The Immortal’s Redemption – Kelli Ireland

The Immortal’s Redemption
Kelli Ireland
Harlequin Nocturne, Oct 1 2015, $5.75
ISBN: 9780263917994

In 1718 Scotland, as he waits in ambush for the fat genocidal Laird of Clan McKay, Dylan knows he lacks a key trait that successful assassins require: patience. Still he somewhat controls his anxiety to kill the abomination for mass murdering of Druids. However, before he can complete his task, Danu the Mother of All visits him with a vision of a beautiful woman who along with mankind will need his help three centuries in the future when a Shadow Realm god escapes bondage.

Three hundred years later Danu returns; she informs Dylan the time is now for him to find the woman who will lead him to the truth or his death as he must kill this Kennedy Jefferson to prevent the end of the world. When she awakens in a hospital, Kennedy has amnesia and fears she suffers from mental illness apparently common in her family. Only her best friend Ethan keeps her stable. When Dylan and Kennedy meet, they are attracted to each other, but his mission must come before his heart.

The Immortal’s Redemption is an entertaining romantic urban fantasy with an intriguing dilemma faced by the lead male. The support cast and Dylan are fully developed, but Kennedy acts irresponsibly foolish and feels for the most part incomplete as perhaps more insight on her memory loss and sudden moments of recall would have helped readers to understand her better.

Harriet Klausner

Enchanted by the Wolf – Michele Hauf

Enchanted by the Wolf
Michele Hauf
Harlequin Nocturne, Oct 1 2015, $5.75
ISBN: 9780263917987

In Paris Valoir Pack Principal Etienne Montfort negotiates with an emissary from the Unseelie Fairy that as part of the deal allow the werewolves to hunt in the latter’s kingdom. To seal the deal, Valoir werewolf Kirnan Savauterre and Fairy Princess Beatrice the undesirable half-breed will wed.

Whereas Kir has enormous doubts but even stronger loyalty to his pack; Bea welcomes a chance to leave her always disappointed in her father in search of her mother. Neither the purebred werewolf nor the hybrid princess expected to fall in love. Still both must come together based on mutual trust to deal with prejudicial prenotions, interspecies interference and animosity especially towards Bea living with his pack. To prove his love, Kir seeks the truth re his wife’s maternal DNA.

Readers will feel Enchanted by the Wolf and Unseelie Princess as the mixed couple navigates the issues caused by their mutual races’ distrust and misconceptions of each other. The protagonists are terrific as Michele Hauf uses real world problems a society causes (though radically changing in the last few decades) towards a mixed race couple as the springboard to a magnificent urban fantasy romance.

Harriet Klausner

Dragon’s Promise – Denise Lynn

Dragon’s Promise

Denise Lynn

Harlequin Nocturne, Sep 1 2015, $5.75

ISBN: 9780373009534

Unlike his older brothers Braeden (see Dragon’s Lair) and Cameron (see Dragon’s Curse) who embraced their changeling wizard status, twentyish Sean Drake only wanted to be an ordinary human.  However, one year ago, reality changed Sean’s hopes when he shifted into a dragon for the first time.  Now he considers returning to his family Dragon Lair after years away.

In a bar in the Detroit area, Sean’s inner dragon marks Caitlin St. George as his.  Though confused by their attraction they share a one night stand before going their separate ways.  Pregnant, Caitlin’s parents plan to give the baby away and marry her to a man who will control her worst urges.  When Nathan the wizard kidnaps their infant, a desperate Caitlin informs Sean that he sired a child who was abducted.  Avoiding Caitlin the dragon-slayer for distracting obvious reasons, Sean the dragon pursues Nathan in order to rescue his offspring and slay the abductor.

The third Drake romantic urban fantasy is a suspenseful super finish to the trilogy starring in this one the ultimate star-crossed lovers (her DNA demands fighting and slaying dragons like him and his to flight from her).  Lynn world once again seems real especially the Drake family tree, but it is the protagonists who make this a winner as natural enemies united by their save their baby quest and love.

Harriet Klausner

Canadian Wolf – Linda O. Johnston

Canadian Wolf

Linda O. Johnston

Harlequin Nocturne, Sep 1 2015, $5.75

ISBN: 9780373009527

Aware of the success of Alpha Force (see Loyal Wolf), Canada wants a home-grown team of shapeshifters to work on cases to similar those performed by this unique American military unit.  Thus the brass assigns Alpha Force Lieutenant Selena Jennay to help the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to create their own shapeshifting team led by purebred human Sergeant Major Owen Dewirter.

