Lionheart (Moonshadow, #3) by Thea Harrison
Series: Moonshadow #3, Elder Races
Also in this series: Spellbinder, Lionheart (Moonshadow, #3), Spellbinder, Spellbinder, Dragon Bound (Elder Races, #1), Storm's Heart (Elder Races, #2), Serpent's Kiss (Elder Races, #3), Oracle's Moon (Elder Races, #4), Oracle's Moon (Elder Races, #4), True Colors (Elder Races, #3.5), Lord's Fall (Elder Races, #5), Kinked, Lord's Fall, Kinked (Elder Races, #6), Pia Saves the Day & Peanut Goes to School, Dragos Takes a Holiday, Night's Honor, Night's Honor, Dragon Bound, Midnight's Kiss, Midnight's Kiss, Dragos Goes to Washington, Shadow's End, Pia Does Hollywood, Liam Takes Manhattan, Pia Does Hollywood, The Chosen: A Novella of the Elder Races, Planet Dragos (Elder Races, #9.8), Planet Dragos (Elder Races, #9.8)
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: October 15, 2018
Format: eARC
Source: Author
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 271
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Lionheart is the final story in the 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…
I adore Harrison’s Elder Races world. These characters really come alive for me every time I read one. I was curious about Oberon after the events of the previous book, Spellbinder.
An assassination attempt by the Light Fae Queen has a slow-moving magical curse working its way toward Dark Fae King Oberon’s heart. The closer it gets, the less he feels real emotion. When he realizes the magical needle is almost to his heart, he puts himself into a coma. For nearly 200 years he’s been “asleep” while his weather magic rages out of control, decimating the once thriving land of Lyonese. The Dark Court still loyal to King Oberon knows they have to make a decision soon. If the death curse can’t be stopped, Oberon will be lost. They call on surgeon Katherine Shaw. She’s the only one they’ve met in nearly 200 years who may be able to remove the spell from Oberon. Though she’s reluctant, Katherine can’t deny the appeal of the near-impossible task. With Dragos’s prompting, she agrees to see what she can do. She didn’t expect to be battling Oberon and his magic as well as the curse. She’ll have to gain his trust if she’s going to save him…which may be the hardest task of them all.
When Dr. Katherine Shaw agrees to travel to the Other Lands to see if she can remove a deadly spell King Oberon has been under for 200 years, I cheered. I loved her in the previous books and I was really excited to find out more about Morgan’s spell and how Oberon would live. I’m not sure if I didn’t pay enough attention to mentions of the Dark Court in previous books, or if it was explained better here, but I really loved how diverse the Dark Fae are. The war with Isabeau, the Light Fae Queen, comes because the Dark Fae aren’t “pure”. Most all of them are half-breeds of some kind. King Oberon himself is Dark Fae and Wyr. I loved that aspect of the novel, as well as the glimpses we saw of Lyonese and its people. The romance was slow moving at times, but I can’t deny I enjoyed it. I wish there had been a bit more conflict surrounding Oberon coming back to himself, as that part seemed just a bit too neat, but even then I enjoyed seeing the man his people knew and loved.
This didn’t work quite as well for me as the previous entry, Spellbinder, but Harrison doesn’t disappoint. Oberon and Katherine were both wonderful, as was their romance. Another stellar novel in a well thought out and imaginative series. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
4.25 out of 5
I’m looking forward to reading this as Thea Harrison has written some of my favorite books. Thanks for the review, Holly.
Spellbinder is my favorite of this trilogy, but Dragon Bound and Oracle’s Moon are two of my favorite books ever.