This novella combines Showalter's Alien Huntress and Otherworld Assassin series, and it is great. These are my 2 favorite of her series and I truly wish she would write more of them. Dallas and Lillica are very strong, fascinating characters. The story delves more deeply into their world ands does not disappoint. I find this series to be so unique in the paranormal world. I truly hope whe will continue to write more.

Received as an arc from Netgalley.

Review goes live on Sept 23 at 00.00 am gmt+2 on Butterfly-o-Meter Books and will show up later on Goodreads.

In a Flutter: Interesting world!
Fluttering Thoughts:
Worldbuilding: New Chicago setting. Interesting world of Sci-Fi-ish alien hybrids, with AIR fighting against them on principle – morally ambiguous, thereby interesting. Trinity’s sex zombies were a riot, tbh. The manifestation of the alien powers came across more as paranormal than Sci-Fi, I think. It was an interesting mix.
Characters: I liked Lilica the chameleon, so loyal and devoted to her sisters. Her powers were kickass and she had nerves of steel too. I liked her more as the story went on, because interacting with Dallas brought out a playful side of her that I really enjoyed.
Dallas was alpha, funny, and a bit of a slut when the story began. That made him a bit tougher to like for me, but things changed as soon as he met Lilica. She brought out a serious seduction-mode and possessive side of him that I enjoyed a lot.
So it can be said that they brought out the best of each other, hehe. Their banter was lolworthy and I enjoyed their chemistry.
Plot: The story had a nice pace, though in the beginning I felt things were maybe a bit slow. During those times there were also instances of violence against captives/prisoners which sort of ruined my good mood. I was worried this story might go in the direction of dark romance, for which I had no mood at all. But then things got on the right track and I enjoyed the second part of the novel a lot more – from the point they’re actually together onward, to be more specific. The enemies to lovers flavor in the beginning transformed into a forced/accidental mating plus virgin trope, and coupled with the awesome banter, it made for a very engaging and enjoyable part of the story.
Writing: Third person, past tense narrative, his/her POV. I really liked his voice, because he was snarky and fun.
Curb Appeal: The cover is kinna strange. The attraction for me was the author name and blurb, but the confusion about genre persisted throughout the red for me – the series name made me think of paranormal, the blurb hinted at Sci-Fi, the cover helped none, lol.

I wanted to read some of Gena Showalter’s new work because it’s been some years since I read one of her Lords of the Underworld novels. Those I read stuck to mind as fun and interesting novels with smoldering hot chemistry and intense characters. I think it was that kind of vibe that I was jonesing for. Dark Swan had another kind of vibe – not a bad one, just different. It didn’t click all the way for me – the second part of the novel did, but not so much the first.
But it was a fun read, and I recommend it to fans of hybrids stories and Sci-Fi-ish romance that’s not heavy on the Sci-Fi elements, and of course to fans of the enemies to lovers version of forced/accidental mating spiced with the virgin trope.

It has been awhile since I’ve read an alien based story from Showalter and I’ve forgotten how much I enjoyed these sexually charged encounters, uber alphas and their female counterparts that can kick but with even the super alphas out there.

Genetical experiments, the three sisters are now battling to find their way back to each other when Agent, Dallas Gutierrez is accidentally bonded with deadly, could be a foe.

This is a novella in length, but Showalter still manages to pack a punch. Dark Swan doses us in the sexual chemistry extreme and give us enough depth filled plot to keep the reader invested.

I received this ARC copy of Dark Swan from Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books - Pocket Star. This is my honest and voluntary review. Dark Swan is set for publication September 25, 2017.

My Rating: 4 stars
Written by: Gena Showalter
Print Length: 160 pages
Publisher: Pocket Star
Publication Date: September 25, 2017
Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
ASIN: B071CTJYFV
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled (for those text to speech listeners out there, Audiobook is available)
Genre: Scifi Romance | Aliens

Reviewed for: http://tometender.blogspot.com


4 likes

**This review is scheduled to automatically post to www.rhiannonwriteson.wordpress.com on September 25,2017. On that date, I will also post this review in Goodreads and Amazon**

Dark Swan by Gena Showalter is the tale of a woman named Lilica who has over twenty parents. Yes, twenty plus. She also hatched/created from an egg, along with her two sisters, Trinity and Jade, but that’s the least most odd thing about this fantastic story. For the sake of spoilage, I won’t go into detail about the world created for us, but in case you haven’t read any blurbs about the story yet, it takes place far into the future, in a world where alien species live along with human beings. Technology is crazy advanced.

And showers are almost unheard of. No, really. Wait to read about that for yourself.

I find it wonderfully fitting that Lilica, once dubbed Lady Wicked, finds a romantic hero and powerful lover in a man who is tasked with capturing and killing her sister, Trinity, in order to zap out a futuristic super STD. The romantic scenes were sizzling and the tension between Dallas and Lilica was fierce. I also enjoyed the action scenes, though there was few.

