Single Sashimi

Single Sashimi by Camy Tang

Venus Chau is determined to start her own game development company and launch the next Super Mario-sized phenomenon. However, she needs an investor to back her idea. When Drake Yu, an old nemesis, approaches Venus with a contracting opportunity at his sister’s startup, the offer tempts Venus to think the unthinkable.

Venus would rather throw away her PS3 than work for Drake again…but then Grandma bribes Venus to do this favor for Drake’s wealthy family. With the encouragement of her three cousins, Lex, Trish and Jennifer, Venus discovers that even a wounded heart can undergo a beautiful transformation…

--Single Sashimi by Camy Tang, Copyright ©2008 by Camy Tang, published by Zondervan Books

My Review

Some books easily land in a genre while others sit nicely on a fence between two. This book, a Chick-Lit Asian Christian Romance, manages to straddle four and does so very nicely.

The story is set in San Jose, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, about eight months after the end of Only Uni. Venus Chau is not the oldest of the four Christian Sakai cousins, but she is the most direct. She’s the programming team lead/acting game lead at a popular computer gaming company and her firm, direct style of management intimidates most people she comes in contact with. But not Drake Yu.

Venus worked for Drake once but quit after a “personal dispute.” Now, suddenly, after almost six years, Drake calls her and offers her a new job. He’d retired a few years earlier at thirty-eight due to a sudden heart attack, but now he’s come out of retirement to help his sister’s start-up. The company needs a new Chief Technology Officer, one that can get the employees under control and drive production. In Drake’s mind, Venus is the most obvious choice. To sweeten the deal, along with the promotion and higher salary, he’ll help her start her own programming company. Her immediate answer is “no,” but after she’s passed up for promotion to permanent Game Lead—by a junior programmer, no less—she decides to take Drake’s offer.

While her work life may be settled for the time being, her spiritual life is not as good as it should be. She prays every morning, reads her Bible and even volunteers to work with a church youth group, but something is missing. She just can’t figure out what.

Though she prefers her introverted lifestyle, Venus is besieged by relationships. Her relationship with God, her father, her mother, her cousins, her secret business partner, the youth group, her co-workers and most especially, her relationship with Drake—she has no idea how to control them all.

It’s only when Venus finally learns to let go of control with her relationship with God do the pieces of the other relationships start to fall into place. But will she like the picture God is drawing for her, one that leads her away from the dream she’s been working hard to create and toward a life with Drake?

Camy Tang is a wonderful author with several titles under Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense line as well as the Sushi Series (which I’m now done reading—better late than never!).

Are you wondering why she never published a book for the fourth cousin, Jennifer? If you join Camy’s YahooGroup newsletter (for details, click here), you can get Jennifer’s novella titled Weddings and Wasabi…I think she’s finished writing it…

I give this story THREE STARS.

The Enchantment Emporium

The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff

The Gales of southern Ontario can change the world with the charms they cast, and they prefer to keep all this power in the family. The Gale Aunties are in charge of this clan, or like to think they are. Alysha, like all her cousins, often finds herself beset with too many Aunties trying to run her life. SO when a letter from her missing Gran arrives telling her that she’s inherited a junk shop in Calgary, Alysha is ready and willing to honor her grandmother’s last request to keep the shop open and serve “the community.” The Aunties, of course, want her ot find out what really happened to Gran and come right back home where they have her future mapped out for her.

It isn’t until she arrives in Calgary that Alysha realizes it’s the fey community she’ll be serving in The Enchantment Emporium—and that one person’s junk may be another person’s magical treasure. Finding out what happened to Gran will not be easy, especially since Alysha has no way of knowing just how much otherworldly trouble is brewing in Calgary. And even calling in family reinforcements may not be enough to save the day…

--The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff, Copyright ©2009 by Tanya Huff, published by Daw Books

My Review

As you can tell from the list of titles I’ve read, I tend to stick with contemporary romance novels, but every now and then I need something different. For the first half of this month, I’ve been reading The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff, a novel set firmly in the Urban Fantasy genre. Not my favorite genre, but one I occasionally enjoy.

