⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I couldn’t wait for Balladyn’s book. A light Faye guard who was betrayed and tortured became a dark Faye who took over as King to be betrayed again to become a Reaper and…….it doesn’t end there. No spoilers but wow I didn’t see the evolution of his character coming. This bumped a 3.5 star book up to 4.

Balladyn is compelled to go, where he doesn’t know, but something is calling him. He comes upon Rhona, leader of the Skye Druids dying in the street. After saving her, he realizes he can’t leave her side (a little too insta connection for me after eons of being in love with Rhi). Rhona doesn’t understand why she was chosen as the leader of the Skye druids and hasn’t fully leaned into her role. Having survived an attempted murder she realizes that she has to step up.

Rhona has a target on her back. Someone wants her dead and that someone (or their accomplice) lives on Skye. Balladyn, The Reapers, Edith, Warriors, and the Druids come to help solve the case. Once they realize who is targeting Rhona, everyone and the Dragon Kings fight in the final battle. They won, but at the same time didn’t. There is a theme in these battle scenes that frustrates me when I read them.

I’m looking forward to Ainsling and Xanneth’s book and what should be the final battle, as well as he new Druid series.

Thanks to Netgalley and DL Grant LLC for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a read! When a Reaper is unexplainable drawn to a place, where he finds a dying Druid, he and his fellow reapers save her. They set out on a mission to find the attempted killer.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

DARK ALPHA’S COMMAND is the fifteenth instalment in Donna Grant’s contemporary, adult REAPER paranormal, fantasy romance series -a spin off from the author’s Dark Kings series, which is a spinoff from Donna Grant’s DARK WARRIOR series which in turn is a spin off from the author’s DARK SWORD series- all set in the Highlands of Scotland. This is the new head of the Skye Druids Rhona, and Reaper Balladyn’s story line. DARK ALPHA’S COMMAND can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion as there is a continuing premise throughout. Balladyn’s story begins in the Dark Kings series.

SOME BACKGROUND: The Reapers (believed to be a folk lore amongst the Fae) are a group of Dark and Light Fae, selected by Death (aka Erith), on their own deathbed, to do her bidding-Death is the judge and jury; the Reapers are the executioners. The Reapers are not harbingers of death, but are tasked with destroying the Light and Dark Fae who have crossed a line from which there is no return. All Reapers must follow two rules: never to fall in love; and never to reveal their existence to anyone but a group known as the Others, have declared themselves the rulers of the Fae, and their next ‘mission’ is to take down the Reapers, having failed to destroy the Dark Kings.



Told from several third person perspectives including Rhona and Balladyn DARK ALPHA’S COMMAND sees former Light turned Dark Fae turned Reaper Balladyn get his own happily ever after. Someone or something is calling Balladyn to the Isle of Skye, and upon his arrival he finds Rhona, a mortally wounded Druid, and with his own magic begins the healing process for the woman with whom he will fall in love. Rhona is the new head of the Skye Druids, and as such is facing a potential back lash from those who do not want to see her succeed but the attack against Rhona may have come from another direction, the Fae Others, a group of six Fae lead by Lena, a Dark Fae hoping to rid the world of the Reapers, The Dragon Kings, and most especially, the humans. With the arrival of the Druids from the MacLeod Castle (Dark Sword), and the help of the Reapers, Rhona and Balladyn begin to ferret out who may be responsible for the attack on Rhona but quickly discover there may be a dark mole hidden amongst one of their own. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Rhona and Balladyn, and the potential fall-out as The Others take aim, beginning with our story line couple.

Meanwhile Reaper Aisling continues to search for the illusive and tortured Xaneth. For years former Queen of the Light/Dark Usaeil imprisoned and tortured her nephew Xaneth, and upon his escape became something else, hunting the evil taking aim at the people he once loved.

