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Darkness #2

Braving the Elements

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Listening length: 4 hours, 23 minutes

Sasha has always known she was different, but now she also knows that the shadow men she’s seen all her life, are real.
With a life goal of fitting in, Sasha hopes her strange abilities will finally make true friendship a possibility. Unfortunately, her magic doesn’t function like everyone else’s. What she thought would make her belong, sets her apart now more than ever.

Stefan, all but promised to a different woman, has tried to keep his mind on his duties instead of the irresistible and free-spirited human. But when she is threatened, he can’t keep his distance anymore. He realizes he’ll stop at nothing to keep her safe, and more importantly, make her his.

Just when one thing clicks into place, another spirals out of control. Stefan’s clan isn’t the only group that would benefit from an extremely rare type of magic. And their enemies will stop at nothing to get what they want.

178 pages, ebook

First published February 14, 2013

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About the author

K.F. Breene

98 books13k followers
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K.F. Breene is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, Amazon Most Sold Charts and #1 Kindle Store bestselling author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy and fantasy novels. With over three million books sold, when she's not penning stories about magic and what goes bump in the night, she's sipping wine and planning shenanigans. She lives in Northern California with her husband, two children and out of work treadmill.

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5 stars
5,627 (44%)
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4,387 (34%)
3 stars
2,184 (17%)
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102 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 443 reviews
Profile Image for Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️.
2,544 reviews · 2,481 followers
August 24, 2020
Very good!



Stephen “The Boss” and Sasha’s story continues in this book. The E.T. Is after Sasha because of her magic, she has a weird link to The Boss and her bodyguard Charles is always trying to hook up with her because the “Vampire” type race is all about free love. Charles is hilariously funny and I would love to have him as a roommate or bodyguard. The Boss is hot and in charge and Sasha is badass and snarky.

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Profile Image for Tink Magoo is bad at reviews.
1,278 reviews · 242 followers
May 22, 2023
Arr Charles is still my favourite.

"Hey. What-ah...whatchya doin'?
"Ohh nothing much. Just crouching here behind this plant in a puddle of urine. I'm naked though, so I dried quick. Spot of luck on that score."
Profile Image for Sally Sparrow.
30 reviews · 1 follower
March 21, 2014
I think I'm in love. I almost don't want anyone else to read this book, because I don't want to share my gorgeous new book boyfriend. I found him first, he's mine!

If only.

Sasha and Stefan are back, in this anxiously-awaited, much-anticipated (is that redundant?) second installment of their story. If you haven't yet read Into the Darkness (the first installment), do so now. Like, right this very minute now.

I'm not even sure what to say that won't give away the story, other than "It's fantastic! Find a copy & read it, immediately". Assuming you already read book one, of course.

In this book Sasha has moved into the mansion and is attending school. Charles is still assigned as her protector, and I am continuously amused by their banter. School for Sasha consists of three classes, Elements, Weapons, and Incantations, and while it may sound Harry Potter-ish, it doesn't read that way at all.  

I think most readers can agree that Sasha kicks major ass. She's smart, sassy, thinks on her feet, and has an inner strength that just wows me.

As for Stefan....Wow. Just, WOW.

He’s hulky big, tall, dark, GORGEOUS, decorated with symbol tattoos (I’m not a fan of pictorial tattoos), intelligent, kind, noble, a strong leader, absolutely brilliant with a sword, and an incredibly fierce warrior. And all that is with his clothes on! He is so wonderful that if we were the same gender I would likely hate him but since we aren’t....., I find him super-dreamy.

Braving the Elements would make a fantastic movie. It has dramatic battle scenes, several interpersonal conflicts, action scenes, drama scenes, lots of humor, and a few super-hot sex scenes. That said, I hope it is never so popular that it gets made into a movie. Who could possibly play Stefan? He is physically huge and perfect, and his character is what most every woman wants: fierce, strong, kind, gentle, smart, considerate, and protective. Did I say all that already? I can’t help it. He is my fabulous new book boyfriend and I love him. He is the ultimate combination of the wild, hot, sex machine guy you date, and the kind of guy you marry and have a family with. Usually those two categories are mutually exclusive, but Stefan is the best parts of both kinds of men.

