Heart Change (A Celta Novel)

Although the cover shows a tattoo of the Illuminati diamond from Angels & Demons on a swordsman's arm, Robert Langdon does not appear anywhere. A great relief. In this eighth Celtan romance, Robin Owens explores a different approach to her characters, interweaving three stories. The first is the love of Signet D'Marigold and Cratag Maytree. Both lonely, each on the fringes of upper-class Celtan society, divided by social class, Flair (psi/magical strength), and background, they are brought together when Cratag is loaned as a guard to Signet's household while she guides Avellana Hazel,a child of the nobility, through a life-threatening Flair crisis. While there are romantic difficulties rooted in their differences, they are readily resolved. The greater drama is reserved for the other two stories. In one, Cratag attempts to convince his teenaged relative Laev not to make an unsuitable marriage; there are hints of Flair perverted into illegal emotional manipulation and potential tragedy. The main story asks the question, as Marion Zimmer Bradley did in Stormqueen!, of how to teach a child to responsibly handle power a mature adult would quail at. Eight-year old Avellana faces great challenges surviving both internal struggles and external threats. I look forward to see how she grows further with this. While this book does not display the simple unity of previous offerings, it reflects Ms. Owens' growing confidence in the reality of Celta, writing with increasing depth and detail. Heart Change is satisfying in itself, yet teases with the promise of future stories.

Started out a little slow but characters were well developed and plot was full of twists and turns! I went back to start the series over again. I hope she brings out more titles soon!

I've always enjoyed Robin Owens' writing style...it's comfortable, and really draws the reader into her world. The world of Celta, which is the setting for this book, is a fabulous mix of old and new, using some very interesting spins on things we see in everyday life. Her characters are all quite strong, but they're not always perfect, which makes for a great (and suspensful) story line. I'm a big fantasy buff, and combined with the thrill of romance, these books are hard to beat. Heart Change will once again plunge you into the fascinating "what-if" of a planet which allows "magic" to happen...and the love story between Signet and Cratag will keep you on pins and needles, through the twists and turns of the book. Love may be wonderful, but sometimes it's not easy to form such a deep emotion with the lover of your dreams.

Robin Owens has done it again. Another tale of Celta, that makes me love my visits there. The romance is great, along with the action. The Fams are always getting into everything, yet always there to help when their humans need them. Too bad we couldn't live there, I'd love to have a residence that cleans itself.

In Celta, GrandLady Signet D'Marigold is lonely as the last surviving member of her proud family. However, to make matters worse, her talent remains undefined. That is unheard of until thirteen year old prophet GreatLord Vinni proclaims her to a major catalyst for change. Vinni needs Signet's help with his seven years old heartmate Avellana Hazel; the child's brain has been damaged and chances of surviving her first passage are nonexistent unless Signet takes the risk of assisting her. GreatLord T'Hawthorn's security chief Cratag Maytree is chosen to protect the two females during the flair. None of the participants were expecting an attraction between Signet and Cratag, but as that ignites someone wants to destroy all of those involved. Readers will relish the latest Heart realm romantic fantasy as the lead couple falls in love while trying to save a child's life. The story line is character driven as Robin D. Owens goes deep inside family relationships on Celta with a poignant passionate tale that resonates with its health issue timeliness. Robin D. Owens' latest as is the case with the magnificent seven predecessors is filled with Heart as the concern is the child's welfare first. Harriet Klausner