Book Review ~ The Annihilator

5 Stars | 5 Spice

Book 5 of the Dark Verse series by RuNyx

RuNyx’s Book 5 is the darkest yet, plunging deep into The Syndicate’s horrors. Luna's (aka, Lyla's) journey is heartbreaking yet empowering, and Shadow Man’s enigmatic nature keeps you hooked. The pacing is perfect, the reveals are jaw-dropping, and the characters feel strikingly real. With vengeance, survival, and unexpected connections, this book is an emotional rollercoaster you won’t want to miss!

QUICK REVIEW

Another 5 star read from RuNyx! Book 5 is by far the darkest of the series. We dive deeper into The Syndicate and finally go behind the shrouded curtain of this horrific organisation. We feel the fear, see the wreckage it causes, and grow in our need for vengeance. Frustratingly heartbreaking with an enigmatic MMC you're just dying to figure out, and an FMC who may always be a little broken, but finds the strength to save herself, book 5 is a whirlwind of reveals and even more mysteries to solve. You will not be disappointed.

FULL REVIEW

SPOILERS AHEAD     ~     SPOILERS AHEAD

Have to mention...

Ok, before I talk a bit about the writing and the plot, I need to talk about the dedication of this book:

"To everyone who cannot find themselves

in a world full of people,

being lost is a hard prologue, but a much

beautiful story awaits you.

Find the courage, and turn the page."

I mean, WOW. That hit me, like really hiiiittt me, right in the heart, down into my soul. That's one I'll be writing down into my favourite quotes book.

Writing & Plot

[Quick note - In this review I will be referring to the FMC as Luna, the name we know her by in the first 4 books; she goes by Lyla in this book as she doesn't know her real name yet]

Again, I loved every second of this book. Perfect pacing, I mean, I needed to turn that page!

I couldn't wait for this one because I knew it would be Luna's book and I was very excited to actually learn who Shadow Man is and what he's all about. This plot was a wild ride, there were points where I was screaming at the page because Tristan was so close, like so frickin' close to his sister and I was there like LOOK UP GODDAMIT! Even Vin was like right there with her in a car at one point. Very frustrating (in the best way).

At the start (and I mean literally 23 pages in) I was like IF YOU LIKE HER SO MUCH TAKE HER OUT OF THERE YOU CRAZY SHADOW MAN, but then I guess I kind of understood why he left her there for as long as he did, but still, was the plan worth all her pain? But then, if he didn't do things the way he did maybe things would've been worse for her? I found that so hard to reconcile with.

I can't decide if their relationship is almost like Stockholm syndrome or not...but, he did give her the opportunity to learn about herself without much of his influence. He gave her plenty of space to find who she really is, what she likes, what she doesn't...

Although, this book was by far the darkest in the series. At times it was hard to read what was happening to Luna and what she went through. So, if we take their relationship in that context, I think it's quite beautiful. Yes, he saved her, physically, numerous times, but in the end, in the most important ways, she saved herself, and he let her do that. He protected her, but never treated her as a damsel in distress. Also, the way he described his feelings for her because he doesn't really understand emotion or love, was just...I can't even, like I had tears in my eyes too because it was just beautiful (Kindle, Chapter 19, Page 179).

I think the way RuNyx wrote Luna's perspective was fantastic. It felt realistic, the characters thought process didn't feel out of place for someone in her situation. I also really enjoyed Dainn, a.k.a., Shadow Man's perspective as well. A true psychopath, but not in the traditional sense. I think that's what was so interesting about him, he's obviously a psycho, but there's something different about his psychopathy. I really hope we get more of an insight into how he became who he is in the final book.

Characters

As mentioned above, this book was a tough one to read at points. Luna is strong, I mean damn strong. But, RuNyx doesn't pretend that none of what happens to Luna doesn't affect her. She is always terrified. She is always in despair; even when she feels hope (side note - which I totally get for very different reasons, but as someone who often feels that due to my own mental health, I think it was written very well). I really enjoyed seeing her find herself once she was out of The Syndicates' clutches. As she grew into herself, you could definitely find subtle similarities between her and Tristan. Mainly in the way she looked at the world. She never really felt sorry for herself, that only happened once and it was when she thought Dainn had abandoned her; when she thought she truly had nothing. In the end, Dainn gave her the strength to save herself from her own demons, showing that it's ok to let someone help you find and love yourself.

Finding out about Xander... I mean holy sugar honey ice tea. No wonder Tristan felt an instant connection with Xander, and Xander with him. He's Tristan's nephew. I think that's something else that made me love Dainn even more. He clearly set it up so Tristan would find Xander, so Xander could be loved and cherished by the people Luna would want him to be with the most.

So onto our Shadow Man, a.k.a., Dainn. What I enjoyed most about his character in this book is we didn't get everything up front. The book ends and we still don't fully know who he is. Yes, the mystery aspect is great, but what I enjoyed most is how real it all felt. Anyone who has read any of my blog posts before probably realises by now, what's most important to me in a book is connecting with the characters. Being able to see them as real people.

RuNyx does this beautifully in all of the books of this series so far, but the reason I want to highlight how she does this with Dainn is because, in the grand scheme, he is a very fictional character. What I mean by this is, while I'm not so naive to assume there are no people in the world completely unlike him, I think it's safe to say (otherwise we'll be diving into the realm of conspiracy theories) that a 'wealthy business man by day and shadowy assassin who never misses a target and can climb buildings and make no noise like ever by night' exists.

However, despite the very fictional nature of this character, the way he is written, the way his thoughts are written is very grounded. The writing is organic rather than forced. It's not cheesey, RuNyx clearly didn't sit down and think 'oh, well this is what a vigilante assassin would say', they clearly thought 'this is what Dainn would say'. They leaned into the character, rather than the archetype he's based on.

I think that's where writers can go wrong sometimes, they lean into the archetype too much, use too many stereotypes of things we've seen before. Now, don't get me wrong. I love romance books because in each sub-genre you (mostly) know what you're getting and that makes my anxiety very happy. But, what sets books apart from the crowd, for me at least, is the way the characters come off the page. Is this a real, fleshed out person, or is this just a 'bullet point' character?

What makes fictional characters feel real is when you're reading you can feel there is more to this person than just what you're given on the page, and RyNyx does this very well. I'm confident that you could ask her, what would 'insert any of her characters here' do and say in 'insert specific situation here' and she could answer.

Alright, I can see this one is getting long so I'm going to end it here. Thanks for reading!

And please, feel free to comment below! What did you think of the book? Did you love it? Like it? Hate it? Let's talk!

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