Best of all, he is not at all threatened by Sasha’s superior magic level. He is too good to be real, which is why he must stay in a book. And my fantasies, of course. But not your fantasies, please. Because he is mine. I found him first.
Profile Image for Caroline.
205 reviews · 5 followers
August 10, 2016
like most books of this genre, this was contrived and had the overall feel of being written by a high school freshman

You have Sasha, who's vocabulary consist of "mutant" "freak" and "pet" when describing herself. She falls for Stefan because the inexplicable link between them. He's haughty and treats her domineeringly throughout the first and second book, and no matter how mad she is at him, she melts and creams her panties when looking at his muscle or "angelic" face.

She is useless (and apparently has attention disorders) while in classes to learn how to harness her powers, powers that have almost killed her twice, she is looking at a bar on the wall and wondering about ballet or tap dancing. She cannot use her powers unless she is extremely angry and she plays with it likes it's a game. She's all sad sap crying then she's on the rampage.

Stefan fights his urges for her throughout the first book (except having sex with her when she's feverish) and then in the last couple of chapters of this book, he goes ahead and marks her and the same man who wouldn't even crack a grin for fear of losing face, comes into the cafeteria, sits downs with her kisses her and acts like their being together, which was a HUE issue for him for 100s of pages, is suddenly a-ok.

The thing that gets me in these book- the love interest DO NOT know each other. But they are eternally eternally in love and having sex like dogs in heat.There is no real dialogue, nothing real life at all. And of course the man is unbelievably wealthy.

Both books consist of: Sasha gets in trouble, she harnesses her power enough to defend herself until Stefan and Co can save her. She passes out. Stephan gives her blood and gets a hardon. She wakes up cries. Then throws a tantrum. Insert sexual tension. Oh no! Another baddie! Sasha uses her powers, Stephan and Co show up...rinse and repeat. No meat and potatoes to this at all. About as vapid as it gets folks!

Throw in the fact Sasha wittiest quips include "douche page" and "a-hole" and her bodyguard, Charles, constantly try to have sex with her and throw in sex jokes. I suppose that is the author's attempt at funny. Ugh.

This is just...awful. Goes right up there with the Shades of Grey and Twilight trilogies.

Sooo glad Amazon refunded my money for the second book; i took my loses for the first and just deleted it from my Kindle. Not even going to both with book 3 or any subsequent.
Profile Image for Optimist ♰King's Wench♰.
1,795 reviews · 3,938 followers
September 29, 2022
The story is progressing. I'm kinda into it. I like the banter between her and Charles at least and figuring out what she is and how she'll fit in with the vamps.

However, the purported sexiness is not.

I'm sticking to half a chili pepper. And I'm not talking ghost here, I'm talking, like, poblano.

I said what I said.

I'm going into book 3 but that may be the end of the line for me. The storyline ain't good enough to keep me attention for 9 books.
Profile Image for Glass Fairy.
108 reviews · 18 followers
January 31, 2015
Another 2 star review for this series. I decided to give the next book a shot, feeling like, mayyybe there would be a little more story for me to grab onto and let it weave me around the hot and steamy scenes, but unfortunately not. We did learn more about the magic and the different levels, but the description felt rushed and lacking. With books it feels like the author is painting a picture for you, slowly, but at the end you see the finished piece and are feeling so damn lucky you got to experience that level of art. But here it felt like the sketch was good, but the paint applications were a little sloppy and blurred. Confused? Sorry :D
So while I love the idea of the different levels of magic and these blood drinking sorcerers which are 'not vampires' umm..alright, once again, the interesting bits felt like they were given the least amount of attention in perfecting them.
Half of the time I was flat out confused, the protagonist would sometimes be in first person, and other times in third, it took me a while to figure out who 'she' was, small mistakes that throw the reader out of the story.
And once again, love Charles, and only him.
Profile Image for Sláinte Wanderlust.
892 reviews · 385 followers
April 2, 2014
Wow, it was like reading a totally different series from the first book!
I enjoyed the first book a lot even though it was a little outside my comfort zone - the fact it was so weird was probably why i enjoyed it so much actually. So I started this book I prepared for all sorts of naughtiness, craziness & non consensual sex.. but well.. I was left ah, wanting a little. I still really enjoyed the book but it was a big difference from the first book.
Profile Image for Carly.
302 reviews
January 13, 2019
Yup, she was going to play hell on his life, but there was nothing for it now. The decision had been made in that first second his eyes had touched hers under the streetlight those few months ago. It was amazing he'd resisted this long.
Fate was such a tricky bitch.


