Dark Angels Books In Order

Publication Order of Dark Angels Books

American author Keri Arthur is well known for her unique brand of fantasy that creates fusion between that and romance. Building a strong fan-base, her audience has grown exponentially over the many years, as it’s progressed and developed throughout them. With over six in the series so far and more expected to follow, this looks set to continue for some time yet. Working as a spin-off to her Riley Jensen, Guardian series, it operates as a series of stand-alone books that function by themselves. Set within the same universe though, they have a life of their own that readers have come to love. Featuring the exploits of half werewolf, half Aedh, it charts Risa Jones and her journey throughout this dark world. Showing what she has to go through, it tells of how she looks to avenge her mother and seek justice against those that have wronged her during her time.

There’s a whole world created within these pages, as Risa Jones is a strong-willed yet relatable protagonist all of her own that her many readers have come to root for over the years. It’s a positive story set within a dark universe showing how good ultimately triumphs over evil, regardless of what lies in the way. This is a formula that Arthur looks set to carry on with as she shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Darkness Unbound

The first in the Risa Jones series, this is the book that was to break away from her original set of Riley Jensen novels with which Arthur initially made her name writing. Published on the 29th of October, 2011, it set-up the character and her world, which although it is within the same as Jensen’s is a different area all of her own. Still retaining the fantasy elements it establishes its own tone and manages to produce a landscape that’s more suited to protagonist of Jones and what the challenges facing her are. Providing her with her first adventure, it works as a way into her world that’s already well grounded.

With an extraordinary heritage behind her Risa Jones has a strong legacy to live up to with a powerful bloodline that’s got a lot history within it. Her father was an Aedh whilst her mother was laboratory enhanced as a clone, thus they both came together to create Risa Jones who manages to convey their power through her. Not only is she able to wander through the legendary gray fields, but she can also see the Reapers, along with her ability to transport herself between worlds as she travels between the dimensions with both grace as well as ease. She’s a reluctant hero though, as she really just wants to focus on her business that she shares with her friends and live a normal life away from all the commotion. It is only when at the insistence of her mother who’s faced with the coma of a young girl that she decides to use her powers for good and help her. Finding the answer terrifies her though, as she soon realizes that the soul of the girl has been torn from her body leaving her an empty husk that’s only breathing. Soon she learns of a being that devours souls, as she embarks on a quest to prevent them from doing so, protecting the innocent in the process. Not only that though, but there’s also another entity that aims to rip open the gates of hell using Risa to help them do so, as she’s set to become an unwitting component in their plan.

Will they succeed in their plan, or will Risa Jones be able to stop them in time, thus protecting the innocent of the world in the process? Who is this being devouring souls and can Jones prevent them from taking any more before it’s too late? What will become of Risa Jones as she goes forth upon her dangerous quest to discover the truth within the darkness unbound?

Darkness Rising

Continuing the saga, this second entry into the Dark Angels series picks up from where the first one left off as it goes on to chart the further adventures of Risa Jones. Originally published on 2011 like the first as well, it manages to capture the initial tone set-up yet again as it explores its world to an even greater degree than ever before. Offering a different adventure, this provides Jones with her biggest challenge yet.

This time sees Risa Jones looking to avenge the death of her mother and she wont stop until she’s achieved her goal whatever the cost, even if it mean teaming up with an extremely evil vampire making a pact in the process. Using the skills of Madeline Hunter who’s the leader of the vampire high council, she’s expected to do a favor in return as she lends her psychic talents to Madeline as part of the deal. Madeline will help find the killer for Risa, but Risa has to help find what’s been killing off the vampire council as it makes them age quickly into madness and die. Not only that, but the father of Jones wants her to help him on a highly dangerous quest too.

Will Risa be able to find the killer of her mother, getting the much sought after justice she seeks in the process? Can she help Madeline and her father, whilst simultaneously keeping herself out of harm’s way? What will become of her as she seeks to learn the truth with the darkness rising?

The Dark Angels Series

As a spin-off it has really worked at creating a style and niche all of its own away from the Riley Jensen series that the readers had come to love over the years. Building its own character through the protagonist of Risa Jones, it has managed to pull itself away establishing itself as its own entity with its own set of ideas and themes. That’s not to say it doesn’t have something for those fans that have invested themselves in the franchise since its conception, but it still allows new readers to come in at any time. This is something that should continue as her books will carry on being released into the foreseeable future.