Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe’s Fury: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Barrosa

Sharpe’s Fury by Bernard Cornwell
Series: Richard Sharpe, 11
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Eleventh in the historical military fiction series revolving around Captain Richard Sharpe and the Peninsular War. It’s March 1811 and the British Army is intending to keep Cádiz.

My Take
Typical. It is interesting that Cornwell makes all the incompetent generals assholes and all the competent ones are either down-to-earth or realistic about war. Moon’s biggest problem is his class and his own selfish, racist, myopic character. All that befalls him…serves him right.

The soldiers do crack me up. In other stories, Cornwell has enemies swapping sausages, wineskins, carving chess pieces. In this one, Richard’s men take a break to let the French have a wee in the river. I did like Henry Wellesley, he was so very kind to Sharpe, especially in the face of Moon’s enmity.

Poor Richard. I found that I have such high expectations, I was expecting him to win the battle singlehandedly… He certainly exceeded expectations with the blackmailers! Pumps really shouldn’t underestimate our Richard…now that Richard has learned what happened to Astrid. He does have the chance to get in good with Sir Thomas when he and Harper tag along on a raft-burning expedition where Sharpe picks up a few toys for the next meeting with the blackmailers.

As intense as the battle at Bassao is, it’s really just an opportunity to create an about-face from Moon and let Sharpe get back at Vandal. The real intensity during the battle is reading as the Spanish completely avoid the battle—taking naps, playing cards in plain sight!—while their allies, the British battle fiercely against superior odds.

Ah well, it’s a parallel plot for a bit: Father Montseny will do everything he can to sabotage the English and sway the Cortes to his way of thinking while Sharpe is busy trying to keep everyone alive and get back to Lisbon.

Oh man, I just don’t understand the reasoning behind putting men like General Lapeña, a.k.a., Doña Manolito, in charge of the Spanish forces—he is such an idiot!!! Doesn’t Spain want to kick out the French? Don’t they want their country back?? One of these books, a Spaniard is going to have to show some backbone! Although, it’s not just the Spanish officers. There’s an Englishman, General Whittingham, in the Spanish service who is also a coward with no sense of honor.

The Story
The mission is to destroy the pontoon bridge between Forts Joseph and Josephine, but it all goes to pot when the Brigadier gets involved and has to show off turning Bullen and Major Gillespie, the brigadier’s aide into prisoners of war. Oh, the bridge blows up all right…with Moon, Sharpe, some of his Rifles, and a few of the Connaught Rangers on it and they go drifting down the Guadiana River.

And Moon has a broken leg. He alternates between demanding they find a doctor…as they drift down the river dodging French bullets…and insisting that the few men they have paddle the six-barge chunk of bridge to shore with their rifle butts. Yup, he is one realistic boy! Naturally, everything that goes wrong is Sharpe’s fault including their almost getting caught in a tiny village they linger in to allow Moon to have a “proper” doctor look at the broken leg that Private Geoghegan has already set. For all the whining Moon does about his leg, he certainly hasn’t any sympathy for Sharpe when he gets shot in the head.

Luckily, they practically run into HMS Thornside, but end up back in Cádiz where Sharpe discovers he’s in demand for his unique talents. So off goes Sharpe to the embassy while his men settle in at Isla de León.

Meanwhile Captain Plummer and his men are about to fall for the con, which allows for a future set-up against the English. Father Montseny doesn’t realize he’s minor league when it comes to a con although it does help that Sharpe comes up against a true patriot, Captain Galiana, who threatens to call in the favor Sharpe now owes him. It’s a good favor as it allows Sharpe to fulfill a desire he formed early in the story.

The Characters
Captain Richard Sharpe, while in command of the South Essex Light Company, is down to five men in this particular operation after getting separated from his men. The men include Sergeant Patrick Harper; Daniel Hagman, a poacher from home; Harris; Perkins; Slattery; Sergeant Huckfield; Carter; and, Lieutenant Jack Bullen is still with us…sort of. The men of the 88th, the Connaught Rangers, along for the ride include Sergeant Noolan, Private Geoghegan, Fergal, and Padraig.

Brigadier General Sir Barnaby Moon sees Sharpe as a rival and an upstart. Moon wants to be the one doing the heroics. Lieutenant Sturridge is the engineer in command of setting the charges to blow up the bridge. Jethro McCann is the surgeon on board the HMS Thornside who slid Sharpe’s bit of fractured skull back in place. Captain Pullifer is like Sharpe, come up through the hawse hole, and ready with a warning to Richard about the report Moon intends to submit. Major Duncan, an artillery officer, is a very temporary roommate with Sharpe while he makes an excellent impression on Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Graham, the commander on Isla de Leon. Lord William “Willie” Russell is his aide. Henry Wellesley, His Britannic Majesty’s Envoy Extraordinaire to Spain [and the Duke of Wellington's little brother!], a.k.a., el Cornudo, has urgent need of Sharpe’s abilities; seems Henry was indiscreet. James Duff is the British Consul in Cádiz and advises Henry. Lord William “Pumps” Pumphrey of the Foreign Office has arrived to handle the situation and he learns just how dangerous Sharpe can be.

Father Salvador Montseny is a Spanish zealot with a hatred for the English after spending time with Admiral the Marquis de Cardenas as a “guest” of the English after the Battle of Trafalgar. Somehow, I don’t think God will be as accepting of murder and blasphemy as the father thinks. Both men want the old Spain back, the one of king and church. Eduardo Nuñez is the publisher of the El Correo de Cádiz and will be forced to help the “good” father. Benito Chavez is the forger who is, poor boy, deprived of his alcohol and smokes.

Gonzalo Jurado is Caterina’s pimp with an eye to making money any way he can. Caterina Veronica Blazquez has a number of secrets she uses to supplement her career as a whore.

Marshal Victor is the opposing French commander. Captain Lecroix of the 8th and Colonel Henri Vandal is his commanding officer who turns the rules of war on and off as it suits him.

Joana is still with Harper even though she doesn’t actually appear. The only other regulars who get a mention include Lieutenant Colonel the Honorable William Lawford still in command of the South Essex; and, Lieutenant Knowles.

The Cover
The cover is by Steve Stone and the background is split into an almost black with Richard Sharpe looking pretty tidy in his uniform on a night battlefield, cocking his rifle as the skeleton of a barn burns in the background. The lower third of the cover is an aged parchment showcasing the author’s name.

The title is rather weak—Sharpe is always in a fury!

