Customer Reviews

The Twilight Lord (World of Hetar)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Lara, Domina of Terah, born to a mortal father and fairy mother, has long known that she has a destiny that must be played out. Her destiny often wars with her desires as a wife and mother but as a woman she rises to each and every occasion. While waiting for her destiny to be made clear so that she knows what steps to take next Lara visits her friend Noss, who has been caring for Lara's oldest children while Lara fulfilled a part of her destiny.

Desperate to find his wife, Magnus Hauk seeks the aid of Prince Kaliq of the Shadow. He quickly learns that dark magic is to blame for Lara's disappearance. Being mortal, he has no power to aid in finding or retrieving Lara and he's forced to rely on Kaliq and Ilona, Lara's powerful fairy queen mother, to find and rescue his wife.

Kol, the Twilight Lord of the Dark Lands, revels in the fact that he's managed to steal Lara for himself. The Book of Rule states that a fairy woman is destined to give birth to the next Twilight Lord. Kol knows that she will never come to him willingly and fairies' do not give children to those whom they do not love. He has to devise a way to convince her that she loves him and wants to give birth to his child. His ambition extends beyond that. Kol intends to use her powers to conquer Hetar and Terah.

During Lara's visit to the Outlands, she makes the decision to take her older children, Dillon and Anoush, to live in Terah with her new husband, Magnus. It's obvious that Anoush is being influenced by her grandmother and cousin's poisonous words toward Lara and the events surrounding the death of Vartan, Dillon and Anoush's father. Before they begin the journey, Lara disappears from her bed. Dillon, who is coming into magical abilities but is yet untrained, has a strange dream about his mother before he discovers her missing. Dillon relates his dream to Kaliq who realizes immediately what happened, but also knows that this is a part of Lara's destiny that must be played out. Magnus is ready to do whatever necessary to get his wife back. Kol is determined to keep Lara for himself and use her powers for his own evil purposes. Back in Hetar, the self centered and greedy Emperor has learned of Lara's disappearance and plots an attack on what he believes to be a now vulnerable Terah. How will Lara's destiny affect everyone involved?

THE TWILIGHT LORD is the third book in Bertrice Small's THE WORLD OF HETAR series. In order to fully appreciate this story and truly understand the characters and their relationships I highly recommend reading the first two books in this series - LARA and A DISTANT TOMORROW. With THE TWILIGHT LORD we're treated to an amazing twist in Lara's destiny which I was stunned by but was so impressed with her ability to adapt and accept that everything that happens in her life has a reason regardless of how difficult it may seem. I loved getting the opportunity to learn more about the characters introduced in earlier books, especially Og, the gentle giant, and Kaliq whose adoration for Lara is obvious throughout this story. Magnus is a wonderful man and a perfect husband to Lara. He's strong and tries to accept that she has her own destiny that she must follow which may exclude him.

I've been a long time reader of Bertrice Small's historical novels and absolutely loved each of them so I was very impressed when I learned that she branched into a new genre. With this fantasy series Ms. Small boldly combines all the passion and angst we love in her historical novels with magic, mystical beings and amazing worlds to give her readers a new and exciting storyline that we'll want to continue long into the future. My favorite thing about Ms. Small's novels is the simple fact that the heroine's are always gutsy and possess an inner fortitude that rivals anything else I've read in a very long time. Beautifully written Ms. Small!

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

I am a picky reader, and to be quite honest, do not bother ever going to the romance section of a bookstore. I'd rather read books about learning foreign languages or of a technical nature..however, when Bertrce Small comes out with a new book, everything gets dropped and I either order (even pre-order)or go purchase it right away.

No one can take you into different worlds like Ms. Small. I have enjoyed every single one of her novels. She has the ability to make historical figures like Henry VII and Elizabeth I so real, as well as make you escape into fantasy realms, such as this one, The Twilight Lord. You almost feel as if you are some invisible spirit, following Lara around her adventures and feeling her emotions.

For those of you like me who work in a corporate world with all those adult family responsibilities and like to mentally escape when needed, I HIGHLY recommend any one of Bertrice's books. There is nothing better that to treat yourself to one of her books and keep it for years, as you will definietly want to read them again....

For those following Bertrice Small's LARA Character this was the 3rd Book - it was very good - just as Books 1 & 2 were - makes you anxious for the 4th Installment. As far as Amazon goes - I ordered the book used - it came in 4 days in PERFECT condition and even with the shipping cost it was equal to a Book Store Price and I didn't have to use $6.00 worth of gas to go get it.

