OUTSIDERS

Author: Melanie Jackson ISBN: 0505525674 11/2003 PARANORMAL Publisher: DORCHESTER

Cyra Delphin never felt quite right in her skin. As a child, her parents made her hide her gifts...but certain things don't stay buried. What others are afraid to acknowledge--the modern world's seedy underbelly, its Wildside ruled by dark magic and goblins--doesn't simply go away. And when that darkness came to call, Cyra sought sanctuary in the Nevada desert. She found Thomas Marrowbone. He, too, was part of the Wildside. Beneath his tormented shell lurked something powerful and inhuman, but also something primal and erotic. Cyra recognized it, and for love she would follow the enigmatic loner into the depths of Hell. Their true destination--Sin City--held the Queen of the Goblins and an unholy court; and the journey would test both their bodies and hearts...but their quest's success promised salvation and a happiness Crya had never known. Visit Suzanne's website at http://www.melaniejackson.com/

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

It's been a long time since I've read a romance that required my imagination to go beyond historical settings or even just contemp, but I found it easy to do with this book.

Goblins, dragons, elves, selkies and other fantastical creatures we are familiar with from fairytales are in this book, but not the way we're used to. They have evolved naturally and through unnatural means to look like average people to humans.

Cyra Delphin is a selkie and conjurer, but her parents taught her at a young age to deny her heritage to the point she has completely forgotten it. Fate has decided it is time for her to remember and puts Thomas Marrowbone into her path. Thomas has been fighting Goblins for over 100 years and doesn't want to become involved with this intriguing selkie. He has more important things to do -like overthrow yet another Goblin plot - but feels the inevitability of it.

Paranormals aren't my usual choice for romance novels, but there were a lot of things I liked about this book.

The characters: Thomas is quiet and sexy. Cyra is strong-minded and determined. She's learning as she goes along.

The pace: I didn't have to force myself to read it. It moved smoothly and gained momentum like a good sci-fi movie might.

The ending: Loved the ending. Things were happening quickly to the point where I wasn't really sure how it was going to end.

But, mostly, I liked how easy it was to picture it all happening. Let's put it this way: When I closed the book and went to bed, I ended up dreaming about dragons, magic, and being chased by goblins.

Sue Cloud