Having had a dangerous experience with a shifter; the Canadian accepts the existence of the subspecies; but rejects the premises of changing without a full moon stimulus and retaining human cognizance in the beast form.  To quickly provide him with proof of assertions, Selena changes into her wolf.  Though he distrusts Selena and others like her, Owen insists on a real field test: rescue kidnap victims, catch their abductors and expose the traitor inside their team.  Falling in love was not part of the mission.

The latest Alpha Force police procedural urban fantasy romance (see Untamed Wolf and Undercover Wolf) provides newness with the international twist and the gender-bending lead couple.  Although the storyline starts somewhat slowly ironically due to the two fresh spins, the appealing leads and support cast make for an interesting romantic suspense.

Harriet Klausner

Agent Zero – Lilith Saintcrow

Agent Zero

Lilith Saintcrow

Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Sep 1 2015, $5.50

ISBN: 9780373279357

The IED in Mosul left soldier Reese crippled.  The military offers Reese a chance to not only regain his health and more as a super-agent; if he agrees to take an experimental drug that overwhelmingly kills most volunteers.  Code name Agent Six, Reese is one of the few survivors.

Holly the waitress at the dumpy Crossroads Diner receives two major emotional bombs when her doctor informs her she suffers from a terminal illness and her husband whom she supported through medical school dumps her.  Stoic yet sad, Holly accepts she cannot do anything about either condition.  Recently a strange man comes in every few days to order coffee he does not drink and says nothing but stares at her.  Eventually Reese persuades Holly to meet him on her off day.  Instead, someone abducts Holly.  Knowing she is an expendable pawn used by those to get at him, Reese risks his life to free Holly from her captivity; but though successful his enemies ruthlessly pursue them.

With a nod to the X Files super soldier premise, Agent Zero is an exhilarating cat and mouse thriller.  Fast-paced, readers will cheer on the emotionally disturbed protagonists as they struggle to survive while falling in love.  Though the romance feels off-kilter as the audience will wonder about the injection side-effect on him and her rebounding from a horrid betrayal at a time she needed spousal support; subgenre fans will agree the intrigue is awesome.

Harriet Klausner

Sentinels: Leopard Enchanted – Doranna Durgin

Sentinels: Leopard Enchanted

Doranna Durgin

Harlequin Nocturne, Aug 1 2015, $5.75

ISBN: 9780373009503

Atium Core assigns agent Ana Dikau to conduct surveillance of snow leopard shifter Ian Scott.  Brainwashed all her life that the enemy Sentinel shifters are evil and with a chance to finally prove her worth, Ana looks forward to mission success.  Her superiors further direct her to seduce Scott so that she can plant an amulet to harm him and his Southwest friends and allies.

Frustrated as he struggles to find a way to protect shifters from the Atium Core’s latest weapon, harmful amulets, Ian wonders if the woman he just met could provide him the answer.  As Ana diligently performs her undercover duty, she struggles with the kindness and caring Ian and others show to her.  Ana must choose between the shifter (and his associates) she loves and respects, and the group she spent her life with being mistreated and scorned as a second class citizen.

The latest Sentinels romantic fantasy (see Alpha Rising) is a magnificent entry due to the Atium mole finding those she is to destroy behave nothing like the violent miscreants she had learned about for years.  Series fans will wonder whether a few weeks of compassion and thoughtfulness can overcome decades of indoctrination started when Ana was an infant.

Harriet Klausner

Heat of the Moment – Lori Handeland

Heat of the Moment

Lori Handeland

St. Martin’s Paperbacks, Jun 30 2015, $7.99

ISBN: 9781250020130

In Three Harbors, Wisconsin, veterinarian Becca Carstairs fears she is losing her mind when she begins telepathically hearing animals “talking” to her.  Perhaps even more frightening is Becca’s unwanted attraction to wounded warrior Owen McAlister; as he broke her heart when he left town a decade ago.

Owen knows he hurt Becca badly ten years ago, but though he wants to reconcile, he focuses on recovering from his Afghan war wounds with the help of his BFF Reggie the bomb detection K9.  However, Owen is stunned when he and Reggie enter his house to find dead animals in what looks like ritual mutilations.  Meanwhile Prudence the wolf saves Becca’s life from a deadly assault.  While she has no idea why someone wants her dead; supported by their four-legged companions Becca and Owen investigate.

The second Sisters of the Craft romantic urban fantasy (see In The Air Tonight) is an exhilarating coming of witch age paranormal thriller; as the two human and three animal (to include Grenade the kitty) leads come together in an overall exciting paranormal.  Though appearances by the stars of previous series will please the author’s fans and hint at wider implications in the Handeland world; they add little to the good (women learning their DNA contain previously dormant witchcraft, and the loyal men and animals dedicated to keep them safe) and evil (hunters and probably much worse) plot.

