Review: Dark Seeker (Seeker #1)

Dark Seeker (Seeker #1) by Taryn Browning
Publication date: October 4th, 2011

For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.

So, I thought I was over vampires but I saw a review of this book at Giselle's blog Xpresso Reads (shout out, yo!) and knew I had to have it. Sooo...it turns out apparently I'm not over vampires.

One of the things I like about Dark Seeker is that it has vampires that will not love you, but will actually kill you on sight. Browning has, of course, introduced her own breed of vampires and they're pretty dangerous. Now, if you've been following my blog, you'll have noticed that I love girls who kick-ass, literally. If you're just joining me, I love girls that kick-ass (literally) and Janie does just that (literally). The action scenes were a lot of fun to read. Janie is something fierce, but is still a kid. I noticed when she's out on the streets or with her friends, Janie acts all cool, but when she's in the presence of her mom, Janie reverts back to a teenager. Just like real-life! Or was that just me in my teen years (minus the "out on the streets")?

For those supernatural romance fans, Dark Seeker has the usual recipe:

1 supernatural bad boy with a sensitive soul, make sure he's sexy
A pinch of instant connection and wait 5 minutes to grow
1 other boy, the complete opposite of the first one, to form a love triangle

I poke fun, but Kai and Janie have great chemistry and I liked "watching" their romance develop. Their connection didn't feel contrived to me, it just works with the story. Now onto the problem I have: Kai has a big secret. His secret is HUGE (notice the caps), but I feel like it is handled kind of nonchalantly. It's there and then it's gone. The way it "resolves" (I found myself not truly convinced by the way that it is) feels like an easy way out and I wish the secret had added more tension to the story than just a few pages of drama. That aside, it's an enjoyable read and I had fun! The ending leaves you with a feeling of closure, but enough to leave you awaiting the next book. I look forward to where the story will go!

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