Acheron - Sherrilyn Kenyon

Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Form: Audio Book
Series: Dark Hunter Series
Narrator: Holter Graham

Eleven thousand years ago a god was born. Cursed into the body of a human, Acheron spent a lifetime of shame. His human death unleashed an unspeakable horror that almost destroyed the earth. Brought back against his will, he 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 never wants revealed. 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.

Source: booksamillion.com

One word summary: Heartbreaking

Acheron is actually the first full book that I’ve read/listened to of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s. I read a novelette, trying to start at the beginning, and I’ve tried others, but lost interest within the first chapter. This book defiantly caught and held my attention from beginning to end.

This is not your typical paranormal romance novel. There is so much story here, it just seemed like it was what it was. This was Acheron’s life, not just some story, and let me tell you it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. Almost the entire story seemed to have a melancholy feel about it, it wasn’t until the end that any kind of joy seemed to seep through the book. It was very hard to listen to at points, because you are just so broken up because Acheron is broken, over and over again.

In the beginning, you pretty much hate every character, save Acheron and Ryssa, his sister. There is no good to be found in any of them. I was so afraid, even from the beginning when she wasn’t too bad, that Artemis was going to be Acheron’s HEA, that somehow she was going to redeem herself. I couldn’t figure out how in the world Sherrilyn Kenyon was going to make that happen after you become absolutely disgusted with her throughout his childhood. (Also bare in mind, I didn’t get any back-story from previous books) I am so thankful Tory came along. It is also a relief that as the book starts wrapping up, you discover that Acheron actually has friends who care about him, even if he does still feel all alone.

Some of the things I loved: the references to modern media. There are mention of several shows and movies. I loved the reference to Heros the T.V. Show “save the cheerleader, save the planet.” I also enjoyed the caveman commercial reference. Both made me smile. Showing modern times and making said references did not give the book a cheesy feel that I sometimes get with other books I read, and I really appreciate her ability to do that. Sherrilyn throws other bits of humor and fun in with all the grief. Acheron’s sarcasm always made me laugh, even after a beating or being insulted somehow. And then when Tory is able to match his every word with some of her own – they made the perfect match. I enjoyed Acheron’s aching heart for all children. It was a repeated even throughout the book, and I’m glad it remained consistent. I was disappointed when Mia did not end up being the HEA. I was hopeful that somehow this character from his past would be there to rescue and help him in the future. This was prior to me realizing that this book was going to cover the scope of several centuries.

Some things I wasn’t so happy about; there wasn’t much on his discovery that he was a father – that was surprising, but now that I think about it, it’s possible that is included in a different book and I just missed it. I just felt that was actually a bit important, especially to add fuel to the fire of his already growing hatred toward Artemis. The other thing I would have liked to see play out differently was how Acheron told Tory about himself. I wish he would have some how found a way to trust her instead of it being a bit of an accident, alas I suppose the whole point is that he cannot trust, and Tory had to prove herself trustworthy with his mistake. So I can see why it was written that way, it just wasn’t what I wanted to see I guess. The final thing that bothered me was the amount of history verses the amount of time spent in the current. It seemed like with all the focus on Acheron’s childhood, there could have been more about what was happening currently instead of squishing the love story and heroine all in a short amount of pages. I have read other reviews on this book, and I do disagree with others about the character of Tory – I think that she is a good heroine and I understood her back story and how it brought her to the present. I do, however, agree with the reviews about how there wasn’t enough time between Acheron’s attack on her career and them falling for one another. I’ve read many a romance novel, and I’ve felt the chemistry stronger between other couples, and I think time and “pages” of story help with that significantly.

I’ve already added the previous and the next Dark Hunter books to my list. I’m not sure I’ll go back and get all of them, but I am interested in seeing some of the other character’s stories.