Sandy M’s review of Haunting Warrior by Erin Quinn
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley Trade 4 May 10
I am just in total awe of Ms. Quinn’s Haunting books. These first two books are some of the best I’ve read in the last year. Her writing has a haunting quality all its own to go along with the titles and the storylines she’s given readers. And her characters, especially the hero of this book, are intricate and simple at the same time. I’m amazed at her talent.
Though we have the same characters in these first two books, it’s really the Book of Fennore that ties everything together. This evil tome draws these people to it for its own purposes. It has torn them apart over the years, but in doing so, it has also given them their destiny and the happiness with which to live that destiny.
Rory’s life came apart when he was twelve years old. Literally. The night his father disappeared with the Book of Fennore, Rory nearly disappeared right along with him, but his sister, Dani, used her power to bring him back. Though he was safe after that, he was significantly changed. So much so he was eventually sent from his home in Ireland to California to live with his aunt and uncle, his mother not able to deal with him.
The plan was for Rory to eventually go back home, but he never did. He found he liked his new and simple life, with no other worldly goings-on to give him the creeps. And he’s always known his family has been better off without him and his troublemaker attitude.
Now out of the blue, however, his grandmother decides to give him a little haunting after her death, telling him it’s time to come home, his destiny awaits. He wants to ignore such a crazy idea, but the next thing Rory knows is he’s back in Ireland, back where memories assault him, as does his dream lady who has haunted his sleep for some time now.
Saraid isn’t a dream, though. She’s from the distant past, and she calls Rory to her after she also receives a visit from his grandmother. Rory is the salvation of her people who have been under the rule of a cruel, evil father and son team. Finding himself thrown into Saraid’s time, Rory discovers the other half of himself that had been torn from him that fateful night he lost his father. That other half is the Bloodletter, the evil son who kills without conscience or remorse.
Destiny takes over, reunites two halves into a whole, and Rory and Saraid begin their journey of trust, survival, and love. Saraid is a woman of courage, descended of royalty, and she and her brothers lead the last of their people the best they can. It is the call of peace that may lead them down the road to destruction, but with Rory by her side, they both unravel the mysteries surrounding themselves and the Book of Fennore.
And having said all of this, I’m not even coming close to what’s in this book. The story is much more complex, has much more depth, so many layers that are shorn away one at a time to give readers a haunting tale they will never forget. I know I’m not doing this book justice. You have to read it to understand, to get the full effect of what Ms. Quinn has done.
In the end, you will be left haunted.
Grade: A+
Summary:
A past he couldn’t forget.
Rory McGrath’s life changed the night his father mysteriously vanished after uncovering the secrets of the ancient Book of Fennore. The trauma turned Rory from an innocent boy into a troubled, cynical man. Leaving Ireland, he shunned his family, his heritage—and the very magic that has defined his people for centuries.
A dream he couldn’t ignore.
Then the dreams begin…dreams of an ethereal beauty whose touch is more real that any he’s known. And in these dreams, she has a message—a calling for Rory to return home to a destiny that will take him beyond the realm of anything he imagined.
A woman he couldn’t resist.
Lured to the castle ruins where his father disappeared, Rory is plunged back in time, and into the body of another man—a man betrothed to the very woman of Rory’s dreams. In possession of the secrets of his past, his family, and his identity, her hold on Rory is inescapable. For she is his doom. His salvation. And his destiny.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
