Retribution by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Title: Retribution

Series: Dark-Hunter bk 23

Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Genre: Paranormal

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster…

Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who’s assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he’s not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all.

Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they’ve sworn to protect.

I have to say that I did some serious stalking to get a review copy of this book and I am so glad that I did. I used to be the kind of fan that would rush to the bookstore the day that a book was released to get it, but for some reason I stopped. I don’t know why. Then I found out about this book and I new that I would jumping back on that bandwagon as it was about Sundown Brady. Now if you have read this every book in this series you know that the only person that Z (Dance with the Devil) considered a friend was Sundown, and he helped Z keep Astrid safe. There is also the running joke about some of the squires and hunters trying to figure out how he got the name Sundown, this was mentioned in a couple of books.

So I started my campaign to get this book and let me tell you I almost shouted out loud at work when I was informed that I had gotten the review copy. I then waited in anticipation of the day it would come. So when Mel called the other day and said that I might want to stop by the house and pick up something that came in the mail I didn’t even hesitate I went straight there after work.

For the last two days I have been consumed by this book and reading it. As soon as I started reading it I remembered why I loved this series so much. It is the characters. They have depth, are snarky, and love to banter while they are going to into battle about the dumbest things. The nice thing about this book is that if you haven’t read the last couple of books you are okay. The only books that you need to have read is Devil May Cry (Sin and Katya) and Acheron.

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SOME SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW BUT I WILL TRY MY BEST NOT WRITE THEM

I have always been intrigued with Sundown first of all he was a gunslinger and I absolutely love wild west romances where the hero is a former gunslinger, he is also a Native American, (this isn’t revealed until this book however), I also love romances where the hero is Native American. When he thinks back on his mortal (something he prefers not to do) it was  a really crappy mortal life. The only good thing about it was Mahtilda.

When he and Ren (other on of those mysterious Dark-hunters) are transfered to Vegas he can feel something coming and he isn’t exactly sure what. Then Z, any book that has that bad-ass in it is just plan good, shows up to give him a rather cryptic message about what is coming and why Ash can’t come help, and why he can’t stay to help, and with what is coming..a)Tory is in labor, yes you read that right Ash and Tory are having a baby and b) Z can’t go into another Pantheon’s territory during a battle for that pantheon.

This leaves him rather unsettled but off he goes to do battle with the Damions, and he meets the new breed of them. Oh and to find the person that is killing Dark-Hunters

Angela has hated Sundown ever since he killed her parents in a very brutal murder. Ever since then she has trained and worked towards the time when she will be ale to kill him. So when the trap is laid and her and her friends ambush Sundown she is all set to kill him. That is until he knocks her out and escapes with her.

When she wakes up in Sundown’s house the world that she knew and the truths that she believed came crashing down around and she is faced with the consequences of her actions and the fact that because of them she may well have brought on the next Apocolypse. Of course being a woman she needs to find out the truth for herself and at the first opportunity she escapes and heads home.

Where she discovers that she had been lied to her entire life and now has to face a new reality. One where Sundown isn’t her enemy but the other half of her soul, and that her sacrifice is the only thing that will stop what she started.

One of the things that I liked about this book was the legends and pantheon in this book. They are all about balance in the universe. As the story unfolds you find out that there is more to the story of Sundown and Angela and their past. Then there is the bad guy Coyote and his relationship to Ren. Oh and don’t let me forget about Sasha. In a fit of anger at Angela he reveals somethings about his past that we never knew before.

Okay so I decided no spoilers because I think it will take away some of the magic of this book. Because this book is magic in the way that it completely swept me away into the story. I was completely invested in their race to stop what Angela had been tricked into doing, and how she and Sundown would finally be allowed to be together.

There is a bonus scene at the end of the book that has absolutely nothing to do with Sundown and Angela. It is the scene where Tory deliver’s her baby. It is a very gut wrenching and emotional scene with a surprise heroine. It was a very fitting way to end the book I thought.

If you are a fan of this series you won’t want to skip this book. I know I am glad that I didn’t.

Grade A

Other books in this series…

Please visit www.sherrilynkenyon.com for the complete list