The Danger of Destiny (Mystwalker 4) by Leigh Evans-Review,Book Tour & Giveaway
The Danger of Destiny
Mystwalker #4
by Leigh Evans
Genre: adult, paranormal, urban fantasy
Release Date: March 3, 2015
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 3, 2015
WHY WHISTLE IN THE DARK…
There are very few days off when you’re on an epic quest. Believe me, I know. I’m Hedi Peacock—one half Fae, the other Were—and if being a half-breed with one foot in each world isn’t tough enough to manage, there are the four chambers of my heart to consider. The one who holds the strings? Robson Trowbridge, the Alpha of Creemore. If I had my way, he and I would be locked in a bedroom, for eternity, but a pressing family matter needs my attention. It’s true what they say: A woman’s work is never done.
WHEN YOU CAN HOWL AT THE MOON?
My twin brother is being held captive by the Old Mage in another realm. Lo and behold, as soon as Trowbridge and I arrive in Merenwyn, we’re separated in spectacular, dramatic fashion—and I’m left to figure out how to maintain the fragile balance between my Fae magic and my wolf’s blood in a realm that cries to both. Not easy, particularly when I’m keeping an iron-grip on my temper so as not to dispatch with extreme prejudice the odd wizard or smart-mouthed mutt servant who crosses my path. My mama never told me there’d be days like these, but I’m not going down without a fight…or my mate.
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REVIEW: THE DANGER OF DESTINY is the fourth (and final?) instalment in Leigh Evans Mystwalker paranormal, urban fantasy series focusing on Hedi Peacock –half fae/half Were-and all alpha female. Her continuing story finds Hedi and her alpha mate werewolf Robson Trowbridge in Merenwyn-the land of the Fae –where the Were are nothing more than vermin and prey. As this is the fourth and final instalment in the series, I would strongly suggest reading the series in order. There is a copious amount of background and history leading up to The Danger of Destiny.
Told from first person point of view (Hedi) the focus of the storyline finds Hedi and Robson returning to the ‘other realm’-the realm of the Fae known as Merenwyn- where Hedi’s twin brother Lexi has been held a virtual prisoner in both mind and body since a young boy. While Hedi returns to Merenwyn to free her brother, Robson returns to free and lead the Rahaells Were Pack to human civilization.
The relationship between Hedi and Robson continues to be loving, caring and at times combative as Hedi continues to venture along her own path. THE DANGER OF DESTINY sees our couple working together towards both individual and common goals. Hedi is part Fae ; her magic is strong combined with her Were genes and in this she is a threat to both the Fae and Weres. Hedi and her brother are considered mutts because they are neither full Fae nor full Wolf, and in this they are persona non grata on both sides of the divide. Robson, on the other hand, is in love with his mate but knows that she must complete the journey that she began months before.
The numerous secondary and supporting characters are colourful, energetic and direct a good portion of the storyline. Hedi’s tortured and misdirected brother Lexi is a character whose actions have placed him on a fine line straddling right and wrong. As a puppet for the evil Old Mage, Lexi is not always in control of his actions-in this, his ability to be redeemed is questioned by both Fae and Were.
THE DANGER OF DESTINY forwards the series but a few days from the previous installment. The storyline is awash in magic, mystwalking, Fae, Weres and a war between good and evil. There is some graphic violence but not as graphic as in previous storylines; the sex is mostly implied but the reader is aware that Hedi and Robson are deeply in love.
Leigh Evans’s style of writing is detailed, comprehensive and descriptive. She is an amazing story teller where the narration heightens the finer points of history, background information and storyline premise. Hedi’s thought and mystwalking adventures reveal plenty of detail and character history.
I had mentioned that THE DANGER OF DESTINY is the final installment in the series but I am hoping for Hedi’s brother Lexi’s story to unfold. The Mystwalker series is a series about Hedi and her search for the truth about her past, present and future but the details surrounding Lexi are limited to Hedi’s observation and what little truth has been revealed by her brother and the Old Mage. Here’s to uncovering the who, what and why of Lexi’s missing years.
Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.
Reviewed by Sandy
Trowbridge, being wolf, likes to cuddle. And caress. Bottom line, with me he’s inexplicably tactile. It’s startling and wonderful and odd. Having spent a hug- deprived youth, I was having to relearn being held. Most of the time, I delighted in it. But here, in the spot he’d found us under a tree, I couldn’t find a comfortable position in his arms. It was still daylight— the sun was bright and hot— and even though my body was beyond tired, my mind was busy.
Despite his suggestion, I couldn’t catch forty winks on the drop of a dime.
My brain was too busy concocting a nightmare situation where I ran into a Fae or a Raha’ell and Trowbridge was unable to communicate on my behalf, being (a) suddenly mute or (b) amnesic, and/or (c) feverish and unable to do anything other than sing the entire chorus of “Baby Don’t Leave Me” in falsetto.
Up in Threall— a mist- shrouded place where the souls of the Fae hung from ancient trees like beautiful balls of light— I spoke the language. Hell, in that realm Fae bon mots just flowed from my tongue. There I was the Dorothy Parker of the Fae. But in the land of the Fae— the one place where speaking and understanding the language might prove near indispensable— I was disturbingly unilingual.
What does one say to a person who may or may not wish to kill you and/or your mate?
“Stop squirming,” said Trowbridge.
“I’m not.”
His chin scraped my temple. “Relax. I’m the wolf. Keen eyes and nose. If anything creeps up on us, I’ll know long before it gets close.”
