DemonessTenebrae

If you loved the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R.Ward (and you did if you've read it) this can be either an infuriating reading for being such an obvious rip off or it can be an amusing story where you're trying hard to spot the differences rather than similarities.

The story is centered around a selected few warriors of the Breed (yeah, just like the Brotherhood) who try their best to defeat the enemy, their brethren fallen to Bloodlust called Rogues. Since there is only handful of them they are constantly in danger and often outnumbered and that is why they are so reluctant in taking Breedmates since mating is for life (oh, yeah, Brotherhood and Night Huntress). In this first book in the series the hero is Lucan (Wraith almost to the last detail), the leader of the Order who finds himself in love with Gabrielle, the heroine, despite shutting off his emotions and promising never to take a breedmate.

Now, just a few glimpses...
1. One of the warriors, Conlan dies and the rest promise vengeance (Darius from Black Dagger Brotherhood)
2. Lucan is Wraith with shorter hair
3. Gabrielle called Lucan her Dark Lover (omg, you gotta be kidding me...)
4. The Order = Brotherhood
5. There are fractions that believe the warriors are outdated, relics and that processing Rogues should be done by the law (Brotherhood, anyone?)
6. Vampire's bite can be hurtful or very pleasing. It depends on the vampire's desire. (Night Huntress, Jeaniene Frost)
7. Vampire's eyes glow and their fangs grow when their emotions are high (Night Huntress)
8. Transferring emotions when mated/bonded (Night Huntress)
9. Their enemy comes from their past and from their former home in Europe (Black Dagger Brotherhood)
10.Vampires can mentally lock/unlock doors, windows etc (Black Dagger Brotherhood)
11.Breedmates often have special abilities (Night Huntress)
12.Heroine needs to crush the walls hero set in place to guard his emotions and weaknesses (Wraith with his blindness in Black Dagger Brotherhood and Lucas with oncoming Bloodlust)
13.One of the Breedmates who's been with them for four centuries dies while her mate is left behind wounded in body and soul (Tohrment in Black Dagger Brotherhood)

And I could go on with the similarities that are most certainly not coincidental. But there is no point really. Only when you read it for yourself will you see if it will offend your senses or please them with another vampire tale.

I can say that I did hold a grudge for half of the book at least because I am deeply in love with the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Lucan was Wraith's clone but not as good. Not by a long shot. Gabrielle was a more unique character and I liked how she saw the world differently. Her friends were a nice addition to the complexity of the story. Tegan reminds me of Zsadist with his deadly behavior and I hope his story will be at least half as good as Zsadist's and Bella's. I am also intrigued by Dante. Their compound, their training room, their high-tech stuff are all like in the Brotherhood and it's always a nice background to have.

I think that the story would be more interesting if Gabrielle was held captive longer and if her relationship with Lucan was more intense. I really can't say if there was really something missing or it just wasn't as good as the Black Dagger Brotherhood.