Alysha “Allie” Gale is 24 years old, recently unemployed, and has just moved back home with her large, extended, magical family. She’s trying to figure out what she wants to do next when she receives a letter from her grandmother in Calgary, saying if she’s reading this letter, then she’s dead and she’s left all her possessions to Allie, including a junk shop called The Enchantment Emporium.

With a new purpose, Allie packs her bags and moves to Calgary. Gran wants her to serve the community and that’s what she’s going to do. Anything to get away from the gaggle of nattering aunts, baking pies and pushing her to make a decision about who she’ll marry and what she’ll do with the rest of her life.

The peace she finds in Calgary is quickly quashed when her first customer arrives, a five-foot-six-inch leprechaun. Part of Gran’s “service to the community” was to run a mailbox service for those who would otherwise have difficulty getting mail, and Joe O’Hallan definitely qualified.

By the time a cute reporter from the local weekly tabloid shows up, Allie has started to get the hang of running the shop. Graham Buchanan had started to interview Gran for a story about the shop, but now that she was gone, perhaps Allie would like to pick where she left off. There’s a definite attraction between them, one they happily explore.

What Allie doesn’t know—yet—is that Graham works for a sorcerer. Sorcerers are the Gale family’s number one enemy and this one has a secret, several secrets, that connect him to the Gale family. And to a family of Dragon Lords who appear poised to take over the city. Or burn it down.

Things are about to get interesting in Calgary and Allie’s life will never be the same.

At 473 pages and with more characters and bisecting story lines than I could detail here, this is a very involved read, but Tanya Huff has a great sense of humor with her characters and tells a great story. It took me just over two weeks to read, but it’s a great story and well worth the time.

I give this story THREE and a HALF STARS.

Light in Shadow & Truth or Dare (a Two-Fer!)

Light in Shadow and Truth or Dare by Jayne Ann Krentz

Light in Shadow -- Hiding behind an expensive, black-market-created identity, Zoe Luce has built a successful interior design business in Whispering Springs, Arizona, and hopes that she has just as successfully buried her past. She can't ignore her unique psychic abilities, however, and when she walks into a new client's bedroom and hears the walls scream and moan, she knows something terrible has happened in the house. Did her client murder his wife? She's determined to find out, but investigating a possible murder is beyond her expertise, so Zoe turns to Ethan Truax, a private detective new to the small Arizona community. Solving the murder of the businessman's wife is a piece of cake for Ethan compared to the complicated enigma that he finds in Zoe. Mysterious nightmares haunt her and when a would-be blackmailer is found dead, Zoe's past inexorably collides with her new life, threatening their dreams of a future together.

Truth or Dare -- In her latest paranormal tale, Krentz takes up the story of psychic interior designer Zoe and private investigator Ethan, who met and fell in love in Light in Shadow. They are now working to create a successful marriage, but different events in their pasts keep interfering with their hopes for wedded bliss. Still haunted by his brother's murder and his own pursuit of justice in that case, Ethan expects Zoe to dump him, just as his previous three wives did. Zoe is plagued by memories of her imprisonment in a private psychiatric sanatorium, as she unexpectedly encounters psychic "spider webs" clinging to several places she has recently visited. As Ethan and Zoe struggle with their pasts, both become caught up in the dilemma of Zoe's friend, Arcadia, who fears that her ex-husband has returned from the dead to settle an old score.

--Light in Shadow and Truth or Dare by Jayne Ann Krentz, Copyright ©2004 by Jayne Ann Krentz, published by Jove Books

My Review

Light in Shadow -- Zoe Luce moved to Whispering Springs, Arizona to begin a new life as an interior designer. Focusing on fung shui and other design theories that focus on the balance and flow of energies in a room, she’s building a reputation for creating interiors that compliment the homeowner’s personal needs and harmonies.

