Review: Gotta love these WesternWind Reapers!
Rating: 4 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,dark-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.In between assignments, Reaper Eanan Tohre has spent centuries as the Triune Goddess Morrigunia's plaything, the replacement for the man the Goddess really wanted as her consort, Eanan's twin brother Owen. When the Goddess took Owen off for the duration of his sentence in the Citadel's con cells for taking a mate and turning her into a Reaper without the Shadowlords' consent, she replaced him with Eanan.Once the sentence was served and Morrigunia no longer needed Eanan to suffice for his brother, Eanan was left as the Citadel to serve the Shadowlords. But he has another purpose. The Goddess has promised him to the Gatekeepers: Argent Ben-Alkazar, Corallin Tarnes, and Aureolin Belvoir. Virgins and sisters from the same mother, the three women want to experience the passion and companionship the Reaper wives and mates are enjoying. They each have their own sexual needs and desires, and it takes a versatile and experienced man like Eanan to complete them.When they summon him, he knows not why. Commanded to sit and be quiet in their presence, he wriggles around in discomfort under their sensual scrutiny, their lusty looks setting his black blood on fire. When they tell him to strip or be stripped, the wide-eyed Reaper has no choice but to do as he's ordered.Embrace the Wind differs from Charlotte Boyett-Compo's customary Reaper and rogue-filled cowpunk that makes the WesternWind series so unique and exciting. Though it's fast-paced and as well-written as any of her books, this short novella is missing the action I so love about this series, but it shows us the author's lighter side, with some good old-fashioned bedroom romps that are sexy, amusing, poignant, and yes...even sweet. Plus, it's fun to see the sisters dish out some comeuppance to their scowling, growling brothers, particularly the obnoxious Kheelan.I didn't like Eanan when he was first introduced in WesternWind 4: Tears of the Reaper. After all, even if you can overlook his slitting his brother's throat, there's the fact that he's been an irreverent cad ever since. But he grew on me as he began to redeem himself not only with Owen, but with the other Reapers and of course with the Shadowlords. He displays some heartfelt perceptiveness and concern in worrying whether Aureolin and Corallin would feel slighted when he choses Argent as his first wife. The budding love between Eanan and Argent is touching.Like all the books in the series, this book is best if read in sequential order, particularly since Eanan's story actually begins in book 4. -- This review belongs in its entirety to TwoLips Reviews, LLC.