Wendy H. (donkeycheese) -
Set in an undisclosed time in the future, the world is a very dark place. Corporate government is the elite, and there is a group of people, the Greater Thans, who have the ability to use their brains at a new level, super powers. It has also been discovered that those who find their soul mate intensify their powers into turbo.
In BORN TO DARKNESS, Mac Mackenzie believes herself to be tough. She uses her Greater Than ability to manipulate men into falling for her. When she meets ex-navy seal Shane Laughlin in a bar one night, she doesnt mind in the least spending the night with him. What she doesnt expect is Shane falling in love with her. She cant believe anyone would really want to be with her. She has some security issues and if she doesnt deal with them soon, she may lose the only guy who really matters.
Mac and Shane are the main two characters in this dark, gritty urban fantasy, but there are also two other relationships that develop with supporting characters. Brockmann does a good job of building all three relationships separately so the reader can come to know them, but also weaving them together in their fight against the evil plans that the corporate government has in store for them all.
With building tension and sizzling hot romance, compelling and diverse characters and a unique, chilling new world, BORN TO DARKNESS is a page-turning read you wont want to miss! Alpha characters who arent afraid to seek what they want, real personal issues that bring the characters to life and a dangerous new world, BORN TO DARKNESS is action-packed and destined to shine!
In BORN TO DARKNESS, Mac Mackenzie believes herself to be tough. She uses her Greater Than ability to manipulate men into falling for her. When she meets ex-navy seal Shane Laughlin in a bar one night, she doesnt mind in the least spending the night with him. What she doesnt expect is Shane falling in love with her. She cant believe anyone would really want to be with her. She has some security issues and if she doesnt deal with them soon, she may lose the only guy who really matters.
Mac and Shane are the main two characters in this dark, gritty urban fantasy, but there are also two other relationships that develop with supporting characters. Brockmann does a good job of building all three relationships separately so the reader can come to know them, but also weaving them together in their fight against the evil plans that the corporate government has in store for them all.
With building tension and sizzling hot romance, compelling and diverse characters and a unique, chilling new world, BORN TO DARKNESS is a page-turning read you wont want to miss! Alpha characters who arent afraid to seek what they want, real personal issues that bring the characters to life and a dangerous new world, BORN TO DARKNESS is action-packed and destined to shine!
Laura P. (hemmputnam) reviewed Born to Darkness (Fighting Destiny, Bk 1) on + 1154 more book reviews
I really liked this futuristic story! I grew up watching Justice League cartoons on Saturday morning and as much as I enjoyed the good guys beating the bad guys, I also really wanted Wonder Woman and Batman to get married. This fits the bill! There are definitely dark elements to the story (rape scene, torture, threatening of children) but the good guys with their superpowers win the battle if not the war (yet). As book one of the series, there's a fair amount of world building. Sometimes the characters being inside each other's heads got a little confusing, but overall it was a great read. I can't wait for the next book!
I have had this book on my to read list for months now. I went to look at the reviews, ready to read it at last, and was a little disappointed to see relatively low ratings for all the hype that it had gotten. As I made my way through the book, I was more and more confused as to the low ratings because the book is fascinating and well written. I will get more into these other reviews in just a bit.
Born to Darkness by Suzanne Brockmann is definitely not her first novel, but the first time she dabbles in the paranormal. She introduces several very interesting characters called Greater-Thans, including Mac, Diaz, and Joseph. These characters can use a larger percentile of their brains at a time, allowing them to develop "supernatural" powers such as telekinesis. This group is using their powers for good but a drug called Destiny allows Fractions (those who use the normal 10 percent of their brain at a time) to elevate themselves to higher levels-- but at a great cost. After the gang meets Anna, whose sister has been kidnapped, a sinister underworld of evil is revealed.
I rate this book 4.5 stars. I had fully intended to rate it five stars until the end because the characters are fully developed and the description rich, and the relationships even richer (I will get to the reasoning of the rating soon). Halfway through the book, I took a look closer at some of the negative or less than happy reviews. First issue: this book is too dark. I disagree. The whole intent of this book is to be dark. Perhaps coming from a medical background, I see the dark underbelly of society more than I would like. Just yesterday, I helped interview a mom whose 6 month old was sexually abused. How is this possible? Unfortunately, it is, and evil like this exists in our world. I admired that Brockmann looked at this darkness in the face and put it starkly on the page. Second, this book is not like her usual navy SEAL romance novel and has paranormal elements. I really don't like when people pan a book because they detest a whole genre or because it isn't exactly what the author has done before. I admit I have not read her other books, but I do love that Brockmann has tried something new-- she is taking a risk, and I feel she does a wonderful job at creating this atmosphere and supernatural world. At the same time, this creation of the new world does not detract from the development of her characters. Third, some people were very turned off by the character Mac because she is a very angry character with a terrible past. I get that. However, after having read two books in the recent past in FIRST PERSON of an angry person like this, I actually had no problem with Mac. This book is written in third person and she is one of 6 (or 7) main characters, which balance her out. And it's quite clear to me why she is the way she is. Lastly, some people are very against homosexual relationships being written about in books. The fact people had such a problem with this to the point of not reading this part of the book (which is a third of the book) was actually quite disturbing, especially since to me, this relationship was a very integral part of the book, as well as probably the sweetest and most moving one.