I had a hard time with this one. I wanted to like it so much more than I did. It took me forever to kinda get my bearings and I thought it was just because it was so long since I read the first book. I ended up going back and skimming over book 1, but it didn't really help all that much. I mean it did refresh my memory on who all the players were but it didn't help me with much else. I had a hard time remembering like the mythology and the world building, and never did get a good recap so I was a little lost.
Besides that, I was frustrated with Sasha for most of the time. I like her, and she has some really good snarky lines, but I was annoyed with how she let everyone treat her like shit. Her classmates, her instructors, that bitch Darla, they were all dicks to her and I kept waiting for her to say something or do something about it, but it never happened. With her peers she has no backbone but she can get lippy with her kidnapper, I just didn't get it.
Like I said, I wanted to like it more, but I do want to know what happens. And since I have the first four books in a bundle I'll at least stick it out for the next two.

"We all have a hard road. You are no different."
"I'm homeless. Charles burnt all my possessions. I'm hated. I now sound like a whining jackass-a little compassion might be nice."
The whisps of a smile were back. He apparently found my black moods humorous.

~

Every eye in that room, that wasn't occupied with a green thing, turned to me. Yup, the freak had arrived, and even though she didn't have a clue as to what she was doing, she still managed to blow shit up!
Profile Image for Lillian ☁ Cloud 9 Books ☁.
574 reviews · 343 followers
November 27, 2018
***** 4 Stars *****

Cannot be read as a standalone.

So much better than the first book! I couldn't get enough of this story!

Sasha is trying to learn her powers at the mansion, but nothing comes easy for her. As a human, she is at a disadvantage and bullied. But slowly she makes some friends and also strengthens her relationship with Stefan.

This story is addictive and I'm glad I gave this series another chance.

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Profile Image for Ira.
1,119 reviews · 122 followers
May 27, 2016
3.5 stars.
Profile Image for TJ.
3,081 reviews · 225 followers
September 25, 2021
Much better than the first in this series. Still not nearly as tightly written as other books and series by this author. Entertaining enough that I’ll keep going, though.
Profile Image for Ana on the Shelves.
432 reviews · 29 followers
July 6, 2021
This is chessy, predictable and silly... But dear lord this is so entertaining and at times illegaly sexy.
Maaah!
Profile Image for Casey Keen.
4 books · 152 followers
September 23, 2014
Description from K.F. Breene:
“…Sasha has always known she was different, but now she also knows that the shadow men she’s seen all her life, are real. With a life goal of fitting in, Sasha hopes her strange abilities will finally make true friendship a possibility. Unfortunately, her magic doesn’t function like everyone else’s. What she thought would make her belong, sets her apart now more than ever.
Stefan, all but promised to a different woman, has tried to keep his mind on his duties instead of the irresistible and free-spirited human. But when she is threatened, he can’t keep his distance anymore. He realizes he’ll stop at nothing to keep her safe, and more importantly, make her his.
Just when one thing clicks into place, another spirals out of control. Stefan’s clan isn’t the only group that would benefit from an extremely rare type of magic…”

My Review:

So, the continuation of this series has not disappointed! Sasha is back, training under Stefan’s watchful eye. He is determined to protect her, even though he is promised to someone else (boo)! BUT, in the end, he gives into his desires and claims Sasha! They are such a strong couple with an awesome dynamic. Again, Sasha is still learning, thus making mistakes, but she’s not annoying about it.

The dialogue is great, the characters have depth, and the suspenseful lust/love between Sasha and Stefan pull the reader in. This series is dark and sensual, delighting me and capturing my interest immensely with its balanced mix of growth, action and steamy scenes! This author has done a great job!
Profile Image for Stacey.
1,446 reviews · 1,136 followers
December 14, 2014
Now we're getting somewhere...

Really enjoyed this one. Getting to know the characters and how all the magic stuff works made this story much better than the first one. Love all the main characters especially Charles.

The mating and marking stuff was a little hard to get my head around, but I'm hoping for Stefan and Sasha getting their HEA.

Will definitely be reading more from this series.
Profile Image for Snow.
2,278 reviews · 719 followers
December 17, 2015

4,5 action packed magic stars

ok, book 2 was an absolute hit for me...

our confused heroine became a little less confused badass kicker of magic and "The Boss" caved and gave in to the strong pull he had toward her, so now they are linked, she's marked, the sex is great and there's so much action my mind takes notes of where to strategicaly place myself to stay safe...LOL

anyway, it ended freakin abruptly so i need to go see the third book...
Profile Image for Yeri (wildflowerreader).
1,426 reviews · 76 followers
April 16, 2018
Gaaah! I flove this series.

