Title: Dark Beginnings: The Demon Within
Series: Dark Beginnings, Book 1
Author: J. E. Marshall
Length: Novel (285 Pages)
Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: Extasy Books (February 15th, 2007)
Heat Level: Mild
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts
Reviewer: Lisa
Blurb: Meet Christien James and Julien Cabrera. Unspoken attraction is what brought them together. Distance and family is what keeps them apart. Now, for an unbridled lust and longing that may never be quenched Christien finds himself doing unspeakable things in the name of, Lucian Cabrera, Julien’s father. These acts will test the very boundaries of his sanity, and for Christien, the darkness of his twisted deeds threatens to turn him into a monster that no one can stop. It’s in this darkness that Christien indulges in the rapturous pleasures of heat and hot, torrid passion. His name is Jack Carmichael. With Jack, Christien discovers the true meaning of love and desire. For Jack, Christien will drop all the walls and barriers of his life and heart and reveal who he really is. There’s only one catch… Jack is dead.
Product Link:http://www.extasybooks.com/j-e-marshall/dark-beginnings-the-demons-within/
Review: Some day’s when things get rough, I pick up a book and lose myself in it. J.E. has a gift of storytelling that boggles the mind. I have always loved a story with twist and turns, with lots of danger, anger, and excitement. This story was a bit hard to get into at first but once you start you just can’t stop. It was also very sad.
Christien is a lost young man beaten and sad, until he gets mixed up with Julien. Julien is the son of wealthy crime family. They are both killers but one has a soul where the other does not. Christien had fallen for Julien, but over time, he let that go. Married a woman whom he had gotten pregnant only for that to end when she realized he didn’t love her. For you see Christien was actually gay, he could pass for bi but in truth was not. He hid himself so that Julien’s family would not find out. Julien is difficult and you really don’t hear that much about him throughout the book, but only in the beginning and the end. The more you read about Christien you just want to smack him upside the head, but you see the truth of how lost he truly is. He has been doing so much twisted stuff that he was beginning to turn into a monster unless he is given the chance to change. Christien and Julien are attracted to each other, but their families kept them apart. Then there is Jack who is the best one could be, well if one is a ghost or spirit. Jack had also worked for Julien’s family but he stole from them and died for it. Christien had loved Jack only to end up killing him. Love triangles are never simple, and this one has a catch you’ll have to read to believe. The sex that you read about is hot and full of passion but it leaves something out.
It is a really good book, just not something I really could see myself reading more than once. There is a lot of evil throughout the story, full of amazing twists and turns. It has lots of danger, excitement, and criminal activities. I felt that it was missing something, I just don’t know what. It came off, as real life criminal activity to me, just wasn’t my cup of tea. I felt more like crying then anything with the story. It has such a serious and sad tune to it. It shows what happens when those two roads appear before you and you take the wrong turn. I just wished there something more to it, something it was missing I just don’t know what exactly. I really didn’t care much for this story. It was well written and did have an amazing plot and story line that will shock you. It left me hanging wandering about the next book to hit this series.