After being rescued from captivity and torture at the hands of the Synestryn by the Theronai, Jackie Patton is forced to choose a Theronai warrior as her mate and selects Iain, a coldhearted Sentinel who believes that his soul is dead.
Reviews with the most likes.
If you've gotten this far you already have a pretty good idea as to who are the Theronai Sentinel warriors. You also know that the Theronai men are dying and Theronai women are rare. You also know about the Sanguinar, vampire like people who hate to be called vampires but have all their traits, who are in alliance with the Theronai and serve as their healers in exchange of protection.
The main protagonists in this installment are Jackie and Iain Terra ( LOVE HIS LAST NAME!). Iain rescued Jackie from the Synestryn but not after being held hostage and fed on for two years. Needless to say she is pretty jacked up from the experience. She wants nothing to do with the Theronai world and is doing everything possible to duck out of the way permanently. The crazy thing is that Jackie seems to be compatible with all the men but has always been drawn to Iain.
Don't get me wrong... There was something fuzzy there but not enough to where she really wanted to be with him. In fact I have never read about two characters more against falling in love than these too. Furthermore it took exactly 60% or so before they even did anything... YEAH THAT LONG!
I've always liked this world. Shannon K. Butcher continues to deliver a world of intrigue. You understand their struggle and can sympathize with the characters even if you don't like them very much. I BTW didn't like Jackie very much. She just wasn't likable. However, I admired her no nonsense attitude when it seemed everyone had just given up. I'm glad she didn't say no and I'm also glad she was willing to put herself at risk regardless of the cause. (Read the book and you'll know what I mean.)
This book had me at a three star rating for most of the book. This was only because I felt like Jackie and Iain were pretty repetitive for most of the book. It is the author's m.o. to switch scenes to other characters that are part of the Theronai world. Although this hasn't bothered me in the past it kind of bugged me in this book. It's book 6 with a few smaller novellas in between and the author has introduced a boatload of people. Some make it back and some don't. On top of that you are introduced to new characters throughout. I found myself trying to figure out if I already knew these folks or not. The stagnant Jackie/Iain shipper and the new/old characters led to pushing me further and further into frustration land.
Four stars came about in the last few pages of the book. I have to say that some of the new characters came along with new revelations/twists and they were refreshing and exciting. One revelation that didn't come attached to a new character was the fact that Nicholas found his Theronai woman. I love Nicholas. Poor dude...his face is pretty scarred and apparently people are grossed out by it. He is the most sweetest guy ever! So it sucks that things are so superficial around this place. BUT ANYWAY! Many things are revealed and the very last few pages bumped it up to a 4. The ending is definitely not one you could see coming!
Obviously I recommend this book to anyone who has already started the series. If you are reading this and haven't started, I think you should give it a try but don't start with this book. Start from the beginning because there is too much back story and history in the other books you'll need to know to follow along.
So long, farewell... On to the next.
