Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…
As the dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy.
Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who’d cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden.
Liliana uses a blood spell to send herself straight into the Black Castle where the Lord himself resides. Yeah, she didn’t exactly mean to get quite that close to the castle. Unfortunately the Lord is in his throne room when she arrives and she’s sent directly to the dungeons – but that’s after Liliana, who pretends not to be cowed by the Lord, has a staring contest with him.
The next day Liliana is brought again to the throne room and though she’s a bit mouthy she talks herself into the kitchens where she cooks for him.
The Lord of the Black Castle – who doesn’t know himself as Micah – is intrigued by this woman who isn’t afraid of him. She’s certainly nothing to look at with her eyes too close together, her mouth that is too large for her face, her limp and her hook nose, but there’s something about her that can’t stop Micah’s thoughts about her.
Liliana knows that she must somehow get Micah to remember who he is so that she can get him back to Elden in order to help his siblings take back their kingdom. By telling tales and being kind to the Lord of the Castle – something that had never really happened before – Liliana manages to befriend the man, more than befriend him if truth be told. She falls in love with him and he with her. But what will happen to their relationship when Micah finds out who exactly she is and who her father is.
This was my favorite book of the series – not a shock there. While I really liked book 3, Singh’s story in book 4 was just that much better.
The fact that the Blood Sorcerer’s daughter was involved was extra good and the fact that she wasn’t blindingly beautiful! It’s a lovely beauty and the beast tale only the beauty is the man…in a way. I loved that either the hero or the heroine could be considered beauty or the beast – at least imho.
Micah seemed a bit immature at first but really – he was kind of kept in stasis for years before he became the Guardian of the Abyss. He had no family, no growing up years or experiences so it made sense that he was a bit demanding and spoiled – no one had ever nay-sayed him. Liliana comes along and bam here’s this woman who gives as well as she gets. It was a great combination and I loved reading the witty banter between the couple.
I thought it was a pretty good series that got better with each book. I kind of wish the last battle with the Blood Sorcerer and his minions would have shown more of each sibling’s fight but it all worked out in the end. I was definitely happy with the overall HEA.
Rating: 4 out of 5
The beginning of this series wasn't grabbing me so now I'm stalling to read and review the others. The premise sounded so awesome…*sigh*
Sounds like a good story! Do you think I can read this as a stand-alone?
Leo – I had all 4 books so I didn't want to NOT read them and of course I knew I'd like Singh's book. The first couple didn't wow me but they were good.
Nath – I think you could read this one on its own. It does have references to Micah's siblings and their mission to save their kingdom but other than that I think it would be ok as a stand alone.
I've been undecided about reading this series, myself, but am SUCH the Nalini fan, that I'm considering it just for her book. I'm thinking about at least reading this one..
nath, should we do it?