"a thrilling fantasy story of love and betrayal"
Seven years ago, Selkie princess Finora decided to see what
life on land was like. Unfortunately, she met a man and the
moon was full and the next thing you know, he stole her
skin and she's bore him two children. Then the man went and
died on her, neglecting to let her know where her skin was
hidden, of course. All those years, she's searched for her
skin, but was unable to find it. So she's been stuck on
land with the song of the sea still in her heart. Her life
hasn't been too bad though. At least she's made friends in
the village and she has her two half-human to raise. That
doesn't mean she's stopped looking for her skin though. Meanwhile, Trystan is traveling to Finora's home along with
two companions—a wolf, Niadh, and an eagle. Trystan's
traveling companions are not normal animals however, for
Trystan is a werewolf Guardian and Niadh is his mentor.
Trystan has a mental bond with both the wolf and the eagle
and he can speak with them mentally. The reason Trystan is
in a ship is because he was sent to find the Guardians who
disappeared from his homeland in the Highland. The
particular Guardians Trystan is searching for are not
werewolves—these are dragon shape shifters. When a particularly nasty storm hits, Finora does what she
always does and uses both her dog and her mer friend to
rescue anyone from the wreckage she can. Well, the one
person she manages to rescue is not human. Turns out he's a
werewolf shape shifter. In order to keep the villagers from
finding out what he is, Finora takes him and his wolf to
her own home—the lighthouse. The attraction between the two
cannot be denied and so they enter into an arrangement—as
long as Trystan is in the village, they will be lovers.
Trystan also gets along very well with Finora's children.
And so the two of them try to find the dragon in Finora's
village. Will they find the dragon? Why did the dragon—or dragons—
leave the Highlands? Why did they settle here? Will Finora
ever find her skin? Will she go back to the sea, forsaking
her children? Will Trystan leave Finora if and when he
finds his Guardian? GUARDIANS OF LIGHT BOOK 3: LYCAN TIDES is an excellent
story. Renee Wildes does a wonderful job of bringing the
people and times to vivid life in this thrilling fantasy
story of love and betrayal. And believe me, there are
betrayals aplenty in this story, more than enough plot to
really keep me reading. And the way Trystan helps Finora
deal with her pain of being kept from her home in the sea
is truly heartwarming. The bond between these two just
keeps getting stronger the longer they are together. Finora
is left wondering if she really wants to help Trystan or
not since once he has what he came for, he will leave her
and she doesn't want him to go, nor do her children. All in
all, a story I very highly recommend. I can't wait to see
where Renee Wildes takes this series next!
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted January 2, 2010
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