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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
dangerously dark, deeply romantic story, October 22, 2009
This review is from: Immortal Wolf (Silhouette Nocturne) (Mass Market Paperback)
Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques
A CK2S K2 Recommended Read!
Emily Burke is cursed with the touch of death. Everyone she touches is bound to die. Now her own pack has requested her sacrifice for the safety of the rest of the pack. Yet Emily's blood has the power to restore life so how can two opposing powers exist in the same woman?
Raphael Robichaux is the Kallan, an immortal Draicon whose responsibility is to help the ailing and/or elderly Draicon cross over from this life into the Other Realm. His latest mission is to end Emily's life. Yet when he arrives, he is stunned to find Emily is his Draicara, the one true mate for him.
Raphael's most difficult job is now at hand, how can he protect his mate without endangering everything he stands for? And why is the pack so desperate to end the life of such an innocent young woman with such a rare gift? Emily must put her trust in the man meant to take her life if there is any hope of saving her, fulfilling an ancient prophecy, and destroying a great evil. Only the Immortal Wolf knows if they will succeed.
As always, Bonnie Vanak delivers a dangerously dark, deeply romantic story with Immortal Wolf. We delve even deeper into the Draicon mythology through Raphael and Emily's story. I was fascinated by the responsibility Raphael has as Kallan. While it causes him to always be on the outside in their society, there is great honor as well. Being called to execute Emily challenges everything he knows about his duty and leaves him floundering for resolution.
Emily is such a gentle soul that her death touch is absolutely horrifying to her. She loves deeply, from her feelings for her family and pack, to the plants and animals in their forest. As such she is deeply pained by her ability, terrified to touch anyone for fear she would kill them. Raphael is immortal and has always been set apart from others, first due to his heritage and later to his duty. He locks his emotions deep inside only allowing his family to see his true depth. Emily and Raphael are different in many ways, but they both have been forced to keep their distance, though for different reasons. When they find each other, they finally have an outlet for all the love hidden within.
I love learning more about the ways of the Draicon through Bonnie's books and with Immortal Wolf, we venture into new territory with Emily's pack. They scorn all things modern and prefer to live a simpler life. However, a simple life does not mean freedom from greed and a lust for power, it only means those things can take hold and it is that much longer before secrets are revealed. Let me just say, the secrets this pack is keeping are huge and shocking, with serious repercussions that could bring down their kind if they are not exposed. I also loved learning more about the responsibility Raphael has as Kallan and learning that his job as a bringer of death involves so much more.
Bonnie Vanak improves with every book in her Draicon series and I look forward to even more adventures about these magical shape shifters we love.
© Kelley A. Hartsell, October 2009. All rights reserved.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
super urban romantic fantasy, October 6, 2009
This review is from: Immortal Wolf (Silhouette Nocturne) (Mass Market Paperback)
Leaving New Orleans for Tennessee, Draicon executioner Raphael Robichaux is assigned to kill the ancient shapeshifter Emily as her pack fears her because everyone she touches dies. However, Raphael is taken aback when he meets the female he must kill. Emily Burke is young and is his life mate.
Ignoring her pack's insistence he do his job, Raphael chooses to investigate the deaths that has haunted this Draicon clan. On the other hand her pack is prepared to kill both of them if he fails to carry out his mission immediately as she has killed her father and her aunt in the past year. Raphael soon realizes she also possesses healing power instead of killing power. He begins to theorize that someone evil lurks in the background trying to prevent Emily from fulfilling an ancient shapeshifter prophesy.
Emily is a fascinating lead protagonist who believes she needs to die as her future is that of a hermit unable to touch anyone; the audience will think of Rogue of the X-Men. The urban romantic fantasy story line is fast-paced from the moment the executioner arrives and twists immediately as he knows he must kill his life mate, which will kill him too. Ironically she had been the bringer of life and he the destroyer, but now she apparently is the destroyer and he brings the hope of life. Fans will believe in the supernatural world of Bonnie Vanak as eastern Tennessee is home to the Burke Draicon clan.
Harriet Klausner
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just couldn't get on board, May 22, 2010
This review is from: Immortal Wolf (Silhouette Nocturne) (Mass Market Paperback)
Emily is cursed. Four drops of her blood can save a life, but a single touch will kill you. She is going to be put to death because of the curse and Raphael is sent to do the deed. But since Raphael is her mate things aren't going to be as easy as he first though.
I wanted to like this book, I really did, but I never came to like Raphael's character. There is nothing I can really point out that I disliked about him, but he was cold and whether Emily was his mate or not I thought it was tasteless to think of little else but having sex with her while also preparing to kill her.
I could forgive that, if I hadn't also had a problem with the book's premise. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief. It made no sense to me why a touch from Emily's hands would kill you but you could touch any other part of her you want with nothing happening. Seriously, wtf? How does that make sense? Skin is skin, whether it is on your hands, face or leg.
Also this book reads like a sequel, and some things that defined the "world" this story took place in were short on explanation.
I really wanted to love this, two star crossed lovers who were so desperately in love and yet knew what they had would never last, but that isn't how things played out. Raphael spent most of the book trying to change Emily's ideals and get her into bed and mostly distancing himself from the fact he had to kill her. He pinned a bit, but for some reason I thought it was tasteless to try to get Emily to enjoy life when he was going to kill her, like taking a kid to the movies and then wanting them to leave after only seeing one trailer. He never came off as truly regretful of what he had to do, I think if there was some major threat hanging over his head, then it would have been easier to see his anguish. He was upset about it, but never spoke about how losing Emily would change his life and had no reason to kill her other than because he was "supposed to" and with him being a rule breaker it didn't ring true.
At the end it seemed like all the blood, sweat and tears were for naught. The whole thing seemed anticlimactic being there seemed no point to Emily's death once the whole story was revealed.
Anyway this just wasn't my cup of tea. I have read better shifter books and didn't get enough of a sense of this draicon world to engage with the characters other than being mildly interested in how they are going to give these two a happily ever after.
2 1/2 stars.
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