I want to start off with an apology. I was lucky enough to get many ARC's this year. With buying our first home, getting my daughter started with pre-k, and getting adjusted to the new routines has set me back so bad with my books. I feel disappointed in myself especially when I see that I have gotten 4 total ARC's for this series. The last one I got was released last month on the 30th. To the publishers who gave me the books, I am so sorry for the delay. With that, I have decided to knock out all of my Donna Grant books in a row. Are you guys ready? I don't think putting all three books left into one post will be a good idea. I will continue my same format for each book.

I have read a book by Donna Grant before and I really enjoyed it. I like the author, so when I had an opportunity for other ARC books by her, um... hell yeah. After a little bit, I realized that this is a HUGE world, and all the different series that Donna Grant has written are connected. I love the big series. I am really wishing I got to this at the start. So I looked up the reading order for myself just so see it visually and it is easy to find on the author's website. Another author that has a huger series that I got 20 + books deep into like that is Sherrilyn Kenyon. So Donna Grant is on the list of author's that I will scoop up because dedication to a series like that makes me happy.

Picking up a book when it's in the middle of the series is risky. You don't know if you're going to be missing out on a bunch of backstories for the characters you're reading about. You don't know if there are attributes to the characters that were mentioned before. I know I have said similarly before since this isn't my first starting somewhere other than the start. However, I have at least read a book from the world that this book belongs too. So I'm not totally lost. If you wanted to pick this up without reading the previous books, I think you would be fine. This isn't Donna Grant's first rodeo connecting readers to previous books. Dark Alpha's Night is thankfully one of those where chapter one gives you a quick breakdown of the world from Daire, one of the main characters, POV. So you get a feel for his personality and what the first four books involved. Who has coupled up in the previous books, and who have they been fighting? It really only gets into the Reapers series previous info, but there is mention to the other series that are connected. The Reaper's are working to defeat Bran, a former Reaper, in their series. Bran is trying to kill Death for revenge. There is a rule that since Reapers are the fae executioners, another fae can't know about them. The consequence is the fae who knows about the Reapers is killed. Now Bran has a special sort of rage since most of the Reapers are now paired up with someone. Each booth Bran finds a sort of loophole to siphon Death's power from her, and he is close to killing her in this book. Bran discovers a new loophole which leads him to Ettie and her two sisters. They are his descendants from his time before he was a Reaper.

Ettie is the bland sister out of the three. She is pretty but not as astounding as the other two. Each sister has a gifted characteristic that they get from their half fae lineage. Carrie has like a chef power, lol. Jamie is brilliant with mechanical things. Ettie doesn't know what her quality is till later. The only thing she knows that sets her apart is she's a better fighter. Her father told them about the fae and told them to train and prepare. Which is what he was told. So her good fighting in her mind is just from her dedication. Daire was sort of boring to me. He seemed bland, and that isn't bad because these two seemed more like a normal person you would meet on the street. Not overly brooding, or any of those typical steamy romance guys. I appreciate that every now and then when it's done right.

It looks like this is a six book series for the Reapers alone, not the whole world. That's how many it looks like so far from a quick goodreads.com check. All the books are decently priced at $3.99. It was on sale at the beginning of October so I would keep your eye out for another sale too. I would recommend this Author and her series from what I have read so far. Dark Alpha's Night was a good story, steamy, and quick enough to get through. I can't wait to continue the series from here. ( )

Dark Alpha’s Night by Donna Grant
A Reaper Novel #5

I was lucky enough to get in on this spin-off series from the beginning BUT sometimes wish that I had started from the beginning of this wonderfully crafted world filled with stories of warriors, dragons, fae, halflings and others…it is enchanting and enthralling and makes me eager to read whatever comes next…even when I am not 100% sure what the storyline was before the book I am currently reading. I will sometimes search out reviews of books that precede a book I am getting ready to read so that I have some idea of what has preceded…that said…

I loved this book!
I am engaged in the series
I want to read the story of each and every Reaper
I am eager to find out if Death/War/Erith and Cael with ever get their HEA
I really REALLY want to get the entire series at some point in time and read them from beginning to end
This series would make a WONDERFUL TV series ;)

Okay…the story…

It is Daire’s turn to find true love and he finds it with a Halfling, Ettie, who has been raised with her sisters “to be ready” – for what – they have not a clue. So they have trained in the art of war and waited and now it is time for them to become embroiled in the war brewing between Bran and Erith…

So much happened in a novella length story and all of it was good. Daire and Ettie ended up together. Bran was thwarted again. Insights were given into how Bran is increasing his power and Death is losing hers. We learned more about Death and a bit more about her time before she took on the moniker Death. There was mention of characters in other series and what I found most intriguing was the simple way the previous characters’ stories were shared so that a newbie to the series would not be totally lost.

Did I like this story? Yes
Do I recommend it? Yes
Will I read more by this author? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars ( )

I enjoyed this book, the plot flowed well and it as quick, there were no boring lag points. I would have enjoyed some more in-depth character development, but this was fine for the length of the book. I liked the characters and would like to read more about them and the other characters in this book. ( )