EBookObsessed
Written on Oct 8, 2018
At the end of Moonshadow (Book 1) Nik and Sophie managed to break through the broken passageway from Earth to the otherland of Lyonesse, the seat of the Dark Fae Court. Oberon, the King, was in a comatose state and they tried to contact Dr. Kathryn Shaw to come to Lyonesse and heal him. Kathryn declined as the was taking care of Pia during her second pregnancy.
The Dark Fae Court has come to New York to approach Dr. Shaw in person. Now that baby Niall has been born, Dragos is willing to let Dr. Shaw go if she wants, and he is more than delighted to bargain on behalf of Dr. Shaw and the Wyr demense for her to go.
Kathryn is up for the medical part of the challenge but she has two bigger concerns ahead of her. Oberon is a both a Wyr and a powerful mage. He put himself into a comatose state to protect himself from the assassination attempt by Morgan la Fae at the command of Isabeau, the Queen of the Light Court, and while he is not fully conscious, there is part of his awareness that is still protecting his body. Oberon is also a powerful weather mage and he is currently freezing the Dark Fae out of their realm.
Dr. Shaw finds that she arrived just in time as the magic is close to reaching Oberon's heart. Yet she can only make any progress with Oberon when she speaks to him. Whenever she stops, his protections begin to fight her and any attempts she makes at healing him. Despite all of her preparations, Kathryn is freezing, she can't eat since everything is frozen solid and Oberon's magic keeps the fires from actually heating anything. She is also growing hoarse from talking so much. She fears whether she will be able to save him before she freezes, starves or looses her ability to speak.
Even unconscious Oberon has a big presence. Once he awakens, you can see why he has earned such loyalty from his people. He and Kathryn have an instant and passionate connection and they are both strong willed people. But the logical doctor analyses everything and this frustrates the man who makes all his decisions with his heart. He wants Kathryn to choose him and Lyonese over her life which she has built over centuries on Earth. More than that, Oberon is used to being an autocratic ruler and Kathryn needs to have a voice in all decisions. Finding a balance between what they both need might be harder on them then trying to rebuild Lyonese after Oberon's destructive storms.
They also thought they would have time to find that balance before facing Isabeau, but when she crosses into Lyonese wih an army, the decisions must be made that might be too much for the fragile trust building between Oberon and Kathryn and impossible for the weakened Dark Fae people.
After finishing, I re-read Moonshadow (Book 1) again and noted some things that I didn't remember since reading it in 2016. Then I re-read Spellbinder, just because I love that one. All of the women in Thea's stories are strong but in this series, they really stand out. Sophie, who won't sit on the sidelines and wait for the menfolk to come to the rescue; Sidonie, a human, kidnapped and tossed into a world of magic but who refuses to leave without first saving the man she loves; and Dr. Kathryn Shaw, a noted surgeon, who won't agree to mate a powerful King and give up her life unless he too is willing to make some concessions as well.
I am looking forward to what Thea brings us in her next series which takes place in a new otherland. I just can't understand why she would name a land "Y". What is that about?
Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
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