Eleven thousand years ago a god was born. Cursed into the body of a human, Acheron spent a lifetime of shame. However, his human death unleashed an unspeakable horror that almost destroyed the earth. Then, brought back against his will, Acheron became the sole defender of mankind.

Only it was never that simple. For centuries, he has fought for our survival and hidden a past he’ll do anything to keep concealed. Until a lone woman who refuses to be intimidated by him threatens his very existence.

Now his survival, and ours, hinges on hers and old enemies reawaken and unite to kill them both.

War has never been more deadly… or more fun.

First…this review will be riddled with spoilers. Read on at your own risk.

I’ve been reading for about ten hours straight. My husband actually started a pool at work about what page I would be on by the end of the day. He has lots of faith in me b/c he thought I would be finished by 5 o’clock. Not even I can read a 700+ page book in seven hours.

Now that Ash’s heroine has been revealed, I have to wonder…was her name originally Victoria? When I read that her name was Soteria, I laughed my butt off. For years there have been discussions on who Ash’s heroine was and it most said Tory b/c her name was Victoria. So I was really amused when I read her name.

When I read that Ash’s book was going to be split up into two parts, past and present, I was thrilled. I really don’t enjoy books that flash back every few pages. Right when I get immersed in whatever time period I’m reading, it changes. So I was very satisfied at how the book was split up. Now that I’ve read it, I can see that it couldn’t have been done any other way. Flashing back wouldn’t have worked in this book. To understand Acheron in the present, you have to know about Acheron in the past.

I cried. When I got to around page 200, I was thinking that another 200+ pages of Acheron’s past would be too much to handle. How many horrific things should one person have to endure? Right when I would think that it couldn’t possibly get any worse for Acheron, it did. In Part 1, one of the more emotional things to read was the relationship between Acheron and Ryssa. Ryssa loved her brother deeply, yet part of her was disgusted at what he was (a whore). The fact that she knew that becoming a whore wasn’t Acheron’s choice made her feel even more guilty than she already did. You quickly see that Ryssa will do anything to protect Acheron, yet at times her protection comes at a high cost to Acheron. Even then, during his human life, no one gives him unconditional love like Ryssa does. That makes her death even more horrifying, especially considering that it could have been avoided if it weren’t for Artemis. The bitch.

Was there anyone that wanted Artemis to be the heroine? I don’t think there was, yet I think that many (including myself) thought that she very well may be. After all the DH books, we read how Ash was bound to Artemis. We also knew that Ash hated her. What we never really knew was why. And was his hatred enough to get him a heroine other than the heifer-goddess? The answer to that question is a resounding YES. Artemis is a vile goddess and I don’t know that I would ever be interested in reading her book, as I suspect Kenyon will ultimately set up. The things she did to Ash are unspeakable. She watched him die the most vicious death a human being could. Just watched. Right after he found his sister and his nephew murdered. All b/c she wouldn’t admit her relationship with Acheron to the Atlantean gods. And that was just one of the horrific things that were done to Acheron at Artemis’ hands. Little did Artemis know that Acheron’s death would unleash the wrath of Apollymii on the world, destroying Atlantis and sending the world back to the stone age.

Another emotional relationship to read about was Ash and Apollymii’s. In his entire human life, no one wanted Ash. Now he learns that he has a mother who not only is a goddess, but is willing to destroy the world to avenge his death. A mother who would willingly touch him and not be shamed. This is powerful stuff, people. Though there are many times Ash wants nothing more than to go to his mother, he knows that to do so would be the end of the world. That just made me so sad. The one person that would fully accept him, he can’t go to.

Now go onto the present…2008. Ash is a powerful god and leader of the Dark-Hunters. The only ones that know about his past would never breathe a word of it. Ash has found a place he belongs, though knowing that his words alone could bring the end of the world is a pretty big weight on his shoulders. He first meets Tory when he attends a lecture she’s giving on discovering Atlantis. Though he’s been to many such lectures over the years, nothing truly threatening has been uncovered. That all changes when he realizes that Tory has found a diary of Ryssa’s. In tact. A diary that could possibly contain everything about his past. Not only that, but discovering Atlantis could…you guessed it…end the world.

After he discredits her, Ash doesn’t expect to see the oddly endearing Tory again. He underestimates her determination to find Atlantis and then realizes that Tory isn’t going away as easily as he had hoped. Ash offers to help her translate Ryssa’s diary, deciding that staying close to her is the best way to make sure she doesn’t dig up things better left buried.

As she starts to get to know him, Tory realizes that her original opinion of Ash’s character is way off the mark. Not only that, but she knows that Ash has secrets as well as a painful past. This is something that Ash says to Tory after she flippantly tells him that he has no idea how hard things can be for people.

It’s easy to look at people and make quick judgments about them, their present and their pasts, but you’d be amazed at the pain and tears a single smile hides. What a person shows to the world is only one tiny facet of the iceberg hidden from sight. And more often than not, it’s lined with cracks and scars that go all the way to the foundation of their soul.

It was just so Ash. And I really think it was a turning point for Tory and her feelings for him. She judged Ash on his clothes, his hair, what she thought was his age. What she didn’t bother to do was look beyond all that. When she did, she finally realized what a special person (she had no idea) he was.

Of course Artemis isn’t going to let Ash go so easily. Nothing is ever easy in the Dark-Hunter world, especially not for Ash. What I so loved reading was how Tory accepted him for who he is. After she read the journal that laid all his secrets bare and then cried for him, I got misty. Especially since Ash was expecting the worst. There were still times when he would expect rejection from Tory that would just wrench my heart. And her acceptance of him just made me love her that much more.

I first started reading this series back in February of 2002 when Fantasy Lover came out. I have waited seven long years to read Ash’s book. While I can’t say that I appreciate the wait, it was well worth it. After reading this book that I have waited so long for, I almost expected to feel some sort of let down. I don’t. I loved reading about Ash getting his happily ever after, which he deserves more than any other fictional character I have ever read. Kenyon couldn’t have written a better heroine for him than Tory. I have to admit that it’s highly unlikely that I will read the first half of the book again. I will be re-reading the second half, though, and soon. Also, even though Kenyon obviously opened up several other potential plot/story lines, it didn’t take away from Ash.

There is much that I didn’t get into here, including Nick. The book ended with Artemis repeating almost the exact same words to Nick that she said to Acheron eleven thousand years before.

“Would you be my friend, Nicholas? I promise you, you won’t regret it.”

In this long ass review, I still haven’t done Acheron justice. I would say I’m speechless, but as we all can see, I’m not.

5 out of 5.

This book is available from St. Martin’s Press. You can buy it here or here in e-format.