Wren is Tigard, a rare mix of white tiger and snow leopard, and for his entire life he has been treated as an abomination by both sides of his family. He has lived at Sanctuary since the viscous murder of his parents when he was a child but although the Peltier family have allowed him into their home they have never fully trusted him. Wren has spent his entire life being looked down on and feared so it's no wonder he chooses to keep himself to himself and avoids contact with others as much as possible. Everything changes for him when he meets Marguerite, a beautiful human woman who somehow calms his inner beast even while everything about her calls for him to claim her. Wren doesn't want to drag Maggie into his world, especially since he is scared of losing control and hurting her, but when enemies from his past come calling he will do whatever it takes to keep her safe.Unleash the Night has a slightly different feel to it than the previous books in the Dark-Hunters series but I enjoyed it just as much as the others. The romance between Wren and Maggie was just so sweet and Wren has an adorable innocence to him that made me fall for him in a big way. As much as Wren is strong and capable of defending himself he is also very shy and he doesn't feel worthy of any woman, especially not someone as perfect as Maggie. Maggie has spent her whole life trying to live up to her senator father's expectations, she hates being in the limelight and just wants to be able to live life on her own terms but her father is always pushing her to follow his plans. With Wren she is finally able to be completely herself, he doesn't want to change her and he encourages her to follow her own dreams. They fall for each other quickly but their relationship has a natural pace to it and never feels rushed or forced. It's like that youthful rush of first love that I'm pretty sure most of us have experienced at some point in our lives and I enjoyed seeing it again through Wren and Maggie's eyes.I've always enjoyed spending time at Sanctuary with the bears so it was great to learn more about all the different shapeshifters. There is a lot of rivalry amongst the different Were Hunter tribes and although Wren comes from a very powerful family he is treated as an outcast by everyone else. I've always really loved the whole Peltier family but I have to admit I was disappointed with Nicolette in this book, the way she treated Wren really upset and annoyed me, I honestly expected better of her. Thankfully the rest of the family aren't quite so hot headed or prejudiced and she had gone a small way towards making up for her actions by the end of the book. I'm really enjoying the developments we're seeing with Aimee but have a feeling she's going to have a lot of trouble getting her family to accept the man who seems to have stolen her heart.I don't want to say too much more about the plot but there is a time travel element that I really enjoyed, I love that Sherrilyn Kenyon always manages to find new ways to keep this series fresh and interesting. It was also great to catch up with some familiar faces (I really want to see Fang & Fury get their own books!) and I'm definitely curious about Savitar - I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot more of him as the series continues - I hope so anyway! Unleash the Night is another fab book in the Dark-Hunters series and I'm so glad that I have so many left to devour before I catch up and have to start waiting between instalments.
Well, unintentionally tagging on to Joe Valdez's theme, I guess this is my time-travel book for the month....4 ROMANCE STARS...Most people think Wren Tigarian is mute. A busboy with long dreadlocks who never makes eye contact, rarely speaks, and avoids all human contact, Wren exudes a sinister, predatory aura that dares anyone to try and get close to him.Marguerite D'Aubert Goudeau is a rich college student, daughter of a senator, attending law school - and she is miserable. Her father is a politician who is obsessed with appearances and money, and he rules his daughter's life with an iron fist. Who her friends are, who she can date, which school she can attend, what she can wear... Her mother committed suicide 13 years ago when she just couldn't take living with him anymore. Maggie is sick of being forced to see people as either "our kind of people" or "below us" and instead sees people as kind or unkind.When Wren and Maggie meet at Sanctuary one night, both of their lives will be changed forever.......Well, Kenyon's back on her feet in this novel! An actual love story with actual characters again, instead of just world-building with a side of romance. Perhaps because of this, the sex and kissing is much better in this novel than in the previous two.Wren is an angry young were-tigard who lashes out viciously at almost everyone. Honestly, if I were Maggie I wouldn't never have gotten involved with this man - too scary for me. However, since you get his point of view in this story along with hers, you can see why Wren is the way he is and you can see how and why he's messed-up. He ends up being a wonderful character and a wonderful man, but I would have never stuck with him the way Maggie did. Not sure if that makes her a better person than me, or just someone who has less of a self-preservation instinct than I do - but Wren is trouble. I mean, he nearly kills one of the male friends she's out with on the first night (not because of jealously, thank God, but because the man throws a drink in Wren's face.) In a scene almost immediately afterward, she watches him fight off 6 armed muggers single-handedly. In their early relationship he's alternately kissing her fiercely or pushing her away. Sometimes he says really curt stuff to her that SHE seems able to brush off, but would hurt me deeply. He lands in jail more than once.So he's not a guy I'd pursue in real life, is what I'm saying.We see his point of view alternating with hers and clearly understand why he does all of this stuff - Kenyon does succeed in making him a likable and sympathetic character.Maggie also is someone who seemed like a character to me and not a piece of cardboard. I found her relationship with her father to be the most fascinating. While both Wren and Maggie have troublesome parents, I couldn't relate to Wren's problems. His parents kept him locked in a cage throughout childhood, referred to him as "it," and neglected him badly. Maggie, on the other hand, is dealing with an emotionally manipulative and abusive father. (view spoiler)[ It was amazing and exciting to see her finally stand up to him at the end of the novel, and break free from his grasp. SHE does it, NOT Wren, which is important. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Unleash The Night (2005)?
I love Wren. I read Sherrilyn Kenyon's Bad Moon Rising before I read this book, and if you have read BMR, you know that Wren is in that book to an extent because it overlaps with Unleash the Night. I liked this story in that Wren and Maggie faced many challenges and through them all, they basically stayed together. What was most surprising was the revelation of Wren's father being alive all this time. I adored seeing Wren finally come out of his shell and Maggie telling her father off towards th
—Leah
*Contains detailed sex scenes*Another good book in the series. It was wonderful. I liked the plot and the characters and it was very nice to read. It was fast paced and action packed, with the signature sensual romance I’ve come to expect from the Dark Hunter series. Maggie was a nice enough main female lead, although nothing overly new. She was kind and sweet and she grew throughout the book as the story progressed. I liked that she wasn’t an up-tight senators daughter and that her wealth and c
—Rachel (The Rest Is Still Unwritten)
This was a pretty standard Dark-Hunter book. That is not a bad thing. The books are usually light-hearted reads filled with plenty of romance, humor, and with just enough drama to keep things interesting. I liked the romance in this one. I was unsure about Wren to begin with, the guy is a bit weird, but enjoyed the way his feelings for Marguerite developed and how they helped bring him out of his shell. I was equally happy with the way Marguerite's feelings for Wren helped to give her the courage to stand up to her father and finally live the life she wanted. The pair made a good couple. The plot was fast paced and fun. Wren is set up by his uncle to take the blame for his parents death and a meeting of the Omegrion is called to vote on his fate. The vote goes badly for Wren and he is forced to try and clear his name. We met a few familiar faces from the previous Dark-Hunter books as they popped up to lend a hand to Wren. That is always fun. Amy and Fang featured as secondary characters and both had good showings. I'm looking forward to reading their book. The other stand out secondary character was the mediator of the Omegrion Savatar. I'm eager to learn more about him in future books! This might not have been one of the very best Dark-Hunter books but it was still a worthwhile and fun read. Rating: 3.5 stars.Audio Note: The Dark-Hunter series has a few audio narrators, but Fred Berman is probably my favorite of the bunch.
—Gavin
