"Very touching fantasy!"
Calli Torcher was hurt in the last rodeo she participated
in, bad. Now at the family ranch recovering from a broken
pelvis, she knows her career in rodeo is over and is
looking forward to training horses. Of course, that's
before her father informs her he doesn't plan on leaving
the ranch to her and he sold her horse—the horse she paid
for. Hurt and disappointed, she slowly and painfully makes
her way to a favorite spot on the ranch—in the mountains
by a big crystal. Something happens and Calli feels
herself being pulled into some kind of weird tunnel and
she finds herself in a room she's never been in before. It turns out Calli is the third Exotique to be summoned to
Amee. Alexa is the Marshalls' Exotique; Marian was
summoned for the Circlets and Calli is to be the
Chevaliers' Exotique. When the Lladranans gathered notice
Calli's injuries, they all heal her and when she
eventually wakes up, Calli can't believe she's pain free
and moving well. And so, Alexa and Marian take Calli in
hand to show her the ropes of life as an Exotique. The
first thing Calli notices are the flying horses, or
volarans, and a beautiful gray stallion comes up to her
and states he is for her. Naturally, she has to ride
Thunder right away. Marrec Gardpont is an orphan and a Chevalier in service to
Lady Hallard. Rising to his present status only by the
help of Dark Lance, his volaran, Marrec dreams of some day
owning an estate. Not surprisingly, he also wants the new
Exotique. When the Chevaliers decide Calli needs to be
bonded ASAP, Marrec puts in his token for the Choosing
ceremony. When he is chosen by Calli, he is shocked. He is
even further shocked when he realizes the two of them have
the same dreams for the future: a home and children. But Calli was not brought simply to bond and bring the
volarans back, she has a task she must accomplish and hers
is not an easy one—she must fly over the dark nest and
gather as much information as she can. And there's also
someone out to hurt Calli, someone evil. Will Calli be able to accomplish her task? Will she live
through the battles she must participate in? Will she and
Marrec adopt children? Will they ever be able to find
peace on their estate and train the volarans they both
love? PROTECTOR OF THE FLIGHT just proves a series can be better
with each new book. Robin D. Owens truly has a gift with
fantasy stories. I really love the way she keeps up with
those characters we've already met and lets us know how
their lives are progressing while introducing new ones to
fall in love with. Robin always takes two wounded people
and has them meet and fall in love. With each new book in
this series, we learn a little bit more about Lladrana and
the people who inhabit the world of Amee. And yes, this
one definitely earned its place on my keeper shelf. Don't
miss any of Robin D. Owens' books. They're well worth the
reading. You won't be sorry you did.
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted May 27, 2007
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