Reviewed by Roberta

TITLE:  Sunder (Darksoul Book 1)

SERIES: DarkSoul

AUTHOR: Lexi Ander

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 120,000 words

Release Date:  September 4, 2017

BLURB:

If Sūnder Alārd had been born female he would have been cherished for being faeborn—born with magick—and his birth celebrated. Instead, his L’fÿn mother insisted on his death. Only his Panthrÿn father’s desperate escape through the forest saved him. With most Chándariāns uneasy in his presence due to rumors he is doomed to become a darksoul, and unlikely to find a mate because of it, Sunder has nevertheless carved out an honorable existence as a warrior and commander. Serving as bodyguard and chaperone for the Chándariān prince, Sūnder accompanies his charge to the annual mating festival on Earth, and when the prince is injured, he can’t help but be fascinated by the tongue-tied nurse who attends them at the hospital.

At sixteen years of age, Gabriel St. Baptista came home to discover his parents had taken off into space, leaving him behind to look after himself. Gabe never recovered from the unexpected desertion, and keeps everyone at arm’s length to avoid being abandoned again. However, after meeting Sūnder, Gabe finds himself unable to resist the bond between them and breaks all of his carefully crafted rules to spend time with the Chándariān, regardless of the fact that Sūnder will soon leave. Scared by what he feels for Sūnder, Gabe can only hope his heart won’t be too broken when Sūnder returns to Chándaria.

But deceit and treachery is all around them, and when Gabe saves Sūnder’s life, it sets off a chain of events that could either tear Gabe and Sūnder apart or give them both exactly what they want.

REVIEW:

This book was one that truly surprised me.  I started to read this book and got caught up, I was so irritated when I had to stop and do normal things. This was so good, I when it ended…I was truly heartbroken because the story was over.

This book had so much going on and I was never confused as to who people were or what was going on.  This book was so entertaining and filled with so much emotion that my heart hurt for all of the wonderful characters that Lexi gave us.

Gabe…who thinks that he’s human and who has been abandoned by his parents at the tender age of 16 and from that moment on he’s hardened his heart to others.  That doesn’t apply to his best friend, Ronan and his family…but to everyone else…he doesn’t trust that they will stay there and be there for him.  That attitude follows him into his personal relationships as well and that’s why his boyfriends seem to leave him.  This was evident in the break-up of his latest bf and wow…that was kinda harsh…but it shows Gabe’s fear of intimacy and love. I have to say that Gabe really had my heart and mine broke for him when you see just how damn vulnerable he was.  I really liked how Gabe grew during the course of this book.  How for someone who was so hurt in the past and then to see his growth with all of the changes and bombshells that were thrown at him.

Sunder…well…his life was just WTF from the moment of his birth.  His father having to go on the run when Sunder is just born…to having to grow up knowing you your father is and not being able to say anything about it, even in private.  His bitterness is totally understandable, yet…he loves his family.  His mother, who is actually his aunt, his half-brother, and his father.  Sunder, whose birth starts a change in how faeborn males is something…but still, it’s not enough to take away the hurt and bitterness of his family life. Sunder’s emotions are so hard to bear a bit…but it’s totally worth it to see Sunder get his own family and see him find his own happiness.

The cast of characters in this book is huge!!  Valient, Valora, A’yre, Ronan, Akira, A’ymon, Talia, Melindria, Wyn, Paulo, etc. There were wonderful people and then…there were those who you just wanted to punch in the throat…Talia…you’ll see when you read the book and Holy Hannah…you’ve totally got to read this book!!  I want the next book in the series so bad and right now!! You will truly fall for everyone one, well…mostly everyone in this story.  You want to know them better.  You want to see their stories as much as you saw Gabe and Sunder’s story.

Now, you all know I love me sexy times in a story and this story had some sexy times, yet it wasn’t explicit.  It was to show the relationship progression for the characters.  It was tastefully done and done within the confines of the story.  Very well done. Now, there a kinda MPreg storyline…you’ll have to read the story to find out what I’m talking about and you’ll be really surprised and fascinated as to what happens.

I have to say that when I read more about the author I was so surprised to see that she’s the author of one of my favorite audiobooks…The Valespian Pact…I was drawn to those stories and have been looking for the next book in the series on occasion.  Now that I know that Lexi is that author…know that I’m gonna stalk you until you get on either one of these series and give me more books to fall into!!

Go and get this book and fall into this wonderful story and be caught up in the characters!!!

RATING:

BUY LINK:

Amazon