One Silent Night by S. Kenyon

The latest novel in the Dark-Hunter series, One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon takes us through the eyes of a man we have come to hate. One Silent Night is Stryker’s story, the leader of the infamous Daimons.

In an act of vengeance, Stryker goes to the Underworld to let loose a power that has the ability to destroy those who have harmed him. After the death of his sister, Stryker wants Nick and Acheron to pay and he doesn’t care who dies in the process. However, his outlook changes with the appearance of his ex-wife, Zephyra.

Up until this point, Kenyon has given us stories surrounding her dark-hunters; however, now we’re given the perspective of our favorite villain and daimon leader, Strykerious. I am thrilled that we’re finally getting his side of the story. Stryker has always been portrayed as the evil bastard who has been plaguing the dark-hunters since Apollo first cursed his Apollolite race. However, there’s always two sides to every story and Stryker actually doesn’t have a bad one. We’ve seen who Stryker is now, but what was he like when he was younger? Has it always been this much of a hardass and violent or was he different. Now we get to find out and you may actually be surprised by what you read. One Silent Night in no way paints Stryker in any other light than what we’ve already seen, but we’re given a closer look to see how he got to be who he is and it could illicit some sympathy. I know it did with me. Yeah, I went into this novel not liking him, but his character has more definition now and I actually kind of like him.

We’ve been told that One Silent Night is going to be the beginning of a new story arc, and I can see it to some degree, but I was also under the impression that we were getting a new villain and that I don’t get. The villains of the story end up getting defeated (big shocker) and there are a couple of new faces (one is supposedly Simi’s love interest and I think I know who it is), but I really couldn’t tell who the new villain will be. There was one character development that is kind of shocking, but what gets mentioned at the end kind of tells me that he won’t be our new villain. This new development is obviously the new story arc and I’m interesting in seeing where it goes. It could change the one character that has been a whiny bitch into something more, but I’m not sure if it will redeem him or not. If the new villain ends up being Stryker’s love interest, than it could add a little more definition to the series, but it wouldn’t be all that surprising.

Overall, One Silent Night is an excellent addition to the Dark-Hunter series. While you could technically begin reading this series with this novel, I wouldn’t recommend it. We see such a different side of Stryker, that I think a new reader would miss seeing all the quirks that Stryker shows in the previous novels. Especially when it comes to his relationship with Acheron and Apolloymi.

Read Order:
Fantasy Lover – Julian
Night Pleasures – Kyrian
Night Embrace – Talon
Dance with the Devil – Zarek
Kiss of the Night – Wulf
Night Play – Vane
Seize the Night – Valerius
Sins of the Night – Alex & Danger
Unleash the Night – Wren
Dark Side of the Moon – Ravyn
Devil May Cry – Sin & Kat
Acheron
One Silent Night – Stryker
Bad Moon Rising (Aug 2009) – Fang & Aimee

Also reviewed by:
Amberkatze
Book Binge
A Bookaholic’s Review

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

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