Veiled Legacy (The Madonna Key)

Nadia Bishop didn't expect to see her own face staring at her from the obituary. Adopted at an early age, Nadia had always dreamed she had a sister but never knew it was true until she saw the dead woman's face. Determined to find out what had happened to her sister, Nadia returns to the world she left behind in Saint-Tropez. What will happen when Nadia comes face to face with the lover she left, a lover with the power to destroy all that she is? With VEILED LEGACY, the Madonna Key series is beginning to pull together quite a few threads. Some secrets are ones I suspected, such as the heart of Nadia's lover, but others are quite surprising. More information is revealed about the legacy of the Marians as VEILED LEGACY leans less on the paranormal aspects of the storyline and focuses more on the deadly conspiracy against the Marians. Nadia's former employment as an MI-6 agent guarantees that this is one read that will be chock full of action from start to finish. Because of the degree of secrets revealed in VEILED LEGACY, I would suggest that the previous books be read prior to this one so as not to spoil the fun of the unveiling. This is particularly important with the revealing of the true identity of Nadia's lover, known as Antonio. Without the back history on Antonio (again, not his real name but the one he first gave Nadia), as provided in previous books, the reader may be a bit disconcerted to learn that Antonio is actually a married man with a child. However, the history on Antonio makes this relationship palatable and, in time, I forgot my misgivings over the entire situation. Jenna Mills did a beautiful job at handling such a delicate and sensitive issue. VEILED LEGACY is yet another fascinating foray into the world of the Marians. The Madonna Key series is surprisingly cohesive, despite having different authors pen each installment. Jenna Mills puts her own fantastic stamp on this series and will leave the reader anxiously awaiting to see what the final book has in store for them! COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Her young daughter Lexie shows her mom former -MI-6 agent Nadia Bishop the obit picture in the paper that looks exactly like her; thirty-two years old Scarlet Rubashka killed because she looked too much like her. The homicide hurts even more because Nadia knows it relates to her as the location is Saint-Tropez, a place she fled from just a few years ago. Nadia knows she must return to the town where her former lover Joshua Adriano lives to uncover who killed Scarlet as she expects the culprit to come for her and her beloved daughter. However, she must continue to hide Lexie from her biological father Joshua, whom she does not trust because his family would want her for their diabolical use, as a means to obtain control of a mosaic with powers beyond the understanding of mortals. She must also decide whether to rely on the priestesses guarding the mosaic for in Saint Tropez she will meet human and inhuman demons, yet the bottom line is Lexie is all that matters. The latest Madonna Key thriller hooks the audience as innocent Lexie shows the obit picture to her mom saying how pretty she is; this sets the comparative tone of good vs. evil with the heroine refusing to rely on anyone as she believes the man she loves wants her dead so he and his family can obtain the mosaic. Nadia is intrepid though scared, but not for herself; her biggest fear is that Joshua will know Lexie is his offspring and take her whether the former espionage agent lives or dies. Jenna Mills provides a non stop action exhilarating thriller. Harriet Klausner

Long ago there existed a fabled race called Marians. They were forced to go underground and eventually disbanded. However, before they disbanded, they disassembled The Lady and hid the tiles away. Other than their enemies, no one remembered the powerful race. Nadia Bishop had been adopted as a child. No one knew anything about her, except that an ancient key was left in her possession. Now Nadia has grown into a lovely woman. She is a former MI-6 agent with a two-year-old daughter, Lexie, to care for. Lexie's father, Joshua Adriano, is from a powerful and cruel family. Therefore, Nadia never lets Joshua know that he has a daughter. It would have remained that way, but when Nadia sees an obituary of a lady named Scarlet that looks exactly like her, she knows that she must seek out information. Nadia has always yearned to know of her biological family and this may be her only chance. As she investigates Scarlet's life, Nadia learns that the lady had an ancient key too. When Nadia finds out that the Adriano family is involved in Scarlet's affairs and Scarlet's death, she knows it is too late to back out. Nadia must pick up the gauntlet thrown down and hidden by her ancestors, the Marians. If not, the Adriano family will force an apocalypse upon the world. **** The Madonna Key series is completely author-generated, the collaborative product of several authors. This one is number six and by author Jenna Mills. Through Jenna Mills's creative talent, I traveled France and Ireland. I could feel Nadia's determination to protect her child, her yearning to learn of her own heritage, and of her confused emotions about Joshua and the Adriano family. You do not have to read the previous books to totally enjoy this wonderful adventure, but if you do the story will mean much more to you. Recommended! **** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

