Book Description
For centuries, Ariel has fought the forces of evil. Her task was to protect the souls of innocent mortals when they die. Captured by a powerful sorceress, she is transformed into a human who has no memory of her real life or calling.
And is plunked into the middle of the Norman invasion of England.
Cursed the moment he was born with a "demonic deformity," Valteri wants nothing of this earth except to depart it and will do his duty to his king until then. When a strange noblewoman is brought before him, Valteri realizes he has met her before…in his dreams. When others come for her, bringing with them preternatural predators, he is faced with a destiny he had no idea was waiting. One he wants no part of.
The truth is that Valteri isn’t just a knight of William the Conqueror. He is the son of one of the deadliest powers in existence, and if he doesn’t restore Ariel to her place, she is not the only one who will be in peril. The world itself hangs in the balance, and he is the necessary key to hold back the powers of evil. But only if he can find a way to work with the woman who stands for everything in the universe he hates.
My Review
This is a Dream Hunter book which is a spin off from the Dark Hunters series. I've been reading both of these series for a long time and I have to say this is the first book of this authors that I didn't love. Not that it will stop me from reading the next books in either series but for the first half of this book, it didn't feel or read like it was from the Dark Hunters universe at all.
Ariel can't remember her life and has been cursed to be a mortal human because of something she did but can't remember. She meets Valteri who was given up by his mother who never wanted him and he was abused and treated badly as a child until his brother found him and tried to help him. His brother has now given him a home, land and title.
Valteri is looked upon by others as something vile because of his mismatched eyes and how many men he's killed on the battlefield but Ariel doesn't look at him in that way. Valteri feels a strong pull towards her but his self loathing won't allow him to make a move on her because he thinks that being with him would ruin her. Plus he's never met a woman who would willingly be with him, not even when he paid for it.
These two end up working closely together when he asks for her help with his books since he isn't good at math and can't make heads or tales of the ledgers. So Ariel helps him and they spend more and more time together, getting closer.
It was bored with the first half of this book but once her "brothers" showed up, it started to pick up because then we start to see what's really going on and who she actually is. Once I understood why she was cursed, who she is and who Valteri actually is, then things started to make more sense and the story started picking up and I enjoyed it more. I really enjoyed the ending when Acheron and Simi made an appearance. It was a good addition to the series but not my favorite.
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
Disclosure: I was given an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
