Kiyoko Ashida exemplifies the Japanese culture as we see it.
Her tranquil beauty and strong self-control are a result of
her training to battle demons. Her sense of duty completely
focused, even though she knows she is slowly dying.
Jamie Murdock could not be further from the pristine
calmness of Kiyoko and the Japanese society he must now
enter in order to search for and retrieve a mysterious
artifact. Jamie constantly struggles against the
aggressiveness of his berserker side, always seeing it as a
monster within himself that he must try to control but often
fails at.
The artifact known as The Veil can consume or restore.
Jamie learns that Kiyoko has it, and all he knows is that he
must obtain it in order to keep it from demon control.
However, one touch from Kiyoko and he loses all control of
his berserker, and experiences a raw need for her that he
has never known. Kiyoko is not immune to Jamie's touch
either as it brings on a need she has difficulty quelling in
her normally tranquil life.
When a fallen angel sets his sights on obtaining The Veil,
which Jamie has learned keeps Kiyoko alive, he must find a
way to separate Kiyoko from the artifact without losing her,
or choose between her life or protecting humankind.
SURRENDER TO DARKNESS is the third book in Annette
McCleave's Soul Gatherers series. She paints a beautiful
picture of the peaceful power behind Kiyoko's training and
the raw energy of Jamie's berserker well.
Both characters have a strong sense of duty that fights with
their own desires throughout the novel. The fight scenes
are full of action and the scenes pull you along at a very
good pace.
As an immortal, Jamie Murdoch has spent lifetimes battling
demons. But he’s cursed with an inner berserker, and his
expertise as a Soul Gatherer is overshadowed by
uncontrollable rage. Sent to Japan to investigate a mystical
weapon that can destroy demons, Jamie feels out of place in
a society that values tranquillity and self-control.
Kiyoko Ashida has dedicated her life to fighting evil. Now
she’s dying, and her remaining days are linked to a
mysterious artifact, which is the only thing keeping her
alive. Still, her path is clear—until the day a valiant Soul
Gatherer storms into her life and, with one fateful touch,
steals her heart.
The Veil is both destroyer and healer, and Jamie knows
Kiyoko cannot survive without it. But when the malicious
ambitions of a fallen angel target the artifact, he’s torn
between fulfilling his duty and saving the life of the woman
he loves.