Review: Darkest Heart | Dominion Series by Juliette Cross

Wrong side of heaven…right side of redemption.

Anya—a stoic, blue-winged angelic warrior— was bitten by a demon prince in battle, and now she has precious little time to find a cure for his deadly venom. But the only archangel with the power to stop the dark poison from corrupting her body and soul is missing. She’ll have to trust her guide, the outcast high demon Dommiel, who is as handsome as he is dangerous if she has any hope.

An outcast of his own kind, high demon Dommiel stays under cover while the war between angels and demons rages on. But when the only person who ever showed him kindness asks for his help, he has no choice but to try to save the angel. Venturing back into the dens he has avoided for so long, Anya makes him want and feel things he never thought possible.

SoBut Dommiel knows there is no way an angel can ever love a demon…

Romance | Fantasy | Paranormal Romance | Adult Fiction

***Received an Advanced Readers Copy through the author in exchange for an honest review – thank you Juliette Cross***

Cheese and crackers… Juliette you slay me. Just – ugh loved it comrades! This was a five stars hands down it was glorious. Juliette just take all the fucking stars. Gory hell it was an absolute phenomenal read.

I will admit here and now, I am in a huge binder read mode with Cross books. I have several of her series on my eReader that are on my TBR and I was blown away with her Vampire Blood Series that I have read at this point and I gotta say she is an amazing author. Her main characters always have this all-consuming, intensely passionate romance that just makes you gush. On top of that she rocks are world building. 

So with that said …before I dive into the more important thing – the obvious romance porn, I mean that is why we are all here right? But what I will be completely honest about is that Juliette has this way with building this fictional world that these main characters revolve in that just blows your mind. I know, the characters should, and ARE the main attribute to all reasons why I love her writing style but I cannot and will not move on without mentioning the killer world building and lore of Darkest Heart. 

Anyone a gamer? Play Blizzard’s Diablo? Whether you do or not doesn’t really make a difference just really something I personally noticed and really enjoyed overall based around the backstory of the world, more or less just a connection of what I really felt slayed me. So in the game it is about fallen angels, the corruption of angels, Diablo himself destroying the world all the while battling and controlling humans. In short, there is an entire lore around angels and demons living in the world with mortals. So skip ahead to Darkest Heart, my spidey senses are tingling because I get nothing but Diablo lore feels with this dramatically intense romance twist that made my heart pound, my mind crazy and my loins dripping. 

THAT is what makes this fucking brilliant. There is logically based demonology backbone but without forcing any type of spiritual bias onto the reader. Putting it simply, it is a world where angels and demons co-exist in our mortal world, and it isn’t a pretty picture. The world is in ruin, the gates between hell and heaven are blurred, earth is desolate – humans are dying, demons are havoc, basic primal mayhem for conquering everything. It is a wasteland amongst a growing battlefield. And I say the line is blurred too (physically and dichotomy) because in the process of demons sucking our world dry, angels are no better; both sides fighting for control yet not caring what damage they are doing.

Alright – boom. I know that was a cluster fuck of amazing, but I couldn’t move on with appreciating the research, the storyline, the overall lore that Juliette created for this romance because it was masterful. I honestly think that anyone who goes into this book thinking it is going to be this erotic, paranormal romance that just beaver drools you off the chair, you won’t be wrong, it does that but it is not JUST the romance. When an author does paranormal fantasy world building and kicks ass at it, you have to take a moment to say you fucking nailed it. 

Now what we all come here for – the romance… hold on to your tits babes. 

Firstly I really enjoyed Anya. She was such a fierce, passionate type female, she was righteous yet grounded enough to understand herself and more importantly her needs. She is selfish yet selfless if that makes any sense. And more importantly, Anya as a guardian angel was just stunning. She wasn’t weak. Not saying she didn’t devolve into a lustful lush for our sexy as hell demon, Dommiel, but she was nonetheless a warrior. She kicked ass and took names all the while saving orphaned children. And as for the delicious demon…

Dommiel. Holy balls and yum comrades. Dommiel is the perfect fictional male character. I have a massive book boner for male characters with a hilarious sarcastic, flirty asshole complex, add in that he is a demon – you bet your bottom dollar I was head over heels in love with him. The crudeness, blatant sex appeal that radiates off him was entertaining enough. He too is also semi split in his personality as well. He is seen as a traitor among his own demon fellows but not entirely accepted by the other side, one in which he is now working for – the proclaimed good guys. He is compassionate towards the greater good while he also admits his own faults, the reason behind him falling.

Because of these clashes, Dommiel and Anya start an even more fierce connection that basically heightens the factor of blurred lines between demon and angels. Anya needs Dommiel’s help to find the Archangel Uriel (both for self-righteous and selfish reasons) yet along the short time of adventure finds herself battling this gnawing need to be connected to Dommiel. And Dommiel on the other front, well shit a demon falling for an angel, she is the light in his darkness. Obviously you can kind of get these insta-lust, perhaps insta-love vibes I might be dropping down, I mean really they meet and fall fast I won’t deny it but it flows smashingly. From the moment of meeting they have this intense just fierce chemistry that is just undeniable. It lights up the pages. Honestly when I wasn’t chuckling at their conversations, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the duet to connect physically. Swoon worthy. 

Absolute perfection. 

I mean, what else can I say to peer pressure this book, hell this author onto more readers? Honestly this is one long review! But I couldn’t stop. It was just amazing. Everything blew me away. The characters, the romance, the world lore – Juliette slays me. I cannot recommend this author enough. If you enjoy this genre I highly encourage giving her a dive, she is worth the chance. 

So what is next in our Dominion series? I cannot wait to find out!