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Ilona Andrews, Fate’s Edge

Fate’s Edge by Ilona Andrews
Series: The Edge, 3
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Third in the Edge paranormal-romance series involving a magickal dimension that exists alongside an alternate Earth called the Broken.

My Take
There are three “worlds” in the Edge series: the Weird where most things and people are powered by magic, the Broken where there is no magic, and the Edge, no-man’s land between the Weird and the Broken where there are no rules.

I rather like that the family simply keeps growing as we interface with the major characters from On the Edge and Bayou Moon and new ones are added with this story. It’s fascinating to read the interaction between Audrey and Kaldar; they spark off each other and continually blow each other away driving up their individual levels of respect.

I really don’t feel sorry for Audrey at all; she should have simply backed away. I did enjoy Helena’s negotiations with Alex; it just concluded too fast.

Audrey and Kaldar are two-of-a-kind. They’re both grifters and can twist and turn any situation on its head. If you’ve ever wanted to see inside a grifter’s operation…read this. And they keep getting into more of these situations in these few days than most people do in several lifetimes. The evolution of their romance is like nothing you have ever read before and an absolute hoot to follow.

Oh man, this is too much fun. I just finished reading it and I already want to read it again!

The Story
Woo-hoo!!! Yes! Audrey has gotten herself a job. A real, ordinary job. She’s legit! Damn, a job where she’ll pay taxes and get a regular paycheck…!

Until she gets home and finds her dad has shown up needing her help on a chancy job. It’s for her poor brother. The same one who sold her for drugs. Audrey makes a bargain with her father and with his taking her up on it, she only needs to do this one last job. But it’s a job that puts Kaldar Mar and the Hand on her trail.

On a parallel plot line, Jack is suffering from emotional overload and keeps getting into trouble. Bad trouble. This last incident Declan told Jack that changes would have to be made. Jack knows what that means, Hawk’s, and he can’t. He just can’t do it. He needs William’s help and now Cerise and William are taking off on a mission. He just can’t face Declan alone without William backing him up. William understands.

And so sets the collision course of Jack-George smashing into Kaldar-Audrey and creating the most unlikely team of Mirror agents as they infiltrate a corrupt tent-revival preacher’s domain, a self-obsessed addict, a “mob” boss, and the persistent Hand agents dogging their trail.

The Characters
Audrey Callahan has escaped her oblivious family and just wants to be left alone to work for Dominic and his private investigation agency. She wants an ordinary, normal life. Well, yeah, she will still use her gift for locks. Ling the Merciless is the raccoon she rescued when he was a baby; a very useful accomplice in crime. Gnome is a man who runs a general store of sorts in the Edge with a bit of fencing on the side.

Kaldar Mar is an Edger, like Audrey. A thief, smuggler, pickpocket, gambler, a scam artist, a liar, and he doesn’t hesitate at murder; he works for the Mirror in exchange for his family’s safety. And revenge. He has an interesting gift with coins. One of his cousins is Cerise Sandine who is married to William Wolf (see Bayou Moon). Gaston is almost up to junior agent status for the Mirror.

Declan, Lord Camarine and the Marshal of the Southern Provinces, and Rose met up in On the Edge and now they live in the Dukedom of Louisiana with her two brothers, Jack, a lynx shapeshifter who needs to tame the Wild, and George, a necromancer.

Lady Nancy Virai is the head of the Mirror, a secret policing agency for Adrianglia. Erwin is one of Lady Virai’s flash sharpshooters.

The Hand is the Dukedom of Louisiana’s counterpart. Only the Hand has nor qualms, no morals in how it achieves its aims and its agents are magically augmented—the Industrial Light and Magic people would enjoy this! Helena d’Amry is a Hound of the Golden Throne, a more elite department of the Hand; the wrecked and paralyzed Spider is her uncle. Lady d’Amry is cruelly ruthless even more so than her team: Sebastian is her second-in-command, Karmarsh wants to be her second-in-command, Mura is a slayer shadow on loan, Soma and Killian are enhanced hunters, a lessarge-class operative, a boddus, Emily and Sobat are trackers, Cotier is a scout, and Jasmine.

Morell de Braose is a robber baron/slaver. Magadalene Moonflower, Clive Keener, and Kaleb Green are rivals. Ed Yonker is a tent-revival preacher they need to hamstring as part of the quid pro quo.

Seamus Callahan is Audrey’s dad, biologically. He’s only ever seen her as a tool to prop up his addict son Alex. Neither Callahan has any commonsense.

The Cover
The cover is soft greens with a red-haired Audrey holding one big dagger in the middle of the woods with a gorgeously dreamy Mar in the upper right corner.

I’m interpreting the title as referring to both Audrey and Mar’s fates that result from Fate’s Edge that could impact those living in the Edge due to Audrey’s actions.

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Martin H. Greenberg and John Helfers, Murder Most Medieval: Noble Tales of Ignoble Demises

Murder Most Medieval: Noble Tales of Ignoble Demises by John Helfers
Series: Like a Dog Returning (Sister Fidelma, 5.5??)
            Country of the Blind (Tallifer, x.5)
            A Light on the Road to Woodstock
                  (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, 0.5)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An anthology of thirteen tales of medieval murder from low to high and with justice in between.

The Stories
Peter Tremayne’s Like a Dog Returning is a dip into Sister Fidelma’s travels in which she detects the true murderer of a much-beloved nun murdered 20 years earlier bringing justice to the memory of a monk wrongfully lynched. I have no idea as to what the title refers.

The bio at the back claims this story was first published after Spider’s Web, #5.

Doug Allyn’s Country of the Blind is a sweet, odd tale of the past, present, and future life of a young blind girl with the sweetest singing voice. Life begun in a convent, lost when the convent is fired, and retrieved for a life on the road as a minstrel with Bard Owain Phyfe. My only peeve was Allyn’s constant use of the phrase Country of the Blind.

Lillian Stewart Carl’s Cold as Fire finds Geoffrey caught between a rock and a hard place when a sheriff arrests one of Thomas Becket’s priests for the murder of Johanna Frelonde of Estursete and he has to inform the archbishop. The evidence is against Father Baldwin, but circumstance and gossip require further digging.

Gillian Linscott’s A Horse for My Kingdom is another case of greed for power and wealth when a plot is hatched to prevent peace before the battle at Mortimer’s Cross. And a gift makes the future bright for a man.

Margaret Frazer’s Simple Logic of It All is both bitter and funny as Frazer exposes us to the machinations of court with the verbose use of logic destroying a plot to make the Duke of York appear treasonous.