When she walks into a new client’s bedroom, the walls begin screaming at her. Literally. A terrible act was committed in the room and, once she has a chance to talk about it with her good friend, Arcadia Ames, she decides to take action. She hires private investigator Ethan Truax to find the client’s wife (who claims his wife left him and they’re in the process of a divorce).

Ethan is a bit suspicious about Zoe’s reasons for hiring him, but takes the case and investigates. When all the evidence points to murder, Ethan demands the truth from Zoe.

Zoe manages to evade most of Ethan’s questions. After all, she’s not ready to confess that she’s a genuine escapee from an insane asylum, committed against her will by her late-husband’s relatives because she says she can feel strong energies emanating from the walls of rooms. (You know the old saying “if these walls could talk?” Well, they do to Zoe.) But when someone from the asylum arrives in Whispering Springs and begins to blackmail Zoe, she turns to the only man she knows in town who can help her. After listening to her story, he helps her the only way he knows how…by proposing marriage.

Truth or Dare -- We return to Whispering Springs, shortly after the end of Light in Shadow. When they got married, Zoe and Ethan agreed that once her issues with her late-husband’s relatives were resolved, they would get a divorce and go their separate ways. But once those issues were settled, they decided to see if they could make a go of their marriage. So far, it seems to be working for them, even if Zoe has suddenly become overly security-minded and Ethan wonders how long it will take Zoe to leave. He hopes never, but given the fact that Zoe is his fourth wife, he figures her leaving is inevitable.

Other problems come to light that overshadow their concerns. Arcadia Ames, Zoe’s friend from the asylum, believes that her dead husband Grant is actually still alive and is coming after her. Arcadia checked herself into the Candle Lake asylum as a ruse to escape from her husband, but somewhere along the line, she made a mistake, and now Grant is after her, and he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants from her—she’s holding evidence that could get him sent to jail. He wants that evidence. And he wants her dead.

Meanwhile, Zoe encounters strange, unexpected “psychic spider webs” at Arcadia’s and in the Designer Dream Home where she’s decorating the library. Some dark mind is responsible for the webs, stalking her and dredging up old memories of Candle Lake. Zoe wonder if she is finally, truly losing her mind. Can she trust Ethan with the truth about what’s happening to her, or will it be the thing that drives them apart forever?

This entry is a two-fer because the two stories go together and it took me less than a week to listen to them both. I enjoyed Light in Shadow and while Truth or Dare is also good, it has the feel of a forced sequel. That is to say, Light in Shadow was a good story in and of itself, but it did leave one or two threads untied and therefore another book had to be written to tie them off. I would almost have preferred Light in Shadow be an extra 50 or so pages longer in order to tie off those threads than to have an additional book.

BUT! Since these stories were published six years ago, I guess my opinion doesn’t really carry any weight, does it?

I give the stories THREE STARS each.

And with this entry, I'm off my Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle kick and back to Nora Roberts. I've been wanting to re-read the In The Garden series since spring and I've held off until now. I read the series when it first came out and I can remember tiny bits and pieces of the stories but not the individual or over-arching plot lines, so now would be a good time to indulge myself.

Also, next month's readings will be sparse (even sparser than this month) because of National Novel Writing Month. This is my fourth year participating and if you've ever had a yen to write a novel, go to the site and check out the details. This is your chance to spend a month pounding out that novel burning within you, to see if you have what it takes to write a 50,000 word novel. Trust me, it's tough, but it's a load of fun!

Midnight Crystal

Midnight Crystal: Book Three of the Dreamlight Trilogy (Arcane Society, No. 9) by Jayne Castle

For many earthly centuries, a legendary curse has plagued the Winters family, stemming from the tumultuous founding of the Arcane Society. But now, on the futuristic world of Harmony, the curse’s final mystery will be unraveled…

Adam Winters has enough responsibility as the new head of the local Ghost Hunter Guild without being saddled with the family curse. He’s convinced his recent nightmares and hallucinations will lead to him becoming a psychic rogue—unless he can find a stolen relic and a woman who can read dreamlight.

