Title: Chase The Dark (Steel & Stone #1)
Author: Annette Marie
Publisher: Dark Owl Fantasy
Release Date: October 17th, 2014
Standalone/Series: Series
Genre: Young Adult – Urban Fantasy

Goodreads link

My rating in stars: 4 stars
My rating in words: Really liked it

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:

Piper Griffiths wants one thing in life: To become a Consul, a keeper of the peace between humans and daemons. There are three obstacles in her way.

The first is Lyre. Incubus. Hotter than hell and with a wicked streak to match. His greatest mission in life is to get Piper into bed and otherwise annoy the crap out of her. The second is Ash. Draconian. Powerful. Dangerous. He knows too much and reveals nothing. Also, disturbingly attractive — and scary. Did she mention scary?

The third is the Sahar Stone. Top secret magical weapon of mass destruction. Previously hidden in her Consulate until thieves broke in, went on a murder spree, and disappeared with the weapon.

And they left Piper to take the fall for their crimes.

Now she’s on the run, her dreams of becoming a Consul shattered and every daemon in the city gunning to kill her. She’s dead on her own, but there’s no one she can trust — no one except two entirely untrustworthy daemons … See problems one and two.

MY THOUGHTS (SPOILER-FREE):

“Some daemons you can’t help but fear. You will always be afraid. It’s human nature.”

After having fallen in love with Annette Marie’s Red Winter series (and when I say falling in love, I’m actually playing it cool and understating it. I’m actually quite obsessed and head-over-heels in adoring CAPS-LOCK L.O.V.E. with it.), I decided to pick up Chase The Dark. And I’ve got to be honest with you: I was a little hesitant at first. Why? Because one, I’ve been in a huge reading slump and not in the mood for reading. And two, the description sounded a bit… tropey and predictable? But because it’s Annette Marie, and because a trusted fellow blogger and Annette Marie fan highly recommended it (thanks, Di!), I started reading anyway.

And guess what? I fell in love with it. I am so hooked on this story that I am already on book three as I am typing this. I’m so into these characters and their adventures that I’m using every free minute to read a few pages. What reading slump? I should have never, even for a second, have doubted the power of an Annette Marie story.

Does this mean this was a perfect read? Nah. There were some points that felt a little too… predictable, recognizable and yeah, a little bit tropey. Especially in the first few chapters. Did this affect my enjoyment of the story in any way? Nope. Not at all. Because those tiny little flaws did not compare to the joy I felt while reading this. The joy I had when I realized for the first time in maybe months that I did not want to put a book down. That I felt that I NEEDED to keep reading to find out what happened next. That I once again became invested in a group of characters and this strange and exciting world they live in.

So let me cut the swooning for a minute and tell you a bit about why this was such a fun read!

The characters. What is it with Annette Marie and writing these characters that could so easily become stereotypes, but end up being so much more? At first impression, it may feel like you have these characters all figured out, but throughout the story, they are fleshed out so much and they will prove your initial impression wrong.

Piper is our main heroine. She is a haemon (human x daemon). Haemons normally inherit magic from their daemon parent, but since Piper is the kid of two haemons, she has no magic. Which is tricky since she wants to be a consul, a keeper of the peace between humans and daemons, and they usually need magic. But Piper is a warrior in her own right and her motto is to just become so good at everything else that nobody notices her missing magic anyway, which is a character trait that immediately endeared her to me.

Completing the unlikely trio are two daemons who couldn’t be more different and yet work together so well. Lyre is an incubus, meaning he’s flirty and sexy and just can’t turn off his seductive mode. Ash, on the other hand, is a powerful draconian, a dark and brooding bad boy who just oozes power and danger. And when her home is broken into, her father kidnapped and the most dangerous magical weapon ever stolen, these two daemons are the only ones Piper has to help her fix things and prove her innocence. And who knows, on the way, both Piper and the reader can maybe get to know these daemons as something more than what they appear at first sight. Fun times!

The action. Did I mention before that I could not stop reading? That I just always wanted to know what happened next? That’s because this book is so action-filled and paced so well that there is never a dull moment. It is glorious.

The worldbuilding. This is just such a fun world. And while it is clear that we have only uncovered the tip of the iceberg that is this world in this first installment, it was already so intriguing. Plus, we learn about everything really gradually which I adored because there were no heavy info-dumps in sight anywhere!

The chemistry. One can argue that there is no romance in this first installment. And they’re right, there isn’t. But boy, is there a ton of chemistry. My romance-loving heart can already feel the romance coming in the next few books and I am so READY FOR IT! And while one may also argue that it feels a little too much like a love-triangle, I would have to respectfully disagree. To me, there were never any indications of a love triangle in this book. Just the characters being who they are, which will make sense when you read it, I promise.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book and am definitely planning on finishing the series this year still. And then dive into Annette Marie’s other series set in this world because I am never doubting her ever again.

FAVORITE QUOTES:

“The only two people in the world she could trust right now were sitting on either side of her and she couldn’t trust them at all.”

HAVE YOU READ CHASE THE DARK? WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT IT?