Paradox II

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques In the second installment in JC Wilder and Rosemary Laurey's Paradox series, we find two more passionate and well crafted love stories. In Adriana by Rosemary Laurey, we meet a young woman who was orphaned when her entire village was destroyed by the Astrians. Taken in by two women who lived in the forest and worshipped the goddess Rache, they teach Adriana everything they know. However, Adriana can't let go of her hatred of the Astrians and has sworn revenge for what they did. When Mark wanders into her forest, she originally intends to offer him to Rache, but finds herself falling in love instead. This was a touching story about learning to forgive and forget. Mark's appearance in Adriana's forest reminds her as she comes to know him, that just because a few of the Astrians are bad or evil does not mean all are. Watching her learn to let go of her prejudices and accept the changes between their people teaches a wonderful lesson. While there is a lot of passion between Adriana and Mark, this story is more sensual than erotic and has a beautiful love story. Nova (by J C Wilder) was sold into slavery by her own father as a young girl. She spent several years learning every trick she could to outwit her owners and buy her freedom. Now she is a gambler using her winnings to provide security so she never has to worry again. When a winning hand brings her merman Wyn, she vows to give him his freedom, though his previous owner will do anything to get him back. Wyn and Nova never expected that the real prize would be true love. All Nova wants is to be free and have her own life and home. She was disgusted by the brutality of Wyn's owner and is determined to set him free, after she nurses him back to health. As Wyn begins to heal on the outside, he also heals on the inside, and helps Nova to overcome her past as well. The slave owner is a wicked man and while JC does go into some great detail about his treatment of Wyn, she never goes over the top, only showing enough to reinforce the evil nature of his former owner. Also here in Nova, we find a passionate story of love and romance that will warm your heart. I read Paradox II several years ago when it was previously released with another publisher. I wanted to read it again since I enjoyed it the first time around. It's been so long though, that if there were any significant changes to the book between publishers, I didn't spot them. This is the second of three Paradox books and each book's stories focus on a specific element of nature. The first one was air, this one water, and the third one is stone. If readers want a sexy duo of love stories with a fantasy bend, then they are sure to enjoy Paradox II. © Kelley A. Hartsell, December 2007. All rights reserved.