Marlowe Jones rides into his life on a motorcycle and with a dust bunny at her side. Though a descendant of the rival Arcane family, she’s just what Adam needs: a psychic private investigator and dreamlight reader extraordinaire.

Together, amid the glowing catacombs and steamy underground jungles of Harmony, Adam and Marlow must break the curse, save the entire underworld—and fight a passion that could destroy them both…

--Midnight Crystal by Jayne Castle ©2010 by Jayne Ann Krentz, published by the Penguin Group

My Review

Book Three in the Dreamlight Trilogy takes us into the future and across the galaxy with Jayne Castle, to a planet called Harmony.

Adam Winters is falling under the family curse. He’s developing another psi ability, leading to hellish nightmares and disturbing hallucinations. He needs the Burning Lamp and a powerful dreamlight reader to stabilize his mind before he goes completely insane.

Marlowe Jones is that woman, and as luck would have it, she also has the connections to track down the missing Lamp. But stabilizing Adam’s mind is only the beginning of their association with each other. The Arcane Society had what they believed was the Burning Lamp in their possession—which Adam confesses is actually a fake—but it was stolen. Who stole it and why?

When Adam and Marlowe use the Burning Lamp it to stabilize the underground power generator that illuminates the green quartz structures throughout the planet, they unknowingly activate the Midnight Crystal. None of Adam’s ancestors who employed the Burning Lamp have ever been able to activate the Midnight Crystal, leading many to believe that the Crystal is simply a pretty stone with no special power. But surrounded by the green quartz psi and activated by Adam and Marlowe, the powerful hypnotic command embedded within the Crystal comes alive and orders Adam to destroy every living member of the Jones family. Can Adam find the strength to disobey his multi-great grandfather’s command and save Marlowe?

I wish I had been a beta reader for this story, as I would have posted several questions to the author for clarification.

First, why would the Winters family on earth risk losing control of the Burning Lamp by letting it go to Harmony? Granted (as the history goes), no one thought about the possibility of the Curtain between our worlds closing, making the Lamp inaccessible to those on Earth, but still, why take that risk? Unless every last member of the Winters family moved to Harmony to stay near the Lamp, moving it across the galaxy is a very risky move.

Second, how is it something made on Earth centuries ago be the key to stabilizing an alien power generator on another planet? And as luck would have it, that object is on the right planet at the right time? It feels too contrived to me.

Third, who stole the Burning Lamp from Adam? Tully, an antiquities and artifacts dealer in the Old Quarter has it and is willing to give Marlowe first crack at buying it, but how did he get it? He dies before Marlowe can ask him, so we’ll never know.

Fourth, Marlowe visits the Arcane Society library to do a little research. As the scene is written, it is implied that the books in the Arcane library are originals, not copies. Like the Lamp, why would Arcane make the risky move of sending these important books and documents to another planet? If at some point it said that the books were copies and the originals had been left on Earth, that would make perfect sense and this paragraph would not have been written. But it doesn’t, and so this paragraph exists.

There may have been other little questions that popped into my mind as I read this, but they were minor enough that I forgot them. These are the big four, though, and ones I would dearly have loved to pose to Ms. Krentz prior to this book being published. Alas, that did not happen.

Despite my questions/issues, Midnight Crystal is a good story and a nice tie-off to the Dreamlight Trilogy. If you read the other two stories, Fired Up and Burning Lamp, you will obviously want to read Midnight Crystal, and you should, as it nicely ties-off the Dreamlight Trilogy.


I give this story THREE STARS.

