DARK EMBRACE

Author: Brenda Joyce ISBN: 037377334X 9/2008 HISTORICAL PARANORMAL Publisher: HQN
Time Period: Time Travel, medieval Scotland, present day

A Highland warrior sworn to protect Innocence throughout the Ages… Aidan, the Wolf of Awe, has abandoned the Brotherhood and forsaken his vows. Feared by all and trusted by none, he hunts alone, seeking vengeance against the evil that destroyed his son. He has not saved an Innocent in sixty-six years--until he hears Brianna Rose’s scream of terror across centuries, and leaps to modern-day Manhattan to rescue her… Her Seduction... His Salvation. Brie spends her time fighting evil from the safety of her laptop—and fantasizing about the medieval Highlander she met just once. She is also a gifted empath. Still, her life is pretty ordinary—until she awakens one night consumed with Aidan’s pain and rage—which she is feeling across centuries! And when Aidan suddenly appears in the city and takes her hostage, Brie cannot believe how dark and dangerous he has become. She knows she should be afraid, but instead, she will fight across time for his redemption… and his love.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

DARK EMBRACE is part of Brenda Joyce's The Masters of Time series. It is the first of the series that I've read, so I don't wonder if some of my confusion in certain spots comes from not having enough backstory. It is a time travel story, which is one of my favorite genres, so not knowing everything I wanted to know was something I easily overlooked.

In Scotland in the 1400s, Aidan witnesses a murder so horrific it plagues him for eternity. Nothing he can do can change the course of events that led to his son Ian's death—and he's tried. Time and again, Aidan leaps back in time to the moments prior to Ian's murder, but he cannot save the boy. Haunted, Aidan becomes a shell of his former self. That is, until he feels Brie calling him—over the vastness of time. Aidan cannot ignore her call, so he jumps into present-day Manhattan to be with her. Brie hears the sounds of time past, feels a connection to the man she dreams about and when she is immersed in an evil plot, she almost seems to expect it. Her acceptance astounds me but hey, to each his own, I guess.

While I wouldn't personally read this book over and over again, it was entertaining. I sat on my porch one afternoon and read it, and was amused by the sometimes silly points but captivated by some of the romantic ones. And when I was through reading, the thought that stayed with me was that some love enough to brave everything—time, evil, the impossible—to be with the one who claims their heart. And really, isn't that what romance novels are about? Bringing two hearts together to find a happy ending, regardless of the circumstances? So while this book won't stay on my keeper shelf, it gave me a few hours of escape, pleasure and romance that I very much appreciated. Nice job!

Kay James