"Hill stirs up emotions and engages readers with A WITCH'S BEAUTY"
Mina the seawitch is a Dark Spawn - a mermaid with the
blood of a Dark One. Grossly disfigured as a result of the
merpeople's ignorant cruelty, Mina has spent her life
fighting the evil lure of her dark nature while living in a
world that has shown her nothing but contempt. Her ability
to resist the call of the Dark Ones depends on maintaining
a precise balance of dark and light energies in her
solitary existence. But when the angels engage in an epic
battle against the Dark Ones, Mina unleashes impressive
magical powers forcing the angels to regard her with
caution - is she an ally or an enemy? Until the question
can be answered definitively, Mina must be guarded at all
times. Mina's dark essence and hateful disposition repulse
the angels who have been trained to attack Dark Spawn, but
one angel has felt a connection with Mina ever since their
first encounter. The young lieutenant volunteers to serve
as her protector, though nearly everyone doubts Mina has
any good qualities worth defending - a sentiment that even
Mina herself shares. David became an angel when he died at age 14. He has fought
with the Legion since he came of age as an immortal
defender of The Lady. Haunted by the darkness that remains
from his tragic short life on earth, David understands the
internal struggles of good and evil. Mina's fierce
determination to resist the pull of the world of the Dark
Ones touches him in a way he can't deny and he refuses to
allow her to succumb to evil. Guarding Mina proves perilous
and thrilling as he comes to know the woman who is at once
a mature witch and a lonely innocent who has never dared to
dream. If he can win her trust, then perhaps he can help
Mina maintain the delicate balance she requires, but David
may have underestimated the depth of malevolence that
dwells in her soul. His mistake could turn deadly, and he
stands to lose much more than the tentative trust of the
dangerous seawitch. When the Dark Ones threaten to plunge the world into chaos,
Mina and David infiltrate the Dark realm and face their
worst nightmares. David relies on his faith, but Mina has
endured by only relying on herself. Battle lines are drawn
and the fate of the universe hinges upon the decision of
the one person who has every reason to despise its
existence. An angel's love may not be enough to hold sway
over the temptation of the Dark Ones as Mina has never felt
worthy of such a precious gift. In the end, Mina must
decide if gaining the power of the gods is worth
sacrificing the only person who ever cared enough to offer
her hope and unconditional love. A WITCH'S BEAUTY is the second installment of Joey W.
Hill's mermaid series, and Hill skillfully maintains the
sensuous mood of the first book while tackling darker
themes this time around. David and Mina bear
emotional/physical scars issued by the hands of abusive
adults and their experiences have affected them profoundly.
Mina's internal conflict comes across in horrific detail as
David's guilt and pain is quietly expressed with
heartbreaking intensity. Hill pulls no punches in this tale
of innocence stolen, redemption, and the healing power of
love. As a result, A WITCH'S BEAUTY engages emotions and
satisfies with multi-dimensional characters and a poignant
love story. Mina and David endure more than anyone should
ever have to (real or imagined) and this reader can't think
of another couple more deserving of their happy ending. This installment can be read as a stand-alone novel, though
it does contain some references to A MERMAID'S KISS. I
highly recommend A WITCH'S BEAUTY and look forward to Book
3, A MERMAID'S RANSOM, due out Late 2009.
Reviewed by Sonya Harrison
Posted March 26, 2009
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