this was the best book of the series, it grabbed my attention immediately and kept hold of it.... then the ending OH MY WOW what a twist. Adrik I loved how (Dodd), had given him two persona's in the book. And I dug how she also made it to where Karen was like the battered lover, but yet she wasn't. It was just great so much happened but it didn't feel over crowded or rushed. It was a great setup up for the last book, which deems to be epic worthy especially with how the ending went in this book. Its a defnite must read if you haven't read it yet. ( )

Into the Shadow by Christina Dodd
Book #3 in Darkness Chosen
4.5 stars

Synopsis:
Adrik Wilder is a dangerous warlord and a shapeshifting panther to boot. Unaware of the curse that has beset his family from whom he is estranged, Adrik becomes obsessed with Karen Sonnet, the overseer at a nearby construction site. In his attempts to possess her, Adrik turns her against him but they are later reunited by circumstance and must work together to save both Adrik’s family and his soul. Nevertheless, the price they must pay may to do so may be too high.

Review:
The best in the series so far. This one had the background story that was missing in the 2nd book. Adrik is the darkest of the brothers and the one most in need of redemption (a favorite motif of mine) and he has definitely found his soul mate in Karen, the strongest and most resilient of the heroines in the series, as evinced by their chemistry which just sizzles the pages.
Recommendation: A great story. I can't wait to see how it ends. ( )

The story first takes place in the Himalayan Mountains, somewhere on the border between Tibet and Nepal, high on top of Mt. Anaya; a place that area natives believe is cursed. Twenty-eight year old Karen Sonnet is on the mountain to oversea the building of a "boutique hotel" for trekkers and climbers looking for the ultimate challenge. She is the on site supervisor representing her extremely wealthy--extremely difficult and demanding--father, Jackson Sonnet. He's the owner of a chain of resort hotels that specialized in extreme adventure vacations, and though Mt. Anaya had a reputation for being "un-climbable" Mr. Sonnet felt that was what made it a very attractive area to build.

After three months of working on the mountain Karen has encountered many frustrating problems during construction; some because she's a woman doing what's considered a man's job. And others because the workers are afraid--they say she seeks to build the hotel on the "Heart of Evil"--and they believe the mountain will destroy anyone who tries to conquer it because it hides the "Evil One's" treasure.

Karen's not happy with the situation, but she's a brave, tough, and disciplined workaholic that won't run from a challenge so easily, or worse, be chased away by local superstitions... even though she's starting to believe them herself. So by day Karen fears the mountain she works on, and now also, the nights that are plagued by the mysterious "midnight lover" who haunts her sleep...

Christina Dodd has the ability to create both strong female and male characters, and this story doesn't disappoint. It proceeds at a good pace and has entertaining dialogue. My one critique is the heroine's "uncaring" father's about-face and appearance at the end of the book was a little too convenient, but this didn't take away from my enjoyment. 4 stars. ( )

An exciting intense paranormal story with a rather forceful kind of steamy. I liked the wilderness adventures but after awhile I got tired of all the gruesome fighting. Adrick can change into a panther and while he is on the dark side he kidnaps Karen who is trying to build a hotel in the mountains near Tibet.
( )

This is the third book in the series and the one which I’d read the excerpt from which had drawn me in to read the entire set. Once I realized it was part of a series I sought out the other two which in this particular case was a good thing. You want to read these in order. I was a bit surprised by how things started out but totally fell in love with the characters. Shed a few tears by the end for sure. Definitely on my keeper list of book/series. ( )