Sandy M’s review of Parallel Fire (Midnight Warriors, Book 5) by Deidre Knight
Paranormal Romance ebook novella released by Samhain 6 Jun 08

Wow, this little snippet has me hungry for more of these Midnight Warriors. I’m in my usual bind with so many dang books stacked up waiting for me to read. I have the books in this series, just haven’t yet picked them up. My loss.

I obviously can’t go into a lot of detail about this world of warriors since I haven’t read the previous books, but Anna has had to reveal her secret concerning the Madjin Circle, of which she is a member. She’s before the king’s advisors to explain her participation as one of the elite group’s protectors. This brings her face to face with Nevin Daniels, the ranking officer, and a man she’s been half in love with most of her life.

There’s a little bit of flirtation between them at this point, but it seems to Anna perhaps she imagined it because Lieutenant Daniels is a straight shooter and takes his position and duty seriously. So she goes about her business trying to get the man out of her head when suddenly she’s being paired with him for routine assignments. Come to find out it’s Nevin who’s pulling the strings and getting Anna in the cockpit with him. He’s watched her for years, but because he’s older and going through the maturity stage for men of his species much earlier than expected, he’s never taken that step to get to know her personally. So he’s kept his secret to himself and lusted after Anna from afar.

But things do heat up when on one of these routine missions they crash land and are stranded together for several days. It doesn’t take long for the heat to turn to flame between these two. Nevin tries his damnedest to resist Anna, not wanting to hurt her because of the heightened sexual appetite that comes with his maturity, but she finally pushes him too far and the way for their bond to become reality is cracked wide open. They have some of the best sex, but they also get to know one another better, learn about each other. Things, however, don’t quite go the way Anna anticipates when they’re rescued and back among their peers.

I am so intrigued by these Refarian men who gain maturity at age 40, when they lose the ability to have children but they gain sexual prowess that’s apparently unparalleled. Hell, if I’d been Anna I would have gone after this man too. She likes her men and sex a little rough and tumble and Nevin is very happy to eventually comply. There’s also a couple of little twists that make the relationship more interesting. I really enjoyed these characters and I’m looking forward to starting at the beginning and working my way through this fascinating world.

Grade: A-

Summary:

Anna Draekus is a soldier wrapped up in secrets, one of which has just been blown. As a member of the shadowy Madjin Circle , she was marked and trained from childhood to protect the king, even without his knowing. And now that her superior officer Nevin Daniels has discovered her allegiance to the Madjin, another secret is in serious danger of exposure.

The one where she fantasizes about cracking the taciturn Refarian’s composure and making him scream her name in passion.

Nevin has tried everything to exorcise Anna from his mind and body, once and for all. Nothing works. He’s long lusted after the free-spirited and plainspoken soldier, but her mere presence ties him in knots and drives him to the brink of insanity. Something a man in his position can’t afford. Something a man of his maturity could never hope for.

Then a routine patrol finds them wrecked and marooned deep in the Wyoming backcountry. And Anna unwraps Nevin’s deepest secret of all: Beneath his tightly controlled exterior beats the wild heart of a tiger.

Read an excerpt

Other books in this series: