Reviews from Harriett

Enraptured
Elisabeth Naughton
Sourcebooks, $7.99
ISBN: 9781402262128

Being a hybrid daemon-Argonaut Orpheus is a pariah. Scorned because of his daemon blood, Orpheus has become a rogue who lives down to the image others have of him. Ironically, he is also an Eternal Guardian whose duty is to protect those same people who loathe him. Orpheus is on a personal quest to rescue his twin brother Gryphon from the hell of Tartarus.

Zeus sends Siren Order Skyla to destroy Orpheus. When she meets him he is in his daemon form so she attacks until she sees the inscription on him that proclaims him to be an Eternal Guardian; daemons cannot belong to that elite warrior group. He explains his mission starting with retrieving an orb that the Pantheon of Gods and the Underworld daemons crave possessing; she joins him. On their trek into hell, the vivacious siren and the morbid hybrid become lovers, but she conceals from Orpheus her agenda to kill him.

The latest Eternal Guardians romantic fantasy (see Marked and Tempted) is an exhilarating thriller that stars seemingly personality opposites in love. The fabulous Naughton Greek mythology is vivid and deadly as wary Orpheus believes you are safer amidst your enemies rather than your allies; his beloved will prove him correct. Harriet Klausner

Untouched
Sara Humphreys
Sourcebooks, $6.99
ISBN: 9781402258466

Most people including her family believe Amazonian Kerry Smithson suffers from an obsessive germ phobia. That is far from the truth as her fear of touch has to do with severe pain and a look inside the brain of the other person that enables her to determine whether they are evil.

Recently she was assaulted in spite of her size; so her BFF Samantha (see Unleashed) hires Inferno Securities Dante Coltari to protect Kerry as she goes to New Orleans on a modeling gig. They meet at Samantha’s wedding where Dante the Amoveo informs Kerry she will one day dance with him as he realizes from his dream walks that Kerry is his mate; however to avoid a breakdown she has erected barriers that prevent her from dream walking. Dante knows what attacks his beloved, but not who while the Punisher is also at the wedding for both of them. To her shock his touch brings peace and pleasure rather than pain and torment.

The second Amoveo Legend urban fantasy is an action-packed thriller starring two fascinating protagonists though her lack of knowledge is similar to Samantha. Filled with action as a deadly stalker hunts the lead couple, readers will enjoy the escapades of the Tarzan bodyguard and the no longer Untouched heroine while waiting for that first dance to occur. Harriet Klausner

The Wolf Who Loved Me
Lydia Dare
Sourcebooks, $7.99
ISBN: 9781402263460

In 1820, affluent ducal daughter Lady Madeline Hayburn has become wary of males as fortune hunters seem to do anything to force her to marry them. During a full moon, Maddie is shocked when she sees her new neighbor Mr. Weston Hadley turn into a wolf. However, Maddie is not half as stunned as Weston is that he carelessly let someone see him shift.

He believes they have no choice except to marry, but he expects her to decline his offer as he knows Maddy runs from the impoverished lords and besides beauty never marries the beast. Instead, Maddie accepts his offer but demands they immediately elope to Gretna Green. As they head to Scotland, there is plenty of pursuit and not all on her side.

The latest Team Dare Regency romantic fantasy (see Taming of the Wolf, Never Been Bit, It Happened One Bite and In the Heat of the Bite) is a bewitching historical. The storyline is a beguiling Lycan rendition of Beauty and the Beast with plenty of humor (mostly from the potential “mother of his mutts”) and danger (even her father who loves and spoils Maddy wants to cut off Weston’s head). Harriet Klausner