"Wonderful world of magic and love!"
Alexa Marie Fitzwalter was determined to do something
worthwhile with her life. Even though she was a product of
the foster care system, she made it through law school. She
made one very dear friend in law school and once they
graduated, they decided to start a law practice together. Of
course, that dream died with Sophie's death. Now, she's at
loose ends and has no idea why she feels compelled to go
hiking in the Colorado mountains in the middle of the night.
There's some sort of a song calling her and so she answers
the call and comes to an arch of some kind. She steps
through the arch and there's some kind of a beast waiting
for her. Somehow, she manages to make it past the beast and
finds herself in the middle of a circle of people. They
begin speaking, but she can't understand a word they're
saying. These strange people keep calling her Exotique. How did this happen? She's in another world somewhere.
Everything is different, right down to the way the people
look. After subjecting her to a number of tests, they take
her to a tower room. While she's sleeping, a little pink
fairy appears in her dreams and shows her a movie of what
happened, except this time, she can understand what everyone
is saying. She senses quite a bit of hostility from their
leader, a Swordmarshall Reynardus. Eventually, she gets fed
up with all the testing and being manipulated and goes into
the town. The Marshalls manage to get her back to the Castle
and promise they won't lie or manipulate her anymore. They
offer her an estate, which is something Alexa has always
wanted. The hostility from Reynardus doesn't lesson, but
Alexa realizes she was brought to this world, Lladrana, in
order to save it. The fenceposts keeping evil out of the
borders of Lladrana have been failing and it's up to Alexa
to fix them and replace the ones destroyed. Will Alexa manage to save Lladrana? Will she ever find a man
to bond with and fight with? Will she ever be able to manage
the magic she somehow got when she crossed to this world?
What of the Snap? Will she go back to Earth, or will she
remain on Lladrana? THE SUMMONING -- GUARDIAN OF HONOR is an excellent fantasy
tale. This story is a bit of everything from shapeshifters
to evil prehistoric monsters. Robin D. Owens has done a
wonderful job of portraying an ordinary woman in
extraordinary circumstances. Alexa finds herself magically
transported from Earth to a land filled with magic. Even
though Alexa is flawed by her childhood, she finds herself
in a world where she can do some good. The man she
eventually meets is flawed himself and never really fit in.
The two of them are magic all by themselves! I really love
Sinafin, the little shapeshifter never could find a shape to
remain in. The world building in this story is excellent,
the characters are all realistic, even the way Swordmaster
Thealia mothers Alexa, and the plot is fantastic! I can't
wait to find out where the series leads to next! Maybe a
Sorcerer.
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted February 18, 2006
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**2005 PEARL NOMINEE - BEST FUTURISTIC ROMANCE** With their magic boundaries falling and terrible monsters
invading, the Marshalls of Lladrana must follow ancient
tradition and Summon a savior from the Exotique land.... For Alexa Fitzwalter, the Marshall's call pulled the savvy
lawyer into a realm where she barely understood the
language, let alone the intricacies of politics and power.
Armed only with her wits, a mystical companion and the help
of the chevalier, Bastien, Alexa must use her very human
mind and skills to fight the encroaching evil-and resist
manipulation by the Marshalls to force her to stay in
Lladrana. Now torn between her affinity for this realm and Earth, if
given the chance to return home will she? Or dare she risk
everything for a land not her own?
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