I loved this book so much. I enjoyed books one and two but I thought this one was better than the first two. I couldn't put it down. I read it in one day. I'm so happy that Lara decided to have her kids with Varten live with her and Magnus. I did find it odd though that Noss seemed to let them go so easily. She didn't seem to care. I was a huge fan of Lara and Varten's romance in book one, but I've grown to really love reading about her and Magnus. I also liked reading about Vilia and Jonah. There were many love scenes in this book and some of them were really steamy. I think this book is the steamiest book Mrs. Small has ever written. I hope she writes more books in this series. I enjoy reading about Lara's adventures. This is one of the best books I've ever read.

Ms. Small is very fortunate in her fan base. I am simply dumbfounded that so many of her readers bought into this novel. The World of Hetar series was my introduction to Bertrice Small although I also read two of her historical novels before The Twilight Lord. The first two Hetar novels were intriguing. The author has a wonderful imagination and provides great "historical" and descriptive detail, creating a universe that is complete and supports the absorbing plot very well. However, in all three novels the plot details are repeated so often that you find yourself thinking, "Oh no, not again!" The reader imagines a child who has been studiously counting the words of her composition to reach the required number of words.

In fact, this entire novel is a model of excess in too many aspects. In The Twilight Lord, Lara, our magical heroine, runs headlong into the long-awaited fate for which she is destined. And a mighty distateful fate it is, what with the kidnapping, bondage, involuntary pregnancy, and exhibitionistic sex. To top it off, she has a guilty attraction to her nemesis-lover and Twilight Lord, the over-endowed Kol, who, shall we say, has bragging rights far superior to The Man With Two Brains. Can Lara fulfill a destiny worthy of a week of Jerry Springer shows and return to her loving husband?

There is sex aplenty among all the characters in the story, though much of it is so gratuitous that it stops the plot in its tracks. That there is so much rape of the women in this book would be disturbing enough without the unrealistic and degrading response (or non-response) of the victims. "I might as well enjoy the ride this creature is going to give me," is the reaction of one female character to being raped by a Wolfyn (half-human, half-wolf). Indeed, the principal female characters are curiously detached--from their children, their emotions, their mates.

This is a disturbing trend, this sexcapadist sub-genre of romantic fiction. It masquerades as erotic fantasy, but at its core it is profoundly anti-erotic and anti-romantic. This novel, which has so much potential, teeters between its engrossing plot elements and its gross-out sex episodes. Swinging from the appealing to the appalling, the reader still notices the inertial quality of the characterizations--these characters never grow as much as become engorged at regular intervals, pun intended. Like a bad interior decorator, Ms. Small just doesn't seem to know when to stop. She squanders her talent and the foundation she set up with the first two Hetar novels on too many cheesy tangents. Ms. Small is known for her stories of the adventurous: the plots, the heroines the sex. With The Twilight Lord, she seems to have made a conscious decision to provide more, more, more of What Her Fans Really Want. Which means I'm not a fan. I was left wanting a great deal less.

The book I received, The Twilight Lord by Bertrice Small, had correct pages from 1-256 then the pages were numbered 225-256. Pages 257-288 are missing. There are 2 sections of pages 225-256. Wonder what I missed by not having the correct pages in the book I received.

The Domina of Terah, Lara, has been taken in the middle of the night. Her mentor, Prince Kaliq, and her mother, Queen of the Faeries, Ilona are not telling all they know. Her husband, The Dominus, Magnus Hauk, is frantic. Why has she been taken? Where is she?

Kol, the Twilight Lord, has won. He has the Domina, Lara in his grip. Soon he will have her powers and he will conquer both Hetar and Terah.

Will Lara lose herself forever? Will Kol succeed? What is going on in Hetar?

The Twilight Lord was not quite what I expected. I could not enjoy it the way I wished. The main detraction was scenes that I felt were not realistic in their treatment of Lara and Morgan. I was disappointed by this plot turn. That said, the subplots were well-drawn and made me hopeful for the fourth book of the series. Ms. Small, as always, develops her characters beautifully and her attention to detail is good.

Emma
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Twilight Lord was a great third book of the series of Hectar. The Subtle hints in book two had taken me in a completely different direction. I hope that this is not the last we see of Lara and the world of Hectar

I am thoroughly excited with the new way Mrs. Small has taken her writing. She can keep me up all night long with her stories, but this one makes me want a reread!!!! WOW!

These books are terrible. Sex scenes get old really fast when they take up 90% of a book. It's porn, pure and simple.

When compared to Sky O'Malley and her earlier series, it becomes obvious that Bertrice Small has lost her edge.