In the days of old, one knight fought to save the maiden he loved – a battle that ended in a bloody promise for the future.
In the days of the 21st Century, Izz doesn’t believe in prophecies. A recent widow, she struggles to find the passion that once fueled her life – a passion that is reignited the day a knight in disguise cuts into her life in a flash of swordplay and seductive grins.
Izz doesn’t want to love him. The guilt of moving on nearly crushes her, yet she finds herself unable to resist the touch, the feel, the scent of the man who leaves her breathless with just one look. But each day Izz finds herself drawn to Cade, the more danger she finds herself in, for someone believes Izz to be at the center of an ages-old prophecy – and will do anything to stop it.
When threatening messages turn even more dangerous, Izz must rediscover a part of herself she’s never known before and fight to save her knight in shining armor. With only a sword passed down throughout the generations to guide her, Izz must prove to her adversary that unlike maidens of old, she will never be a damsel in distress.
Kristina Circelli's first contemp romance with a slight touch of fantasy, for readers 18+
RATING: 4 stars
REVIEW: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In the very beginning of the book, we are introduced to Izz, a very recent young widow who is struggling to overcome her fear of the ocean to honor her husband's wishes and release his ashes into the ocean. During the book, we are given the reason for the paralyzing fear, but what sounds like a past life memory, is never truly explained.Given the story line, perhaps it could be a past life memory.
I loved Izz, her struggles with guilt and grief after her husband's death are so consuming, it truly colors every moment of her life, as grief so often does when it involves someone very close and dear to us. I enjoyed how her life ended up mirroring the books she wrote, and I enjoyed how she fought her growing feelings for Cade. Cade is something else.While I did enjoy his character, it felt sometimes that perhaps he was pushing Izz a little too hard and not respecting the grief she felt for her husband's death. On the other hand, if this was drawn out anymore so that he could respect her grieving period, it would be a very long and arduous book indeed.
The action went just fast enough, and picked up a story line that was starting to lag a little and get a little repetitive. The final showdown was enough of a twist that it hooked my interest once more. I definitely didn't expect the way the sword and jewel worked together, and that was a wonderful way to end a fight that had such equal foes.
Overall, this was a good start to going into contemporary romance. There were some rough patches with lagging story line, but the quality of writing was exactly what I expected out of one of my favorite authors this year.
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Meet the author:
Night owl, Dorito lover, and quiet eccentric - Kristina Circelli is the author of several fiction novels, including The Helping Hands series, The Whisper Legacy, The Never, and The Sour Orange Derby.
Her latest series, The Whisper Legacy, features Beyond the Western Sun. This book is what all fantasy adventures must strive to be: a complex, intricate examination of human emotion set within the context of worlds known only in our imagination. Melding fantasy and legend in an epic quest, this series signals the arrival of Kristina Circelli as a master storyteller and an important voice in Native American literature.
A descendent of the Cherokee nation and niece of a Cherokee elder, Circelli holds both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from the University of North Florida, where she teaches creative writing. She also heads Red Road Editing, a full-service editing company for independent authors and commercial clients.
She currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband, Seth, and cats, Lord Finnegin the Fierce and Mr. Malachi the Mighty.
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