"A glorious medieval fantasy that you'll be loath to put down!"
SHADOW IN STARLIGHT is a medieval fantasy that will keep
the reader enthralled well into the night. Moreya Fa Yune
is left in shock by an audience with the Glacian King. It
would appear that her late father, who had been the king's
ambassador, had arranged for her marriage to the crown
prince of a distant realm. She immediately senses a
wrongness, for in spite of her father's honored position,
and the renowned beauty and sexual appeal of her mother's
people, she possessed no royal blood. Her shock is
magnified when she overhears the real reason for the
unequal match. Her husband-to-be needed an heir, but had
not the taste for women. A life of loneliness stretched
before her. Kaelan Preece, a rare Waniand known as the "King's Blade"
and
the "Warmonger", is chosen to be her escort
and bodyguard for the journey. He is selected not only
because of his reputation as a formidable warrior, but also
because of his unique resistance to the overwhelming
attractions of Yune women. He had no illusions. One such as
she would have no use for a man like him at any rate. But
his concealing clothing and the dark rumors about him
have the opposite effect on Moreya, serving only to whet
her
curiosity. She cares not for whatever affliction he might
possess for in truth how could she, a woman who could not
even go outside without bringing destruction, judge anyone? Proximity tends to be revealing, and once more Moreya is
stunned when she finds that the man is not at all what she
had been led to believe. He is glorious, and stunned that
she regards him in that light. He had lived with scorn for
most of his life. Still her appeals to be released from her
farcical situation fall on deaf ears until the
party is beset by thieves. Just when it seems the point
would be moot, Moreya risks everything, revealing her own
unusual affliction to spare their lives. But her heroic act
also unveils the fiendish plot of a conniving king, and the
true reason for the arrangement. A meddling sorcerer has his own reasons for throwing the
pair together. Unbeknownst to Preece the man had charted
his course from the moment of his parents' deaths. Moreya
was to be a part of that destiny. Whatever was to come,
Preece could no longer allow her to be a pawn in the
Glacian king's evil plot. More than this, he is undone by
her open affection and her easy acceptance of him. It had a
strange affect on both his body and heart. Preece knew what
he had to do, but at what cost? SHADOW IN STARLIGHT reminds me of a favorite quote, "It
is
only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is
essential is invisible to the eye." This beautiful,
intelligent, remarkable heroine, seeks beneath the
shrouding cowls of a reviled stranger, to reveal the beauty
within long before his face and form are unmasked. Against
all odds she is unforgettable, as is this tale. Highly
recommended. Copyright © 2002
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted September 5, 2002
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2002 PRISM AWARD Finalist:
2nd place - FANTASY
The shadow. A Waniand mercenary, cowled in black, dark and
forbidding. Preece the Warmonger, also called the Royal
Blade. Rumors about him suggest the creature beneath the
black cowl is not entirely human.
Starlight. A woman of bright gentian tresses and rare
beauty, promised in marriage to the prince regent of
another realm. Given in wedlock not as a cherished prize
but as a secret weapon meant to topple the reigning
monarchy...Unless the Warmonger can find a way to prevent
the marriage, even if it means risking both their lives in
an act of outright treason. Even if it means losing Moreya
herself, his memory, his very reason for living.
Yet Destiny has waited for just this turn in the wheel of
time and human events. A prophecy must be fulfilled, the
future of ancient bloodlines secured. Preece must return to
reclaim all he once lost - including Moreya, the Yune
beauty with the trusting innocence of a child and the
courageous heart of a dragon.
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