Surrender the Dark

Tibby Armstrong

May 2017 · Sold by Loveswept

About this ebook

Meet your new paranormal addiction: the mouthwatering brothers of the Dragoumanos line. As a red-hot series begins, a vampire king seduces the supernaturally gifted man hunting him—and the stakes are literally life or death.

Benjamin Fuller is a hunter, born and bred. Blinded as a child by the vampire who slaughtered his family, he’s blessed with a second sight that allows him to catch and kill his quarry. What his gift can’t help him see coming is his fierce, almost carnal attraction to the mystery man who claims to be a fellow hunter and whose touch triggers both lust and revulsion. When he gains the upper hand, Benjamin vows to bring his enemy to his knees.

After many years spent in exile, the only one who can help restore Tzadkiel Dragoumanos to his rightful place as War King is a blind hunter with golden curls, a lithe dancer’s physique, and distinctive facial scars—scars Tzadkiel gave him two decades ago. The mere scent of Benjamin Fuller provokes an unwelcome rush of insatiable desire. Yet to win an all-out supernatural war, Tzadkiel must resist the ravenous hunger to possess his prey—for now.

Praise for Surrender the Dark

“This close-proximity M/M tale is indeed hot. [Tibby] Armstrong builds a forbidding landscape, encompassing themes of family betrayal and scars masking emotional connection.”—Library Journal

“The romance between Benjamin and Tzadkiel is one born of inherent, visceral difference. . . . Readers who enjoy heavy sexual tension and angst will especially like the way their narrative pans out . . . and those who enjoy paranormal world-building will be eager to see where [Tibby Armstrong] takes the series next.”—RT Book Reviews

“Top-notch . . . Armstrong is a talented writer, and the world she created is amazing.”—Gay Book Reviews

“[Surrender the Dark] kept me on the edge of my seat.”—The Novel Approach

“A force to be reckoned with.”—Sinfully Gay Romance Book Reviews

“Magnificent . . . This is a great enemies-to-lovers story. . . . The world-building is extremely attractive and the writing is remarkable.”—Dirty Books Obsession

“Freaking explosive!”—MM Book Escape

Lyandros Dragoumanos will return in Taste the Dark. This ebook includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

Ratings and reviews

***3.5 Stars*** I’ve waffled a bit over this one and it’s not because I didn’t enjoy the book, because I did. It had more to do with what I was expecting and what I actually got while reading the book. The world building and setup of the series story arc as well as the secondary ones were done very well and I’m quite interested in seeing how it all plays out. I could easily picture what was going on my head and though there were parts that dragged a bit for me, it didn’t last long and I enjoyed the flow of the writing. But as much as I liked all of that, the romance side of the story just didn’t grab me like I thought it would based on Tzad and Ben’s shared history. The tension between them didn’t set me on edge with want. There was some heat between them and I enjoyed their bantering and I did like both of them, but that spark was missing for me and I didn't fall in love with them and their journey. In all honesty this felt more like an urban fantasy novel with a touch of romance than a true blue PNR and had it been touted as UF my rating would be higher because I wouldn’t have been anticipating the romance to be the main focus and just gone with it. But it is what it is and as I said in the beginning, I really enjoyed the world that the author has created and am looking forward to seeing where she takes us with this series. ~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley ~

Benjamin Fuller was always meant to be a vampire hunter, it’s literally in his DNA. He had never approved how the “vile creatures” were treated, but his outlook changed to some extent when he saw his family killed and lost his eyesight to a vampire, and his mission from that day on has been to kill that vampire. Tzadkiel Dragoumanos was that vampire, and after having recovered from his injuries, the ancient vampire vowed to find Benjamin. I love vampire stories, and SURRENDER THE DARK promised an unusual set-up, not to mention that Benjamin is gay, and I hadn’t read this type of paranormal romance before. Moreover, this is the ultimate enemies-to-lover trope, as their hatred is a very serious matter. What I was not expecting was to fall head over heels with the author’s prose. The first sentence of the prologue defined my impression of Ms. Armstrong. Benjamin has a gift, and Ms. Armstrong’s exquisite prose makes it very visual with her striking descriptions, and total mastery of the English language. Tibby Armstrong’s prose in breathtakingly gorgeous, her vocabulary is refined and precise, yet the dialogues are easy and natural. The mood is somewhat gothic, quite dark and mysterious, but this blackness is tinted with an infinite number of nuances. I had no idea how the author was going to make this romance come about, as Benjamin and Tzadekiel are mortal enemies, and even when they can’t deny their mutual physical attraction, they still want to kill each other. Benjamin is described as having a “dancer’s build”; for once, he wasn’t your stereotypical hero physically, that is with tree-trunk thighs and so on, and I am ever so grateful, and this is one of the innumerable details that make SURRENDER THE DARK so special. Unless you intensely dislike male/male romance and/or paranormal romance, I strongly recommend SURRENDER THE DARK for the exceptional quality of the writing. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. I give 4 1/2 stars.

I really enjoyed this book & I can't wait to read the next one in the series. If you like mythology mixed with paranormals in an urban setting, (with an original storyline), then I'm sure you'll love this, too.

About the author

Tibby Armstrong has been a romance reader since the age of eleven, when she snuck a very bad historical from her aunt’s shelves. In her late twenties, she fell in love with paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Now she writes contemporary and paranormal stories with strong relationship threads and a healthy helping of steam.