A Darkness Pierced Heart: Beyond the Pale Book 3, Kit Fortier

Cable and Taylor had a lot to bring and keep them together and their journey wasn't easy, but it allowed them to base their future on something both concrete and magical.  The family that surrounded them gave them support and love and a chance to look at the hard questions so they could truly measure their growing attraction.  I liked the community they were building for themselves and the intricate histories that were woven.  There was a lot of potential with the angsty synopsis that drew me to the story in the first place.

Turns out though, I have mixed feelings about this story.  There were immensely interesting things in this story that made me want to read to the end and there were also pages and pages and pages of repetition and virtually zero progress that made me desperately want to skip ahead to get to the point.  I struggled so hard with the pacing of the story and where this length of story usually takes me a few hours to finish took me three days.  It's a rare book I can't finish, but this one gave me pause on several occasions.

So much grief.  I mean, wow, yeah, there's a lot to unpack with Taylor's history with his wife and I believed every moment of it being hard.  The part I have an issue with is not necessarily how long it takes to come out from under the dark cloud, but that dark cloud lasts days...that's it.  With how long they draw out every dark moment it felt like weeks.  I also think a lot of the grieving was placed under the umbrella of dark magical enhancement rather than something that needed a more consistent and believable path toward healing.  The scene reflected on the cover was actually a wonderful moment that was touching and really great for Taylor and even though I was left a bit empty with what followed.

While this story could be seen as a standalone within the universe created, there are so many connections, relationships, magical elements, and interactions that left me confused until nearly the end and even then I'm still not 100% clear on everything.  I'd highly suggest beginning with book 1, which I did not, and that's my bad.  I'm a bit more on the fence about everyone on an individual basis as well as the plot itself because the story was absolutely filled with sexual encounters, innuendo, overshares, and inside jokes regarding those situations.  I usually enjoy those kinds of things, but I wasn't convinced of the solidity of the relationship without all that stuff.  As for the ending, I'm not completely sold on that either, but I'll say one thing for this author, they can absolutely bait the hook.

*$4.99 on Amazon

The death of a dearly beloved friend brings the Foster-Hughes family back to Mountain Home, Idaho, to support the man she left behind. Taylor Samuels, the aggrieved, must find a way to survive without her. His memories of his injuries cloud his judgment of love in the past, and the love that may come.

Cable Archer, an EMT, finds himself on-site when Mrs. Samuels' body must be collected. He comes across Taylor, and sees what no one else can: he reads the man's aura, and how it tells of despair unlike any other. The consequences of his grief going unaddressed could be deadly.