages before clarification.
Personally, I found Lucius’s and Patience’s personalities to be a little annoying, which definitely made it harder to get in to this story.
Lastly, Lucius essentially started a war between the vampires and witches because he blamed the witches for his wife’s death; how did he just get everyone else on board with this?
Overall, it was an interesting story. I will say that by the end of the second book, it was getting very captivating and I was enjoying it a lot more.
Thank you to the author for a copy of the second book to read ✨
Within the Darkness by Charley Black (Books 1 & 2)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/3
Genres: Fantasy, romance
Tropes: paranormal, memory loss, intertwined fate, long life spans, forced proximity, enemies to lovers
Patience is a witch who has lost her memories. When she woke up 40 years ago, she had no idea who she was and where she came from; all she knows is that she keeps having nightmares with glowing red eyes.
In this world, witches and vampires are enemies. While searching for answers, Patience ends up having to work with Lucius (vampire who is a notorious witch hunter) to save her friend and his brother.
Lucius hates witches and blames them for his wife’s death, and consequently hates Patience. However, neither can avoid the undeniable chemistry between them.
During the first book, Patience finally finds some clues about her past and who is she. This also reveals details about why she has such a weird connection with Lucius. They both also discover that there are more sinister forces at play in the world, and they will have to continue to work together to defeat them (book 2).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think the plot and concept of this series is pretty unique. I always enjoy the memory loss trope as well, especially when it’s used to draw the plot together like it was in this series.
The world-building definitely could have been set a bit better though. I felt like there was a lot going on right at the beginning, but not enough clarification/explanation of things. The mechanics of the magic as well as the variety of creatures in this world was never really explained. This created plot holes later, because the characters magical abilities (and limits of those abilities) seemed inconsistent. Especially with regards to the mechanisms of the memory loss.
There was a big “surprise twist” in the second book which both answered questions and then created more. The lead up to this as well was confusing, due to the plethora of different names that each character was called. It felt unrealistic that Patience would just accept people calling her weird names without trying to question them for why (especially since she knew her memory was gone and was trying to find answers). Additionally, most of the plot twists were pretty predictable in general.
The POV jumps between the different characters, but it’s written in 3rd person. This got a little confusing because there was no clear indication of who had the POV, and sometimes it took multiple pages before clarification.
Personally, I found Lucius’s and Patience’s personalities to be a little annoying, which definitely made it harder to get in to this story.
Lastly, Lucius essentially started a war between the vampires and witches because he blamed the witches for his wife’s death; how did he just get everyone else on board with this?
Overall, it was an interesting story. I will say that by the end of the second book, it was getting very captivating and I was enjoying it a lot more.
Thank you to the author for a copy of the second book to read ✨
July 31, 2023
A Dance Within the Darkness is well written and easy to follow paranormal romance. It will definitely have you on the edge of your seat wanting more.
The whole story was just so good, there isn’t really anything I think that needs to be changed. The bond between the characters, the lies, deception, drama, suspense, joy, chemistry, it was all great.
I have my suspicions of what to expect in the next book, but, I also had that in this book and was proved wrong a couple times. I seriously can’t wait for the next book!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The whole story was just so good, there isn’t really anything I think that needs to be changed. The bond between the characters, the lies, deception, drama, suspense, joy, chemistry, it was all great.
I have my suspicions of what to expect in the next book, but, I also had that in this book and was proved wrong a couple times. I seriously can’t wait for the next book!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 19, 2023
Ohh, why do you do this to meeee?! I cant wait for book 3 *sobs.
I would have finished this in one sitting if my job wasnt draining the life from me. Lol.
Complete page turner. Not one chapter boring.
The sexual frustrations though! I was like, if one more person interrupts them.
One part of him being a jerk earned a gasp and how f***ing dare he??!
Five stars. I loved it. Thank you so much for the ARC of this book.
I would have finished this in one sitting if my job wasnt draining the life from me. Lol.
Complete page turner. Not one chapter boring.
The sexual frustrations though! I was like, if one more person interrupts them.
One part of him being a jerk earned a gasp and how f***ing dare he??!
Five stars. I loved it. Thank you so much for the ARC of this book.
August 7, 2023
Charley is so good at keeping you on the edge of your seat. There are so many unexpected twists and turns. I am going to be impatiently waiting for the next book. I can't wait to see where Lucius and Patience story takes them.
July 5, 2023
This sequel was full of tension building that had me on edge. It had a slow start that did feel slightly redundant but the story progression was fabulous. I cannot wait to read the next one!
July 9, 2023
I loved the all the twists and turns especially the action. I can't wait for the third one!
January 8, 2025
i need book three like now such a cliffhanger
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews