Review: A Recommended Read at TwoLips Reviews!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 8, 2013
In the year 3478, the Burning War has left Earth - or Terra as it's now known - a devastated, backward world that's lost three-quarters of its population to not only war, but to tsunamis, earthquakes, and a plague that would have entirely wiped out humanity had the Triune Goddess Morrigunia not interceded. Floods and earthquakes have reduced the size of what used to be the United States by half. The people exist now in a futuristic "old west" in which the large cities and their machinery of old lie in ruin. In what had been the vast Midwest, the Southwest, and Southeast, the land has been divided into territories ruled by the High Council of Shadowlords -- three powerful psychics from far beyond the Terran galaxy. Rogue reapers called Balgairs have been turned loose by the alien Ceannus to destroy the humans of Terra. To eradicate them before this happens, the High Council has brought in seven of Morrigunia's Reapers.Reapers are forces to be reckoned with. Tall, black-haired, and inordinately handsome and well-built, these men each possess a symbiotic worm that gives them the strength of 10 normal men. Neither vampire nor werewolf, but a combination of both, they can shapeshift into both a wolf and a bird. Their senses are enhanced, and they have powers to mesmerize and do all manner of magical things. Tough, unsympathetic killers, they'll melt your heart with the loneliness and despair they hide from the world but cannot hide from the women destined to be their mates. Ultimately, they are the final word of law in the Territories, and nothing is more important to them than the protection of their people. Yet the people they've dedicated their lives to protecting fear these solitary blood-drinking Reapers nearly as much as they fear the blood-thirsty Rogues.Armistenky (Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee & Kentucky) Territory, July 3479...Reaper First Class Glyn Kullen is hot, tired and thirsty and has "the headache from hell clawing inside his skull" when he stops the stagecoach to get a ride. He'd just had to put down Seabhac, his favorite mount, after the horse stepped in a gopher hole and broke his leg. As a result, Glyn is in a pissy mood and not about to socialize with the other passengers. Six-year-old Valda Butler however will have none of that. A bit big for her little britches, Valda reprimands Glyn for his bad language. Shocked by her daughter's audacity, Mystery Butler apologizes to the Reaper and scolds Valda, but Glyn is enamored with the child and strikes up a conversation with her.That night, Glyn recognizes the lovely dark-skinned Mystery as his destined mate, and he panics. Never mind that she's a woman of color, the last thing he wants is a mate. Buying a horse from the station keeper, he rides out, leaving behind the woman and child who've already captured his heart. It doesn't take him long to realize that he needs Mystery and Valda in his life. Luckily, an assignment sends him to Charleston.Widowed by a Balgair, Mystery has spent every penny she has to her name to return to Charleston and the plantation that's her family home. Once there, she secures work as a teacher, and sets about rebuilding her life and Valda's, without Glyn. When he arrives to claim Mystery and Valda, a jealous woman's vengeance, an ancient Voodun practitioner, and the plantation owner's obsessive desire for Mystery will engulf them all in evil that threatens to destroy the Reaper and the plans he and Mystery have for a happy future.With My Reaper's Daughter, Charlotte Boyett-Compo continues to enthrall and thrill me with her ability to successfully carry out a large scale plot with a diverse cast of characters, and all with such consummate ease. In this sixth installment to her WesternWind series, more than racial prejudice endures on the Sagewood Plantation owned by Reaper Phelan Kiel's friend, Anthony Simmons. Both his housekeeper Lelani Shoad and his foreman John Dirk are practitioners of Voodoo, which they use to their own benefits. Lelani is determined to seduce Glyn away from Mystery, and Anthony isn't above soliciting help from John and his Master of dark spirits in his personal quest to make Mystery his. While bokors or dark sorcerers lurk in the shadows, an even darker force uses Glyn to rip its way through the protective veil around the planet and take root in the ocean waters off Vircars (Virginia & the Carolinas) and Flagala (Florida, Georgia & Alabama). With the populace being turned into Zombays, Reapers transitioning out of cycle, and the mental communications between the Reapers, Shadowlords, and the Goddess Morrigunia cut off, it will take every skill in the Reapers' bag of tricks to curb the invading evil and literally bring back the sun.My Reaper's Daughter is a long, tension-filled story that presents the reader with the very real possibility that there might not be a happy ending, right up until almost the very last page. While sweet, the romance between Glyn and Mystery is sexy and sensual, the sex scenes just hot enough to warm your insides. Valda pretty much has the spotlight whenever she's in play, and you'll find yourself laughing at her antics and unembarrassed honesty. This book is a top-notch chiller and I very highly recommend it.While this story is technically a standalone, I recommended you read the WesternWind books in order for better reader enjoyment and understanding of the world building and continuing sub-plots. --This review belongs in its entirety to TwoLips Reviews, LLC.