Sandy M’s review of The Ruby Kiss (Magic Knot Series, Book 3) by Helen Scott Taylor
Paranormal Romance published by Dorchester 15 Nov 11
This magical world of Helen Scott Taylor’s only gets better and better with each book. Her characters are full of emotion, and I found myself tearing up a couple of times when it looks as though all hope is lost. The writing is strong and tailor made to pull you in so you can experience each and every nuance of the storyline as the characters do themselves. Outstanding.
We’ve met Nightshade in the previous two books in the series. He’s not always been a stand-up character, but he does go through a turn-around and tries to make amends for the damage and hurt he’s caused. He also discovers he has a younger brother and vows to keep the boy away from their father, a man who never showed anything but evil interest and intent and hate toward Nightshade. He’ll not allow that to happen to Rhys. So now we have a character who we didn’t like very much early on, who has now become a sympathetic character and hero material. Thank goodness Ms. Taylor saw this in Nightshade, because this book is now my favorite of the series. I’m wondering how close it was that he might not have gotten his own book.
Ruby is the typical modern-day Scottish lass, independent, relying on no one but herself. Her mother used Ruby’s “affliction” throughout her childhood to try to locate the father who never showed any interest in his daughter – or her mother. Finally refusing to help her mother any longer led to the woman’s death and Ruby’s freedom. Her “affliction” still hits once a month on the full moon – grass, trees, flowers, vines and the like grow at alarming rates wherever she is, so secluding herself for that time is the only way to keep things under control.
When Nightshade crashes through her skylight onto her bed and after deciding she doesn’t need her trusty bat as a weapon against the tall, dark, and sexy nightstalker, she nearly gives in to his sensual allure. But fearing being controlled again, Ruby pushes Nightshade away despite her want of him. So he takes flight once again to track down his father to force him to cede his rights to Rhys. The next thing he knows Ruby is also at the Gathering of Kith and Kin and not of her own volition. Forced there by creatures she’s never seen before, she discovers the otherworld is looking for her – the new Mistress of the Beasts – all thanks to her father, who is a piece of work just as Nightshade’s is. Now she’ll never be rid of her affliction.
From this point on, things really begin to move. Nightshade has vowed to protect Ruby no matter what comes her way, and a lot comes forth. She has to deal with the King of the Unseelie Court, who wants to use her powers for himself. Ruby still has to learn how to harness and apply those powers. She goes before the Bride of the Light at the Seelie Court, which is one of the best scenes in the book when Devin, Nightshade’s demon friend, sees the love of his life again, the daughter of the Seelie King and Queen, who refuse to allow them to be together. The longing, the regret, the love are entwined between them and it’s a very moving scene, especially because Devin is a character you come to like very quickly.
Another character who turns you completely around is Twister, the Unseelie King. The way he uses and handles Ruby in the beginning makes you despise him, but when you learn why he needs her powers, how long he’s been waiting, you feel so differently then. And even more so when he finally gets what he’s always hoped for and it doesn’t bring back to him what he so desperately wants. Very heart wrenching. Another such scene is later in the book when Troy, Devin’s father, sacrifices all for Nightshade and Ruby to be together. His selfless act surprises both of them and the reader, but it’s the scene when Devin comes to his father afterward that had me in tears. All of this revolves around Ruby’s, and others’, magic knots, which are stones that hold a person’s essence of mind, body, and soul. Though magic knots are a part of the previous two books, of course, they’re much more front and center here, and Ms. Taylor ties her characters and the reader in knots over them.
I think Ms. Taylor has made an admirable hero out of Nightshade. He wants a son, a family, and he learns what love truly means. Ruby is a typical woman, self-conscious about her weight, stubborn, independent, no one’s doormat, and, turns out, more adventurous than she thought she’d be again. Nightshade loves her lushness and extra curves. A man after my own heart. She does have trust issues, which pushes Nightshade away a couple of times, but she eventually does learn to give him her trust in a world where it’s needed at every turn. Ultimately, they are a unique couple and you cheer them on whenever it looks as though things may not work out for them.
I’m hoping Devin gets his book in the future. But with the business Ms. Taylor got caught up in with Dorchester, I have no idea if that will happen. I’m sure that would be another kick-in-the-gut read if it does come to be. Keeping my hopes high for it anyway.
Grade: A+
Summary:
A Powerful Nightstalker: Nightshade hungers to bring the strong and beautiful to their knees beneath the ecstasy of his bite, but he has never known sexual lust–not until he meets Ruby McDonald. The curvy redhead wields attitude and strength like an ax and she would be the perfect mother of his children. Caught in a clash between the Seelie and Unseelie courts, he battles not only for her survival but also for her heart.
A Mortal with a Secret: Plagued by magic inherited from a father she never knew, Ruby wants answers. Nightshade has them. But when he crashes into her bedroom late one night, the Fairy’s silvery eyes, dark intensity, and striking black wings tempt her with a whole lot more: a mysterious world waiting to be explored, a dangerous love that binds her in body, mind, and spirit, and the children she thought she could never have. The future offers her a choice between freedom and a power some would kill to possess. Should she deny her desires, or succumb to the seduction of…THE RUBY KISS
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