The reason I docked it at all is because there didn't seem to be as nice of a resolution of that particular relationship-- we barely get to see them in the final pages, which would have been nice since every other character gets space to end their respective stories.
This said, this novel is extremely compelling, a worthwhile read with fantastic characters that will stay in your memory for a long time. I can't wait to see the next in this series.
Born to Darkness by Suzanne Brockmann is definitely not her first novel, but the first time she dabbles in the paranormal. She introduces several very interesting characters called Greater-Thans, including Mac, Diaz, and Joseph. These characters can use a larger percentile of their brains at a time, allowing them to develop "supernatural" powers such as telekinesis. This group is using their powers for good but a drug called Destiny allows Fractions (those who use the normal 10 percent of their brain at a time) to elevate themselves to higher levels-- but at a great cost. After the gang meets Anna, whose sister has been kidnapped, a sinister underworld of evil is revealed.
I rate this book 4.5 stars. I had fully intended to rate it five stars until the end because the characters are fully developed and the description rich, and the relationships even richer (I will get to the reasoning of the rating soon). Halfway through the book, I took a look closer at some of the negative or less than happy reviews. First issue: this book is too dark. I disagree. The whole intent of this book is to be dark. Perhaps coming from a medical background, I see the dark underbelly of society more than I would like. Just yesterday, I helped interview a mom whose 6 month old was sexually abused. How is this possible? Unfortunately, it is, and evil like this exists in our world. I admired that Brockmann looked at this darkness in the face and put it starkly on the page. Second, this book is not like her usual navy SEAL romance novel and has paranormal elements. I really don't like when people pan a book because they detest a whole genre or because it isn't exactly what the author has done before. I admit I have not read her other books, but I do love that Brockmann has tried something new-- she is taking a risk, and I feel she does a wonderful job at creating this atmosphere and supernatural world. At the same time, this creation of the new world does not detract from the development of her characters. Third, some people were very turned off by the character Mac because she is a very angry character with a terrible past. I get that. However, after having read two books in the recent past in FIRST PERSON of an angry person like this, I actually had no problem with Mac. This book is written in third person and she is one of 6 (or 7) main characters, which balance her out. And it's quite clear to me why she is the way she is. Lastly, some people are very against homosexual relationships being written about in books. The fact people had such a problem with this to the point of not reading this part of the book (which is a third of the book) was actually quite disturbing, especially since to me, this relationship was a very integral part of the book, as well as probably the sweetest and most moving one.
The reason I docked it at all is because there didn't seem to be as nice of a resolution of that particular relationship-- we barely get to see them in the final pages, which would have been nice since every other character gets space to end their respective stories.
This said, this novel is extremely compelling, a worthwhile read with fantastic characters that will stay in your memory for a long time. I can't wait to see the next in this series.
Actually, I liked this book, there were parts of it where I couldn't put it down. I don't usually read the futuristic types of books, but I think Brockmann made it work. In addition to the primary H/H, there are a couple other love stories started in the book and I rather liked that she followed through with them a little deeper than the norm. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
Bridget C. (tonispinone) reviewed Born to Darkness (Fighting Destiny, Bk 1) on + 28 more book reviews
Born to Darkness was ok. For me there was so much going on I found it to be very hectic and not in a good way. Too many story lines at the same time.
I understand it is the first of a series so a lot of world building has to take place. For me, it would have been better to drop one of the developing relationships so the other two, and the world building, could move along at a more natural place.
That said, it was interesting and I'll probably read the next book.
I understand it is the first of a series so a lot of world building has to take place. For me, it would have been better to drop one of the developing relationships so the other two, and the world building, could move along at a more natural place.
That said, it was interesting and I'll probably read the next book.
I loved Ms. Brockmann's "Troubleshooter" series, so when I saw her name on this book, I grabbed it. To put it in Ms. Brockmann's own words (or at least, one of her characters) this is 'whoo-whoo shit'. There are several characters, who are known as Greater-thans (because they have powers that are greater than the majority of people, who are called fractions)
It almost reads like an Avengers comic book - all the good guys use their super-powers to rescue the poor little orphan (who really is a Greater-than) The hero, a former Navy SEAL, is willing to sacrifice himself for love & the good of the world. And of course, there is a large chunk of the book dedicated to man/man love (no sex, though). Since the author's son is gay, she is making a strong political statement about gay rights, etc.
All in all, I was greatly disappointed in this book. There were too many sub-stories going on and the whole book became disjointed. She could have written a book on any one of these sub-stories. The characters motivations were vague, & the whole storyline was muddied.
It almost reads like an Avengers comic book - all the good guys use their super-powers to rescue the poor little orphan (who really is a Greater-than) The hero, a former Navy SEAL, is willing to sacrifice himself for love & the good of the world. And of course, there is a large chunk of the book dedicated to man/man love (no sex, though). Since the author's son is gay, she is making a strong political statement about gay rights, etc.
All in all, I was greatly disappointed in this book. There were too many sub-stories going on and the whole book became disjointed. She could have written a book on any one of these sub-stories. The characters motivations were vague, & the whole storyline was muddied.