Harriet Klausner

The Last True Vampire – Kate Baxter

The Last True Vampire

Kate Baxter

St. Martin’s Paperbacks, Jun 2 2015, $7.99

ISBN: 9781250053763

Hundreds of years ago, claiming the Fate ordained their extinction mission, the Sortiari hunters committed genocide of the Ancient Ones after torturing each of their enemy.  The brutalized Last True Vampire to die from the stake Mikhail instead survives when the sharpened spike fails to strike directly into his heart.

In present day Los Angeles, Michael Aritsov remains tormented by what happened centuries ago to his species.  Wallowing in self-pity and abject loneliness, Michael gave up on life and ignores his duty to the hybrid Dhampir who desperately need him and though he pretends otherwise he needs them too.

On her own since she was sixteen, Claire Thompson works as a waitress who reluctantly supplements her income with pickpocketing and pool hustling.  Needing cash to pay the rent on her dump after giving away her money to her young neighbor, Claire selects Michael as her target.  Instead he marks her as his savior mate from the first sniff of her blood.  While most Dhampir rejoice, the horrified Sortiari realize a true Vampire exists.

The first Last True Vampire urban fantasy romance is a terrific opening act that introduces the audience to Kate Baxter’s awesome paranormal spin of Southern California.  The First Couple’s behavior leads readers wanting to kick both their butts until he finds her (relatively early) and she finds acceptance of him (much later); their relationship eventually endears them to the subgenre audience and most Dhampir.  However, it is Baxter’s world with its competing final solutions that make for an exciting thriller with more to come.

Harriet Klausner

Siren’s Call – Debbie Herbert

Siren’s Call
Debbie Herbert
Harlequin Nocturne, Jun 1 2015, $5.75
ISBN: 9780373009473

In Bayou La Siryna, Alabama, ever since she entered puberty, males have tripped over their lower heads whenever beautiful Lily Borsage is near; women simply loathe her, holding her responsible instead of their salivating men. Lily conceals her hurt that except for family even her elementary school friends scorn and ostracize her ever since she turned into a sex symbol siren.

After years away, nature photographer and author Nashoba Bowman returns to Bayou La Siryna where he spent summers as a child with his grandfather. He not only ignores Lily, Nash initially fails to recognize the stunned beauty until she confronts him with knowing his eyes and owner of the lips of her first kiss. As Nash eludes her mermaid sex appeal; Lily seeks his love. However, Nash knows what happens to women he loves. Thus he will do anything including staying away from Lily, whose lips still burn his soul. When a stranger threatens his Lily, Nash risks his life to keep safe the woman he has loved ever since that youthful clumsy first kiss.

The third Dark Seas romantic suspense urban fantasy is a delightful thriller due to the conflicting relationship between the protagonists. Although the storyline mirrors that of Lily’s sister Jet (see Siren’s Treasure) and her cousin Shelby (see Siren’s Secret), Debbie Herbert provides subgenre fans with the exciting Siren’s Call of love.

Harriet Klausner

The Vampire’s Fall – Michele Hauf

The Vampire’s Fall
Michele Hauf
Harlequin Nocturne, Jun 1 2015, $5.75
ISBN: 9780373009466

In “haunted” Darkwood, the mysterious stranger Sim accosts Blade Saint-Pierre the vampire with fairy wings. Mentioning the hybrid’s craving for demon blood that he hides from everyone especially his caring family, Sim warns Blade that the Denizen grows rapidly and expects them soon to Rage against humanity if not stopped now.

One week later in Tangle Lake, amnesiac Zenia arrives; knowing she is not human, but confused over what she is. Blade sniffs demons as three accost Zen. He prevents the evil from abducting her while wondering what species she is. On a knowledge walk pursuing her Destiny, Zen has no time for her rescuer and wannabe protector even if he is a hunk she wants. Still Blade makes her feel a bit safe while he needs to shield her as his internal demon alert system is on high especially when near Zen. As they fall in love, someone else has royal plans for the black-blooded Zen.

The third Saint-Pierre urban fantasy romance (see Moonlight and Diamonds, and Ghost Wolf) is an intriguing suspense starring a mixed race hero and a beautiful enigma. The paranormal entertains due ironically to the mysterious lead female, who suffers from overused amnesia and equally commonplace a destiny quest in which her odd behavior make her twin afflictions seem genuine.

Harriet Klausner