For as long as he can remember all the hero ever wanted in life was to be a BookKeeper. As the second born son. however, the secret world of the demon possessed should have remained just that-a secret. But his older brother was disillusioned with the inheritance so with an eager heart, the hero began to take over his training. He fought hard and worked hard to earn the respect of his father but knew that it would take something truly special to finally be accepted by the rest of the coven. Traveling to America, to Chicago to observe the group of demon possessed first hand and study their history and present, he is met with a cold welcome. Hard to blame the men and woman who fight every night battling evil demons from dismissing the geeky and rather weak hero as an annoyance. Still, on his first night in the big city, fate seems to smile upon him and tosses a rogue possessed female into his path. Unknown to the rest of his kind and completely ignorant of the world and about herself, the girl immediately clings to him. He in turn is a little disturbed by her sudden and consuming attachment and event though he desires her he treats her as nothing but a bug under his microscope. He's never harsh with her or mean but he has the BookKeeper's detachment. Meaning he sees everything through a filter, never truly experiencing the world as himself. Regardless, he fights hard to see her protected and safe among the other possessed when they start out mistrusting. They've never heard of a possessed individual surviving as long as the heroine did by herself and ignorant of what she's become. But all her life the heroine was surrounded by good and evil. As a servant in the days of witch burning, she knows that devil's truly exist and she knows that she harbors evil inside of her that compels her to kill other demons but she has no idea what to do with all her powers. As such, her presence causes a disturbance with her new companions and it can only be balanced out by her finding her mate. Too bad the only man she's ever loved, the only one she trust implicitly and with such fierce loyalty, doesn't feel the same about her. But as the story goes on, the hero finds himself drifting more and more from the role as BookKeeper and deeper into the role of warrior and lover. When he finds himself possessed, it's the final straw and he knows he can never return home, never see his father again. But deep inside he knows that none of this matters because he can never see himself leaving the heroine. Though he restricts his feelings until the very end, at the last he's finally able to admit to himself that all he ever wants to be is the man who loves her. Another stellar addition to the series and one that sees a different change of pace then the first 2 books i've read. The first major difference in this story is the fact that the hero isn't possessed at first, it's the heroine. And she's a bad ass, bare footed fighter but she's childlike both is her brilliant loving openness towards the hero but also in the fact that she does come across as a little crazy. The hero, even when he's taken over by his own demon is never truly a warrior in the sense of being like the other hero's but i enjoyed that. He was deeply flawed and rather cold at times. He was an outcast from the others because of his tendency to act superior to them and never taking the time to actually see them. He thought about himself and how the heroine could benefit his rank as a BookKeeper even when she obviously thinks the world of him. But he changes as the story goes on. He becomes less and less a bystander and more involved in the battle surrounding him. And the heroine learns that she's not helping him or herself by being so vulnerable and learns that a man must see what he'll lose if he doesn't step up. I will say that i didn't LOVE this book as much as i LOVED the first 2 of the series but i found this amazing in it's own right and still highly recommend this author to anyone looking for a more in depth romance novel. ( )

this is just an amazing series and a hot hot cover. I loved it can't wait to read the others. ( )

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/03/darkness-undone-marked-souls-4-by-jessa-sla...

This is the first book I’ve read by Jessa Slade (I know, shame on me), and all I can say is…wow! Sidney Westerbrook, fresh from London, a bit stiff in his tweeds, is attacked by lesser demons in a rather dark Chicago alley. Along comes the lovely Alyce Carver, feral, wild, and unearthly, and rescues him from almost certain death. All I could think of during her fight with the demons was the fight between River and the Reavers in Serenity (if you haven’t seen that movie, download it, buy it, whatever you need to do), but I digress. I couldn’t help comparing Alyce with River during the entire novel, and it really endeared her to me. She very old, yet she was never properly bonded with her demon, resulting in certain…oddities. Lots of divergent traits, our Alyce has. These oddities are something that Sid is happy to research, since he is to be the Chicago League’s temporary Bookkeeper. What is a Bookkeeper in this case, you might ask? Well, each member of the League is possessed by a repentant demon, or teshuva. They’ve taken on the responsibility to protect their respective areas from lesser demons. The problem is that Sid is inexplicably drawn to Alyce, but he’s determined to maintain his distance. After all, his job is to catalog the history and traits of the talyan and their mates, from a distance. You can bet that’s not gonna happen, but it’s not for his lack of trying…

Darkness Undone knocked my socks off. Yes, it’s the 4th in the Marked Souls series, and since it’s the first one I read, I had a bit of catching up to do, but that’s ok. It was very easy to get attached to each member of the League and especially our main couple, Alyce and Sidney. Well, it was easy to love Alyce. Sid took a bit longer:-D Ahh, Sid. It’s fairly likely you’ll want to slap him more than a few times as you read Darkness Undone. His resistance to love is eye-rolling at times, but he has his reasons. You’ll still want to shake him though, hard. Jessa Slade has created a rich, dark, complex world and populated it with equally complex characters. Luckily, she included a handy glossary in the back. Don’t let that scare you. It’s a pretty short list, and if this is your first read from her, you’ll only have to consult it once or twice. Seriously, her world of possessed humans is all her own. The light of the talyan is counteracted by the darkness of the djinn-men, or humans possessed by not-so-nice angels, and she introduces a villain, Thorne, that you find is not all black and white. He’s pretty firmly in the grey zone, and I found myself sympathizing with him at different points. Don’t worry though, he commits plenty of nasty.

The romance between Sid and Alyce is everything I like in my love stories: lots of push and pull, frustration, cold shoulders, resistance, desire, and plenty of heat. Kick ass fight scenes punctuate this wonderful book, and did I mention the writing is top notch? I didn’t? Well, it is, and Alyce has a dry wit that will delight you, and frankly, make you want to give her a hug. Exploring her mysterious past and mining her relationship with Sid and the League was a delight, and I can’t wait to return to this wonderful world. This series will appeal to Urban Fantasy and Paranormal fans alike, and it’s a must for your bookshelf. I’ll be devouring books 1 through 3, like, now, and will count the days until the next one! ( )