Guest Review: Lionheart by Thea Harrison

Reviewer: Jen
Lionheart (Moonshadow, #3) by Thea Harrison
Series: Moonshadow #3
Also in this series: Spellbinder, Lionheart (Moonshadow, #3), Spellbinder, Spellbinder
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: October 15, 2018
Format: eARC
Source: Author
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 420
Add It: Goodreads
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Series Rating:

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Thea Harrison comes the final story in her spellbinding Moonshadow trilogy…

King Oberon reigned over his Dark Court in Lyonesse for centuries, until an assassination attempt laid him low. Now he lies unconscious in his snow-bound palace, while his Power battles the enchantment that threatens to end his life.

A skilled trauma surgeon and magic-user, Dr. Kathryn Shaw reigns at the top of her profession in New York. Then comes a challenge she can’t resist—she is asked to cure the uncureable. Just getting close enough to try healing Oberon is a dangerous proposition. When she does reach him, he awakens too soon.

Roused from darkness by Kathryn’s presence, Oberon confronts the beautiful stranger who claims she wants to save his life. But the enchantment has frozen his emotions. How can he learn to trust her when he can’t feel anything?

Oberon’s desire is icy, devoid of all tenderness. Not only must Kathryn match wits with him, she must also fight her reaction to his touch, because there is so much more at stake than her own endangered heart.

For the Dark Court faces its most deadly peril yet. Its ancient enemy Isabeau, Queen of the Light Court, is obsessed with its annihilation, and Oberon must be brought to remember his loyalty and affection for his people.

Because if he won’t fight for them, Lyonesse itself may very well be destroyed…

Oberon’s book is here! I absolutely loved the first two books in Thea Harrison’s Moonshadow series, so I was extra excited to read this book. 

Dark Fae King Oberon’s presence loomed over the last two books, despite the fact that he has been in a coma-like sleep after an assassination attempt. While in his self-induced sleep, his powerful weather magic has spiraled out of control and is slowly freezing the life out of the Dark Fae’s land of Lyonesse. The situation is at a breaking point, and if the remaining Dark Court members cannot find a way to heal Oberon they will need to take drastic measures. They call upon Kathryn Shaw, a magical surgeon (and were-falcon) we met in book 1. Kathryn agrees to go to Lyonesse and do what she can to stop the magic intent on killing the King. When Oberon wakes up before Kathryn has stopped the killing magic, Oberon has to trust in her to save him before it is too late.

I totally love Kathryn. She is my favorite heroine in the series so far! I love that she is brilliant and so incredibly good at her job. Her best quality is that she takes no shit. She’s not “feisty” and is never obstinate for no reason. When she pushes back she does it after carefully considering the situation and determining that it’s a battle that requires fighting. Once she decides to push back, she does it firmly but still rationally. I want more heroines who are smart and carefully “strong” instead of just feisty or sassy! I especially loved that after her and Oberon realize what’s happening to them, she immediately grasps the complexities of being Queen, or is at least prepared to investigate and navigate them. Kathryn doesn’t do anything blindly, and her forthright but compassionate persona is exactly what Lyonesse needs from a leader. I haven’t heard whether there are more books coming in the series, but I certainly hope so because I want to hear how Kathryn is faring in Lyonesse.

Oberon was less interesting to me. The killing magic is basically freezing his emotions, so for a good chunk of the book he’s not able to feel anything but the most animalistic urges. I guess it was somewhat interesting to hear about how he was trying to determine the “right” thing to do based on how he guessed the man he used to be would respond, but in general I didn’t feel like the stakes were very high. Obviously he was going to get his emotions back, and obviously he was going to be a good person once he did. Once Kathryn removes the magic, Oberon became ridiculously perfect. He is so good, so just, so noble, so beloved by his people. I suppose I just didn’t feel like he had a lot of depth.

Still, I really enjoy this world. I loved finally seeing Oberon’s power, because whooo boy he’s got some power. I also really respect the way Harrison has handled the concept of trauma in this series. In this book the puck Robin, who endured some horrific trauma and consequently hasn’t always made the best choices in the series, finally gets some healing. The one part where Oberon WAS a bit swoony was when he was comforting Robin and letting him know it’s ok to feel what he’s feeling. It’s so revolutionary to read that kind of thing in a romance, especially from a powerful alpha hero, and I am here for it.

I may not have loved this book as much as the others in the series, but it’s still a solid story with an excellent heroine. I hope it continues.

Grade: 4 out of 5.

Moonshadow

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