Review: Dark Seeker by Taryn Browning

For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.

When I first looked up Dark Seeker after receiving a review request, I immediately knew that I had to accept. While I can say that this novel was not the most original story I've ever come across, there was something incredibly intriguing about both the cover and the synopsis. Now that I've read it, I can say without a doubt that it exceeded my expectations by a long shot.

Janie Grey is a seventeen-year-old Seeker--that is, she hunts vampires for a living. More dangerous than the vampires are the Daychildren, essentially vampire and demon hybrids that seem to be gaining numbers extremely rapidly. One fateful day, Janie's path collides with that of Kai Sterdam, a Daychild in appearance but not so much in personality. Little does Janie know that Kai is connected to her past, but as they join forces and begin to spend more time together, she'll soon find out just how close they really are.

I loved both Janie and Kai. Both have naturally badass, for lack of a better term, personalities. They're strong fighters but also caring underneath the tough exterior. They complement each other extraordinarily well, and to put it quite simply, they may as well have been made for each other. I also enjoyed reading about some of the other characters, Seekers and undead alike. The mix of action scenes and romantic encounters was just right. One minor issue I had was with how quickly Janie's "internal conflict" was resolved, but other than that, Dark Seeker was one of the best debut Urban Fantasy books I've read all year.

I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel. I need more Janie and Kai NOW!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars