Guest Review: Out of Shadows by N. J. Walters

Posted October 13, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments

Genres: Paranormal Romance
Judith‘s review of Out of Shadows by N. J. Walters.

Dovina Horne, a university literature professor, has arrived in Sleepy Hollow to study the legend of the horseman. She believes it’s only a myth until she is threatened by a horse and rider while walking on a deserted trail in the woods. Only the sudden appearance of a warrior saves her from the horseman’s sword. She feels an instant connection, both sexual and emotional, to this mysterious, protective stranger.

An immortal warrior of the Shadow Realm, Hadeon’s mission is to protect Dovina at all costs. He knows the horseman is not what he seems, but something more powerful and sinister in disguise. The longer he spends with Dovina, the more he wants her. He finds his way into her bed and her heart, but their relationship is doomed. He is an immortal from the shadows, and she is a human filled with light. But when the final battle comes, they must use all that is between them if they hope to survive.

N. J. Walters has a very impressive list of credits and literary accomplishments to her name, and readers of erotic romance recognize her as being one of the best. She has crafted a story that takes its impetus from the Washington Irving tale and has expanded it using the same locale and dynamic but with fantasy characters that take the story in a new direction. The Shadow Ryders are ancient warriors who have been given a choice, at the time of their near-death, to live in the Shadow Realm in order to bring justice and to use their eternity to right numerous wrongs in the human world. Yet there have been many warriors that have never been called to fight and they have grown comfortable in their darkness, some of whom have faded into the Otherworld or who have succumbed to the lure of power offered them by the demonic.

Now the Shadow Lord has offered a mission to Hadeon, a mercenary who was born 2.500 years ago, to protect and interact with Dovina, a woman who carries within her a mystic source of light that must be guarded at all costs. It has been centuries since he has been with a woman and he is fascinated by Dovina. She sees herself as fat; he sees her as voluptuous and curvey, the kind of woman any man would be proud to love. From the very first, Dovina is conscious of a connection that seems to be far greater than just a sharing of physical intimacy. It is certainly more than “lust at first sight.”

Walters has created a story that is full of darkness battling with light, scarey mystical horses and riders, warriors that melt into the shadows and who fight to the death. Both Dovina and Hadeon are well aware of who they are and have accepted their lot in life. But both are not closed off to possibilities, as unusual as they may appear. Dovina’s inner light-related power is sought not only by the good guys but by the forces of darkness for their own evil purposes. So there is struggle and fear, awakening longing and hot loving. This is, after all, erotic romance literature.

The greatest satisfaction for me in this novella is the overall theme of Redemption. For a warrior like Hadeon, one who sold his sword to the highest bidder, who never considered human life worth anything, his own included, the Shadow Lord’s offer of immortality was the opportunity to reshape his life to one that is focused on justice and doing good. For all the Shadow Ryders it is about reclaiming lives that have been bathed in blood and which can now be focused on protecting that which is worthy and redemptive. It is a desire to bring renewal to the Shadow Ryders that moves Dovina to cooperate in defeating whoever the mysterious horse and rider are that seek to capture her. Hadeon’s heart is captured by Dovina when he realizes that Dovina will use her heart, her inner light, and her very life to partner with him in destroying this evil.

This is a love story that has the aura of the impossible–an immortal with a mortal–but which expands to have so many more dimensions than what seems apparent initially. It is well written and researched, full of action and suspense, dark and mysterious on the one hand and loving and light-filled on the other, just like the main characters. It is a worthy expansion of that ancient Irving story and carries on the themes in that story so very well.

So for readers who love legend and myth, who like mysterious ghostly apparitions and things that go “bump” in the night, this is a great novella for you. It is also filled with erotic romance and the possibilities that only love can grant. Lots to like here, my friends. Please don’t miss it. I give this novella a rating of 4.25 out of 5.

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.


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