Dark Protector is the first book in the Paladins of Darkness series. This is the story of Devlin Bane, a Paladin, and Dr. Laurel Young, his Handler. For centuries the Paladins have been fighting a war to protect the world from the Others. Paladins have a unique physiology that allows them to suffer mortal wounds and then revive time after time. They are born to the task of defending the world. Unfortunately, Paladins over time become more and more like the Others that they battle against. They can only be revived so many times before they turn. Each Paladin has his own point of no return.

Devlin Bane is the leader of the Paladins in Seattle Washington. During the story we get to know more about what the Paladins do and meet many of the Paladins that Devlin Bane leads. We also learn that someone wants to kill Devlin Bane.

Laurel Young is a medical doctor who is the Handler for a number of the Paladins. When they are mortally wounded, she guides them back to life and takes care of them through their recovery. If a Paladin can't recover and becomes like an Other, Dr. Young must end his life.

A hallmark of being a Paladin and a Handler is emotional detachment. Dr. Young, however, seems to really care about all of the Paladins in her care, especially Devlin Bane.

While we learn the basics about the war being fought against the Others and about the Paladins, this is first a terrific romance. I really enjoyed how Devlin Bane and Dr. Young deal with the taboos concerning the involvement of Paladins and their Handlers. I rooted for them all the way! In addition, I liked meeting some of the other Paladins (who will later have their own books). The mystery surrounding Devlin Bane is well set up and interesting. This is a terrific start to the Paladins of Darkness series.

Reviewed at Bitten by Books Paranormal Fiction Review Site by Sally
The Bitten by Books review score for this book was 4.5 Tombstones

I stumbled across this in the book store the other day and decided to give it a try - I can't resist a dark and broody hero. And who would be more broody that a warrior doomed to die over and over again to protect mankind, only to be revived each time by his mortal handler, who he happens to be very attracted to.
I was surprised by how good this book was. I fell in love with the hero and the supporting characters, Paladins I'm hoping will eventually all be heroes in their own books. The author has created an intriguing world and an interesting mystery to be solved, along with a great love story. This is the first in a series and I'm thoroughly hooked. I'll be buying the other two books as soon as I can find them.

From the back cover:
Dr. Laurel Young, who has spent years training to become a Handler, must remain detached from her patients. But each time she revives the darkly compelling Devlin Bane, he claims a little more of her soul and incites in her desires that grow wilder and wilder -- even as he inches closer to losing his humanity. As the war against the Others grows more desperate, Laurel and Devlin can't help but give in to the fierce hunger that's sizzled between them for so long. Now they'll face the ultimate battle together -- to save a dark, passionate love that goes against every rule as they join forces to fight an enemy who is closer than they ever imagined....

I'm pretty open to experiencing new worlds, but this book's presentation of that world didn't grab my interest in the least.
Plus, the characters (Laurel and Devlin) weren't strong enough to grab my attention either.
I think overall, the book lacked depth (not that this types of books have to have a ton of depth, but at least enough to adequately carry the story along with the growth of the characters)...or at least enough depth to hook me.

This book was great! I loved the interactions between the two main characters, and the secondary characters were great too. An excellent start to a new series!

This book was fun and reminded me a little of the Highlander TV series. Its nice to see a Paranormal book that's not about Vampires or Vampire-like. The story is about a group of men who by birth defend Earth from off-world threats. They can repeatedly die and come back, but not without consequences. It follows a growing romance between the commander and their doctor in the face of betrayal.