REVIEW: No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Title: No Mercy (Dark-Hunter #19)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Publisher: St. Martin’s
Publication Date: September, 2010
Hardcover: 343 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy
Rating: 8/10

Description: Live fast, fight hard and, if you have to die, then take as many of your enemies with you as you can. That is the Amazon credo and it was one Samia lived and died by. Now in contemporary New Orleans, the immortal Amazon warrior is about to learn that there’s a worse evil coming to slaughter mankind than she’s ever faced before.

Shapeshifter Dev Peltier has stood guard at the front of Sanctuary for almost two hundred years and in that time, he’s seen it all. Or so he thought. Now their enemies have discovered a new source of power--one that makes a mockery of anything faced to date.

The war is on and Dev and Sam are guarding ground zero. But in order to win, they will have to break the most cardinal of all rules and pray it doesn’t unravel the universe as we know it.

My Thoughts: I have loved this series since the beginning and have loved each book, some more than others and this one is no different, but I sense a change in me as I feel a shift to this series coming. Long time fans of this series already know the history of the characters so I won’t rehash it here. My only gripe with this story and series overall is there was too much focus on the conflict between Ash and Nick. This story is supposed to be about Sam and Dev. I don’t care much for the changes I am seeing in Nick and I’m heartbroken at the relationship now occurring between Nick and Ash. Please stop rubbing my nose in it and resolve it already...

Now with that out of the way, I can focus on this story. I loved the pairing of Sam and Dev. I thought they were perfect for each other, both strong and fierce but both carrying deep pain and scars that make them vulnerable. And as I’ve come to expect from this series, these two have great chemistry in and out of the bedroom. There is refreshing comedic banter and high adrenaline fight scenes.

Sam is not a typical Amazon warrior. Not only was she Queen but she was married, which is the exception to the norm. When she is betrayed and her husband and child are murdered in front of her, she sells her soul to Artemis as she lies dying and becomes an immortal Dark-Hunter. Fast forward 5,000 years to modern day New Orleans and she is now assigned to guard Nick as he is a high commodity now that he’s becoming evil. When she meets Dev Peltier, they feel an instant connection and attraction though Sam thinks he’s just a “horn-dog.” She’s right. He is. But, she’s OK with it (and frankly, so was I). One of Sam’s powers is that she can pick up everything that has happened to someone just by touching something of theirs or something they’ve touched. As a result, she has lived an existence all these years of one filled with pain, agony and heartbreak, reliving the painful events of others. Fortunately for Sam, she does not experience that when she touches Dev.

Dev has carried guilt most of his life as his mother blamed him for the death of his two brothers. Here is a guy who just wants to be accepted and loved, but who was rejected and blamed for something that wasn’t his fault. Experiencing something like this would make the strongest of men very leery of relationships and very distrustful of people in general. Dev is a very easy man to like. His sarcastic wit and humor are great ice-breakers and Sam feels immediately at-ease when she meets him.

Sam becomes hunted by the Daimons when news of her abilities reaches their leader, Stryker. He’s hell-bent on finding a way to lift the curse of their race and find Apollo’s weakness so he can kill him and will use all means necessary to force her to help him. The Daimons have discovered a way that they can walk in the daylight, which will put the Dark-Hunters at an extreme disadvantage. As evil as Stryker is, I have a grudging respect for him. I don’t know if he will ever be redeemed, but this character intrigues me. Savitar also makes an appearance in this book and, as always, I can’t get enough of him either. I would really love to see him get his own story.

Though there are some unresolved issues between Sam and Dev at the end of the book, I found their story to be very good. I expect they will show up down the road in future books as these characters are prone to do. Overall, I highly recommend this series if you are looking for stories that make you smile, excite you, get your blood boiling and highly entertain you.