Clayton Emery’s Plucking a Mandrake drops us into a difficult time in Robin Hood and Marian’s life when they are consulting a healer about their difficulty in conceiving a child. From bystanders to active participants, they expose the corruption in a small village caused by its mad priest.

Edward Marston’s A Gift from God is an underhanded plot to satisfy a spoiled brat of a man who thinks he can take what he likes only to come up against a couple who consider each other A Gift from God.

Tony Geraghty’s Queen’s Chastity is an odd and confusing one. It tells of a bit of gossip about Queen Eleanor and a supposed infidelity interspersed with a modern email correspondence between rival theorists. I didn’t really see the point of it.

Kathy Lynn Emerson’s Reiving of Bonville Keep was a nice treat after the previous story and read more like a romance as Sir Gavin Dunnett rescues his young daughter and a young maiden from certain death at the hands of a conniving slut.

Michael Jecks’ For the Love of Old Bones throws a number of red herrings into the plot before the murder of Abbot Bertrand de Surgères, the former Sir Bertrand de Toulouse, is solved. Admittedly, his errand to Launceston was one of greed as his abbey in France intended to take the saint’s bones away for their own profit.

Brendan DuBois’ Wizard of Lindsay Woods is just plain sad to see how a brother would treat another. It begins and ends with greed when Lord Henry gains ownership of Lindsay Woods but a wizard is preventing his use of it. A wizard who kills from a distance!

There’s a bit of a time-travel feel to this. You’ll appreciate the ending!

Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Improvements truly is an improvement at least for this manor when the widowed Maude takes a firm hand in the treatment of whores. Go Maudie!

Ellis Peters’ A Light on the Road to Woodstock explains Cadfael’s actions just before he enters the monastery when he is returning to England from war in Normandy with Sir Roger Mauduit and agrees to stay on through a court dispute Sir Roger has with the abbey of Shrewsbury.

The Cover
The cover is a deep forest green with a two-inch band of black at the top. The “Medieval” is in a Gothic script with a well-hammered bronze weapon that appears to be the hilt of a sword with one side of the railroad spike-looking crossguard shaped as a dagger’s point curve downward and dripping blood.

The title is accurate enough for all the murders are set in medieval settings.

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Shannon K. Butcher, Finding the Lost

Finding the Lost by Shannon K. Butcher
Series: Sentinel Wars, 2
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Second in the Sentinel Wars paranormal romance series revolving around several races banding together in an uneasy alliance to prevent the Synestryn from taking over the world and breaching the gate.

My Take
OK, you know it’s really bad when you’re hoping the good guys lose. I struggled through this installment almost praying the bad guys would win. ‘Cause the good guys are too stupid for words.

Supposedly the Sanguinar (vampires) have allied with the Sentinels. In reality, they’re biding their time using Sentinel blood to keep themselves alive [which is reasonable] and for their Project Lullaby. A top-secret project the details of which they have shared with the Slayers, “a violent, proud, and deadly race of shapeshifters” who seem to be an enemy of the Sentinels. Neither side trusts the other and treats each other more as an enemy than as a friend. Which isn’t as bad as the Sentinels themselves. Every Sentinel hates the one who finds a woman to bond with. Joseph, their leader, insists that they bind the woman, force her to bond and stay with them.

Supposedly the Sentinels are protecting humans from the Synestryn [demons] because the Synestryn take away all choice. Well, the Sentinels are pretty mad keen to take away any woman’s choice so I’m not quite sure about that particular difference. And it’s all trickle-down stupid right down to the individuals. Ooh, Paul desperately needs Andra to accept him forever so he doesn’t die. But, does he explain anything to her? Why…no, what fun would that be. Instead, let’s spend pages moaning and whining about what will happen when the time she has allotted him is up. God forbid Paul actually inform her of the facts. Just bloody irritating to read. I really am a glutton for punishment as I forced myself to read the whole stupid story.

Gawd, right from the beginning, the Sentinels refuse to actually give out any information. They simply jerk about and order everyone around so Butcher can create tension. They don’t want Andra to give Logan any blood. Do they explain why? Pshaw. Gimme a break. Put some bloody effort into this! Which is really not fair of me to say because Butcher does have a great story. If she just found an editor who could give a shit.

Ya know, the Sentinels are all so in awe of the Sibyl and yet they ignore her orders. What? They haven’t figured out that what she sees happens? That she might have a reason for insisting certain things happen??

I sympathize with Andra wanting to help her sister. I really do. And I just want to smack her hard, oh, eight or 9,000 times. She keeps whining and bitching and jerking about. I’m not surprised her sister is doing so badly. So would I if I had to put up with Andra!

Okay, when Andra and Paul do that soul meld and she sees snippets of Paul’s past, how can she not question why Paul was in such pain when Kate rejected him and removed her necklace? When Andra vows to give him three days and “resentment rose up in his throat”, why didn’t he tell her about the effects of her leaving him? I’m assuming [ass + u + me] Paul is intelligent. Surely he could connect the dots between her continuous child-saving and, oh, I dunno, explaining how they could partner up and he could help her save even more children?? No, instead he whines about “how could she do this to him”? Well, how is she supposed to know??? Moron. How anyone can be expected to make an informed decision with dribs and drabs of information? Oh yeah, and then there’s the whole “I will give you my power and you can save your sister” schtick. What?? Andra thinks you just press a button and voila the secrets of the universe are yours to manipulate with finesse?? I just about wanted a power surge to pour through her and burn her out! In just one easy lesson, understand how to use a new power source with the skill of a neurosurgeon. Then there’s the scene where she practically rapes the poor guy. She taunts, she pushes, she teases. She only wants to take from Paul so she can help her sister so she pushes him beyond his control…and stiffens up. Uses encouraging words like “I can deal with that”. Oh yeah, that’d keep me stiff…not.

I’m not sure, really, just what good the Sentinels are. There is so much going on out there that they haven’t a clue about.

Oh yeah, don’t take a drop or two of Nika’s blood ’cause it’s just too much. So much better to take more time over it and give her a better chance of dying. Then we come to the part where we finally find out why Andra doesn’t want to be with Paul. She thinks she failed her sisters, her mother. The fact that she had no training or concept that such creatures existed is, of course, no excuse.

I do have to remind myself that the female protagonist doesn’t have the background of the story that I as the reader do and it’s not fair to expect her to react as if she had that knowledge. That said, there is a point when an author is just not paying attention. Butcher is jerking these poor slobs around so badly that paragraphs don’t flow smoothly. It’s more as if she wrote the paragraphs, printed ‘em out, cut them apart, and then tossed ‘em up in there. Wherever they landed is where they got spliced in. Okay, gross exaggeration. She took some of the paragraphs away before she spliced ‘em in so the paragraph jumps would be worse.