The relationship between Rhona and Balladyn is one of immediate attraction, pulled together by an unknown force but an attraction Balladyn struggles to accept. As a Reaper, Balladyn must obey the command of Death aka Erith but the woman with whom he is falling in love cannot leave the Isle of Skye, for it is the home of the Skye Druid and our story line heroine. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters from all of the author’s interconnected series including Dark Warrior, Dark Sword, Dark Kings, and Dragon Kings. As the introductory story line to the author’s new SKYE DRUIDS spin off, DARK ALPHA’S COMMAND sets up the background and conflict facing the Druids of the Isle of Skye.

DARK ALPHA’S COMMAND is a story of betrayal, obsession and vengeance, power and control, magic, partnerships and love. The premise is captivating and intriguing; the romance is seductive; the characters are energetic, powerful and charismatic.



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This is the fifteenth book in the Reaper series, a spin off from the Dark King, Dark Warrior, and Dark Sword series, yes it's a lot but that means you get a fantastic world-building, characters that you will fall in love with. This time we finally get Balladyn story and we get Rhona to be his match in every way. The story is very entertaining, I love Donna Grant writing, the world-building is so good, the story will have you hooked from the start and will have you reading it in no time.

This one is Balladyn and Rhona's story. Reaper and Druid. The others are striking again and are becoming stronger and deadlier. This one is on another-level story with twists, suspense, and love. I loved it and can wait to read the story from Xannet.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley

I love this book!
This book is one of the best in this series! Donna Grant uses her Dark World effectively in writing her books, and this one doesn’t disappoint. We first met Balladyn in her Dark Kings series, and he’s become an important part of this, her Reapers, series. Balladyn is a complex character, and this book brings almost all of his facets together for the reader to enjoy. This is the only part that I have a concern with, and it’s from prior books he has been in love with and in hate with another character. Here in Dark Alpha’s Command, he has completely moved on…after thousands of years invested in his feelings, he’s over them in a blink of an eye. But if I ignore that concern, this book is outstanding. The two main characters are well-developed, both have interesting back stories, and present themselves as people you’d want to know. The continuing story is intricate and the arc from the last few books continues to build, and because of that, additional characters from Donna’s Dark Sword and Dark Warrior series make appearances. With a tight story line and fast pace, I didn’t want to stop reading. This book is not a cliff hanger, but the overall story arc isn’t finished yet. But Dark Alpha’s Command is a satisfying read. I cannot wait for the next book. Well Done Donna Grant!

Loved reading the mesmerizing and spellbinding paranormal romance story. When Rhona, the new leader of the Skye Druids was attacked and dying, Balladyn, a reaper, was pulled through time and space toward Rhona, used his magic to stop the bleeding temporarily, and rushed her to her cottage, so that the Druids could try to heal her. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a riveting love story. Can't wait to read the next story in the series by the phenomenal author, Donna Grant!

I have been looking forward t9 this book for along time. While I have not always been a fan of Balladyn , he might have the best redemption arc there is. Since his first appearance in The Dark World so many books ago, he has been forced to endure so much. Unrequited love, betrayals, conspiracies, rise of power, and finally death. Now he has a new life as a Reaper and his real story begins. Rhona Is also a Familiar character. She is the new leader of the sky druids as well as cousin to Sorcha ( Cathal‘s mate). This book is full of epic battles, old familiar friends, villains and finally a new deep love. What an amazing book.

When I started reading this book I did not realize it was part of a series (my mistake). That being said I still enjoyed the book. It takes place on the Isle of Skye, which I absolutely loved. I enjoyed the main characters Balladyn and Rhona. In the book Balladyn saves Rhona from unknown attackers. It's up to them to find out who the attackers are and who could have possible betrayed Rhona to this unknown threat. The world they are in is also fascinating with the Fae, Reapers, Gods, Druids, Dragon Kings and so many more. It definitely made me want to pick up book one and read this series from the beginning.

I'm so happy to get Balladyn's story. He's had such a major roll in all the connecting series, in so many different capacities. Personally, I think he's been one of the most important side characters through everything, and this book has proved it. It was nothing I was expecting, and yet greater than I could have hoped. I'm hoping we get Aisling and Xaneth's story next. They had some great development in this and I'm anxious to find out what power Xaneth has to be able to do what he's been doing.

