Beneath the Skin

Beneath the Skin by Adrian Phoenix

The Maker's Song #3

CHAOS CONTROLS HIS FUTURE. ONE MORTAL WOMAN COULD BE HIS SALVATION. THE COUNTDOWN TO ANNIHILATION WILL BEGIN WITH DANTE'S CHOICE....

THE FATE OF THREE WORLDS...

The dark pieces of vampire rock star Dante Baptiste's past are violently emerging, and it is only a matter of time before the Fallen discover he is the creawdwr they have sought for thousands of years. The destruction he left behind in Oregon threatens to reveal his identity as Fallen Maker and True Blood, exposing the young nightkind to shadowy predators — mortal and supernatural — who will do whatever it takes to win his favor...or destroy him.

RESTS IN DANTE'S HANDS.

When beautiful FBI special agent Heather Wallace went AWOL on assignment, she chose irresistible Dante over the shady government forces that now stalk them both. Heather has her own secrets of the past to uncover, but she is also the only one who can hold her nightkind lover together when his dangerous quest for the truth threatens to send him over the edge. And as she and Dante fight for their survival, she realizes they must work together to protect their future — before his mysterious destiny tears them apart....

At the ending of the last book, Dante had done some incredibly powerful and scary "magic" against the Fallen who were trying to claim. This book picks up right away, with Dante, Heather, Von, and Annie on the run from both the FBI and other agencies as well as any more Fallen who could be hunting Dante. Unfortunately, Dante's nasty past has caught up with him and threatens to consume his mind. With everyone gunning for both her lover and herself, Heather knows she must continue to protect Dante, as she is the only thing that can help him keep his thin hold on sanity. What she doesn't know is just how important him keeping his sanity is, for he has the power to make or unmake anything, and it is his destiny to change the world.

In my review of the last book I expressed some frustration with the amount of perspective changes and the difficultly in keeping track of everyone's agenda. I was hoping that this book would be a little better aspect, but it was actually much worse. There were just too many side characters all with their own plans, some hidden, some not. It was impossible to keep track of it all, and I felt that really detracted from the story. I would have preferred a whole lot more Dante/Heather time, at least I know what their agenda is.

In the little amount of time the book spend on the main characters, there was one thing that stood out to me, whenever the perspective got sucked into Dante's head. Through these glimpses we got to see just how torments and tortured he is by the unspeakable horrors of his past that the despicable people put him through. It is almost amusing that they were trying to mold him into a sociopath so they could study him, when all they had to do was turn the "camera" around on themselves. Then they would have seen the true sociopaths.

I really love the concept of this series and the main characters are really great, but I'm really having a hard time getting through the books, and each one is harder than the last. I plan to stick it out because like I said, the main characters are great, and I want to know what happens to them, but I am almost to the point where I want to skip any scene that isn't about Dante, Heather, Von, or Lucien. I'm still holding out hope for things to get better as there is such potential in this series, but I won't hold my breath. I'm rating this a 3 based on the main characters alone, otherwise it would be lower.

Rating:

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Beneath the Skin