Review: Gotta love these WesternWind Reapers!
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.Is he...or isn't he?Phelan Kiel's fellow Reapers have always questioned which way he leaned. Did he prefer men? Or women. After all, he never frequented brothels to ease himself and he was always pissing Reaper Glyn Kullen off by kidding him about taking him up on a certain perceived invitation. But then, Phelan has always had a wicked sense of humor.When he sets out to patrol the western borders of Vircars Territory, his Reaper sense of something wrong leads him into the town of Robbinsville, in the southern Appalachians. There, he encounters Fontabeau Sorn, hired security for mine owner Desdon Brell. Beau likes women just fine, but his desires run more toward men. Men like the handsome young Reaper. The moment he first lays eyes on Phelan emerging from the general store, he's determined to make him his.Lucy Louise Springbrook may have something to say about that. Lucy-Lou owns the saloon and whorehouse The Ruby Load in the neaby mining town of Haxton Cove, where Phelan discovers things at Brell's mine and in Haxton Cove itself aren't as they should be. After a glorious night with the young Reaper, Lucy-Lou knows he's the man for her. Unfortunately, Lucy has a secret. She's running from the law, and Phelan is the law, the highest in the entire Vircars Territory. Besides, she knows she has a snowball's chance in hell of spending the rest of her life with him. After all, what Reaper would want a soiled dove for a mate?Phelan, however, cannot bring himself to forget his night with Lucy. He was careful not to consummate a union, but it was the first time he's ever felt comfortable enough with a woman to spend the entire night with her. She arouses his protective instincts as well as his libido, but as he and Beau join forces to uncover and eliminate the very dangerous evil forces at work within the mine, Phelan must choose between the two people who both want him as their mate. Can the one scorned be able to accept that Phelan belongs to another, or will he lose his mate before he can even claim her...or him?After the different direction Charlotte Boyett-Compo took in Embrace the Wind,WesternWind 8: BlackMoon Reaper takes us back to the evil threats facing the Reapers out in the Territories. With more twists and turns than an attacking ghoret, this book is one surprise after another. Just when you think you've figured everything out, Ms. Boyett-Compo throws you another curve that sends you off in an entirely different direction. Her strong world-building, unique plot evolution, fascinating character development and sensual sex scenes combine to make this book a readable enjoyment! We get to learn some things about High Lord Kheelan Ben-Alkazar that he didn't want anyone to know, least of all the Reapers he commands. We finally learn the truth about Phelan's sexual leanings. A new Reaper and a WindWarrior are introduced to us. And we get to catch up on the latest news about all the Reapers and their mates from past books.Like all the books in the series, this one is best if read in sequential order for better understanding of Ms. Boyett-Compo's continued world-building and character development. -- This review belongs in its entirety to TwoLips Reviews, LLC.