I hate these people. They’re such cavemen. And not in a good way.

God save me from idotic, stupid, drama queens. —Okay, okay, so I’m being a drama queen myself in this review. Read it. You’ll turn into one, too!

The Story
The story begins with Andra preparing to rescue a six-year-old boy from monsters. It seems that this is all she does anymore. Night after night spent rescuing children from monsters. Only this night will be different as Paul, Logan, and Madoc are hunting for her.

Andra is lucky as she and Sammy escape the next descending group of monsters, but the boys lose her in the escape only to have Andra walk into her apartment and find Paul sitting on her couch. Some fast-talking keeps the boys in her apartment until Andra gets a call from the hospital. Her sister is fading fast and Andra tears out. Little does Andra know how lucky she is because Paul, Logan, and Madoc can all help her little sister. They can’t cure her, but they can help prolong her life a bit longer. Get her to safety and away from the monsters who are chasing her.

But it’s only Madoc who is able to get Nika to eat, to sleep. Andra is praying that being at the Sentinel fortress there will be all sorts of help available for her sister. God forbid that she actually lets anyone help though. Even though Nika is dying, it’s so much more important for everyone to fight to prevent Tynan from getting a sample of Andra or Nika’s blood so he can figure out how to help her. Hey, at least everyone is consistent in being a major pain.

The Characters
Sentinels are made up of different groups of secret warriors fighting the demons. This story features the Theronai, a group dying out because they can no longer conceive children. Only recently have they found another woman of their bloodline, Helen who has bonded with Drake Asher. Armed with the possibility of others out there like her, the Theronai warriors are out searching for more in hopes of bonding and staving off their own deaths.

Paul hasn’t much time left. There is only one leaf left on the tree of life tattooed on his chest. When it’s gone, his soul will begin to die and he will lose all sense of right and wrong. Nor will he care.

Andra Madison lost her mother when sgath attacked her home when she was 19. The demons kidnapped her eight-year-old sister Tori and poisoned Nika. A Nika who has had to be hospitalized in a psychiatric facility ever since. Now, she uses her gift to find lost children.

Madoc is one of the Band of the Barren, a super-secret group of Sentinels who have lost all but one of their leaves and even that one is slowly, slowly falling to the base of their trees of life. Banding together, they have been able to slow that leaf and hold onto what little remains of their morals. Only sex or violence are allowing him to disperse some of the pain—this being a direct descendant of the Solarc is completely pointless. Madoc still hasn’t figured it out that Nika is his mate.

Zach is still desperately searching for Lexi ever since she fled the diner in Burning Alive. Somehow she has managed to camouflage his tracking mark. Other Sentinels include the tech-savvy Nicholas Laith, their leader Joseph Rayd, Morgan Valens, and Iain who also exhibits a compatibility for Andra. Gilda is the Gray Lady, once the only Sentinel female and one with some huge secrets. Butcher keeps whining on about how Gilda doesn’t know if she can be forgiven/be hated for all time for something terrible she’s done. I reckon she did something to sterilize the Theronai. Angus is her husband. The extremely young Sibyl sees the future and hates Gilda, her mother. Cain is Sibyl’s Theronia bodyguard.

Logan is a Sanguinar demon while Tynan is their leader. Logan makes a good point. The Theronai do look down on the Sanguinar because they need blood to live. He compares it to resenting the disabled because they can’t operate like a non-handicapped person. What I don’t understand is with the human population as it is, why isn’t there enough “food” to go around?? Conal is a Sanguinar guard who exhibits some disturbing signs.

Grace Norman is a Gerai working in the fortress and she’s in love with Torr, a paralyzed Theronai. There is an assumption that she’s been abused by a man. Sammy McMullins is the six-year-old boy of much interest to the Synestryn.

Synestryn are a group name for the monsters, demons, beasties that go bump in the night. Their purpose in life is to conquer the world “using humans as food while they battle their way into another world called Athanasia”. Dorjan are humans enthralled to do anything for the Synestryn. Zillah, a Synestryn lord working with Maura, another daughter of Gilda and Angus who went really bad. They’re doing something to reshape the children for their particular ends.

Solarc is a tyrant king of Athanasia who shut the gate between his world and ours. Anyone he catches breaking his rules, he massacres. Prince Eron is his son; he desperately misses the mother of his children. But Celine is dead now. Only his daughters, Andra, Nika, and Tori remain. He hopes. He still hasn’t recovered from his trip a year ago when he was too late to save Celine although he was able to remove the poison from Nika. Prince Lucien is his older brother and has promised to look for them. There is some kind of plot amongst them to go back. Aurora is a servant involved in their plans.

The Cover
The cover has a royal blue background with the bare, writhing branches of trees emphasizing the bare branches of Paul’s tattooed tree of life on the left side of his naked chest. He does have some impressive muscles. Too bad his brain is just one big muscle as well. Paul is standing full frontal with his hands gripping the hilt of his sword, tip down to the earth.

The title is Andra’s power. She has a skill for Finding the Lost. –Also known as Jerk, Jerk, Jerk My Chain…jeezus…

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J.R. Ward (writing as Jessica Bird), His Comfort and Joy

His Comfort and Joy by Jessica Bird
Series: Moorehouse Legacy, 2
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Second in the Moorehouse Legacy romance series and number 1732 in the Silhouette Special. The series revolves around the Moorehouse family. What remains of it. The couple focus here is on Joy Moorehouse and Grayson Bennett.

Alternative titles include Player and From the First.

My Take
Oh, this was so sweet. The whole Cinderella story except this “prince” helps his “Cinderella” to a fashion career. Gray’s smoldering makes Joy think he’s angry and her pride causes her to pull back which only intrigues Gray more.

I think that Cass knew Gray was attracted to Joy that night at the dance at the town square and used Joy’s creative work to ensure Joy and Gray met again and again. Even Tom notices. Ward continues to drag the do-me, don’t-me out throughout the story, but in a good way that creates a modicum of tension in which you can’t wait to read how she will resolve Gray’s issues and Joy’s naiveté. And, oh man, his issues are something else. For such a player, he’s pretty clueless…and addicted. It’s a bit of a lesson in tolerance and acceptance with an interesting balance of pride and desire on Joy’s part. She made me a bit nuts with it—I’m thinking I probably have too much pride.

