Judith‘s review of Longed-For Hunger (Ra’s Chosen, Book 3) by Marisa Chenery.

Denger is a hunter, spending his nights on the streets of Phoenix, fighting the undead who threaten unknowing humans. It is in his blood. It is what he knows. But a new knowledge has taken hold. Like other warriors before him, he must hunt for a different kind of prey altogether. His mate. Once he finds her, nothing will keep him from claiming what is his. Nothing but her, that is.

After the death of her husband three years ago, Nyx is content to spend her evenings at home, wrapped up in the vampire romance novels she loves. But when she collides, literally, with a man who could have stepped out of one of her books, she begins to think living her love life through romantic tales may not be the way to go. But as with any good story, there’s a plot twist. Once she discovers Denger’s true nature, she must decide if she can risk her heart and live a life where truth is stranger than fiction.

Ms Chenery has now released this third short novel in her Ra’s Chosen series, a series of stories built around the experiences of six warriors who are immortal and who have been chosen by the Sun God of Egypt to protect humanity from the worst that the Demon God Apep can do to destroy them. Why the minions of Apep have chosen Phoenix, a city where the sun shines more hours than many other places on the planet, is a mystery not only to us but to those warriors as well. All they know is that now in spite of the raging war that continues with Apep, Ra has decreed that each of them has been alone long enough. They must now not only battle the undead that are being created by Apep’s lieutenants, but they must now seek their mates.

Denger is one of the fiercest of the warriors. He lived to hunt. Now he must take precious hours away from his rest in order to find this illusive woman–his blood hunger and his driving need for her alone will not allow him to put off this search. Nyx barrels into him as she is rushing to her job as a clerk in a book store. A young widow of a cancer patient, she lives simply–working, eating, sleeping, and reading. She’s apparently a contented human being, until she smashes into this wall of maleness and her life is pointed into a different direction.

Both Denger and Nyx are really nice people. Both are about doing what they must, being responsible about meeting their obligations, sensitive and caring about others, wanting to make a difference in the world. Denger knows that his fellow warriors who have found mates had a tough time during their “courtship.” He is determined to manage this relationship differently and to woo Nyx without the trauma of accidentally discovering who he is. Yet, I think it is interesting to try to figure out how one explains to a 21st century American about being immortal, being initially alive in Egypt before the pyramids were built, being the Chosen of a Sun God, etc. The fangs aren’t easy to explain, either. So there are great literary possibilities here and I think Ms Chenery has teased out the tale in a very interesting way.

These stories have all the feeling about them of fantasy, or perhaps a paranormal fairy tale with contemporary context. I think the interaction among the warriors and their mates is quite amusing and I found myself chuckling from time to time. It is no wonder that in spite of how really strange Nyx must feel being introduced to this “alternate reality” in the midst of Phoenix, Arizona, she is also made to feel that these are people with a great sense of belonging and family, of a wider world view and that understanding of the eternal battle between good and evil that makes them far more accepting of the rare and wonderful. I couldn’t help considering how I would feel if confronted with such a set of facts about a person like Denger or a conclave built around an ancient god.

So this is a fun continuation of this fantasy series and should be welcomed by fans of Ms Chenery’s previous novels and stories. She has a very nice writing style that is very readable and she crafts her characters with depth and gives them personalities that are unique. It is also a really nice love story and one that includes that sense of what it means to reclaim one’s life after the loss of a significant person such as a spouse. I think romance and fantasy fans will like this story. I give it a rating of 3.75 out of 5.

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

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