Just when I think I know where this series is going, I find my assumptions are completely blown away. This is how I found myself as I plunged into the beautiful unknown that is Dark Alpha's Command. I was left staring in awe at the glorious wonder and the stunning beauty that is is magnificent masterpiece. This is one of my favorite series, and it only keeps getting better and better.

Balladyn finds himself forcibly pulled to cross realms out of the blue, and his finally destination is Earth. Never signing up for the journey that lay ahead, he is left completely in the dark as he tries to unravel each mystery in order to make sense of the complicated mystery that has become his life. Rhona finds herself an unwilling target if a viscous enemy who hides in the darkest of shadows and is not afraid to inflict pain and inspire rage to obtain the results they desire. Fate seems to have paired up Balladyn and Rhona out of every other possibility to fight this unknown assailant and rid her homeland of the evil that haunts her ever step. Will they be able to solve this complicated riddle together, or will they find their end all too soon at the hand of ruthless power hungry assassins?

I wasn't expecting Balladyn to be paired with someone like Rhona. Not only are their races enemies, but each of them individually do not appear to be someone the other would have chosen or ever thought of as anything more then a mere aquaintance. It's truly breathtaking how two people can be so perfect for the other, and it's such a beautiful miracle how their hearts come become so intertwined that you can't tell where one ends and the other begins. The comfort and passion that developed between these two is such a joy to behold. My heart can't contain the marvelous awe that I felt watching these two fall for the other from their quiet strength to their generous spirit . They truly make try perfect pair in every way.

I should know by now to never assume I know what will happen for the extraordinary genius that is Donna Grant never fails to leave me wickedly shocked, wonderfully surprised, and wildly elated at every turn. She has made this entire series an unbelievable success, and I can't wait to see what brings to life next!

So obviously I'm in the overwhelming minority here with my rating. My issue is that when a character annoys me, it really drags the book down for me. And at some point Rhona became that annoyance. Her dependency on Balladyn after knowing him for less than two days was extremely off putting. Only made worse when she would glare at and make demands of the Reapers because she couldn't function without him. I also get bored very easily when the main characters are always telling the other how perfect they are, and how good they are, and how beautiful they are. Of which we get pages and pages and pages and pages here.

Like most everyone else, I had been waiting for Balladyn's book. Now, don't get me wrong. His book was definitely good. It just seemed off to me that he had spent centuries pining for Rhi, but now all of a sudden he meets this druid and he immediately realizes that he loves her and what he felt for Rhi was just him believing they should be together because that's how they grew up? Kind of a stretch for me.

So anyway. Balladyn is abruptly awoken one night with this feeling that must find something. Immediately. He has no idea where it is, or even what it is, but this pull to act is so strong that it's only a command from Erith that even gives him pause. But it's a painful pause. When she lets him go, he follows this feeling and it leads him to a dying Rhona. Fortunately, Balladyn remembers reading an ancient spell that is the only hope to keep her alive until she can be healed by her Druids. Thankfully they make it in time, but it's obvious that someone has betrayed her. And that's what a good chunk of this book is about. Trying to figure out who it was. But we do get more good stuff aside from their obsessions with each other and lots and lots of meetings. We get a visit to the Warriors who offer their assistance in this war, another attempt on Rhona's life, and even some Dragon Kings.

I don't think it's spoiler to say that Lena is obviously behind everything in this book too. Her power is growing to a frightening strength and she is devious enough to use the Druids to get at the Reapers. Eventually it becomes clear why she wanted Rhona dead and what it all had to do with Balladyn. I'm not such a huge fan of prophecies though, so that whole thing was kind of 'meh' to me. I also didn't really like Erith's decision regarding Balladyn at the end, but I also get that that's just how it has to be with this kind of book.

The ending was again frustrating like the last book was. This series is now starting to remind me of The Stone Warriors series because the bad guy flees Every.Single.Time.

