Title: Seize Me From the Darkness (Pierced Hearts #4)
Author: Cari Silverwood
Publisher: Smashwords (22 September 2014)
ISBN: 9781310777097
Reviewer: Jane
Tropical location. Seclusion. Beautiful heroine. Exotically-accented Alpha male. Sex. In the hands of most erotic writers, these elements would add up to some sort of romantic encounter. In the hands of Cari Silverwood?
Er, no.
Given the trajectory of the Pierced Hearts series, I had no idea what sort of twisted scenario (and I say that with love, Cari) I was going to find in this latest instalment. It’s been quite the journey. From Klaus the sadistic accountant-cum-slaver in (Take Me, Break Me, Bind and Keep Me) to criminal Chris and quietly corrupt Andreas (Make Me Yours Evermore), the road has been pretty rough and ready.
Turns out, Seize Me from the Darkness is like the pervert’s version of a Club Med holiday. Gorgeous setting, gorgeous people. Only instead of yoga and tennis on the Sports and Activities list, there’s torture, murder, sadism, and sexual slavery. Participation? Yeah, that’s definitely not optional. And if you get voted off the island? Well, let’s just say that ‘ship’ is also spelled c-o-f-f-i-n. Oh, wait. That’s Survivor. Oh, my God. I’ve just realised that’s exactly what this series is: the seriously dark erotica version of Mark Burnett’s CBS show. Tribe Sadist versus tribe Sub-Whether-I-Want-To-Be-Or-Not. Only with the sadists holding all the cards. And making up all the rules. And pretty much doing whatever the hell they want to the women in their possession.
I’ll admit that I had some concerns about how this story would go in terms of repetitiveness – like its predecessors, Seize Me From the Darkness is a darkly erotic capture fantasy, heavy on the non-consensual BDSM – but Cari’s strength is in her plotting and her ability to move the series to new and unexpected places. Even better – and worse – her characters and scenarios are frighteningly believable.
Pieter, Darkness’s anti-hero, actually managed to surprise me a little. Without giving too much away, his personal journey is a somewhat unexpected one, with his descent into the blackness of unchecked depravity rapidly accelerating from about the halfway mark when his reason to be ‘good’ (and I use that term very, very loosely) ceases to exist. That he pulls Jazmine (tribe Sub-Whether-I-Want-To-Be-Or-Not) into the black hole he elects to dwell in is utterly inevitable.
For me, this book really hit its stride in the last one hundred and fifty pages. And at the very end? Well, I couldn’t help but think of the quote that Michael used in his review for the very first book, Take Me, Break Me:
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
– Lord Acton
And, really, that’s the tagline for this series.
This tale is darker than dark, blacker than black. You’ll be seized from the darkness, all right – but only so the very talented Silverwood can throw you deeper and further in the abyss.
Tickle your fancy? Click on the following links to purchase a copy:
Smashwords
Seize Me From the Darkness – ePub
*Please note that a copy of Seize Me From the Darkness was provided free of charge by the author in exchange for a fair review.
