Review – Winterblaze (Darkest London, Book 3) by Kristen Callihan (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Size: 448 pages
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: February 26, 2013
ISBN: 978-1455520794
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Darkest London series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the third book in the Darkest London series and features the third of three sisters, Poppy. The fourth book in this series will be titled Shadowdance, and is scheduled for a November 2013 release. This book was absolutely fantastic; the characters and plot were incredibly well done and engaging.

Poppy has always been the most resourceful of the three sisters. After all her secrets were revealed to Winston in the second book, Moonlight, her marriage to Winston ended up on the rocks. Little does Poppy know Winston has secrets of his own. With a dangerous demon on the loose; Poppy needs to fill her role as a member of the SOS and hunt it down. When Winston gets pulled into the action, Poppy and Winston are forced to face each other and try to reconcile the new people they have become to each other.

This was an absolutely stunning continuation of this series. Not only does this book have an absolutely action packed and engaging plot, but Poppy and Winston are entrancing. The scenes between them sizzle and they are such interesting and complex characters.

Poppy has been part of the SOS (Society for the Suppression of Supernaturals) since she was little. When the secret of this comes out she is devastated. When Winstone leaves her she is even worse off. Not only is her family angry at her secrets, her husband has abandoned her too. In this book we see a side of Poppy we have never seen in previous stories. Poppy is a warrior and incredibly intelligent, she is so much more complex than we were lead to believe in past books. Poppy’s one shortcoming is her inability to trust, and it was entrancing to watch her work through this issue with Winston.

Winstone has always seemed like the upright lawman in previous books. In this book we are introduced to a leaner and meaner Winston; he returns to the story covered in werewolf scars and much tougher from his months spent training to learn new fighting styles. This is a more dangerous Winston, as Winston’s own secrets are revealed he becomes a character that matches Poppy in complexity.

When Poppy and Winston are together in a scene it sizzles with tension and heat. They’ve been married forever, but they each have to relearn the other person because of all the changes and challenges they have recently faced. It was fun to read about a married couple who love each other with so much passion.

The plot was also fantastic. There is an old and dangerous demon on the loose and Poppy must figure out how to hunt him down and deal with him. When it comes to light that this demon may be involved in Winston’s past as well; Poppy and Winston realize they must face him side by side. There are lots of wonderful action scenes, a heavy element of investigation, and interesting paranormal danger throughout.

The story wraps up well and makes for a very satisfying read. The Epilogue gives a brief lead in to the next book which will feature Mary Chase and Jack Talent.

I would like to state that I absolutely hate the cover of this book, it does not do either the characters or the story justice!

Overall this was an enthralling story and I had a lot of trouble putting it down. This story was a perfect blend of action packed paranormal danger and sizzling romance. Callihan does an excellent job of balancing plot, action, and romance. This whole paranormal series is high recommended to those who like action packed urban fantasy with a large dash of sizzling romance.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– 150+ Reading Challenge
– DEMONS: Paranormal Reading Challenge