"Fantasy Futuristic with a Feline Twist!"
Zanth, Rand's cat familiar is an integral part of this
story that all cat lovers will appreciate. Zanth is not
surprised that it takes a cat to rescue his man and woman.
The thoughts and attitude of Zanth are true 'Earth cat'
and not to be missed. I love that he is included on the
cover with the hero, as he is such an important part of the
story. "Today you will meet your HeartMate" -- Rand T'Ash was
thrilled to hear that he would finally meet his mate after
waiting for so many years. He dreamed of her first when he
was 18 before he began the battle to reestablish his
GreatHouse and seek revenge on those who had destroyed his
family. He was now 37 and ready to begin his family. Unfortunately,
Danith Mallow does not recognize him as her HeartMate, and
misinterprets his motives. Rand's impatience and 'rough
personality' has brought him frustration in the past, but
this was beyond what he ever anticipated. Not a man to be denied, Rand asks and gets advice from
other nobles on how to win his HeartMate. As impatient as
ever, though, he sets his own interpretation and timetable
on this courtship. After being kept awake all night
receiving gift deliveries every hour, Danith is at her wits-
end. The only good thing that has happened this week is that she
has recently begun feeding what she believes is a stray
cat. When she goes to confront Rand, she finds the stray
is actually Rand's familiar, Zanth. The settlers on planet Celta left Earth to escape
persecution because of their special powers called FLAIR.
Passage, the crisis points during development of these
powers had emotional and psychic reactions often
misunderstood. Rand is of a GreatHouse as he has strong
Flair, but Danith was an orphan when tested and she
believes she does not have Flair. Rand recognized the mis-testing and after she agrees, tests
her to find she has FLAIR as an animal healer. As this
type of FLAIR is almost unheard of, Danith finds herself in
a very public change to highest social status. Her whole life is changed and she worries that she has lost
the friends that have been like family to her. Meanwhile
it has become known among the GreatHouses that she is
Rand's HeartMate even if she has not yet agreed to this. Rand's commitment to help a friend leads them into the
middle of a riot during Discovery Days and Zanith, the cat,
comes to their aid. The resulting times of crisis and
discovery bring Rand and Danith together, but also force
her through the times of Passage unprepared. Rand is there
to help her through the crisis, but all this leads to a
decision time for Danith. Rand must let her go and hope
she finds her way back to him in spite of his rough edges. Some of the paranormal divining methods may not be
comfortable for those with strong Christian beliefs, but
if taken as a fantasy, this is an enjoyable story that
leaves hopes of sequels to visit the world of Celta and
its residents again. Cy Korte © Copyright September,
2001
Courtesy eBOOKISLE.com
Reviewed by Cy Korte
Posted September 24, 2001
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