Genres: Paranormal Romance

Casee‘s review of Burning Alive (The Sentinel Wars, Book 1) by Shannon K. Butcher

They are the Sentinels…

Three races descended from ancient guardians of mankind, each possessing unique abilities in their battle to protect humanity against their eternal foes—the Synestryn. Now, one warrior must fight his own desire if he is to discover the power that lies within his one true love…

Helen Day is haunted by visions of herself surrounded by flames, as a dark-haired man watches her burn. So when she sees the man of her nightmares staring at her from across a diner, she attempts to flee—but instead ends up in the man’s arms. There, she awakens a force more powerful and enticing than she could ever imagine. For the man is actually Theronai warrior Drake, whose own pain is driven away by Helen’s presence.

Together, they may become more than lovers—they may become a weapon of light that could tip the balance of the war and save Drake’s people…

This is Shannon K. Butcher’s first paranormal book and first book in The Sentinel War series. I wasn’t really in the mood for a paranormal book when I picked it up. If I can’t decide what to read, I take a few books and read the first chapter of each one to see which one sounds the best. The reason I picked this one was b/c of the first sentence.

The man who was going to stand by and watch while Helen burned to death liked his coffee black.

After I read that, I had to keep reading it.

Drake is a Theronai and a Sentinel, a powerful race of warriors who protect the world and the humans in it. The Sentinels are trying to find a fallen warrior’s sword before the Synestryn can release all the dark souls that was killed with the sword. Whenever a Theronai dies, retrieving his sword is paramount.

When Drake first sees Helen, he’s drawn to her. When he touches her, she makes the pain he constantly feels disappear. Drake would think she was special just for that, but the Sentinels soon realize she’s not a mere human. She’s a female Theronai, which their race hasn’t had in hundreds of years. Drake wants to bond her immediately, but knows that he has to give her some sort of choice.

Helen first thinks that Drake and his friends are crazy in the head. That’s before monsters burst into her house and try to kill the lot of them. After that, it’s a lot easier to believe him. Still, she can’t forget her dreams, the dreams where Drake stands by with a smile on his face while she burns to death. Helen is terrified of fire, with good reason. So when Drake tells her she can help the Sentinels’ cause by calling fire, she is incredulous.

While I wasn’t exactly blown away by this book, I did enjoy it. I think that the world Butcher has created is an interesting one. I believe that now that the ground work in this series is laid, the books will get better. My emotions were definitely engaged while I was reading this, which is why I think that the next book will be even better.

4 out of 5.

This book is available from Onyx. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Leave a comment in this post for a chance to win a copy of Burning Alive.