I feel as though Ward kinda missed her depiction of Belinda. It lacked a depth on her part. Well, maybe it is within her character…it’s just that Ward could have gone a bit deeper on her weaknesses.

Arghh, Ward keeps teasing us with not telling what happened in that yachting accident! Although Alex does finally confess to Joy. Even as Becks finally confesses to Gray.

The Story
Joy Moorehouse has dreamed about Grayson Bennett for years now. A man whom she sees briefly in passing a few times a year. It’s taken all this time for her to realize how stupid this is, a realization enforced when she sees Gray with Cass. Life is passing her by and Joy needs to stop living in her dream world.

Yet, it’s this decision that brings her to both Gray and Cass’ attention. That bikini Gray saw her in earlier has brought it home to him just how grown up Joy is. Then the wedding dress she’s designed for Frankie results in Cass seeing other fashion designs Joy has created. And the opportunity for a more practical application of her talents as well as an opportunity for Gray to see more of Joy. And the more he sees, the more he wants. Even if she isn’t what he thought.

It’s their upbringings that create the problems however. Gray sees Joy within the framework of what his mother has taught him to expect and his adult life has simply reinforced those lessons. Joy has always known the comfort and support of her family and has no reference for Gray’s actions. Only her love that she pours forth with little reserve. And Gray sees with his childhood’s blinkers.

The Characters
Joy Moorehouse is paying her sister back for all the support and care Frankie has given her since their parents died. She is the primary caregiver for their great-aunt which included the care, maintenance, and redesign of the designer classics of Emma “Grand-Em” Moorehouse‘s youth.

Grayson Bennett is a political consultant with the president’s ear. He knows where all the bodies are buried. Walter Bennett, his father, was a federal judge until his stroke. Belinda Bennett is his slut of a mother—absolutely no one is/was off-limits to her appetites.

Frankie Moorehouse is excited about her upcoming wedding to Nathan Walker, the chef extraordinaire who turned everything around for her. Everything (see Rebel). Spike is Nathan’s partner and complements him very well in the kitchen. Tom Reynolds is their new line cook and interested in Joy. Alex Moorehouse has pursued anything to do with sailing and races. Until that last race when Reese died and Alex almost did.

Cassandra Cutler is a recent widow. Her husband Reese was killed in the boating accident which Alex Moorehouse survived.

Allison and Senator Roger Adams are Gray and Cass’ friends. John “Becks” Beckin is an old schoolfriend of Gray’s and the U.S. Senate Majority Leader. His wife Mary is dead. And he is concerned about leaks and a fellow politician’s affair with Anna Shaw, a journalist. Sean “SOB” O’Banyon is a financier and friend of Gray’s; from the way in which Ward writes of this character, I suspect one of the books will find his love.

The Cover
The cover is edged along the spine in a vibrant royal blue with a blow-up of Gray and Joy staring into each other’s eyes with love while below is the White Caps with a white stretch limo coming toward us.

The title is all about Gray and His Comfort and Joy as he accepts his love for her.

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Serita Stevens, Unholy Orders

Unholy Orders by Serita Stevens
My rating: 6 of 5 stars
Award: Agatha Award nominee

A peek inside an assortment of religions through eighteen religious mysteries from historical to contemporary, Native American to the big three of the religious world. All well-written stories.

Note: All the authors have donated their royalties to Hugs and Hopes for Romania, a privately-funded charity that supports private foster homes to ensure that abandoned Romanian babies have human touch during the months it takes before they can be adopted. Their aim is to “take kids out of the institution and provide a family atmosphere…”

Series: Reverend Collins’ Visit (William Monk, x.5)
            Volo te habere…
                  (Dame Frevisse??, an early intro to Joliffe?? It is set in 1404.)
            Amish Butter (Caroline Canfield, x.5)
            Dunne Deal (Father Dowling, x.5)

The Stories
Anne Perry’s Reverend Collins’ Visit was an echo of Agatha Christie as Henry Rathbone observed the passage of society outside his sickroom window putting two and two (and two) together to solve the truth about the Reverend Collins’ thefts.

Rochelle Krich’s Widow’s Peak is so sad with its look at the upheaval caused by the Holocaust when wives could not find their husbands nor husbands their wives. In this case, Rose finds her Yossel much too late.

Nancy Pickard’s Speak No Evil finds Joseph Owen tracking a serial killer by stalking a young woman two years into a five-year vow of silence. She witnessed the murder, but refuses to speak of it.

This is disturbing on two levels. The one in which the witness, Sara, refuses to speak the words that could save another woman’s life; the second in which FBI agent Joseph Owen is so overwrought at the young woman’s attempted suicide that he believes he too is a serial killer through his pursuit of serial killers. I can understand why he has this crisis…but I sure don’t agree with it! Really well written.

Margaret Frazer’s Volo te habere… is a dip into Bishop Beaufort’s early years and a simple case of murder and legitimacy in 1404 when Beaufort has Richard Medford investigate the murder of a young, emotional woman who claims Stephen Hameden is her husband.

An interesting look at the necessary precision of words and the ease of marrying in the early 1400s.

Dianne Day’s Labyrinthine Way is a little bit magic and a little bit justice as a woman priest uses hypnosis to snare an evil man within a labyrinth. Rather mysterious.

G. Miki Hayden’s Shaman’s Song was a funny look, well, except for the murder bit, at how Coyote Man manages to pull together the money he needed for the dowry for Yellow Flower Girl. Indian Agent Dennis Riordan believes in his power of finding.

Takes a look at the Dine perspective on death.

Thomas Kreitzberg’s Charity of a Saint was a bit convoluted with reporter Marvin Quinn investigating a St. Alice miracle in which she sends a dream to a farmer, Henry Lance, and he discovers buried Elizabethan treasure. The catch? Vicar Donald Rorty is very unhappy about the publicity St. Alice is receiving.

Rhys Bowen’s Seal of the Confessional was lovely in its justice with a future protection. I know it’s [technically] wrong to approve of Father Costello’s tea party, but it was the right thing to do.

John Lutz’s Dilemma is a crisis in faith when Police Corporal Alana Martinez needs to choose between the greater good and the law.

Joyce Christmas’ Chosen is a Lourdes-type miracle in which a young Catholic girl receives a vision for which she is castigated for lying, but it does result in the apprehension of a murderer.

