No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Samia is a former Amazon who now exists only as a Dark Hunter. Samia has avoided contact with most people, and all men because she picks up the thoughts of people in the items they have handled. Since it's hard for her to be constantly bombarded with the thoughts of men, she avoids all contact and lives in a home where only she has handled anything. If someone else touches anything, she has to throw it out because of the mental static and damage she will sustain if she keeps it.

But then, in an attack at the place known as Sanctuary. she meets Dev Peltier, a bear shapechanger, who possesses one very important quality or ability- she can sense nothing of his thoughts. Not when she touches him, or any item he has touched or which belonged to him. This intrigues her enough to invite him back to her house to spend some horizontal time with her- something she hasn't done in over a thousand years. And its good, but the idea of being able to do this more often so freaks her out that she sends Dev back home.

Because Samia may be a former Amazon, but she had fallen in love, once, and her husband and daughter were killed by the Daimons. The Daimons have found out something interesting recently, that if they drain the blood and souls of actual Demons, they can gain the powers of those Demons, including the power to go out in the sunlight and remain unharmed. Because of this, they can now go where the Night Hunters cannot, and this will enable them to destroy their ancient foes, And the first one they intend to go after is Samia.

Dev isn't without his own problems. His inattention caused the death of one of his sisters when he was younger, and so he's extra attentive in keeping watch over Sanctuary. His encounter with Samia makes him think, "Yes, more please!" But at the same time, he's a little worried at how she does a complete turn in attitude after they have some fun. And then he discovers that Samia is his Bearswain, his fated mate, without whom he will have to lead a life of complete celibacy. But he doesn't know that Samia has some serious trust issues. Not only was she an Amazon, she was their Queen, and her own sister betrayed her and killed her husband and daughter. And now Samia, known as Samia Savage, is one of the Dogs of War- Dark Hunters and Huntresses so consumed in the hunt that they will let nothing turn them aside from their target.

But with the increased threats of the Daimons, whose leader Stryker wants Samia for her talents, Dev and Samia will have to team up to find some way to nullify the threat of the Daimons who can hunt during the day. And though she and Dev have fallen in love, it is forbidden for them to be together- unless she goes on an almost impossible quest to retrieve the girdle of the Amazons from the immortal who holds it fast, and she has to retrieve it without Dev's help. Add to that a mission to Hell, and Samia and Dev have their work cut out for them if they want to be together. But will Samia be able to give up the fight to be with Dev, and can he ask her to make that choice?

So far, most of the Dark-Hunters we have seen in Sherrilyn Kenyon's series have been male. In fact, it seemed like it was all male, except for a very few females. Now, though, we get to go inside the head of one of them, an Amazon named Samia. Samia was more than just an Amazon, though, she was their Queen, and although she was a very good Queen, she was brought down by her own sister, who craved her power and position.

Throwing herself into hunting Daimons (after taking her revenge on her sister, Samia became part of a group known as the Dogs of War, a set of very determined hunters. She puts the Hunt in Huntress. But even thought the story was pretty good, it seemed short for a Dark-Hunter story, and there was a component of same old, same old in it. Apparently, every Dark Hunter had a horrible life. Mistreated, beaten up, you name it. What, were the only ones who wanted to come back the most mistreated people/ I know that there is the idea of love being able to conquer all (or the magic hoo-hah, for that matter), but oftentimes it seems that these characters are so badly hurt that they'd benefit from some time with a shrink rather than just plunging into a be all and end all relationship. You know what I mean?

This was an okay book, but it felt like it was missing another 75-100 pages or so. Stuff was simply glossed over at the end and it had the air of the slightly unfinished about it. It's still an okay read, but it felt like Sherrilyn Kenyon was getting tired of the story and so just rushed the ending more than a bit. It's still okay, but doesn't have the weight and heft of some of her earlier books. Recommended, but only slightly.