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.  Te people exist now in a futuristic "old west" in which the large cities and their machinery of old lay 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.Assigned to the Oklaks Territory, Reaper Cynyr Cree is hot, tired, dusty and not in a good mood when he rides into the broken-down town of Dyersville, seeking to execute a Rogue by the name of Casper Hul. When he interrupts a man in an alley, attempting to rape a young woman, he slays the scoundrel with a deft flick of his laser whip. The last thing he expects of the young woman is her to follow him to his camp in search of food and protection.Wed in an arranged marriage to a rancher who traded her to a Jakotai brave for two horses, Aingeal knows the true meaning of hardship and toil. After becoming the property of Otaktay and he shared her with his friends, she ran away, knowing that if the brave ever caught her, he'd kill her. She'll do whatever it takes to stay with the handsome Reaper, whose very soul seems to call out to hers in the most seductive of ways.Cyn has never experienced the need to keep any woman around after she's pleasured him, let alone want one to stay and share his life. Living on the move, always keeping his distance from fearful humans; such is Cynyr's solitary lifestyle. He hs no business wanting to mate and settle down with the dirty, bedraggled woman to whom he's promised his protection. Like wolves, Reapers mate for life, and once mated, there's no turning back - especially when Cyn makes a choice that so goes against Council law he can only pray the Shadowlords won't take Aingeal away from him forever.As an author, it's no secret that Charlotte Boyett-Compo is one of a kind, an original. Her stories are filled with descriptive adjectives and heart-rending emotion.  Her characterizations, plots and world-building are singularly unique and captivating, her prose smooth and evocative. Before Cowpunk had a name, Ms. Boyett-Compo was writing it. Between the covers of WyndRiver Sinner, you'll find a book that combines Sci-Fi with the Old West, magic with a vampire/werewolf paranormal, all with a touch of Fantasy. And like all of Ms. Boyett-Compo's novels, you'll find Celtic lore and imagery, along with a reverence for the wind, woven throughout Aingeal and Cynyr's story.Astounded that Aingeal loves him, Cyn's desire for her and his tender possessiveness toward her is driven by much deeper feelings than mere lust. Sweet and beautiful but tough as sun-baked leather, Aingeal easily accepts Cyn's dreaded Reaper nature, making him see past all the horror of what he thinks he is to the good, honorable man he really is. Her insight into his inner turmoil stirs her emotional need to soothe his pain.  It pulls at the reader's heartstrings, even as it moves Cyn to the realization that he wants to take her as his mate...and keep her forever.If you're looking for mere escapism, just about any book will do. But if you want an emotionally touching read that you won't soon forget, this is definitely the book for you. -- This review is owned in its entirety by TwoLips Reviews, LLC.