Taken By Sin is Jaci Burton’s fourth installment in her Demon Hunter Series and, while I enjoyed it, the book isn’t necessarily a stand-alone. <a href="http://www.likesbooks.com/banmanpro/a.aspx?ZoneID=4&Task=Click&Mode=HTML&SiteID=1&PageID=33387 ” target=”_blank”> <img src="http://www.likesbooks.com/banmanpro/a.aspx?ZoneID=4&Task=Get&Mode=HTML&SiteID=1&PageID=33387 ” width=”150″ height=”200″ border=”0″ alt=””>

Fresh from a battle against demons in which he disobeyed direct orders, Dalton is on the run from both the good and bad guys. The reason is Isabelle, a woman consumed by a demon and one he was supposed to execute by order of the Realm of Light, the demon-hunting agency. However, he sees more in her than just the demon and steals her away to his personal sanctuary in order to heal and purge the demon.

Isabelle doesn’t know who to trust, including herself. After her failed attempt to murder her sister, she’s rescued from the place of execution and hidden away from danger for the time being. However, she doesn’t know how to save herself from the demon that lives inside and the Sons of Darkness who call to her subconscious.

Together in the Louisiana bayou, with the help of the voodoo priestess, they use white magic to help find answers to the dilemmas they both face. They explore the hold that the demon has over Isabelle and what it is about Dalton that makes the demon want to surface. Plus, Dalton has secrets of his own that only Isabelle can help him unravel.

There’s also a secondary romance between Realm hunters, Mandy and Michael. While Dalton and Isabelle are hiding, the others are trying to locate them, as well as discover the possibility of a new type of demon on the loose. There romance is fraught with tension, though I didn’t care for Mandy’s character.

Burton’s story is well written and paced and features believable characters. The voodoo element was an interesting twist to the good vs. evil plot. I also enjoyed how the weather and the bayou were almost characters in and of themselves. While I did get exhausted with some of the secrets, I felt that both hero and heroine, along with other characters, handled most of their situations with maturity, though Mandy had her moments. Also, the ending isn’t Pollyanna perfect, which is another plus in my opinion.

However, there is a crucial element missing from the story – the buildup of sexual tension. Since Dalton and Isabelle meet and make love for the first time prior to the beginning of the book, much of the build-up to their union is missing. Also, we don’t get to see how truly bad Isabelle was as a demon, instead we are told since the event takes place earlier. These examples prevent the novel from being a stand-alone. I also have to add that but Isabelle does have one TSTL moment when she runs off to hide from Dalton in the swamp – not something I wouldn’t in a million years (think alligators, snakes, spiders, other demons, etc.).

Taken By Sin is a solid story – probably even more so for those who’ve followed the series. However, if you’re a first time reader, be aware the attraction begins in a previous book, which in my opinion takes a little away from the whole of the story.