"Warm and Wicked - Witch Paranormal!"
Review: Redemption (Shadow Dwellers: Book 4)
Devastated with grief over the death of her daughter,
Bliss, Mortianna is determined to have her revenge against
the man responsible. Not her killer, Edward, who'd already
been destroyed by Fayne, nor Mikhail, the demented elder
vampire who'd pulled Edward's strings. No, her victim would
be the man who had taken her only daughter away from her,
and introduced Bliss to the dark world of the Shadow
Dwellers. She believes that Bliss had deluded herself into thinking
she was madly in love with the vampire, Damien St. James
a.k.a. Sinjin. He'd turned her into a revenant, immortal,
so that they could spend eternity together. Mortianna's
fury had known no bounds, but Bliss had promised to leave
him if her mother would spare his life. Few would have had the power to take the life of an elder
vampire, however Mortianna was the oldest and possibly the
most powerful witch on Earth. Now that her beloved daughter
had been taken from her permanently, nothing would stop her
from destroying St. James. She sends forth her army of
minions to his Sinjin's home with orders to bring him back
to her. One is never quite sure what exactly the minions are except
small, lethal, and apparently none too bright. Instead of
returning with Sinjin they arrive bearing a revenant and a
female at that, Maeve. Maeve had travelled to Sinjin's Scottish castle to train,
but had been kept there for safe keeping following
Mikhail's failed coupe, nearly a year ago. Both Val and
Sinjin agreed that Maeve could be a target for the demented
vampire's retribution. Val, Mikhail's maker, had taken
Maeve, as well as his lover Shai, away from him over a
decade ago. Now she was considered a likely target for his
revenge. Mikhail was not one to forget such trespasses
against him. She chafed at her captivity, but had used the time to hone
her body and mind for the day she would have vengeance
against the vampire who had killed her twin sister and
destroyed her life. Finally she'd acquired the knowledge
that she needed to end the life of the elder from Sinjin's
Chronicles of the Shadow Dwellers. Now, all she needed was
a powerful witch of the proper line to give her the
necessary spell. Mortianna's estranged son, Quinn Montgomery had been
summoned to his mother's side following the death of his
half sister Bliss. An unwanted male child, the first-born
Quinn had been cast aside in his infancy, along with his
father. He'd been raised with love by his father and
stepmother, and yet a hole existed inside him. He'd longed
his entire life for the love of his birth mother, the love
she'd lavished on Bliss. Quinn realizes that Mortianna has become unhinged, when he
arrives to finds her beloved daughter not buried, but
enshrined in a glass coffin, two months after her death.
She'd sent for him to aid her in her revenge. This he would
not do. Yet when the minions arrive, apparently with his
sister's former lover in tow, he can't walk away. Furious at her minions' mistake, Mortianna demands that her
son prove his worth by killing the revenant. It is his last
chance to win his mother's love, but for Quinn the price is
too high. A powerful witch in his own right, Quinn has
based his whole life on the Wiccan Rede. He is incapable of
harming an innocent. He defies Mortianna and liberates
Maeve, earning his mother's contempt once more. Quinn intends to return Maeve to Sinjin's home and then
wash his hands of her. Yet he is inexplicably attracted to
the fiesty woman. He doesn't understand it. For one thing
she isn't his physical type, and for another he suspects
that she is only interested in his ability to perform
spells. He also considers immortals an abomination. Strike
three. Tell that to his wayward body! Tell that to his
wayward heart as well. By the time they arrive he's half in
love with her already. Mikhail, though blinded and badly scarred following the
confrontation at the stones, has not given up on his hopes
of becoming head of the Council of Elders. He sends his
consort Gabriel to Mortianna to enlist the aid of the
witches in his cause. The witches had heretofore maintained
independence from the council. However Gabby offers their
leader the one thing she wants most, the delivery of Sinjin
into her clutches. Upon their arrival back at the castle, Maeve immediately
realizes that something is not right. Sinjin's protective
wards are absent. She and Quinn find the elder vampire in
the catacombs, entranced and apparently dying. Quinn
recognizes Mortianna's work. It was the spell Maeve had
sought to destroy Mikhail. He hopes that by witnessing the
effects, Maeve will turn away from her thoughts of revenge.
But she too has a hole in her heart, a hole left by the
death of her twin and her abandonment by her remaining
family. Can Quinn fill that empty space inside her, as he
is beginning to feel she is filling his? Is he powerful
enough to stop Mortianna and Mikhail for having their
revenge? J.C Wilder continues to show the depth of her writing
abilities. While Maeve and Quinn are without a doubt the
most passionate couple in the series to date, their
relationship satisfies a deep seated need that each carries
within. This reader found them quite endearing. The story
also carries the moral that hatred and vengeance will
ultimately destroy the bearer of those emotions. How true. Mikhail has been thwarted once again. Edward is gone, but
Cass is still at large and ready to make her own bid for
Alexandre's position on the council. Be on the lookout for
SINS OF THE FLESH, Book 5 of the Shadow Dweller's
series, in November 2001. Copyright © 2001
Original review for Retribution, retitled Atonement
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted December 12, 2001
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