Three Fates

Three Fates by Nora Roberts

She was shimmering silver, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. He took possession of her on an impulse—never knowing that she was more than just a trinket who might fetch a pretty price in a pawnshop at the next port. Then a thunderous explosion rocked the ship—and in mere minutes, so many fates were changed…

When the Lusitania sank, more than a thousand people died. One passenger who survived became a changed man, giving up his life as a petty thief—though keeping the small silver statue he lifted, a family heirloom to future generations. Now, nearly a century later, that statue, one of a priceless, long-separated set of three, has been snatched from the Sullivans. And Malachi, Gideon, and Rebecca Sullivan are determined to recover their great-great-grandfather’s treasure, reunite the Three Fates, and make their fortune.
The quest will take them far from their home in Ireland: To Helsinki, where Malachi seeks out Tia Marsh, a formidable American scholar whose privileged background, sharp mind, and authoritative knowledge of Greek mythology mask a fragile, fear-plagued woman within, and whose family is an important link to the mysterious missing statue. To Prague, where a bold exotic dancer named Cleo will enchant Gideon Sullivan—and embark on a gamble to turn her life around. And to New York, where security expert Jack Burdett joins the Sullivans in their fight against an ambitious woman who will stop at nothing to acquire the Fates.

--Three Fates by Nora Roberts, Copyright ©2002 by Nora Roberts, published by Putnam Books

My Review

Why?

Why? Why? Why?

Why did I read this book for—no joke—the third time? Or was it the fourth?

If I was to draw up a list of my ten absolute-favorite books, this book would be Number One. Numbers Two through Ten are up in the air, but Number One—hands down—is Three Fates.

That’s why.

I love this book not just for the wonderfully told story, but the wonderful way in which it is told. As a reader, I would tell you that the story involves seven people, six working against one, all in pursuit of the same goal. As a writer, I love the intricate plot and the myriad of story lines that weave its structure.

The stars of the story are Three Fates, a trio of small silver statues depicting Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, the three sisters of Greek Mythology who weave, measure and cut the thread that measures each of our lives. The Sullivans, Malachi, Gideon and Rebecca inherited one of the statues which had actually been stolen by one of their ancestors on the Lusitania right before it sank in 1915.

Unaware of its value, Malachi took the statue to renown antiques expert Anita Gaye. Anita, recognizing the statue for what it is, employs her feminine wiles and steals the statue from him. Determined to get it back, the Sullivans hatch a plan to find the other two and sell them to Anita for the millions of dollars that they’re worth.

Malachi goes to work on Dr. Tia Marsh, who is in Helsinki on a lecture tour promoting her new book. She’s also an expert in Greek mythology and a descendant of Henry Wiley, the original owner of Clotho, the statue his great-great-grandfather stole. Gideon heads to Prague to track down Cleo Tolliver, the descendant of the owner of Lachesis. They think to get ahead of Anita, but they don’t realize that Anita is already ahead of them. Tia’s hotel room is trashed, forcing Malachi to abandon his plans. Cleo’s apartment gets the same treatment and Gideon and Cleo go on the run across Europe.

Anita consults with her security expert, Jack Burdette. He’s also a collector and she attempts to pump him for information about the Fates. Almost immediately afterward, Jack heads for Ireland to meet the remaining Sullivans, Rebecca and her mother Eileen. He also stops off at his great-grandfather’s home to pick up the third Fate, Atropos. Anita, of course, has no idea that Atropos belongs to Jack’s family.

Uniting through various circumstances in New York, the six form a team to figure out a way to bring Anita down. Not only do they want the stolen Fate back, they want Anita to pay for all her crimes. And pay she will, in ways she can’t begin to imagine.

I love the structure of the story because as you read it, you can see the individual stories—threads, if you will—and how they weave and mesh together to form an intricate storyline. Not only do their present lives mesh, but so do the histories of their families and everything connects back to three silver statues. You can see it all, and it all is easy to follow. That’s what I love about this story, and I’m sure, a few years from now, I’ll be reading it again. And I’ll enjoy it as much as I did the first time I read it.

I give this story FIVE STARS.

Obsidian Prey

Obsidian Prey by Jayne Castle

Three months ago, amber tuner and independent prospector Lyra Dore made the find of the decade in an underground rain forest: amethyst ruins. But the very man she was dating stole her claim - and her heart. At least she has her artistically talented dust bunny, Vincent, to comfort her....

