Alora Bishop’s tribe is decimated by vicious barbarians that capture and brutalize her until she is resigned to death.  Garrett Firestorm is an Immortal that hails from the Hidden Realms of Magic.  His magical soul is the Crimson Phoenix, and as the champion for justice and freedom, he steps in to save her from being sold into intergalactic slavery.  They forge an everlasting psychic bond once Garrett decides to claim Alora as his life mate.  Sadly, Alora carries the scars of her terrible ordeal and fights her feelings and connection to Garrett, dooming them to a harsh and loveless future.

Will Garrett finally claim her heart once she discovers who she is and learns to embrace her destiny?  Or will she succumb to her fears and doubts even as danger lurks in the wings to destroy them and all they hold dear?

What I liked the most about reading Dark Phoenix was the endless possibilities.  Garrett is an amazing character and Alora is strong without overshadowing her lover.  They strike a perfect harmony together and that drew me in.  Once the plot introduced more characters, I found myself resenting the intrusion because I didn’t find any of these extras to be remotely interesting.  I didn’t particularly care about any of them since they were just thrust into the story abruptly.  I didn’t feel as if the people introduced were needed since they paled in comparison to Alora and Garrett.  Why bother with a bunch of boring arch types when the protagonists were so well developed?  Another issue was with the dialogue.  It was riddled with too many over-used clichés and stale turns of phrase that felt dated and off the mark with the setting.  

Dark Phoenix carries all the best components of a futuristic fantasy adventure story, but in steering off course from the main characters by flooding the plot with bland supporting characters the author lost me.  There are plenty of magical twists, mystical action and fun-filled moments in this novel that will lure and captivate plenty of readers.  I’m the first to admit I was dying to see how it all ended, and so will you.