by Patti O'Shea which is the second in her Light Warriors series. (Published June 2008 by Tor - Paperback ARC Edition - 370 pages) Genre is Romance (man-woman) with sub-genres of paranormal and fantasy.
Maia Frasier thought she'd escaped the world of troubleshooters and demons when she'd ceded her magical powers years earlier. Now a wounded enforcer has turned up in her home, claiming Maia's sister is in danger.
Creed Blackwood needs Maia's help to hunt the demon he's after, especially since he's hiding the fact that his powers are becoming erratic. And then there are the blackouts...
Maia soon begins to fear Creed has fallen to the dark forces himself, and with his strong and increasingly unreliable magic, he is as dangerous to her and her sister as any demon could be.
I had held off reading this because it is the second book set in this world and I don't like coming into the middle of a series. There was enough backstory though -- that it was a strong stand alone novel -- and while I want to read more about this world I don’t feel I’m missing anything if I don’t.
Pleasantly, paranormal in this case didn’t equal vampire, werewolf, or some other branch of demon as the hero or heroine. In O’Shea’s world there are magical people known as Gineal who live side-by-side with humans while keeping their identity hidden. The troubleshooters of this race fight demons protecting the human race and keeping the demons from being noticed by the population.
The characters were all rich and multi faceted. O’Shea conveys how hard it had been for Maia to give up her powers. Maia’s self-confidence is shot. Then there’s Creed. He’s done something unforgivable (likely in the first book), though he thought it was for the greater good. The last thing these two characters needed was to fall in love with a reluctant partner. They have a beautiful chemistry together. Their love story had a natural progression.
I loved Creed’s inner fight to stay on the side of good but have an issue with Creed when he almost killed a couple of teens pulling a prank. Then I was frustrated with Maia when she failed to do anything more than yell at him. But perhaps it was needed to show Maia’s love for Creed because in the end it shines brightly in his blackest hour.
I thoroughly enjoyed O’Shea’s voice. She grabs the reader and doesn’t let go. There were a few plot improbabilities and some aspects not completely explained but the story moved along a good pace. Settings were in today’s world and weren’t overstated. I felt the demons and other dimensions were described enough to get you through the scene, if the world was somewhat loosely strung together, without slowing you down. I definitely plan to read more by Patti O’Shea.
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