As a former MI-6 operative not even the sight of a dead body would have fazed ex-agent Nadia Bishop but the face in the newspaper obituary shook her to the core - the face staring back looked exactly like her own! Not coincidental was the fact that the murdered woman had been killed in St. Tropez, the same place she had fled from an affair with a man who still haunted her heart three years later. Nadia would have to go back to investigate and discover if the ruthless man who'd once been her lover was the person who'd murdered her sister. She would uncover family secrets so criminal to be insane, and find a thread that tied this family to her own. In her search for the truth she would jeopardize the daughter she'd secretly borne and would give her own life to protect from the lover she couldn't forget, and whose family she was determined to take down. *** Not only have I become a fan of the very talented Romantic Suspense author Jenna Mills, but also for this amazing Silhouette Bombshell "Madonna Key" series. All stories have been great and Mills' entry was brilliantly conceived and executed. Veiled Legacy turned into another non-stop action read from one very talented author and a sterling addition to this spectacular series! The author clearly demonstrates Nadia's torment of thinking that the father of her daughter, the one man she cannot forget, might possibly be the man who killed the sister she never knew she had. Antonio/Joshua is painted just as tormented, and feels used and abused as well, with not being able to reconcile what he still feels for Zoë/Nadia after she fled from him. Both protagonists had reasons to distrust one another with Joshua's family ties, especially his marital status, weighing in as not contributing to any kind of sympathy factor. Once Nadia knew she was carrying his child her priority was instinctive in making sure her daughter would be protected from the evil that pervaded her father's lineage. If believing Joshua capable of murder was one thing, convincing her heart to stop loving him would be another matter and in so doing this author engages the readers imagination and emotions in one very exciting action packed thriller that is sure to please the most discriminating of romantic suspense fans. I loved this story! Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques WARNING: If you have not read at least through Shadow Lines in The Madonna Key series, you may want to stop here. This novel reveals major spoilers for events in the earlier books. What do you do when you see your own face staring at you from an obituary? Nadia Bishop, former MI-6 agent living under the radar in Great Britain, finds herself in this predicament as Veiled Legacy opens. She was adopted as a young child and a nagging memory leaves her searching for answers now. When she sees Scarlet Rubashka's photo, she is convinced there is a connection between them. Now she is on a mission to uncover the truth. Nadia never expected that this journey for secrets would lead her to the Marians, protectors of an ancient legacy of the Black Madonna that could set the world upside down. She also never thought she'd run into the one man she dearly loves, Joshua Adriano, whose evil family wishes to crush the Marians and the powers they protect. Now Nadia ventures across Europe, to Ireland, Paris, St. Tropez where Scarlet was brutally murdered, and even to the ancient ruins of Pompeii, hoping to recover a great secret, the Madonna Key. Hot on her heels follows Joshua, but is he her most dangerous enemy? Or her greatest ally? Veiled Legacy was my first book by Jenna Mills, but it will not be my last. She has a great talent for wonderful adventures full of taut suspense. I was absolutely blown away with this chapter in the saga of the Black Madonna. I know I keep saying each book in the Madonna Key is better than the last, but that is once again the case here. Maybe it's the fact each story delves deeper into the story of the Marians that holds me fascinated. Or is it the sheer talent of the authors working together on the Madonna Key legacy. Or maybe it's the breathless adventure that grows more dangerous and desperate in each story. Whatever it is, I grow more and more rapt as we venture even farther into the ancient past to learn more about the Marians. Adventure, excitement, and danger are at a maximum velocity throughout Veiled Legacy, carrying readers at a breathtaking pace from the moment Nadia realizes the significance of Scarlet's picture in the paper. Secrets are revealed and others hinted at that are bound to keep you reading late in to the night to find out what happens next. Surprises unfold and I have to admit to at least one that I was not expecting at all, though the clues were there all along had I picked up on them. And yes, we find out exactly what the Madonna Key really is in this installment in the series, but you'll just have to read for yourselves to find that answer. The attraction between Joshua and Nadia plays a large role in the story as well. They have a history and that adds to the sizzling magnetism between them. I have a tendency to steer clear of stories where one of the protagonists is married or in a relationship with someone else. So I admit to being a little bit concerned about h