Taelon searches the galaxy for his younger sister, who mysteriously disappeared while on a diplomatic mission. When an ally reveals that she was seized and is being held prisoner on Earth, Taelon descends upon the blue planet, intent on freeing her and exacting vengeance. However, all does not go as planned. Before he can find her, Taelon is captured and becomes the subject of torturous experiments. For what feels like an eternity, all he knows is pain and fury... until a mind tentatively touches his own and a woman's voice forever changes his world.After suffering tragic losses, Lisa is finally beginning to carve out a future for herself when chance sends her to the Anomalous Cognition Research Institute. What at first appears to be a benign organization seeking participants for a psychic study instead turns out to be a government facility harboring a much darker intent. Lisa discovers this too late and soon becomes the unwilling subject of a terrifying experiment. Just as fear and desperation threaten to consume her, a deep, compelling voice penetrates the looming insanity and lends her hope.Having seen only the worst of humanity, Taelon is shocked when Lisa risks everything to free him. Together the two make their escape, and Taelon finds himself fascinated by the small human woman who-despite all she's suffered-can still laugh and tease and lure smiles from him. Friendship swiftly grows between them as they work together to evade soldiers intent on capturing them and find themselves hunted by mystifying preternatural beings. Through it all, Lisa steadfastly remains by his side, stealing more of his heart each day while she helps him unravel the mystery of his sister's fate. Can they find his sister before the hunters find them? If they survive their quest, will Taelon have to bid Lisa farewell... or can he coax her into leaving her planet and joining him for the adventure of a lifetime?

MY THOUGHTS

A new series from Dianne Duvall that’s a spinoff from my beloved Immortal Guardians? SIGN ME UP! We met Amiriska many books ago and followed her journey as she accepted being alone on Earth and forged a new family and a life for herself. Who knew that her family did in fact come looking for her? She was not alone and seeing her reunion with her brother was so heartwarming I almost cried.

Audiobook Note

Kirsten Potter, as usual, does a fantastic job bringing this book to life. She makes it all seem real right down to various voices and nuances in speech. I hope she continues to be the only narrator (not counting the anthologies with the novellas in them) for Dianne Duvall’s books.

About the Characters

Taelon is a very protective male, though not in an overbearing alpha way. He’s traditional, though he can adapt to circumstances. He’s respectful even when he’s out of his element. Plus he’s pretty down to Earth, so to speak, for a prince. Lisa is smart and resilient. She may be skeptical, but once faced with undeniable proof she accepts the truth of things. Ami and the immortals are as lovable as always. It’s fun to see Ami more relaxed and the immortals thrown for a loop for once. Taelon’s crew are interesting and I hope we can see more of them on occasion in the future. Ami and Taelon’s brothers and parents are great. The parents are sweet and loving, embracing Lisa with open arms. Their brothers are too, but with a lot more teasing.

Things I Liked

The world built is exciting with a story that’s very compelling on all fronts. It’s sprinkled with fun powers that keep things interesting and a very sweet romance. Alien and immortal interactions were pretty hilarious and of course I do love a good thunderstorm. I would have loved to see more of Taelon and Amiriska. Ami’s been without her family so long it’s cool to see her more in her element and helping bridge the gap between aliens and immortals.

Things I Didn’t Like

My only complaint would be that even though it’s all for plot and character development, the time before Taelon and Lisa find their way to the immortals feels a tad slow. Even so, that portion still has some great moments.

More Thoughts

This book is full of changes for everybody involved, Lisa most of all. It’s about seeking family and acceptance. We get a good dose of babies too, which I absolutely adore. There’s so, so much more to come with a literal universe of possibilites.

Does it stand alone?

It stands alone okay as a first in series, but it’s not just better (as it always is), but almost necessary to read the Immortal Guardians books 8 and 9, if not all of them, to really grasp the situation.

Bottom Line

Ultimately, it was a wonderful book and I was unable to put it down until I finished it despite the late (or early?) hour.