George Chesbro’s Model Town is rather apocalyptic in that Brendan Furie’s interviews of a number of townspeople into the miracle of the weeping statues, miracle cures, and horrible economy of a shut-down mining town leads to his conclusion that this is a Model Town relating to his employers forecast of a world collapse due to fear. The statistics Furie collects his employers hope will pinpoint a way around it. If it can save individuals along the way…it’s all to the good.

Jacqueline Fiedler’s Amish Butter is full of misconceptions when Caroline picks up an Amish hitchhiker on a dark and stormy night with some odd, moving luggage.

Kate Charles’ That Old Eternal Triangle has a real twist at the end! Cressida has come to hate her dull, boring husband. Hugh is a good man but there is nothing left in their married life for Cressida. When Father Jonathan arrived in the parish, he came to spend more and more time with Cressida and Hugh. When Jonathan admitted to his wrongful desires, it set Hugh’s fate.

Terence Faherty’s God’s Instrument is a roundabout way for a man to find God and yearn for a life that makes a difference through the tragedy of a train explosion which kills a number of people.

Mary Monica Pulver’s Father Hugh and the Kettle of St. Frideswide uses psychology and the help of a saint to catch a medieval chicken thief.

Ralph McInerny’s Dunne Deal is a confusion in stolen goods dropped in the poor box.

Carolyn Wheat’s Remembered Zion is…I can’t think of words strong enough or sad enough. God. A woman who remembers Kristallnacht. Who remembers the Germans taking away her friend Esma. Being told she should hate her. Now, it’s starting again. Her own son is a part of it. She cannot be a part of this. She must take a stand. And she does. For a very short time as she sees the hate in her son’s eyes.

This is a jewel. Be prepared to cry. And remember.

Serita Stevens’ In a Jewish Vein is of a trip a trio of Jewish women make to Romania to adopt a baby. Only to run into unexpected help and an even more unexpected spouse.

The Cover
The cover looks like an Ansel Adams’ photograph with its subject matter, the black-and-white, and the lighting/lightning that hits that old dead tree in which the snake is entwined. The bottom edge is a background of leafy trees.

The title reflects the subject matter of “mystery stories with a religious twist”, Unholy Orders.

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Cheyenne McCray, Second Betrayal

The Second Betrayal by Cheyenne McCray
Series: Lexi Steele, 2
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Second in the Lexi Steele, erotic romance suspense series revolving around Special Agents Lexi Steele and Nick Donovan.

My Take
All the fairy tale code names are pretty funny…and surprisingly appropriate. It’s a good story and does address a very real problem in the real world.

Hmmm, this time around, RED has set Lexi and Chandra up in an undercover apartment. We learn a bit more about Donovan’s family and military background. Jeez. But I don’t know why Lexi has to be so damned pushy about insisting Nick cough it all up.

Whoa. McCray has got one nasty imagination. The stuff she comes up with that Bachmann does to people…!??! I thought the sex slave operation was bad… I can see how Bachmann got away with things for so long as he is extremely careful in hiding his identity.

I can sorta see why McCray hasn’t written anymore…it was difficult reading all the horrible things people do to others.

The Story
Lexi is going in undercover as a replacement madame at the Elite Gentlemen’s Club—after they arrange a kidnapping of the current madame. Chandra will be her backup, but Nick has his concerns. Not the least of which, he thinks he’s falling in love. Not such great timing as Lexi has her own personal family trauma distracting her.

Hagstedt uses the promise of high-paying careers in the United States to lure or kidnap women into his clutches. Once they arrive, the girls are imprisoned, drugged, beaten until they are no longer useful. They are kept in line with threats of torture and death to the families and friends they’ve left behind. Each girl has a “handler”, their own personal jailer who can do anything they like to the girls.

Jenika has managed to get critical information to RED, but it’s made her cocky. Being caught isn’t doing much for her life expectancy.

It doesn’t take much to arrange for Lexi and Chandra to go undercover at the club as Alexis Johansen and Chandra Elliot. A lot less than it takes for Nick to arrange for his own undercover position in their security—what a screw-up!

Then they get a break when “Alexis” is needed to escort three virgins to a special client, but it all goes wrong when news hits of Mike and Jorge’s deaths. Mr. G’s sudden paranoia takes Chandra by surprise, but “Alexis” forges on ahead determined not to lose their quarry.

And Dasha has given up all hope.

The Characters
Special Agent Alexi “Lexi” Steele, a.k.a., Alexi McGrath—her seedier undercover ID, and a.k.a., Alexi Adams for the elite, had been a sniper in Special Forces and then an FAS-blackmailed assassin. Now she’s an agent for RED thanks to Karen. She comes from a large Boston-Irish family who thinks she travels for an interpreting organization. There’s Mammy; Daddy; Zane, who also works for RED, has just gotten married to Willow who has her doctorate in education; Troy; Sean is the baby; Evan; Ryan on leave from the Marines; and, Rori who never eats. Gary was her boyfriend until she caught him. Georgina is her best friend and helps Lexi with her makeup and fashions.

Special Agent Nick Donovan is an absolute hottie and former Special Ops. Even better, Donovan loves to cook! My kinda guy!

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Karen Oxford runs the Recovery Enforcement Division (RED), a completely dark organization split off from the National Security Agency. Technically, Special Agent in Charge Morris Carter should be running things, but he’s too busy playing computer games until he retires. Agent Chandra Kerrison is new to the unit with a Stephen Hawking IQ. She has a unique background that makes her perfect for this assignment; her personal partner is Francesca and she seems to have issues with Chandra’s career path. Lexi’s lead agents on her particular team are David Takamoto, the metrosexual George Perry, Rick Smithe, Fairbanks, Weiss, and Marti Jensen. Martinez is their props guy—he can create anything.

Jenika Rublev is their undercover mole at the Elite Gentlemen’s Club. Dasha (a.k.a., Jewell) endures Eddie as her vicious handler, Klara, and Vera are the Russian girls who were enticed with false promises. The Chinese girls are Ai, Daiju, and Ning with Jianjuin as their guard and translator; they are the second group of abductees.

Karl Bachmann, a.k.a., Anders Hagstedt, is the kingpin RED is after. –I can’t wait to see this one taken down; his Swiss butler should think of turning him in! Beeff “Mr. G” Giger runs the Elite, the main headquarters for the sex slave operation. An extremely brutal man. Madame Cherie is the current madame at the club. Andreas is an accountant. Jacques and Stadler work for Mr. G.

The Cover
The cover is shades of red and gold with a close-up of a couple about to kiss.

I’m guessing the title refers to the head of the sex slave business losing for a second time.

