Now onto the review - you guys will have to excuse me, it might be 8 a.m., but I'm exhausted. I've been staying late at the lab and staying up late to finish the book, so my mind is a bit sluggish, my body aches and I should already be on my way to the lab ^^;
All right, the review. Did any of you find an author with a style of stories you just loved no matter what? I mean, yeah, I'm a fan of Kay Hooper and Kelley Armstrong, but that's mostly because they write very well. As for Patti O'Shea, I'm not telling that she doesn't write good books, far from it... it's just that I LOVE her books (okay, there's not a ton... only 3 and I've read 2 - not counting this one) unconditionally. I discovered her through Through a Crimson Veil. It got mild reviews while I thought it was fantastic, so maybe it's just be... something in her books just appeal to me.
Wyatt Montgomery and Kendall Thomas are lovers... soulmates... from a previous life. However, only Wyatt remembers their previous life as Berkant and Zoalianna. Wyatt and Kendall are both captains in the army and are presently stationned in the Old City of J Nine, a planet lights away from Earth. Wyatt immediately recognizes Kendall as Zoalianna, but she is a completely different person, but this doesn't stop him from falling in love. Meanwhile, Kendall is afraid of love relationships and treats Wyatt as her best friends, cos friendship lasts forever while love...
Wyatt knows that something's been bugging Kendall, but the girl is closed-mouth. So he asks a friend/soldier, Catfish, to keep an eye on Kendall while he is out on the field. Why is Kendall so nervous? Because she's stumbled over a smuggling ring. See, most people on J Nine are there as archeologists to investigate on the vestiges of the Old City + the army to protect the civillians. Kendall is somewhat attracted to the Old City and particularly its temple (that pyramid on the cover). So she's been gathering evidences of the smuggling ring and when she went to colonel Alex Sullivan to inform him, he blows her up because he's been called to the murder scene of... Catfish. Meanwhile, Kendall is being pursued by the thieves and take refuge in the temple where Wyatt will join her. Both get stuck in the temple - lost with pratically no food and no water - and they have to find a way out of there, avoiding if possible the smugglers and once outside, tell colonel Sullivan so he can stop the smugglers from escaping free.
Okay, as I said, my recap of the story is not that good - blame it on the mush brain. However, I can tell you I like the book a lot! There are basically 3 storylines :
1) Wyatt and Kendall : I really liked the fact that it was Wyatt that really went after Kendall. He knows that Kendall's childhood has made her wary of love and that if he tells her he loves her, she'll bolt. So he takes it slowly, as much as he can, he's very patient and considerate. Another thing I like was that he fell in love with her... no in lust. And he might have recognized Kendall as Zoalianna; however, she's a completely different person - physically and personality wise. As he said, Berkant loved Zoalianna and Wyatt Montgomery loves Kendall Thomas. Really sweet. Oh and I liked how he was the one having memories of their past lives and she had none and that they didn't recognize at sight.
2) Berkant and Zoalianna: basically, their love was forbidden. I don't want to talk too much about their relationship because it would spoil a lot about the book. Basically, you get pieces from Wyatt and the bulk from Kendall's dream. Ever since she met Wyatt, Kendall has had these bloody dreams which makes her worried that she's endangering Wyatt. Then, as they enter the temple, she starts to remember the past as dreams.
3) Alex Sullivan and Stacey Johnson: Alex is the colonel and he's pretty much the single-minded man that most army soldiers are depicted as. He's been in a relationship with Stacey for 3 years, but not even once did he tell her he loves her. After 3 years of doing all the work in the relationship and finding out that she's pregnant, Stacey has had enough. He doesn't love her enough and he won't be a good father... so she decides to break up and return to Earth. Meanwhile, Alex has issues of his own, but he's going to win Stacey back for sure.
So I like the book: the love relationships, the action and everything :D (Maybe I'm biaised)... However, there are still some flaws and that's why the grade is only 4.25.
Flaws:
1) The book has the same settings as Ravyn's Flight which is the only book I didn't read... However, this book is supposed to be a standalone. In that case, I found that the author didn't put enough background in the settings for readers who have not read Ravyn's Flight to completely understand.
2) oh yeah, (I blanked during a moment trying to remember)... J Nine is another planet right? Berkant and Zoalianna were inhabitant of J Nine 3000 years ago. So what, their past lives were as alien? That just bugged me a little, because well, you know... alien.
3) Wyatt and Kendall have only known each other for 4 months in this life. When I read 4 months, even factoring the previous life and all, I thought: that's a bit too short. Make it half a year or a year and it would have been more believable.
4) her nickname... Wyatt calls her Bug. Where does that come from?
So that's it :D a really good read if you guys like a bit of fantasy/paranormal. If you like her other books, don't miss this one. I'm so looking forward to her next story - a continuation of Through a Crimson Veil with Kimiko Noguchi and Nic as main characters, basically Mika's cousin and half-brother. The only bummer is that it's going to be in an anthology of the Crimson City series (Shards of Crimson) so that means it won't be full length :( On the other good news is that she seems to have a contract for 2 more books coming out in 2007 and 2008 (yeah for me)!
