Reviewed by Jenna
TITLE: The Dark Side of the Sun
AUTHOR: Belinda Burke
PUBLISHER: Totally Bound Publishing
LENGTH: 198 pages
BLURB:
An ancient pact was once broken by the theft of Summer’s prince. Now, the Red King has found him. To live, to love, they seek the dark side of the sun… A thousand years ago, Milesian invaders gained ownership of Ireland from Summer’s Queen through trickery. Since that day, the green isle’s native sidhe have been imprisoned in their hidden kingdom, bound by their ancient pact with the Milesians. Now, the treaty has been violated. The Milesians have stolen Bran Fionnan, the son of Summer’s queen. Trapped in the human world with no way of returning home, Bran is held under a death threat that forces him to work for his captors. He must forge weapons the Milesian huntresses can use to slay their new foe—the Red King. The Red King is Macsen Cadoc, a vampire—a hunter who cannot stand being hunted. He seeks vengeance for the Milesian attacks in spilled blood—Milesian blood, and the blood of the sidhe traitor who has forged their weapons. When the one he finds is a victim, not a traitor, everything changes. Bran Fionnan is the Milesians’ most valuable prize, but from the moment Macsen sees him, he wants him…and the Red King is not accustomed to being denied—by anyone. What begins with desire may end in extraordinary ways, but first there are questions that must be answered. What is love? Can it help Bran overcome lost ties and a lifetime’s worth of anger? Can it help the Red King gain more than the satisfaction of his lusts?
REVIEW:
Every year the Red King, Madsen, has dreams of a man with blue eyes who he has never seen before. Though he has no idea whether the man exists, Madsen desires him and feels a connection between them. After a human huntress attempts to assassinate the Red King, Madsen ventures out into the human realm and finally encounters the man in his dreams. He knows right away that the man’s name is Bran, and that he is actually a prince of sidhe, although not the same type as Madsen who is a vampire. Bran is the son of the Summer Queen, a former enemy of the Red King. They are instantly drawn to one another, but before Madsen is able to steel Bran away to his realm, the danger lurking in the shadows comes to haunt them, and their love is put to the test.
I really liked the world building in this novel, but the amount of detail for this length of book appeared to weigh down the main storyline. With respect to the romance between Bran and Madsen, I really wanted to become attached and believe in them, but instead I was rooting against them. I have no problem with insta-love, but I had difficulty connecting with the main characters. Madsen came off as cruel and self-centered, and Bran appeared very bitter. When the two met by the water, Madsen’s intense desire for Bran made sense, but Bran appeared to be under some kind of compulsion. I found myself wanting Bran to run away from the scary, wicked Red King. I did not want them to be together. It’s possible this was the intention of the author, but feeling this way was strange when it seemed as if they were meant to be together. Despite my initial objection to their union, I thought their sexual encounters were hot. Though it all appeared consensual, sex between them made me think of a predator stunning his prey before taking advantage of him.
Overall, the book was sexy and pleasant. I am intrigued enough to want to know what happens in book two.
RATING: 
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