IMMORTALS: THE AWAKENING

Author: Joy Nash ISBN: 0505526956 8/2007 PARANORMAL Publisher: DORCHESTER

Created at the dawn of time to protect humanity, the ancient warriors have been nearly forgotten, though magic lives on--in vampires, werewolves, the Celtic Sidhe, and other beings. But now one of their own has turned rogue, and the world is again in desperate need of the IMMORTALS She came to him in a dream: her creamy skin delectably cool, silky raven hair smelling of the sea and ocean-blue eyes reflecting the depths of her passion. She was everything Kalen had been desperate to capture in his art—and in his bed. In reality, when Christine found his remote Scottish castle, it was to persuade the Immortal warrior to help repel the darkness spreading around the world. But Kalen had a vindictive Sidhe trying to steal his powers and a dark secret of his own to battle before he and Christine could give in to...THE AWAKENING

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Joy Nash's IMMORTALS: THE AWAKENING is very compelling and sexually charged. The heroine, Christine Lachlan, an American artist living in Rome, is also a water witch. Her magic in completely intertwined with her sexuality. She can't escape sex as she uses spells to try to track down the Immortal, Kalen. The Coven of Light has entrusted Christine with the mission of finding him. She doesn't expect to fall into bed with him, or to anger his half-Sidhe lover in the process. Kalen is also an artist, and happily drops his first lover for Christine when he discovers she is a better artist's muse than the half-Sidhe.

Gradually, the book fell apart for me, at least as a romance. This paranormal sub-genre has a particular problem in that the heroes are often so powerful, that the heroine never has a choice once the hero chooses her. No instant claim that the hero or heroine—or both—have fallen "in love" can really fix the problem and make a reader believe in the love. Kalen, even though successfully hampered in power some ways, still outmatches any fight a human woman could offer.

My sense is that artist characters have been overdone too, since some of those "profession" scenes feel clichéd even in the hands of a good writer like Joy Nash. Having offered my complaints, I will say that the story moves well, with lots of complex, interesting characters, and the book builds strong momentum toward the final book in the series, THE GATHERING.

My problem is more with the sub-genre than with Joy Nash's vivid writing.

Heather Hiestand