Amanda Bonilla – Crave the Darkness

The third book in the Shaede Assassin series, published March 5, 2013.
Genre: urban fantasy
Cover: great.



Nothing comes easy for Darian. Her heightened powers make her indispensable to the Shaede Nation, but dangerous missions have driven her lover, Tyler, to his breaking point. Darian must salvage their bond, but a new assignment to protect Anya - a fellow Shaede and the first of their kind to become pregnant in centuries - stands in the way.
It doesn't help that the two Shaedes are longtime rivals and share nothing besides mutual hatred. But when it becomes clear that someone - or something - is bent on destroying the expectant mother and her unborn child, Darian must put her feelings aside and track down Anya's would-be assassin.
As she probes into Anya's past, Darian digs up long-buried secrets - and a startling connection between Tyler and the mission that could destroy everything between them....


Tyler has been gone from Darian’s life for over 3 months, and she is still a wreck, grieving and missing him like crazy. Her flat is a mess, she doesn’t eat, she seeks solace in a bottle of bourbon, and there is dirty laundry and food boxes everywhere. Raif thinks it is time for an intervention, and he sneakily sends his brother, Xander, the Shaede King, to get Darian back on her feet. Xander cajoles her into getting up and dressed, as he has an assignment for her.

When she gets to Xander’s residence an hour later, she is appalled at the assignment. She is to guard Anya? Doesn’t he know they loath each other? Surely there is someone else who can do this? And moving into his home seems inevitable for the assignment, which might be a good idea for the moment. Getting rid of all the painful reminders of Tyler, that are still in her apartment. Raif tells her she has to choose a securityteam, as the threat against the pregnant Anya is very real. Someone shot at her lost week, and Anya refuses to stay imprisoned in the house for the full year of her pregnancy. Anya claims not to have a clue who is after her, but she is clearly lying. She does ask Darian to protect her husband Dimitri instead.

When the bad guy keeps finding them when they are escorting Anya, Darian knows she will have to get Anya to talk, before there are more casualties. He clearly doesn’t care about innocent bystanders. But he also is not in a hurry to kill Anya, he could have done so easily if he wanted to. No, he wants to torment Anya first. When Raif cannot find the answers, Darian turns to her trusted informants again. And when she also gets an assignment through Tyler’s minion, she is devastated. Why did he not contact her himself? After lots of thinking, she decides to visit him, and her heart breaks again when the door is answered by the most beautiful woman she has ever laid eyes on. Apparently Tyler has moved on …

Xander immediately tries to take advantage of her week moments, to get her into his bed. And in her weekend state, Darian is so very close to giving in to him. It should be a good feeling to get back at Tyler, right? Luckily, Raif interrupts just in time, and Darian has to rush out.

When she finally finds out more about the threat to Anya, the race begins on how to fight him, and how to safe Tyler’s friend in the process. Darian also has trouble with some members of her team, who don’t seem to like her orders very much. There is just no time for her to get a grip on her feelings and emotions.


A great third book in this series, I really enjoyed reading it. I only stopped and went to bed when Darian was on the verge of making the biggest mistake in her life. I really did not want to read that scene. Yes, I confess, I absolutely hate Xander. He might be very handsome and charming and the Shaede King, but he is an asshole. Spoiled and determined to get what ever he wants, and that is Darian in his bed, and how she gets there is not important. He claims to love her, to need her, to want her. Well, only the want part is true in my opinion.
I am totally irritated with Anya, for expecting Darian to fall at Xander’s feet and worship him, and be happy that he wants her in his bed. With an attitude like that, it is no wonder Xander is such a spoiled ass, thinking he is entitled to everything he wants. I hope that Darian keeps standing up to him and his manipulative ways.

I did like the fact that Darian and Anya got a little bit closer together, more understanding between them. But really, she needs to open her eyes to her King’s real character. I think Raif would be a much better person to be King. Okay, done with my ranting now.

The plot was great, the powers of the enemy amazing, and that last battle really had some gross things in it. I do hope that Darian starts listening to Tyler though, and not jumping to conclusions. That Jinn is totally in love with her, and she needs to believe herself worthy of that love. Of course she has made mistakes, but well, he could have told her some things straight on. There was plenty of action in this book, and I do love the interaction between Raif and Darian. One almost love scene, and some very tense moments. Yes, love hurts.

I am looking forward to the next book in this series, and recommend it to all lovers of Urban Fantasy.

9 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian