Heart Fate (Celta's HeartMates, Book 7) [Mass Market Paperback]

Robin D. Owens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2008

Wed to a wealthy older man when she was just a girl, Lahsin Yew runs away from her abusive home to find a new life. At seventeen, she?s about to enter her Second Passage, when her Flair?and perhaps her HeartMate?will be revealed.

Lahsin finds sanctuary in a secret garden, where she meets Tinne Holly. Though he is her HeartMate, he cannot tell her, and her troubled past prevents her from trusting any man. Pretending to find her by chance, Tinne helps her through her Second Passage. But when the truth is revealed, can she forgive his deception, and learn to trust in her destiny?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Owens's latest entry in the Heart series (Heart Dance, etc.) is a touching tale of learning to trust again. Lahsin Burdock Yew is an underage noblewoman being abused by her brutish husband. When she comes of age, she repudiates her marriage and flees to a sanctuary where she can go through her Second Passage, a difficult and sometimes deadly ritual that will cause her magical Flair to be revealed. Meanwhile, nobleman Tinne Holly is recovering from a scandal: his wife has divorced him, making it the first divorce in noble history. Tinne knows that Lahsin is his Heartmate (his soul mate), but he is forbidden by law from telling her. Instead he goes to the sanctuary to heal his own broken heart and try to protect Lahsin from her Passage and help tend to her emotional wounds. But as they grow closer, the specter of Lahsin's ex-husband looms, threatening her freedom and their happiness. Even for readers unfamiliar with the Heartworld, Owens makes it easily accessible and full of delightful conceits such the Residences, houses with consciousnesses and personalities. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

In Owens’ seventh book set on the magic-infused planet Celta, Tinne Holly is devastated when his wife divorces him, a painful event unheard of among the great families of Druida. Lahsin was married off at 14 to a sadistic and abusive old pedophile. When her second passage starts, greatly enhancing her Flair, her magical gifts that will accord her adult status, she disavows her marriage and runs away to Druida. Finding refuge in the legendary hidden FirstGrove, she befriends a crippled dog and Tinne Holly. Tinne knows Lahsin is his HeartMate but cannot tell her yet, so he starts training her in self-defense to help heal the psychic trauma she experienced in her marriage. Animal familiars, sentient houses, including a delightful young house just learning the ropes, and brief visits with characters from previous Celta novels make this a true delight to read, and it should garner new fans for this unique and enjoyable series of futuristic fantasy romances. --Diana Tixier Herald

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (September 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425223671
• ISBN-13: 978-0425223673
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #828,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

http://www.robindowens.com RITA Winner (Oscars of Romance) 2002 for HeartMate. Heart Thief out 06/03/03, Heart Duel out 04/04, Heart Choice 7/05, Heart Quest 8/06. Creativity exercises, affirmations on my website. I am a serious writer of 10 years, past President and contest chair of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. My most pressing interest in the craft of writing is CREATIVITY. My book, HeartMate, was the first futuristic-fantasy romantic adventure published by Jove in it's Magical Love line. It won the RITA for Best Paranormal Romance and finalled in Best First Book.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Return to Celta - Fate offers heart mates a second chance, September 3, 2008

By 

melindeeloo (sb,ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Heart Fate (Celta's HeartMates, Book 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

I just love the world of Celta, the magical Flair, the Wiccan-ish culture and the promise of a bond with the perfect mate, a Heartmate.

Heart Fate has some very emotional moments, for Lashin, whose married life was a nightmare, and for Tinne Holly (brother to Holm from Heart Duel (Celta's HeartMates, Book 3)) who honorably accepted that he'd lost the chance to pursue his Heartmate and found another woman to marry. But both Tinne and Lashin are now free from those marriages - Lashin repudiates her marriage at the same time as Tinne's wife divorces him. I was probably struck most by the powerful portrayal of Tinne's suffering magnified by his wife's rejection and the emotionally grueling divorce testing which forced him to relive the loss of their love and dredged up his anguish over the death of his child-to-be and his inability to reach his wife past their shared grief. Lashin too is emotionally damaged as she flees her horrific marriage and struggles to overcome the memories of victimization at the hands of her abusive, rapacious husband and his evil spawn. Her emotional ordeal is less concentrated but inspires sympathy and anger at the hopeless helplessness she had to endure.

After the last book I was worried that the series was going to succumb to the "formula trap" that plagues many long running series, but Heart Fate while sharing the world, and featuring some old favorite characters in cameo roles, brings together the HeartMates Tinne and Lashin in a much different way than in the previous books. Instead of an emphasis on an instant physical connection, there was a tentative reaching out as the damaged pair meet and share the sanctuary of First Grove which is granted to only the wounded and shattered of body, heart or spirit. They slowly begin to form a relationship, first with just the barest hint of trust as Tinne approaches the skittish Lashin and shows her not all men are evil. Next they grow into friendship and a caring that sparks an attraction that smolders until Lashin is willing to explore a healthy passion with Tinne and then finally both accept the risk to their newly mended souls to trust the bond that they share in order to accept the reward of love that is the gift among Heartmates.

So even though Heart Fate was less romance-y than the previous books, I enjoyed the story, the relationships with friends and family, and watching both Tinne and Lashin grow into stronger more emotionally healthy HeartMates. Also fun was the mutual taming between Lashin and her dangerous looking fam-dog-to-be and Tinne's more typical relationship with his fam-cat. And, characters in their own right, the Balm-Heal residence fit in with the damaged soul theme and the young Turquoise House, which was well on the way to becoming a self-aware residence, was entertaining and provided some lighter moments amid all of the serious goings on. So merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again when Owen's continues with the next of three books in the series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So good I couldn't put it down, June 4, 2009

By 

Susan Trombley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heart Fate (Celta's HeartMates, Book 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

Once again the return to Celta was highly entertaining and engaging. This time we learn more about Tinne Holly and his heartmate Lahsin. What is so good about this book is that despite the character driven storyline the reader definitely gets a sense of the world of Celta, the politics driving that world and the many aspects of life on Celta which simply amplifies the quality of storytelling in the book. Unlike so many gritty urban fantasies which model their worlds on a gothic style metropolis with 'tough' but foul mouthed heroines that are difficult to relate to, Ms. Owens has created a futuristic world where magic and technology merge almost seamlessly and yet the people are strong without being urban punk, the cities are beautiful, green and nature-oriented and the heroines reveal their strength without resorting to bad language or amoral behavior. Each addition to the Heart mate series offers an excellent story and Heart Fate is no different. The problems that Tinne and his Heartmate suffer do not come off as conveniently contrived for plot advancement and the reader can almost feel their pain because Ms. Owens presents it so eloquently. This story is not only for fans of paranormal romance, (a genre I am not personally a fan of) but for anyone who enjoys a well crafted story about love. Those who haven't experienced the world of Celta needn't fear that they will be lost. The story provides just enough detail to sketch out the world and the backstory from previous Heart books without going off on tangents or moving too far from the focus of the story. An excellent read and one I highly recommend for romance lovers and new comers to the paranormal romance genre. This book will join all the other Heartmate books on my 'keepers' shelf.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read!!!!, September 8, 2008

By 

E. Hill "book lover" (Palm Bay, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart Fate (Celta's HeartMates, Book 7) (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't know why this book received low rating that it did. I truly did enjoy this book. Yes it isn't as romantic as the other ones but it still doesn't make it a bad book. I was able to relate fully to both of the main characters in the book.

For all the people that said that Tinne's character was weak or off due to him mourning the loss of his wife, I say that you're wrong. He was mourning the loss of the life he had. He finally got to grieve for the child that he loss and for not being able to make his wife happy after that loss. He was grieving for the not being able to protect his heartmate at all. So I fully understand his character and emotions through out this book.

As for Lashin all I can say is that I am proud of her. She knew that she couldn't stay in that farce of a marriage and that she had to go some place where she would be able to grow. Lashin and Tinne needed each other for comfort and companship. They each needed to know what their strengths were and what they are capable of withstanding (emotionally, mentally, and physically). And last but not least I am sooo glad that there wasn't that much communication and dialouge with the Fams. I love TQ, the baby lisp was too cute!!!!