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Alyssa Day, Atlantis Redeemed

Atlantis Redeemed by Alyssa Day
Series: Warriors of Poseidon, 5
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Fifth in the Warriors of Poseidon paranormal romance series revolving around Atlantean warriors making up a special guard which protects the crown prince of Atlantis, the Seven. The couple focus is on Brennan and Tiernan Butler out in Yellowstone Park.

My Take
This started so well but somewhat into it, I started hoping that someone would take out Brennan and Tiernan if only for Darwinian purposes.

It was useful to finally discover what was behind the curse laid on Brennan back in 202 BC and Tiernan made some very good points. I am curious if Tiernan educates Brennan on popular culture. There were so many references she made that he didn’t understand. I loved the comment she made about him being “a two-year-old who needs juice and a nap”!

Duh. They initiate all these plans, but fail to consider that plans change. And the manner in which they protect needs to change as well. I mean, hullo, they have advance warning as to what they plan to do. They even get a heads-up with that confrontation outside the hotel. Why, oh why wouldn’t they be trailing Brennan and Tiernan?? S T U P I D.

More stupid drama with Tiernan freaking out after the soul meld. What a bitch she is! Stupid drama for the sake of it…naughty and lazy, Day. This whole undercover thing is supposed to be so important and Brennan and Tiernan screw it up royally. I mean ROYALLY. For intelligent people, they were both so incredibly dumb.

Day came up with a pretty horrific bad guy set-up; the scary part is that there probably are people out there doing stuff like this. No, I don’t mean the paranormal aspect of it…eek…unless some bad guy out there believes in it!

I did like that one encouraging bit when Devon, Jones, and Smith are discussing some setbacks…at last!

The Story
A major conference is taking place at Yellowstone Park consisting of scientists and their backers, the International Association of Preternatural Neuroscience (IAPN). Tiernan is the Atlantean undercover contact for it and the question is whether Brennan can maintain his cool around her. Especially after what happened in Boston. Only there’s no choice with four of the Seven off on other missions leaving Alexios, Grace, and Brennan to help Lucas protect his wolves as well as penetrate the conference at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel.

It’s the attack on Tiernan just as she’s arriving that punches Brennan, driving him wild to find her, protect her. Terrify her. It’s an impossible time for both of them: Brennan is suddenly inundated by over 2,000 years of emotion as well as the possessive need to protect while Tiernan just doesn’t know what to do with over 200 pounds of dangerous, muscled warrior. Then there’s Tiernan’s particular Gift. One that has kept her alone amongst people.

For the conference, Brennan is undercover as a billionaire financing the experiments to enable him to live longer while Tiernan is going by Tracy Baum. Aliases that almost fall apart when Wesley discovers them in Tiernan’s room at the hotel. It barely helps that Alexios and Lucas are undercover as security while Grace will be tending bar.

It all seems safe enough with all their protections in place, but they soon learn the vampires have other plans. Plans that “Tracy” and Brennan fall right into.

The Characters
Brennan hasn’t experienced any emotions for over 2,000 years since Poseidon laid a curse on him for dishonoring the Seven when he was 19, causing the death of Corelia and the babe. The only way to break it is for him to meet his mate; the only way to remember her, is for her to die.

Tiernan Butler is a Boston reporter with an eye on a Pulitzer as well as avenging the death of her friend. She’s been chasing this story about brain manipulation by the vamps for a long time and she is this close. Rick Lawrence is her editor at the Boston Herald.

The rest of the Seven include the King’s Vengeance “Ven”, the crown prince’s brother with his mate Erin, the gem singer; Lord Justice, Ven and High Prince Conlan‘s half-brother, and his mate, Dr. Keely McDermott; Alexios with his part goddess-huntress Grace; the ever cheeky Christophe; Denal; and, the infrequent Bastien with his park ranger-kitty Kat. Alaric is the High Priest and absorbing some very welcome news he is finally believing that Keely unearthed. Now if only his potential mate would buy into it. Riley Dawson is Conlan’s mate and they have a baby boy, Prince Aidan.

Rhys na Garanwyn, High Prince of the High House of the Seelie Court, shows up for Lucas’ sons’ christening. Lucas is the alpha for the Yellowstone wolf pack; his mate Honey gave birth to twin sons, Lucas Alexios and Nathan Brennan. Litton’s experiments are affecting his wolves, driving them mad. Quinn and Jack have a cameo.

Devon is the vampire heading up the group backing the scientists in their experiments. Dierdre appears to be his vampire mate. Smith and Jones are powerful, monied vampires in their own right with Jones quite envious of Devon. The obsequious Mr. Wesley is Dr. Litton’s assistant. Dr. Litton is the head of this experimental group with a callous, Nazi-like disregard for life whatever its form. Smitty is one of the guards, a very intelligent guard which poses the greatest threat. Daniel makes a late appearance.

The Cover
The cover is mostly royal blue with a bit of green besides the lovely flesh tones delineating Brennan’s naked, muscled back where his trident tattoo gleams on his right shoulder blade. Brennan is wearing new blue jeans and carrying a very short trident against a shipwreck’d background, bubbles beginning to rise from the bottom.

I haven’t a clue as to what the title refers, but that’s consistent with the rest of the series.

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Betsy Byars, Summer of the Swans, 2/19 5

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Award: Newberry

My Take
Puberty is hitting Sara hard and Byars is absolutely brilliant in her depiction of the angst and drama of a young teen with the frustrations about her father and her impatience with her little brother—this rings so true of sibling relationships! Her intense sense of right and wrong as well as her desire to protect along with that so-very-thin skin.

It’s the mid-1960s and, in just a few pages, Byars gives us a quick peek into a few days of the Godfrey family’s life with the focus primarily on Sara and then Charlie providing us with a lifetime of information and still leaving us wanting to know more.

I want to know why Aunt Willie is helping the family like this? What is her past? Why does their dad work out of town? What was the illness? What will happen with Charlie? How does their dad feel about them all? What is his perspective? How does Sara fare at the party?

The Story
This summer is just awful. Nothing is going right. Sara knows it’s the same as last summer…it’s just…something is different this year.

The kicker in this story is when Aunt Willy forces Sara to take her brother along to see the swans for it causes an awakening in Charlie in the night. A need to see the swans again. And Charlie disappears.

That next morning is frantic as the family panics with Sara rushing out to search. A search aided by her enemy where she learns the truth.

The Characters
Sara Godfrey is 14 in this summer and she’s bored, angry, and obsessed with how horrible she looks…especially her h-u-g-e feet. Mary Weicek is her best friend…she has must be, as endlessly patient as they are with each other’s quirks!

