Ecstasy in Darkness

Written by Gena Showalter

Narrated by Justine Eyre

New York Times bestselling sensation Gena Showalter enthralls with a dark, tantalizing world of humans, otherworlders, powers beyond imagining, and a seductive vampire undone by his insatiable hunger for one woman.

Growing up poor on New Chicago’s meanest streets, Ava Sans had two options: be the predator or be the prey. No contest. Now, working for Alien Investigation and Removal, she’s been ordered to capture the biggest, baddest warrior of all—a vampire too beautiful to be real, with the abilityto manipulate time. Once the leader of the entire vampire army, McKell has been deemed savage and unstable, spurned even by his own kind.

To McKell, humans should be nothing more than sustenance. Yet the petite, golden-skinned Ava is a fascinating contradiction—vicious yet witty, strong yet vulnerable, lethal but fiercely loyal. Against his better judgment, McKell craves that loyalty, and much more. When the chase leads to seduction, McKell and Ava will race to discover the truth about his past. But the answers will come at a price, even for a woman who thought she had nothing left to lose...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Apr 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781442369771

Gena Showalter

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over seventy books, including the acclaimed Lords of the Underworld series, the Gods of War series, the White Rabbit Chronicles, and the Forest of Good and Evil series. She writes sizzling paranormal romance, heartwarming contemporary romance, and unputdownable young adult novels, and lives in Oklahoma City with her family and menagerie of dogs. Visit her at GenaShowalter.com.

Reviews for Ecstasy in Darkness

[suman · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Narrator moans too much making every word sound whining & nagging. Not much of a story. Couldn't wait for it to be over with. Skipped a lot just to move on.

[angela · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Narrator is very annoying stopped listening 5 minutes in the Whitney fake accent moaning thing she has going on is ?

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ecstasy in Darkness
3 Stars

Growing up on the mean streets of New Chicago, Ava Sans had nothing until she met Noelle Tremain and the two became AIR trainees together. Ordered to capture Victor McKell, a rogue vampire with the ability to manipulate time, Ava and Noelle relish the challenge until their gorgeous prey turns the tables on them and sets his sights on Ava. Against his better judgement McKell becomes obsessed with having the fearless Ava. But when the vicious Schön Queen threatens the woman he loves, McKell might have to do the unthinkable and give her up...

The weakest installment in the series so far. The romance feels forced and the Schön story arc is developing in some confusing directions.

In the previous book, McKell was a fierce warrior as well as sadist and a racist. This is still true of his character at the beginning of this novel, however, he has also deteriorated into an immature child annoyed at others for literally playing with his toys. Yes, he is a sexy stud, but his obsession with Ava is incomprehensible as her behavior is just as childish and idiotic as his, and it is unclear what they see in each other besides the obvious physical attraction.

Although their scenes together are sexy and steamy, the underlying human/vampire conflict (very reminiscent of Lothaire by Kresley Cole) puts a pall on the romance and is resolved too easily.

The wonderful interactions between the AIR team is missing in this book as well. The humor and sarcastic wit that was so appealing in the earlier installments comes across as ridiculous and absurd, especially with regard to Ava and Noelle’s slapstick friendship.

The Schön plotline is, unfortunately, not living up to its potential. To begin with the Schön Queen is simply revolting and the fact that Dallas feels any attraction toward her makes my skin crawl. Perhaps the fact that the series ends before Dallas gets his own story is actually a blessing in disguise as the idea of her as a heroine is not appealing at all.

Moreover, the manner in which the Schön threat is dealt with is both confusing and contrived. In fact, the whole time manipulation theme is a very weak and unimaginative method of forwarding the plot.

All in all, a disappointing addition to an otherwise entertaining series. The next and final book is Noelle and Hector's. Hopefully, it will be better.

[yas4735-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ecstasy in Darkness by Gena Showalter

Ecstasy in Darkness is book 5 of the Alien Huntress series by Gena Showalter. Here's the gist of the story...

Goodreads blurb

Growing up poor on New Chicago’s meanest streets, Ava Sans had two options: be the predator or be the prey. No contest. Now, working for Alien Investigation and Removal, she’s been ordered to capture the biggest, baddest warrior of all—a vampire too beautiful to be real, with the ability to manipulate time. Once the leader of the entire vampire army, McKell has been deemed savage and unstable, spurned even by his own kind.To McKell, humans should be nothing more than sustenance. Yet the petite, golden-skinned Ava is a fascinating
contradiction—vicious yet witty, strong yet vulnerable, lethal but fiercely loyal.


Ecstasy in Darkness is enthralling, hilarious ride from it's outrageous characters to it's witty dialogue. Set in a futuristic world of aliens and vampires, the opening chapters are one of my all-time favourite and had me giggling at the banter between the characters.

I loved McKell, (I call DIBS on him) though a tough guy, he's so sweet but completely clueless at times. Ava and Noelle's argument's had me cracking up and just because they insult each other doesn't mean they'll take it from anyone else!

Ecstasy in Darkness was the first book I read in this series and I enjoyed it so much I went on to read the rest though I didn't warm to them as much. This book will always remain my favourite from the
series.

