Book Review: The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe

Shadows and pirates and fairies — Oh My! The Dark One is the second book in Nikki St. Crowe’s Vicious Lost Boys series and I am so glad I didn’t let book one (The Never King) turn me away from it. This book, while still full of debauchery, has an enemies-to-lovers vibe that I can’t get enough of. I think there is something so primal about it.

Is the undeniable pull of opposites toward each other that creates such intense attraction? Is it the innate human drive to conquer and pursue those things that are seemingly untouchable, the thrill of the hunt? Or is it that those who go from enemies to lovers start by seeing the other as a reflection of the worst parts of themselves and then, through proximity and eventual acceptance, find that the person they once hated is the very same soul that will love them unconditionally despite their flaws and failures?

I cannot say it’s one or the other. Perhaps it’s both, but St. Crowe lays it all out in The Dark One, ending on a cliffhanger that made me glad I have book three next in the queue.