"Star-crossed HeartMates in an excellent coming of age futuristic fantasy"
Tinne Holly's marriage of convenience has failed. His wife
Genista cannot get over the loss of their child and has
asked for a divorce. Although divorce is unheard of among
FirstFamilies the marriage is so irreparably broken that,
after tests on both of them, her petition is granted.
Tinne's emotional pain is multiplied by the fact that the
scandal will adversely affect his already scandal ridden
family and that his only other chance for love, a bond with
his Heartmate, is out of the question. She had married
another as well. There would be no love, no children for the
Holly SecondSon. His future looked bleak indeed. Forced into a loveless marriage as a child to a wealthy,
abusive, older man, Lahsin (Burdock) D'Yew is now seventeen
and on the verge of her Second Passage when her flair would
fully emerge. She would now be considered legally to be an
adult. Unlike Tinne she was not completely bound to her
marriage. The law stated that once the Passage had begun she
would no longer have to endure the underage marriage if she
chose not to. It was now or never if she was to escape her
intolerable situation. She could not return home to the
family that had been responsible for her fate, nor did she
wish to. She could not remain in Druida City either for
anyone who discovered her there would surely they would only
return her to T'Yew. She manages to escape the Yew Residence in spite of its
attempts to stop her, using what flair she already possessed
and flees with the intention of heading north to Alfriston
where those in pursuit would be least likely to look for
her. It is winter and she does not get that far but seeking
sanctuary, Lahsin stumbles upon a hidden garden, the lost
BalmHeal FirstGrove in the Northeast corner of Druida City.
The spellshield on the garden allowed entrance to only those
in desperate need. Tinne too is in desperate need of healing. He learns of
Lahsin's disappearance through the newssheets. Two broken
FirstFamily marriages! He knows she must feel as lost and
alone as he. His heart is too tender to love again and he
feels certain Lahsin would not want to remarry either after
what she's been through, but he can offer her friendship and
help her through her Second Passage. He seeks her out and
the garden accepts him as well. Lahsin is cautious due to the abuse she's suffered and he
does not stay there, but only comes to visit with her at
night. He could be her friend, teach her to defend herself,
teach her to trust, help her through Passage. It would be
enough. Wouldn't it? She was eligible to marry again. That
thought brought fear to his heart. They had grown close.
Unlike with Genista, when Lahsin finally walked away from
him there would be no picking up the pieces. Love had found
him again, wholly unbidden. He had been prohibited by law to tell her that he was her
HeartMate, so he had given her back her dignity, taught her
to stand up for herself and given her something she'd never
expected, joy in lovemaking. She had heard his encouragement
during the final fugue of her Passage, along with that of
her HeartMate. She didn't want a HeartMate, she wanted
Tinne. Yet she knew that they would inevitably part. What
would she do when she learned the truth? The sadistic T'Yew has not given up on trying to recover
Lahsin. He has offered a hefty reward and is not above
manipulating the one person she's trusted her entire life to
get her back. Would Tinne's training and her newly
strengthened Flair be enough to allow her to determine her
own fate? This is a story about love and healing. There are others who
find healing along with Tinne and Lahsin. A wounded feral
dog finds a Fam in the girl who comes to him as emotionally
crippled as his mangled leg and a crotchety long-abandoned
Residence secures a promise that it will never be left alone
and untended again. A touch of humor is added by Tinne's
FamCat Ilexa who has returned to him following the lifting
of the Holly family curse and the Turquoise House or TQ, the
young Residence which Tinne has taken as his own temporary
refuge. Like Lahsin, TQ is just beginning to come into its
own and there are some poignant moments as the house is
finding its own voice and developing its character. Tinne
too must come to terms with himself as a man, find his own
identity within his concerned but loving family. Owens never disappoints. As with all of the Celta HeartMate
tales the reader gets
exactly what they expect and desire. After many trials and
tribulations the star-crossed lovers get their happily ever
after and those who stand in their way get what's coming to
them. Heart Fate is a delightful coming of age tale, rife
with suspense and wholly relatable. Another excellent tale
in a fine futuristic-fantasy series.
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted August 31, 2008
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