REVIEW:
|
4.0 out of 5 stars
February 24, 2013
By
|
I have enjoyed this series.
Strong alpha highlanders....what more could a girl want. The heroin is strong
but sometimes just doesn't think....but that makes for the drama. Off to the
third book.
Excerpt: Highland Magic
Scotland, Summer 1513:
For a moment the man's gaze
met hers, bored into her heart, questioned. Blood curdling war cries rode the
wings of death through the timeless night. Claymores clashed. Dark eyes the
color of midnight flashed a challenge. The holy man's opponents hesitated then
lunged once more.
Moonbeams reflected light
from the gold chain he wore around his neck. Brown robes fell from massive
shoulders. Three more enemies appeared from the trees. The priest fell to the
ground, wounded by the broadside of his enemy's weapon. Motionless, he lay on
her flower-strewn meadow, blood staining the grass and wildflowers, marring the
colorful, summer landscape.
Keely Gray woke, heart pounding
a rapid staccato. She pressed against her throbbing temples with sweat-slick
palms, hoping to ease the horrific pain that always accompanied the dreams.
Death--the scent of blood, fear and treachery still hung heavy in the darkened
hut. The prickling sensation radiating from her spine to encompass her body was
too familiar.
She listened and heard
nothing.
A dark void impaled her. The
usual night sounds stilled. She heard no hoot of owl, no chirp of crickets, no
croak of frogs, nor could she hear the mournful sighing of the wind through the
branches of the old oak trees.
Silence emptied her heart as
well as her soul, leaving only an ever-present loneliness.
Keely wanted nothing more
than to cuddle into her bed and pull the covers over her head. Despite the
unspeakable agony deep in the pit of her stomach, she rose from her pallet. Her
limbs trembling, she slipped a shapeless tunic over her head and soft-soled
shoes onto her feet. As she swept past the front door, she grabbed her woolen
cloak.
Light from a full moon
illuminated the path. She could see, but she could also be seen, the moonlight
both a curse and a blessing. Approaching the meadow she'd watched in her
dreams, she slowed her pace and waited. Her fingers wound tightly around the
amber pendant she always wore, her only keepsake from her mother.
The sounds and scents
hovering on the wind would tell her if danger still lurked. Caution guided her.
A vigilance she'd learned long ago held her motionless.
A familiar dragging sound reassured her she
wasn't alone. "Whipple?" she whispered.
A self-appointed guardian
angel appeared as if from nowhere then nodded, though there was a wary cast to
his faded blue eyes. "Aye, lass, I'm here. I heard ye leave your hut. I
would not leave ye alone to face whatever dangerous mission awaited."
Keely waited for Whipple to
close the distance between them before she spoke. "I would argue with you
about your appearance here at this great hour, but I ken it would do no good.
You should not be here. Your heart--"
Whipple spat. "My heart
is fine."
She determinedly stepped
forward, approaching the meadow of her dream, knowing she wouldn't like what
she found.
"Have it your way,
then." Given a choice, Keely wouldn't have come to this meadow. But she
had to know the truth--had she seen the future or something happening at that
very moment?
Whipple didn't reply. On his
clubfoot, he followed her, his trailing leg sliding behind him with a soft
swish. The hard thud of his crooked oak cane followed at a slightly skewed
interval.
Together they crested the
hill. Below her, she saw her dream. A priest lay on the ground, his head
twisted at an odd angle. For a moment her heart stopped. She bit down on her
lower lip while she studied the man.
ALSO BY CHRISTINE YOUNG
BLURB:
A BEAUTY IN BUCKSKINS
When her father decided to
send her to a finishing school back East, Angela Chamberlain refused to be
confined to stuffy drawing rooms. Instead, the daring
spitfire who could shoot like a man and ride like the wind longed for a life of
adventure and romance—and she knew exactly who could give it to her. Devil
Blackmoor was a hired gun with a dangerous reputation. But Angela was willing
to go to the ends of the earth to capture the handsome devil's heart.
A DEVIL IN DISGUISE
He'd come to America looking for
excitement, but Devil Blackmoor got more than he bargained for when he
encountered a beautiful rebel who answered his kisses with a wild innocence
that touched his very soul. Yet standing between them were more obstacles than
either ever dreamed. For Devil had strapped on a gun for the wrong man. And
that made Angela his enemy. Now he'll have to choose between his duty and the
woman he loves more than life.
Rebel Heart is a
well-written futuristic novel of a time that very possibly could come to pass,
when viral plagues have laid the planet waste, and life is lived either in the
sterile confines of domed habitats, or as pariahs in the outside wilderness. The
world-building is excellent, vivid, and true-to-life. The characters will
quickly catch and hold the reader's sympathies. The plot is quick, and takes
time to examine many valid social, economic, class, and political issues as
well. Christine Young delivers
a winner which will capture the interest of futuristic/science fiction fans as
well as the general reader.
Jasmina
Vallombrosa for TCM Reviews writes:
Filled with drama and suspense, this book will draw
you into the mysteries of science fiction. I was pleasantly surprised by Ms.
Young’s storytelling talents as she wove not only a wonderful futuristic
adventure, but also that of a passionate love story. I loved the main
characters as they came to life on the pages. The plot was quite suspenseful
and deliciously entertaining. As a result, I had no choice but to keep flipping
the pages as I raced to the end. Bravo Ms.Young for such an extraordinary book
from cover to cover!
BLURB: Rebel Heart
HER REBEL
SPIRIT DEFIED HIS OUTSIDERS SOUL...
She was velvet and silk, eyes the color of a summer storm. Victoria DeMontville, because of a promise and a codicil to her father's will, was forced to marry one man to protect her from another. She fought Cameron Savage with a fierce passion. But to hold on to her genetic research and find a cure for the deadly Signe virus, she must pretend to love the adversary at her door, who arrived with weapons of fire to melt her icy heart...
She was velvet and silk, eyes the color of a summer storm. Victoria DeMontville, because of a promise and a codicil to her father's will, was forced to marry one man to protect her from another. She fought Cameron Savage with a fierce passion. But to hold on to her genetic research and find a cure for the deadly Signe virus, she must pretend to love the adversary at her door, who arrived with weapons of fire to melt her icy heart...
HIS OUTSIDERS
TOUCH IGNITED RAGING PASSIONS...
He wore a mask, disguised as the Phantom, a true legend come to life. Even as war and debate over new genetic research engulfed them all, he would find his greatest adversary in the beauty who'd branded him an outsider and barbarian, the woman he was born to possess, his soul mate.
He wore a mask, disguised as the Phantom, a true legend come to life. Even as war and debate over new genetic research engulfed them all, he would find his greatest adversary in the beauty who'd branded him an outsider and barbarian, the woman he was born to possess, his soul mate.
