Popcorn for the soul

Confession time, I love Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series.  Love it. Though some of the later books have been a bit of a let down for me, the early books are fantastic. Well, fantastic in that guilty pleasure read way. But, maybe I should start at the beginning.



I read a lot of YA and a fair bit of fantasy and dark fantasy. Partially, because wearing my day job hat I mostly market genre and YA books. So, it only makes sense that I read a lot of books in those genres. The other part is that when I get home from said day job, I tend to write a lot of YA projects.  So, I have a really good familiarity with the genre.

Ok, now here’s how this all ties in. The first Sherrilyn Kenyon book that I read was Infinity, which is a YA spin off of her Dark Hunter series. I’m not sure how I felt about it, to be honest. Intrigued, I guess. I wanted to know more about her world and her characters. So, I picked up the first book in her Dark Hunter series.

And . . . what, 22 books later (not counting the YA Spin off series The Chronicles of Nick of which I’ve read all the published books so far) I’m hooked. I've even read some of the books more than once. I love the rich world that Sherrilyn Kenyon has created filled with immortal ancient warriors who are locked in an eternal battle to save unsuspecting humans from would be soul stealing vampires and Greek gods and goddesses who are still scheming and fighting and interfering with mankind for their own gains. For me, a veritable classics nerd, this is such a win.

But more than that, what Kenyon does so well is create rich and flawed dark heroes. Heroes who need to be redeemed, literally, if they want to get their souls back. Heroes who for the most part were or are good people, but who have shut themselves off from the world. They are not as dark as say a one JZB the ultimate dark hero, but they are the kind of dark heroes who you could see taming and building a life with. Heroes (both men and women) who are ferocious in their desire to save the world as well as protect the person(s) they love. All of Kenyon’s heroes have tragic pasts that even hundreds or thousands of years later they are trying to overcome. Kenyon’s heroes are torn by their desires to carry out their duty to humanity and their want to be with a person who loves them, who they can see a future with.

I have to say, that’s sexy. The idea of an ancient Greek General, or a Celtic Warrior, Viking Raider (guys, Kenyon’s heroes have been everything in their previous lives before they become Dark Hunters) being enchanted by a modern day girl, swoon. I love the way Kenyon handles the clash of modern vs ancient beliefs. I love that her female characters are strong women who don’t take any shit from any of these alpha males. I love that if you read the series in order you get to see so many of the characters come back time and again, many now with families and homes, and as a reader, it’s like checking in on old friends.

In short, Kenyon’s books are my big guilty pleasure. They are popcorn for the soul. You probably won’t find me confessing to reading them to my coworkers (though I suppose that cat is now out of the bag, whoops) and you won’t find me being able to tell you why exactly I love them so much. That’s probably a good thing. If something is so good, so addictive (and not in a bad way, in a calorie free reading enjoyment way) then it’s got to be worth loving.

Plus, you know, all of her heroes are pretty easy on the eyes. Who could resist an Ancient Greek General with a flawless body, brilliant mind for strategy and a desire only for you?