[emscape · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Can we be done with the vampire thing already? These are supposed to be alien novels, and all Showalter has done here is fit vampires into her existing mythology with a few minor twists. I'm not saying Ava and McKell aren't compelling characters, but come on. I started this series excited about the world building and the agency of alien hunters and now it's just devolved into the same blood sucking crap as every other urban fantasy series.

[trisha0_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I waited too long to write a review on this book and now I am having trouble recalling exactly what I want to say. Pooh!!!! Ava Sans is a hard hitting, take no prisoners, loyal, and kick ass herione. Love the kick ass women. Victor McKell has lost his vampire family due to his behavior in an earlier book Seduce the Darkness. McKell is a snarky, viscious, hot, sexy, vampire. Ava and Noelle are charged with bringing in McKell in order to pass training and become agents with AIR. McKell usually has the opinion that humans are beneath him- until he meets up with Ava. Let the obsession begin!! These two fight crime together, discover his past, and fight to save the world from the nasty nasty Schon queen and her minions. Loved how McKell took care of Ava's ex one night stand. He deserved it and more. Read this is you want to laugh and cheer and want to read some hot romance steam. The interaction between Ava, Noelle, and Mckell is laugh out loud funny. They have lots girl tricks to hook him in.

[vampiregirl76 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ava Sands is a trainee with Alien Investigation and Removal. To be granted agent status Ava and her friend and fellow trainee Noelle are sent to take down the big bad vampire McKell and bring him in. McKell has dealt with four agents already, and when the two friends walk into his camp he thinks he'll deal with them the same way. But Ava and Noelle are more that meets the eye. For McKell this is especially true with Ava, she intrigues him like no other.Ecstasy In Darkness was a fantastic read! An action packed story and a delicious Alpha male, to die for. Two things I've learned to love and expect when reading Gena Showalter. Plain and simple this author rocks. Every time I read one of her books I'm amazed with the story lines and the addicting & intriguing characters. I thought Noelle and Ava were great they - their bickering back and forth was hilarious and endearing. Their relationship dynamic is just as important to the story as is the love story between Ava and McKell. If you haven't read the Alien Huntress series yet, I highly recommend you give it a try.

[thebooknerd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I consider Gena Showalter a must-read all around, but her Alien Huntress series is particularly worth reading. This latest book, "Ecstasy in Darkness", picks up not long after "Seduce the Darkness" leaves off. This time we get the much-anticipated story of Victor McKell, the rough and ruthless vampire -- and former rival -- who gave Devyn such a delightfully difficult time in "Seduce". If you haven't read the previous books in this series, you should definitely do so before reading "Ecstasy." There's plenty going on here: renegade vampires, homicidal aliens bent on universal domination, and psychic visions that cause more problems than they solve. I have to admit that "Seduce" remains my favorite Alien Huntress book, but that didn't keep me from enjoying every minute of this installment. McKell and Ava are a vastly entertaining couple, and there's plenty of appearances by old favorites like Mia Snow and Devyn Targon to keep old loves alive. From cover to cover, this story keeps a good pace that never turns boring or pointless. There's a good balance between Ava and McKell's personal story and the larger AIR vs. aliens plot that drives the series. This particular book had more humorous bits than other Alien Huntress books, which I enjoyed -- especially a certain dog named Hellina (if you've read it, you know what I mean). Still, it maintains that kinda violent, sorta dark edge that sets this series apart from Showalter's other work. In other words, another great book in a great series.

[bookwormygirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gena masterfully takes you once again into the dangerous lives of her AIR agents. This time around we get to know AIR trainee, Ava Sans. Ava and her BFF Noelle have been in training with AIR in the hope of becoming agents. I loved the friendship between these girls. They have such great chemistry together and will do just about anything to get someone into custody. Even if it means making out with one another to keep someone distracted long enough to subdue them. Said distraction worked on McKell - leader of the vampire army and one heck of a tough guy. He can stop time, is overly possessive and calls DIBS on Ava - right before his escape of course. But when the Schon queen once again targets AIR agents, Ava and McKell will have to work together not only to thwart the queen's plans but also on their feelings for one another.Ecstasy in Darkness is the latest installment in Ms. Showalter's, Alien Huntress series. For those of you who haven't read any of the books in this series, you can pick any of them up whether it be the first one or this latest one and still know more or less what the story arc is. That is the beauty of these books. Although, it's preferable that you read them in order since some of the older characters come in and out of the newer books, it is still not mandatory. I have enjoyed the previous books in the series and this new one was no exception.I loved each and every scene that McKell and Ava are in. Their chemistry is off the charts. Their dialogue is full of snarky, witty and downright funny remarks. Their scenes of a more "romantical" (I totally made that word up) nature were steamy and well... I might have even blushed a time or two. Ms. Showalter once again delighted me with her amazing characters, clever storytelling and cool futuristic world. If you've never read anything by Gena before, please do. You really can't go wrong with any of her novels. This will definitely please fans of romance, sci-fi and paranormal lovers. A great story and one that I guarantee will have you with a big goofy grin on your face.