DARK RIVAL

Author: Brenda Joyce ISBN: 037377219X 10/2007 PARANORMAL/TIME TRAVEL Publisher: HQN

Highland warriors sworn to protect Innocence through the ages. A golden man, he is called Black Royce—a battle hardened soldier of the gods. His vows are his life—until he is sent to New York City to protect a Healer from those who would use her powers for themselves. The moment Royce sees beautiful, feisty Allie Monroe, he knows she will be his only weakness-and he is right. Destiny is a dangerous thing. Allie Monroe is more than an heiress. She is a Healer, willing to do anything to save victims of the evil that lurks in the city at night. But alone, she can do only so much—until destiny sends her the darkest Highlander of them all. Then evil strikes and Royce is destroyed before Allie's eyes. Now Allie will do anything to save Royce—even if it means going back in time to a dark, dangerous world to be with him. And confronting their enemies could cost not only their lives, but also their love—for all eternity.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Somewhere, in between the confusing time-travel and even more obscure and confusing conversations between the hero and heroine, is a decent story. I just had such a hard time understanding just what the heck was going on in said story, that I couldn't appreciate it when I found it. If I found it? Confused yet? Me, too.

If I have to read, then re-read the same few pages, paragraphs, etc., in order to figure out just what happened in a book, I think that is too much work. The same can be said when I have been introduced to characters that are incoherent and inconsistent. It doesn't matter if I think the hero is super sexy (Wowza! I do!) or even if the premise is intriguing. If the writing is not there for me, the whole book is not. Unfortunately, DARK RIVAL is that type of book.

DARK RIVAL is full of question marks and exclamation points where the heroine is talking to herself while talking to other people. It is like a two year-old shouting match where you have no idea what the kids are saying. It's babble, for lack of a better term. (For example: "What is going on?", "Why aren't you looking at me?", "What kind of greeting is this?" and "Why wasn't he looking at her?", "Why was he standing as if a stick was up his a**?", "What was wrong?! Had something terrible happened?") You get the gist. I simply cannot handle that type of dialogue.

If you are fond of Joyce's writing style and want to take the time to find the diamond in the rough, then be my guest. And good luck. For me, what could honestly be a great book needs someone to be honest about the dialogue and muddiness of the scenes, and then revamp it.

Shannon Johnson