What I always love about Gena Showalter is that her storytelling doesn’t slow down. I can keep the same pace throughout the entire book and not feel like I’ve entered a Twilight Zone of meandering prose (and, let’s face it, that happens sometimes when you’re a reader of books). The characters in the story all have incredible background stories that I wanted to explore almost as much as the main character’s story. Also, I can confidently say I wasn’t disappointed in learning the ins and outs of the futuristic, alien filled world within the story. No topic left the reader in the dark and everything alien or futuristic subject or object was described and explained adequately.

I gladly offer anyone who enjoys a good, spicy romance my recommendation for this book. If you’d like to order the Kindle copy for yourself, head over to Amazon. It looks like there will be an Audible edition also, but I am not certain about print yet, but I would assume so.

Release: September 25, 2017

I was disappointed with this being the conclusion. There has been so much hype about the virus and how it spreads and it just felt hastily finished.

another intriguing paranormal romance by Ms. Showalter. Wonderful plot.

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have read several book in this Alien series and definitely recommend this book. The chemistry between Dallas and his Lily is combative as well as explosive. This is a complete story that ends in a HEA with no cliffhangers. Please note the other books do not read to be read in order to enjoy this book but it does help place the characters and relationships.

A very good story!!! Sexy and hot but still with a nice background story!!!

This story has already been published in the Blood Red Kiss anthology so check before buying in case you own it.
So finally the author returns to her sci fi series and yes it's at last Dallas who gets his own story although it is slightly disappointing as it's practically novella length. This series about aliens in New Chicago and the AIR agents who 'police' them were the first books I read by this author so naturally it's one of my favourites and yes Agent Dallas has been there since the beginning. Oh he's not exactly how he started and has definitely gone through trials of his own even whilst others got their happy ending . Still it's been obvious for some time now that the Schon queen as well as going around infecting people has set her sights on Dallas . The disease that controls her is insidious and downright nasty but still far too many men fall prey to her advances and Dallas and the rest of the AIR are determined to catch her .
Into this the author introduces three sisters who were created using DNA from so many species I've lost count! So expect abilities that are truly out of this world. No longer children but young women who can be deadly and our heroine is Lilica and when Dallas first meets her Lilica is a prisoner of his closest friend Devyn. Well it just so happens that Dallas has been having visions and yes you've guessed it they heavily feature the colour changing Lilica! Dallas knows that somehow she's the key to taking down the Schon queen but first of all he needs to convince Lilica to trust him.
I loved being back in this world and reading the interactions between Dallas and Devyn was truly as amusing as ever as the word ego simply was made to define this wise cracking pair. Plus there's a couple of old favourites that manage to sneak into the story so that made me happy. I had gotten the impression that Lilica is naturally blessed with a black skin tone that changes so truthfully I'm not that happy with the cover that shows a female that could have stepped off a YA fantasy book! This right here is partially why this story is regrettably not a five as it fell far short of the previous steamy books. Yes they want to jump each other's bones but it just lacked the fire of previous books such as Seduce the Darkness and Ecstasy in Darkness. I've always enjoyed the mixture of hot passionate romance that's a bit naughty that slots happily into a fast paced rollicking adventure . For this reader admittedly there is chemistry but not the pure adrenaline rush that the authors sizzling romances have had in the past. I enjoyed catching up with Dallas and I'm very pleased that there's finally a happy outcome to the Schon storyline but I'm left wondering about the character John that appears here and I'm hoping he does get a book at some point.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

I really enjoyed this story, it was great to go back and touch base with the Otherworld Assassin series if only for a short while. Dallas & Lilica are great characters and the dynamic interaction had you right back in the series. I really hope we get to read more of this series

Dark Swan by Gena Showalter
Wow, Bookish friends (!!!)
If I knew I could have read this like months ago I would have, you see that this little novella is in the anthology Blood Red Kiss alongside Kresley Cole and Larissa Ione *hangs head* I brought that little guy months ago, any who…

Dark Swan is about Dallas, ad when I say I and the rest of the AIR fans have been waiting a long time for this story I don’t mean weeks or months even. I mean like YEARS (!!!) Yes, you hear me correctly I have been waiting for the Dallas’s story for years, and finally the day had come, I am overwhelmed with excitement.

He was worth the wait, you could read this as a standalone but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Gena takes us back into the Alien Huntress/Otherworld Assassins series which for me was one of my favourite series by Gena. I love that this story was a decent size, as always Gena’s writing is flawless and the pace of this story was perfect. The characters have her signature banting couple, that are HOT for each other and accidently mate, but try not to make that bond any stronger.

I felt like this was an end of a chapter, she tied up loose ends with the AIR series and it was well done. I loved that I see my fav characters from previous books, this one Dark Swan picks up from Dark Taste of Rapture ended all them years ago. I didn’t need to go re read it, I just jumped in head first and gobbed it down. The team is still trying to capture Schon Queen, she’s still the murderous bitch we all hate, just this time there is a twist. The female lead in this story is her sister, Lilica and she wants to save her sisters.

If you loved Dallas, or loved even Devyn then you will love this story. These guys had me laughing from the first page, and even till the end I was giggling. Gena did such an awesome job with this novella.
Arc was received by the publishers
PNR BOOK LOVER REVIEWS