Wanda is her older sister. Charlie is their 10-year-old mentally challenged brother, damaged by a traumatic illness when he was very young. Aunt Willy lives with the three children while their father Samuel works out-of-town during the week.

Frank is Wanda’s boyfriend and arrives to take Wanda down to the lake to see the swans. On his motor scooter!! Joe Melby is a boy in her class. A boy whom Sara despises for what he has done.

The Cover
The cover seems to be a cream net on top of a cream background with a 1960ish, soft Peter Max quality to the ethereal purple and blue swan skimming across the cover around and through the sketched and patchy watercolor of Charlie and Sara who appear to be sitting in mid-air. The green wake as it splits at the swan’s breast is repeated in Charlie’s trousers with the purples and blue repeated in Sara’s pants. Charlie’s horizontally-striped T-shirt is in creams, a lavender purple and a deep purple-violet. Sara’s tennis shoes are the bright orange that had cheered her so.

The title reflects The Summer of the Swans that has enthralled Charlie and left Sara so restless.

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Alyssa Day, Atlantis Unmasked

Atlantis Unmasked by Alyssa Day
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fourth in the Warriors of Poseidon paranormal romance series about the Seven, warriors who form a protective guard for the crown prince of Atlantis. The couple focus in on Alexios and Grace Havilland at Fort Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida.

The jewel focus is the Vampire’s Bane.

My Take
The series plot line [that hasn't much tension] is the need to recover all the gems that belong in Poseidon’s Trident. Without those gems, when Atlantis rises up from the ocean floor, it will be destroyed.

The story was enjoyable but getting to be a bit same ‘ol, same ‘ol. This one felt more like Day had to get this particular warrior tidied up and off the waiting list with lots of dipping into everyone else’s life. Which is weird as I normally love getting the “news from home” about the series characters. Perfunctory is the word that comes to mind.

I think Day missed an opportunity to make this story interesting by not taking the tension of the elves wanting an alliance deeper. It was just words. The whole story is a disjointed series of events…it’s more of a bridge novel with bits and pieces happening that are related only in that it reflects on the overall conflict. Even the events at the fort are just chunks: the shifter attack simply confirms what they already know; the meeting with the elves doesn’t go anywhere; I don’t understand the purpose of Rhys kidnapping Grace and Alexios; and, the whole party scene was just too easy with no visible resolution for Rhys. Although, the scene where Ethan’s alpha projection affects Grace was pretty funny—Alexios was pretty He. Ro. Ic being a good boy!

One of the things that’s been bothering me in this series is why would the United States government OR its people accept a vampire senate as a third house? It sounds as though the government is catering to the vampires as though they were gods or royalty or something. Why?

The Story
It’s a double ambush for Alexios in St. Louis. First when the shifters try to take them out on the way to the hospital. Second when he realizes how attracted he is to Grace. It’s too much for our hundreds-of-years-old indomitable warrior and he flees back to Atlantis.

When Rhys na Garanwyn makes an offer to the Atlanteans through Grace, it causes almost as much of a problem as the changed enthrallment the vamps seem to be using on humans and shifters. Then Ven assigns Alexios to the rebel training camp in Florida. To Grace. It’s all downhill from there as Alexios falls deeper and deeper in love. Alexios is resisting for fear of dishonoring his vow while Grace can’t believe someone as incredible as Alexios could possibly want her. [I rather wish authors could come up with a better excuse for the denial.]

It’s in the news, shifters are attacking and killing people all over the country. In Florida, they are targeting drug dealers and crooks so people are ignoring it. Then one pack of shifters attacks the fort. Dealing with the aftermath simply applies more pressure for the upcoming meeting with the fae nor do they have any idea yet about the Vampire’s Bane.

The Characters
Grace Havilland has been fighting with the rebel forces since the day the vampires came out. The night a vampire killed her brother Robbie. The night she gave up her contention for the Olympic swimming team. She found the great-grandmother she’d never met who passed on the family legacy as a hunter for Diana, goddess of the moon. Now her only connection to her childhood is Michelle and Aunt Bonnie. Michelle Nichols is Grace’s friend and also part of the rebellion. Spike is on Grace’s team.

Alexios is one of the Seven and has done well in getting past most of the horrors he experienced as a prisoner of Anubisa. He’s desperately trying to ignore his attraction to Grace to avoid dishonoring the vow of celibacy he made. At a covert meeting to discuss the enthrallment issue, Lucas asks Alexios to be second pack-father to his sons.

The other six include Bastien who will marry Kat, a park ranger and panther shifter; Lord Justice, half-Atlantean, half-Nereid, and his Keely, an archeologist (their adopted daughter Eleni is mentioned, see Atlantis Unleashed); the King’s Vengeance “Ven” and his Erin, the gem singer; the unemotional Brennan; the irrepressibly cheeky Christophe; and, the youngest and most emotional, Denal. Bastien’s sister Marie, First Maiden of the Nereids, also gets a few mentions.

Prince Conlan is anxiously awaiting the birth of his child with Riley Dawson. High Priest Alaric has great power and I think he’s starting to crack up over his avoidance of Riley’s sister, Quinn, the rebel leader. Jack Shepherd is also a rebel, a tiger shifter, and interested in Quinn.

Rhys na Garanwyn, High Prince of the High House of the Seelie Court wants an alliance with the Atlanteans. He seems to be attracted to Grace although his flirtation could simply be to mess with Alexios. Some of the elves are starting to worry about the shifters and vampires. His brother Kal’andel is not one of them.

Lucas is the alpha for a pack of wolf shifters based around Yellowstone Park. Honey is his mate and about to give birth to sons. Ethan is the alpha for the panthers in Florida; Marie is his mate (see, Shifter: Shifter’s Lady).

At Fort Castillo de San Marcos:
Sam was a colonel in Special Forces before the vampires took over the military. Now he’s Grace’s second-in-command. Tiny is a friend of Sam’s who helps with clean-up.

Vonos is the current lord high vampire of the Primus, the leader of the Vampire Senate. Anubisa is the vampire goddess of Chaos with a major hate for all things Atlantean. Prevachek is Vonos’ assistant in Daytona Beach and too much of a suck-up.

The Cover
The cover is blues and red-purples in an obvious undersea setting with a Hellenic facade in the background. Alexios is poised for combat with his trident wearing blue jeans with his nude, very red, upper torso [my guess is that the red is a flashback to his imprisonment with Anubisa]. His Warrior tattoo is on his left upper bicep.

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