I knew Priest’s book would be intensely ominous, that anything focused on him would be powerful and disturbingly penetrating in an almost painful way. However what I did not, could not anticipate was how profoundly affecting Priest and Bea’s story would actually be. As it struck an emotional chord so deep within me, it literally left me breathless.
The topics covered within “Dead Man Walking” are maniacally torturous and I will say straight away before delving into the silky folds of its terror, this book is not for everyone. If you are easily offended or affected by violence, dogmatic religious imagery, serial killing, sexual assault, torture, or anything near these realms, this book is not for you. And even some who are comfortable with stories containing the above may be unable to relate if they themselves have no foundational understanding of what the horrors of childhood can do to an individual in adulthood (a lack of understanding many of the one star reviews lobbed at this book reflect). However, for people who can see the topics contained within for what they truly are, who can look beyond the sensational to the meat of the tale being told, “Dead Man Walking” will reward you tenfold.
I could not have dreamed such a perfectly unrestrained book could ever be written! Here with this sixth foray into her Fallen Men series, author Giana Darling entrusts us with the violently beautiful story of Priest Mckenna and Beatrice “Bea” Lafayette. Priest, the club enforcer, is a quietly lethal enigma, a man who views torture and murder as mundane daily events. He is a respected brother, yet also silently feared. A psychopath and virtual wild animal at his core, he is a creature far more dangerous than most humans could even imagine, a predatory being formed by the cruel hands of selfish, self-righteous, and judgmental men who viewed his original form as blasphemous and wrong, something to be struck down in the name of God himself. Now an unstoppable assassin, Priest is, in reality, more myth than man. He is the veritable death bringer whose singular purpose is to pass judgement and sentence on all those who cross the Fallen or endanger what’s theirs. And. He. Is. Magnificent.
And by his side, the only one in the entire world who truly sees him body and soul is Bea, the model good girl, the devout Christian, pure and sun filled. A young woman everyone views as the embodiment of virtuous. Yet a woman who harbors a dark soul within that she hides away in the very recesses of her being. An almost demonic inner core that feverishly gleans excitement from evil things and the prospect of blood tinged violence. A young woman, who despite her angelic femininity desires the fire the dark hearted bring to her belly.
To quench her thirst she becomes a shadow to the shadow of death himself, obsessed with the very essence that makes up his being, in need of it as much as she needs her next breath to live. And driven by this need she embarks on a journey that will alter the course of everyone with the Fallen MC family forever. As what follows is an otherworldly masterpiece of psychological fiction; so far beyond a mere romance novel it deserves a genre of its own.
Here Darling plunges you into a story rife with unendurable suffering, of howling, soul fracturing pain. She wrenches you by the back of your hair demanding your attention to horrific events of the past, vile, unfathomable circumstances creating permanent fissures within the mind and body of our beloved enforcer, events that, throughout his existence, irrevocably alter the way he interacts with life. Everlasting, deeply rooted effects that in the present may be the only thing that keeps them all alive as the angel of death himself encounters an even bigger evil than him; an evil determined to take from him the only thing that keeps his heart beating, Bea.
And I have to say, as an abuse survivor, someone who has written often about my experiences growing up. I can firmly attest to the accuracy with which this book portrays how severe trauma, especially in childhood, alters how you relate to the world. You vibrate differently and people notice, and because they don’t understand and/or fear your particular vibration they do not look at you the same as they do others. It is something that manifests in the way they avoid speaking to you, the way they look at you with pity and dread. It’s in the way they talk about you to others in hushed, warning tones. You become the bull in their proverbial china shop and no matter how hard you try to be their version of “good” or “proper”, to them, you are always damaged and not quite a whole person. It is a reality this author captures brilliantly in all its raw and honest truth within the pages of this book.
She perfectly encapsulates the emotional struggle it takes for Priest and Bea to just exist. It is a love story worthy of a movie screen and is only one of a handful of books I feel is worthy of the moniker “dark romance” with its core literary journey so emotionally jarring it will leave you battered and bruised. And while the chemistry between Bea and Priest scorches the very pages it’s written on. The love between them a gorgeously written testament to the sanctity of the very idea of being one’s true soulmate. Theirs is a story full of so, much, more. It is a testament to perseverance and strength, that no matter how broken you are left by life, no matter how broken or “wrong” you are perceived to be by others, there are moments, encounters, and unexpected happenings that slowly, bit by tiny almost inconceivable bit that repair some of the damage and bring you moments of resolution and inner peace. It is a vibrant and arresting story world full of a type of beauty most refuse to see.
I wrote on my review site a year or so ago how, in my view, romantic fiction often reflects society. Romance authors often write stories so profound, speak through characters so outside the expectations of "normal" society, that one cannot help but wonder aloud what is truth and what is really fiction. And if the last five years in America have taught us anything it is that so much of what we're indoctrinated with turns out to be wrong. So many people within our world whom we're told are "good" turn out to be worse than bad. People labeled "bad", "deviant", "criminal", are often more moral, more kind, thoughtful, and genuine of character, than the politicians, clergymen, doctors, lawyers, academics, etc., we are molded to revere.
It is a reality of life that would be hysterically comical if it weren’t so tragically, heartbreakingly misguided, selfish, and cruel. And this, this fundamental truth is the very beating, bloody heart of Priest and Bea, the fundamental need within us all to see and be seen as we are at our core, and not for what society around us says we are to be. It is this visceral need that drives their mutual devotion, their levels of care far beyond love, beyond all worldly reason despite their backgrounds and societal stations of being, and not since Carian Cole’s “No Tomorrow” have I seen it so perfectly encapsulated within the pages of a book.
I did not want this agonizingly raw and hauntingly beautiful book to end. It is without doubt the best book I've read so far this year, and will become one of only seven books in the last two years I have bought a hard copy of. It is worth more stars then I am able to give it here, five stars just do not accurately reflect the exquisiteness of this book and its ability to hold you captive from cover to cover and irrevocably alter you in ways no other book has, ever.
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“I will keep you safe,” I said in a voice that sounded strangely like a vow. An oath when the last promise I’d ever made was to make promises no more. “Everyone who knows me fears me, and those that don’t yet, will learn to.”Highlighted by 1,660 Kindle readers- He was the only place I felt safe. I wanted to make his body my address and his soul my home.Highlighted by 1,635 Kindle readers
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About the author
Priest does not disappoint!
Oh Priest, I have so much I could say... I had pretty high expectations going into this one, after seeing all the amazing reviews. It did not disappoint!! Priest may be my favorite yet, but I feel like I could say that after every one of Giana’s books! All of her characters, male and female, are so well written!!The character development in this one was so in-depth, I feel like you had so much context from the previous books as well. It was so easy to get wrapped up in Priest and Bae’s love story and the spice 😳😳😳 is off the charts! This book I feel was by far the darkest of the series thus far (thankfully there is more to come), also more on the taboo side. Giana does preface this in the beginning of the book, so make sure to check trigger warnings. I’m so sad to be done with this series but cannot wait for the next Fallen Men book to be released!!!
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2021
- Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2020
Top reviews from other countries
- CorinneandthebooksReviewed in Germany on December 29, 2020
Dark, thrilling, suspenseful, angsty - this book was perfection
- CindyReviewed in Canada on March 29, 2022
Captivating, suspenseful and exciting from the first to last page!
- Sarah KleehammerReviewed in Australia on January 4, 2021
Beautifully broken & deliciously dark 🍑🔥
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