Review: Another Darklands winner!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 28, 2011
I won't go into incredible detail, but I would like to present a few facts, instead of critiquing  the story, when they change the very one-sided synopsis of the story as presented in the longest review (which gave it a very low rating).Andrea is putting herself through culinary school, and is getting ready for finals when her grandmother Matilda calls her and tells her that she is sick, and needs her to take her place as housekeeper (a position she holds) in a home in Alaska. Andrea reluctantly accepts, but as soon as she arrives, her grandmother tells her that she is going on vacation to Tahiti. Andrea definitely gets mad, but doesn't want to confront her over it because her granny's ill.Andrea meets Mathin and assumes he is Fallon, the owner of the mansion. After he corrects her mistake, he suggests they have dinner together. He also suggests they go shopping for some things that are needed around the house in the next day or so, and off they go. They had finished all of their shopping, and were putting the groceries in the car, when Andrea suddenly feels someone watching her. She turns around and sees an old woman staring at her from inside another vehicle. When Mathin sees the woman, he instantly knows what she is and that she's under the control of the cults hunting his kind (the Haunt). This is the reason he takes her through the portal to his world! (It wasn't just done out of hand.) Mathin has known Andrea is a 'charmer' from the beginning, and knows he has to get her back to his homeworld, or the cults will find and use her--and they are not nice guys!Mathin knows she isn't safe on Earth any longer, and she can only be protected in his homeland. He also knows that she's his mate, and wants to slowly seduce her into it. As for the other woman just lightly playing off the world of the Haunt, I think they did that because they didn't want to scare her any more than she already was.When Mathin tricks her into getting the symbiont, he is doing it for her health. Not only is she human and subject to many diseases and fevers, but she suffers from acute hypoglycemia, which can be dangerous. He knows there are no modern medicines or treatments on his world, as none are needed for the Haunt.He has to leave for his lands as soon as possible because word has come by urgent messenger that his cousin is attempting a coup, and he knows once the storms come and the man is entrenched, it will be very difficult to get rid of him.Sure Andrea might be a less strong a heroine than the one in the first book, but she is also sick from the trip across the portal, and remains a bit under the weather during Mathin's trip to his lands. Her decision to give her grandmother half her symbiont has its reasons, and I didn't consider it gross when the symbiont restored her youth and her health. Raziel is certainly interested in Matilda, but he was before she changed. He is actually about twenty years older than she is.When Mathin discovers Andrea is pregnant, he knows she will have little chance of carrying the child unless she gets outside help from the Ronin (the humans who live in the swamps and have symbionts). It breaks his heart to leave her there, but he knows that when the yearly storms arrive, he won't be able to get her to the swamps quickly, or at all if she has an emergency.I don't see her as a wilting violet, but as a woman who grows even more fragile as the pregnancy advances. She doesn't really accept anything out of hand, but her continual weakness pretty much doesn't leave her enough energy for constantly fighting with others over the situation. Andrea is certainly has internal strength, as evidenced by her ability to adapt.Despite the enforced separation, both Mathin and Andrea grow even closer. This is not the easy romance of the first bookThe Charmer (Dark Lands).  This one is definitely darker and more edgy, but the ending makes it worthwhile.I thought the book was great, and I highly enjoyed it. You definitely need to read to read 'The Charmer' before tackling this one, or many of the references will not make complete sense. Ms. Dawn did a wonderful job portraying a world so unique from our own...a completely different take on the werewolf culture. Very highly recommended!