Amber Inc. CEO Cruz Sweetwater never meant to hurt Lyra. His affinity for obsidian amber gives him the ability to sense that she is his true love. But the ruins have mysterious powers, putting everyone involved with the project in danger. Only by trusting their psychic instincts will Cruz and Lyra survive - and surrender to the desire that binds them.

--Obsidian Prey by Jayne Castle, Copyright ©August 2009 by Jayne Ann Krentz, published by Jove Books

My Review

“You’re the woman who broke Cruz Sweetwater’s heart.” That’s what everyone connected to the Sweetwater family says to me whenever I meet one of them and it’s driving me crazy!

First of all, Cruz lied to me about his name. When we met, he said his name was Cruz Marlow. And so now he tells me that Marlow is his middle name. Okay, so I guess technically he didn’t lie, but he never used the name Sweetwater around me, so I call that a lie by omission. Second, he used me. He kept me distracted just long enough so his company, Amber, Inc., could jump all over my find in the rainforest and file paperwork with the government so they could legally claim my amethyst ruin as their own. Right out from under my nose! Can you believe that? And then, once their claim had been accepted, they shut me out, refusing me any access at all. It was my ruin, darn it! I found it, therefore, it belongs to me, not them! And third, oh, third was the worst. Once I was shut out, Cruz walked out of my life. Bam! Gone! So long, see ya, thanks for the memories. And those crazy Sweetwaters actually have the gall to say I broke his heart!

So now here we are, three months later, and look who’s come crawling back. I was all set to enjoy my revenge. I imagined Cruz Marlow—um—Sweetwater, begging to take me back, but I never imagined him asking me for help. It seems an energy storm is blocking the entrance to their—ahem—my ruin and no one within the Amber, Inc. empire can de-rez it. But since I’m the one who opened it in the first place, could I please come do it again? I was all set to say no when Cruz told me there were five people trapped inside. Oh, geez. Guess I’m going to have to help Cruz after all.

So off into the underground rainforest we went and I oh-so-nicely-and-neatly made short work of the energy storm. I now have the gratitude of Amber, Inc. and the Ghost Hunter Guild. I can do without the Guild’s gratitude, but as for Amber, Inc? I need to decide how much to charge them for my skills.

But there’s something else Cruz needs my help with. Seems one of the amethyst relics collected from the ruin has gone missing and he thinks, given my naturally affinity with amethyst, I can help him track it down. I naturally refuse to help him, but the next day, I was consulting with a new client at an exclusive collector’s auction and what did I sense but missing relic. But before Cruz or I can do anything, the gallery owner is murdered. Oh geez again!

So not only do I have Cruz Sweetwater back in my life, I have to deal with a gang of thieves and murders. Oh, and there’s the strange waking nightmares I’ve been having lately, and the feeling that someone is stalking me. Plus all those darn Sweetwaters keep saying I broke Cruz’s heart!

Can’t they understand that it’s Cruz who broke my heart when the cad made me fall in love with him and then walked away from me?

I tried to channel the spirit of Lyra Dore as I wrote this, but I can’t say I was particularly successful at it. Oh well, it was fun to write anyway.

Jayne Castle/Jayne Ann Krentz has the wonderful ability to create characters that are slightly whacky and a little off center, but spunky. Lyra certainly fits that description and she’s a perfect foil for Cruz. Throw in a dust bunny, a secret admirer, a mysterious modern artist and an even more mysterious collector and you have another entertaining Harmonic adventure.

I was disappointed at the very end, though. Throughout the story, Lyra and Cruz trade barbs and snappy remarks that add to the emotional and sexual tension between them. Even when some of that tension is released (you know what I mean), they still have this great banter between them. He hurt her by stealing her claim and then walking away and now he’s back and he wants her, but she’s not going to go quietly. She fights him every inch of the way, kicking and screaming and just when she’s had enough of those darned Sweetwaters saying she broke his heart, he goes and says “I’m sorry. I screwed up. But I fell in love with you when I first saw you.”