This book like the first one was action packed!
In this one we get a few answers and of course more questions.
Ugh! I loathe Darla.
Love, LOVE the blossoming relationship between Stefan and Sasha.

Of course Charles is there to brighten everything up with his crazy antics.
(He's my favorite)
Profile Image for Iris Hunter (InstagramREADS).
696 reviews · 80 followers
May 1, 2014
Really too short (3 hour read) for 2.99 :(
But loved reading it. Will continue with book three of this series.
Profile Image for Tushar Patel.
67 reviews · 46 followers
August 27, 2017
Ok, The book is really goods and well written. It’s totally different from other YA urban-fantasy . Its short book but good one, really enjoys it.
Continues with Sasha Adventure, Now Sasha in this new world she has try to fit in it. She accept Stefan offer to join them and train in her magic. Like always she can’t do her magic like other, Her magic work differently then other and she can’t understand the way they explain her to how to do it. So she try to mimic it and end up blowup or totally unexpected result with her spell. The enemy try their best to capture her use her. In this mess up life Stefan light some spark in her life, This is one good thing in her life .
November 22, 2017
Book 2 in this series.

Thankfully less questionable use of pheromones. I’m really beginning to like Sasha. He attitude and comebacks really do make me laugh and FINALLY Stefan showed some emotion. Charles as always is a joy with knitting needles. The fast pace and action in this book made it an absolute pleasure to read and the story is keeping me guessing.

All in all a pretty great sequel.

Moving on to book 3
Profile Image for Ms. Cyn.
1,544 reviews
May 25, 2017
Ballsy

I really like Sasha's sass. She is one ballsy woman with a death wish. On the other hand, I really hate Darla. She is so wrong for Stephen and the idea of her leading with him makes me cringe. I don't blame Sasha one bit for wanting to leave. What a harsh society these vampires live in. What confuses me though is how Stephen just flips and lets Sasha in. That was a bit abrupt.
Profile Image for Roxy the Fury.
588 reviews
March 25, 2014
Who is this writer and why have I never read her before?! This book was great. I mean Kate Daniels, Mercy Thompson, Sookie Stackhouse great!

This is the second book in the Darkness series. Sasha is now living with the vampire like creatures of the dark. She feels like this is her chance to finally fit in somewhere. She's always been different seeing things others cannot. Turns out the things she sees are actually real. They're another race of advanced species that wield magic. Just like any race there are good and bad guys. She falls for Stephan the leader of the good guys. While she learns to wield her magic the story between her and Stephan is intense. Her ever present sidekick/bodyguard, Charles, is hilarious.

Do yourself a favor and get on this series. Yes, it's dark and yes, it's sensual. But you won't regret it. My only complaint? The books are short. Dang it! Can't have it all can we?
Profile Image for Jessica Frances.
27 books · 402 followers
March 21, 2016
Taking off where the first book in the series ended, we follow Sasha as she tries to learn how to control her magic and watch her settle into a new life, which includes a constant bodyguard in Charles. This one still had action and of course steamy moments, but still kept the humour and tension felt in the first book. I enjoyed this continuation and look forward to seeing where it all goes in the next book.
Profile Image for Danielle (Danniegurl).
1,919 reviews · 104 followers
July 24, 2019
Another short book.

It ended abruptly too. Not sure how I feel about that.

In this book Sasha is to be learning about her magic but really it’s mostly about her attraction to Stefan. And revolves around them.

I’d still like to know how Sasha has magic. Their explanation doesn’t ring true to me. Also can someone turn into a vampire things race of whatever they are. See it’s book 2 and I really dunno the particulars. Still for some reason I still enjoy the book. I want to see where this goes.
Profile Image for Suze Prescot.
11 books · 26 followers
September 18, 2021
Magic and Misery

Book two; I had to buy it and now I have the third too. Sasha is living in the compound/ home of Stefan's clan where she is attending classes on magic and sword craft. The enemy wants her, she wants Stefan but as leader it seems he has to be made to Darla. Another exciting foray into this nether land, where humans are inferior usually, and sex is wielded as a weapon
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