Of course we get more of Xaneth here. Aisling has kept up her search for him, but is no longer having any luck. But that's because she doesn't realize that Xaneth is now following her. Now she feels like it's time for her to give up. He clearly won't talk to her, and obviously is purposely making it impossible for her to find him, so she decides to go back to the Reapers. The outcome that Xaneth has been telling himself he has wanted this whole time. Too bad he can't stop thinking about her more now that she's gone. He considers going to help the Reapers directly too, they have the same enemy after all, but he's too afraid of what they will think of him and the monster he thinks he has become. So he stays in the shadows killing all of the evil that draws him to it. Until the big battle at the end. Of course he joins, but Lena has figured out his weakness as well and delights in being correct. I'm really looking forward to Xaneth's book because I'm really expecting it to be good considering all that's going on with him. And maybe with a little luck, he might actually be free once the new Others are destroyed.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Wow, I loved this book. It has been quite awhile since I read the dragon/Fae stories with Rhi and Con and the battle against Usaeil. So, this book is Balladyn and I am so glad that part way into the book, there was a short explanation of his past as a Light Fae then a Dark Fae King. I needed that refresher - and that helped to see the progression of Balladyn into the Reaper he is today.

You would not expect Balladyn and Rhona together but they were so much fun to read about and he struggled to feel that he was worth her attention. As they battle Lena and the Others, they slowly make a dent in the organization.

Rhona has her own issues and feels like she is not equipped to lead the Skye Druids. When they unite, it is a great part of the story and I won't say anymore and ruin anything with spoilers.

I could not put this book down, and had to keep reading it to the end in one sitting! We also get to see Xaneth and Aisling along the way and I have to say - I can't wait for that book!

Wish I could give it more than 5 stars!!

This series is 15 books deep, and the world it lives in has countless other books - and somehow, Donna Grant continues to keep me interested and wanting to read more. This book, in particular, is one I have been hoping for. Balladyn is a favorite character within the series - he's been good, bad, and just about everything in between. The other thing Donna Grant does so so well is redeem heroes. Although - I am not sure Balladyn needed much anymore! Rhona is the leader of the Skye Druids - she is relatively new in that role (considering the last leader held the position for a <i>very</i> long time. She's still questioning her role within the group. When she is attacked and Balladyn is drawn to find her in a way that shouldn't be possible - everything shifts.

Balladyn and Rhona are pretty special together. We already known most of their individual backstories from other books, but getting their perspective on what happened to them is fascinating. They are also really perfect for each other. I loved their deep connection and how neither really questioned it at any point. Even though their relationship goes from 0-60 in like seconds - it definitely worked in the context of this world and this story.

I loved this story and it definitely stood out among the recent books in the series. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the characters in the upcoming spinoff that focuses on the Skye Druids. Do you need to read the rest of the series to appreciate this one? Not really - but this probably isn't the place to start - there is just a lot of history to unpack.

I received this as an ARC via NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

What a wondrous world this author has created. I fell into this story and it enthralled me. Balladyn and Rhona's story is a convoluted one. The reapers and Skye Druids have such magic and strength. Together they are up against evil. Get ready for a great read with this one.

I was totally hooked on this story because it was so different, it is dark, gritty, twisted, scary and painfully realistic in parts. It is definitely not a soft and fluffy romance. Look out when that finale hits you, you will be floored.

At long last, Balladyn gets his own story and a chance at love. Dark Alpha’s Command is a fast-paced novel that entails love, conflict, and an epic battle that’s reminiscent of the ones against Bran and against Usaeil. This novel brings together all of Donna Grant’s Dark World inhabitants: Reapers, Druids, the Fae, Dragon Kings, and the Warriors. But will all of them together be enough to defeat the powerful Lena, leader of the Fae Others?

Of note, there is still one Reaper who has yet to find love. We’ll have to wait until March 2023 to read that tale. Looking forward to reading Dark Alpha’s Fury, the novel that concludes the Reaper series.

Donna Grant has once again displayed her unique ability to create characters and situations that keep you eager for more. I enthusiastically and impatiently await each of her novels.