Deadly Redemption

"Daughters of Myth" remains one of my favorite Silhouette Nocturne mini-series, and though I was sad to see the trilogy completed, this is a story I rejoiced to read. Orla, daughter of Tuatha de Danaan's Queen Mab, tried to maneuver the crown from her mother, which had resulted in the loss of two faery stones of power. For her misdeeds, Orla is tested by being married off to Liam the Protecter, champion of the Tuatha's rival clan, the Dubhlainn Sidhe. At the start, theirs is a rocky relationship at best, and both she and her bridegroom are both headstrong Faeries whose wills collide. But in time, they adapt to each other, though Liam is hard put not to be exasperated when his bride has ideas of her own which clash with the patriarchal ideals of his clan. But very soon, the hide-bound ways need to be relaxed when a threat lurks on the borders of the Dubhlainn kingdom, and the problems within it need to be resolved in order to protect its inhabitants from inside and out... This book more than adequately completes what truly was a trilogy: loose ends from the previous books have been tied off and the story that began with Orla's attempted coup and the trouble that resulted from it has come full circle, with two Faery kingdoms safe from their enemies and a would-be rebel reconciled and redeemed.

As I stated in my review about Dark Seduction (Sorcha's story) I was soooo happy to read an EXCELLENT story. Sorcha's story, to me, was very ho hum (boring in fact)...but this one has everything I love in my para/fantasy romances. Which is erotic but beautifully written love scenes, action aplenty and a wonderful plot. Please, if you've read Dark Seduction and are unsure if you should buy this one also...DO IT!! Believe me, it was HEAPS better..and the conclusion was great. Definitely go for it!!

Orla, the youngest of Queen Mab's fae daughters, has been the selfish, ambitious bad girl unlike her sweeter and more honorable sisters. As punishment for attempting to take her mother's throne, Orla is stripped of her powers and sent to the enemy Dark Fae and given as a bride to Liam, the nemesis who used his pretended assistance in Orla's attempted coup d'état in order to steal a Stone of Power from Orla's people. Neither is happy at the match, but dispite their dislike of the each other there is an intense attraction between them. Both Orla and Liam were anti-heroes in the previous book and Liam starts this book in full bad boy persona. He is quite intense and uncharming through their wedding and wedding night and there is quite a bit of crude language to hammer home his anger, lack of respect for Orla and his frustration for the level of desire his unwanted wife inspires. But don't let that put you off, it's only in a few scenes early on and doesn't continue through the rest of the story. Though you'll hate him at first -- he leaves Orla to flounder, much to his later shame -- Deadly Redemption is the story of Redemption for both Orla and Liam, and the honorable protector of his people and ends up being worthy husband once his gets past his issues.But though we get to pop into Liam's head from time to time and see the changes in him, we don't get the reasons for them, unlike who Orla we follow closely through her transformation. There is a great deal of emotion in Orla's journey and I enjoyed watching her struggles and victories. Orla's new life is going to be painful and challenging as she finds herself amid the enemy clan who do not trust her and the initial lack of her husband's respect and support only makes it more difficult win acceptance into the community where she will spend the rest of her life. To top it off the dark fae society is quite chauvinistic, at home Orla was an accomplished warrior and cannot fathom a life where woman are only able to gain status by producing a male child and are not allowed to learn how to protect themselves. Orla ruffles quite a few feathers as she tries to find her place in the Dark Fae society. It doesn't help at all that Orla's skills do not lie in a 'womanly' direction -there is an amusing piece of the story connected with the final resting place for her failed attempts at the womanly arts. But despite it all, Orla and develops an honor that we wouldn't have expected of her. She finds within herself a strength and risks everything to save the Fae both dark and light and though it may cost her the fragile bond that is forming with Liam. Deadly redemption also has some good supporting characters who are allies to Orla through her ordeal, the amusing Stone Tender, Orla's stepdaughter who is a kindred soul but with a chip on her shoulder, and Liam's friend Fiolan who is less closed minded then the bulk of the Fae men and prods Liam to see through his prejudices. My only nit with the book is that

Queen of the Faeries Mab remains outraged by her daughter Orla's efforts to seize the throne from her. To punish her upstart offspring, Mab orders Orla to marry the Dubhlainn Sidhe dark faery. Orla knows before she arrives that the dark faeries are brutally chauvinistic as they believe men must rule with an iron fist. However, she is pleased with her mother's choice of a spouse when she meets him; as she is attracted to Prince Liam the Avenger. He reciprocates but hides his feelings as he does not trust her to not cause a revolt amongst the Dubhlainn Sidhe. Instead he is aloof and short with her even while she tries to repair the problems she brought to the Kingdom of the Faeries when she tried to displace her mom. The third daughter of Queen Man romantic fantasy (see DANGEROUS TEMPTATION and DARK SEDUCTION) is an engaging thriller as Orla feels remorse and guilt for the trouble she has wrought to the land of Faerie. Liam is a superb alpha male who hides his desire, attraction, and love behind a chauvinistic bravado. Fans will appreciate Kathleen Korbel's fine tale as Orla peels away his façade with her courage and obsessive need to save the world. Harriet Klausner