Dark Vow by Shona Husk **Review**

Dark Vow by Shona Husk

Series: ?
Pages: Unknown
Publisher: Carina Press
Release date: November 14th 2011
Buy (Kindle): Amazon UK | Amazon US 

Goodreads synopsis:
Jaines Cord plans to kill the man who murdered her husband, even though killing a Bounty Hunter is said to be impossible. One bullet took away her livelihood, her home and her love. One bullet made by her. Fired from the gun she completed for the Arcane Bounty Hunter.


Obsidian wears the scars of disobeying the powerful Arcane Union. He barely escaped with his life and now lives quietly, in a town the lawmen forgot. When Jaines arrives asking too many questions, he's faced with a decision. Help her or run...again. Obsidian knows that if he flees he'll always be looking over his shoulder. His name is one of the first on the Bounty Hunter's death list.


Yet when Obsidian is offered an opportunity to stop the stone taking over his body in exchange for retrieving the gun, he asks Jaines for her help. Now Jaines must choose: a dead man's vengeance or a living man's hope?

Although it took me a while to initially get properly into the novel, I ended up being completely hooked by the story. I think the main reason that it was quite difficult to get into is because it's set in an entirely different world to our own, so there is obviously a lot to try to learn and understand at the beginning, such as the different lords and the significance of the Arcane. Once I'd gotten used to the premise of the novel however, I didn't want to put it down!

Jaines is a really wonderful protagonist - her character is so deep, complex and real that I found myself sympathising with her almost immediately - before the plot had even begun to make proper sense to me. She worked really well as the protagonist, and without her the novel wouldn't have worked properly at all - I was able to feel everything with her - including her attraction to the rugged Obsidian.
The blossoming romance between Jaines and Obsidian was possibly the part of the story that I enjoyed the most (even though romance in a novel is usually the element that I like to accompany the rest of the novel, rather than be the central point). I think I enjoyed it the most simply because Jaines' relationship with Obsidian is what unlocked the rest of the secrets in the novel and bought about the incredible plot twists that litter the novel most of the way through - and these plot twists were so exciting! Although the final twist was something I'd predicted earlier on in the novel, this didn't detract from the experience of it when it was finally revealed (it still had my heart thumping!).

The premise and plot of the novel was entirely unique from anything else I've ever read, which makes it an even more special read to me. At the beginning of the novel Jaines is married to who she believes to be Lance Cord, a man who lives his life serving as a Smithy under the Smith lord (one of the 10 lords who represent various skills). But when an Arcane Bounty Hunter arrives, she is left with no other choice but to create the gun he asks for, which in its turn leads to her husband's death. This is when Jaines begins her journey for revenge that leads her into the arms of Obsidian, a man she initially believes she should hate by association, but slowly begins to love.The end of the novel is left wide open for the follow-up in the series, which I'm hoping we won't have to wait too long for - I'm dying to know what will happen between the Arcane Union and the Free Arcane Association - and you will be too once you've finished reading!

This is a novel I highly recommend to any lovers of Fantasy/Science Fiction or even Romance - it definitely has a little of something for everyone. I know you'll fall in love with it too!