And she melts like putty in his hands.

Yuck.

What a way to ruin an ending.


I give this story THREE STARS.

Water Bound

Water Bound, a Sea Haven novel by Christine Feehan

The last thing Lev Prakenskii remembered was being lost in the swirling currents of the ocean and getting sucked deeper into the nothingness of a freezing black eddy off the coastal town of Sea Haven. Just as quickly, just as miraculously, he was saved—pulled ashore by a beautiful stranger. But Lev has no memory of who he is—or why he seems to possess the violent instincts of a trained killer. All he knows is that he fears for his life, and for the life of his unexpected savior.

Her name is Rikki, a sea-urchin diver in Sea Haven. She has always felt an affinity for the ocean, and for the seductive pull of the tides. And now she feels drawn in the same way to the enigmatic man she rescued. But soon they will be bound by something even stronger, and their tantalizing secrets will engulf them both in a whirlpool of dizzying passion and inescapable danger.

--Water Prey by Christine Feehan, Copyright ©August 2010 by Christine Feehan, published by Jove Books

My Review

I thoroughly enjoy Christine Feehan’s stories and I’m glad she stepped away from the crueler, darker path that she was starting to go down (those who have read her last Drake and Dark stories know what I’m talking about). Water Prey introduces us to some new characters, namely Rikki Sitmore and her “sisters” on their farm outside Sea Haven, the home of the Drake Sisters.

Rikki’s a loner, working solo as a sea urchin diver and is very happy with her solitary lifestyle until the day she’s swept off her boat by a rogue wave. Quickly gaining her equilibrium under water, she spies something unexpected. There’s a man in the water, and if she doesn’t act quickly, he’s going to die.

Lev Prakenskii probably would have welcomed his death, if it weren’t for the piercing gaze of the woman who rescued him. She didn’t just see him, she saw into him, and that sensation was one he would treasure for the rest of his days. Once on her boat, however, his battered, broken mind not only sees her as his savior, but as a threat. And threats must be eliminated.

Rikki slips easily past his defenses and takes him to her home to rest and heal. Romance blossoms quickly, but Lev senses something different about Rikki. The jerky little hand motions, her almost-obsessive cleanliness, the need to keep everyone out of her home (except him, somehow), brings him to one conclusion about her, a conclusion her “older sister” Blythe confirms.

But he didn’t need Blythe to confirm that she’s a water element, someone who is drawn almost compulsively to water, and water to her. Lev figures he might as well be water for the way he is drawn to her. But someone else is drawn to Rikki. Someone whose element counters Rikki’s, and if Lev isn’t careful, he may lose his love to the one thing she most fears.

Can Lev save Rikki from her fire-starting stalker and carve out a new life for himself in Sea Haven, knowing someone else out there wants him dead too?

I actually felt a little let down at the end of this story, though I couldn’t figure out why. Later, I resumed listening to my current audio book (Obsidian Prey--review coming very, very soon!) and figured out why. We readers have become accustomed to the villain—once uncovered—explaining all the reasons for his crimes and his plans for what comes next. That didn’t happen in this story. Through a mistake he made, Sheriff Jonas Harrington was able to trace the bad guy's fingerprints and come up with an ID. Rikki didn’t recognize the name, so they dug deeper and found the connection. Once Rikki was no longer in danger, Jonas explained everything to her and Lev. End of story. No protracted explanation for the reasons for his crimes, no baiting by the heroine to throw the villain off-track so the hero could swoop in and rescue her, no last minute boastful cry by the bad guy. Just boom, done, here’s why, now let’s get on with life. And, I have to admit, I like it. Because, let’s face it, it’s a much more realistic ending (seriously, do bad guys do this in real life?), and I like writers who keep it real.

I give this story FOUR STARS.