Review: a debut novel and as a start of a new series, this is a winner: you’ll love the twists
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 28, 2014
In her debut offering, Anna Richland provides a unique twist on a paranormal character and combines it with the tension and danger of a ‘boots on the ground’ military setting, romance and some serious potential complications.Wulf is special forces  Staff Sergeant: we first meet him as he is being flown away from the front lines with a serious leg wound.  The call into the medical camp has the staff prepared to operate, yet he walks away from the helicopter in the midst of the confusion when it lands.  Yes, Wulf is an immortal, he has spent his entire life as a warrior, and shares those bits with us in flashbacks about his life.Doctor and Captain Theresa is frustrated by the missing paperwork on the patient that wasn’t.  It seems to her that the Special Forces team has several instances of ‘missing and untreated’.  When she confronts the head of their division, she is shut down cold: in front of the entire, large and ominous team.  For a woman like Theresa, no is a word that spurs her interest and piques her curiosity, both dangerous to Wulf’s cover.Richland manages to inject several elements that I have not seen before that worked into the plot: while the back and forth between Wulf and Theresa about the fraternization rules, and their struggle with them in terms of their own attachments did slow the story, it added a realistic touch and possible set of consequences that just made me want them to ignore the rules and take a chance.  The immortal edge that Wulf brings to the story adds layers of historical elements and detail, adding background to help understand his decision making.Throughout the story, Richland manages to use a deft hand: while the story does lag slightly in the middle with all of the back and forth, the plot weaves fantasy, legend, history and present day scenes and situations to keep the reader interested and intrigued.  The romance is well-crafted and conceived, with a nice balance of push and pull that has little to do with personal hangups and influenced by the rules that govern their lives as military personnel.  With a singular respect for the job and the uniform, she brings the story to life for those of us unfamiliar with life in BDU’s.For a debut novel and as a start of a new series, this is a winner: you’ll love the twists that Richland puts into the characters, and appreciate a romance that is harder won but sweeter for it.I received an eArc copy from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility