"excellent romantic fantasy"
Qasim the hobgoblin has come up with an ingenious plan to
free his peers. All he needs is several hundred human
children to die. To attract the kids to him, this Pied
Piper intends to pose as Santa at the mall. At about the same time that Qasim begins implementation of
his brilliant strategy, hybrid (human, Fey, and Goblin)
Zee Finvarra flees with her two younger siblings from her
Goblin kin. She recognizes the disguised Qasim and knows
he cannot be up to anything good. However, a nasty ice
storm created by her relatives pursuing her detains her
from warning anyone. Dr. Nicholas Anthony is also caught
by the sudden storm. He ends up sharing a cabin with the
stranded Zee. Though a non-believer, he willingly risks
his life to keep the Finvarra siblings safe from creatures
that just cannot exist as a confrontation between good and
evil is about to occur on a Nevada desert. No one does romantic fantasy better than Melanie Jackson
does (see TRAVELER, DOMINION, and THE COURIER). Her
latest thriller is another winner as readers will root for
the lead couple to defeat the vile villain (as nasty a
malevolence as fans will find) and make it with one
another. Especially interesting is the metamorphosis of
Nicholas from non-believer to doubter to convert as he
learns there are plenty of mysteries under the heavens
including his own bloodline. Ms. Jackson is at her
masterful best with this exciting tale. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted August 25, 2005
SummaryLong ago the hobgoblin Qasim was turned to darkness, was
made a master of evil. His newest plot is a sacrifice of
unspeakable horror that will mean full-fledged war between
all species. There exists hope to fight back. Nicholas
Anthony, an ER doctor, doesn't know of his own fey blood,
or that others of his kind are massing in the Nevada
desert. Alienated from himself, he is a man about to
discover his destiny. Magic will draw Nick to his true self—
and to Zee, an enchanting beauty with dark secrets yet to
be revealed. To these two is entrusted the fate of the
world, their kind, and salvation from THE MASTER.
| 