A branch snapped deep in the woods.
His arms tightened. “It’s nothing.”
“I hate not knowing where I am.” My sense of direction had been screwed by our long detour. “Can you draw me a map? Show me where we are and where we have to go?”
“You’re going to get yourself riled up more.”
“Map.”
He allowed himself a man- sigh. “Sit up.”
I leaned forward, and he uncoiled himself with his customary grace. Trowbridge walked a few feet into the woods and came out carrying a stick. He knelt on one knee to clean the ground of pine needles and sticks. Then, my mate drew a single curved line, an artistic effort that could be interpreted as a half- moon lying on its side after a quart of tequila.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“That’s the river we’ve been following. We started about here”—he tapped the far right of the line— “and now we’re here.” The end of the stick moved along the curve all the way to the left. He filled in the interior curve of the shape with light hash marks. “All this is Fae land.”
“Just as an FYI—if we ever have treasure to bury, I’m drawing the map. There’s no scale; there’s no north and south. He etched the letter N at the top of the drawing. “Always the critic.”
“You’d get too full of yourself if I didn’t pull you down a notch. You being so beautiful and studly and all that.”
“ ‘Studly’? Is that a word?”
“It is in my dictionary.” I jerked my chin at his map. “Keep going, Picasso.”
Grime had embedded itself into his calloused knuckles. With a wry grin, he leaned forward and drew an x in the middle of the Fae territory. “Daniel’s Rock.”
I scooped up one of the twigs he’d ejected from his drawing area and used it to make two smaller x’s to the left of it. “The Two Sisters.”
“Very good.” He sketched an elongated circle.
I stared at the oval he’d drawn. “That’s the castle? Are you telling me that we landed in Merenwyn just south of the freakin’ castle? We’ve been moving away from it all this time?”
“Told you. It was necessary.” He frowned at his map, then scratched out his fi rst castle effort and redrew the shape a little north of where he’d made it. “That’s better.”
“That’s so annoying,” I said. “If the water had run a little slower, we could have crossed the river and been there hours ago. How did the Gatekeeper ford it?”
“There’s a rope bridge to the east of where we landed.”
“There’s a rope bridge?” I repeated slowly.
“Better this way,” he grunted. “No one would expect us to come at the rock from this direction.”
“You’re expecting trouble,” I said quietly.
He used the side of his hand to erase the map. “I always expect trouble. Right now, we have to focus on getting to Daniel’s Rock. There’s a lot of hoops to jump through before we start worrying about storming the castle.”
Storming the castle? I was thinking we’d be “sneaking” into the castle. He stretched, working the kinks out of his neck. “Rule of the road,” he said. “Rest when you can; hydrate when you can. I say we rest for a bit. You’re exhausted, Tink.”
“I’m not.” My empty stomach was keeping me awake.
“We’ll take a break. After the Fae shit moves off, I’ll find some more berries.”
Oh, goodie.
“Then we’ll put in a few more miles before the sun sets.” He moved back to his former position, spine braced on the back of an ancient tree, arms open, legs splayed wide for
me. “Come here.”
“I can’t nap during the day.” But I could cuddle. Yes, I could do that. I moved into the space he’d created for me. “Move, Ralph,” I told the amulet resting on my mate’s chest.
Still miffed, Ralph didn’t. Trowbridge hooked his chain with his forefinger, then tossed Ralph over his shoulder. I leaned back, telling myself to relax. Merry settled into the space between my boobs.
“Shhh,” Trowbridge breathed in my ear. His fIngers began working into the knot between my shoulders. His scent curled around me, another set of arms, and licked away my tension.
It was comforting.
I’ll still never sleep.
It was my last conscious thought before I slipped into the land of Nod.
The Trouble with Fate
Mystwalker #1
by Leigh Evans
Genre: adult, urban fantasy, paranormal
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Click HERE for our review of THE TROUBLE WITH FATE.
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 2012
Meet Hedi Peacock. She’s half Fae. Half Were. And all trouble…
I Have Two Words For Werewolves:
My name is Hedi Peacock and I have a secret. I’m not human, and I have the pointy Fae ears and Were inner-bitch to prove it. As fairy tales go, my childhood was damn near perfect, all fur and magic until a werewolf killed my father and the Fae executed my mother. I’ve never forgiven either side. Especially Robson Trowbridge. He was a part-time werewolf, a full-time bastard, and the first and only boy I ever loved. That is, until he became the prime suspect in my father’s death…
Bite Me.
Today I’m a half-breed barista working at a fancy coffee house, living with my loopy Aunt Lou and a temperamental amulet named Merry, and wondering where in the world I’m going in life. A pretty normal existence, considering. But when a pack of Weres decides to kidnap my aunt and force me to steal another amulet, the only one who can help me is the last person I ever thought I’d turn to: Robson Trowbridge. And he’s as annoyingly beautiful as I remember. That’s the trouble with fate: Sometimes it barks. Other times it bites. And the rest of the time it just breaks your heart. Again…
_________________
The Thing About Weres
Mystwalker #2
by Leigh Evans
Genre: adult, urban fantasy, paranormal
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Click HERE for our review of THE THING ABOUT WERES
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 30, 2013
THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER
In the never-ending saga that is my love-hate relationship with Robson Trowbridge, I, half-Were Hedi Peacock, have had a change of heart. Ever since I shoved Trowbridge through the Gates of Merenwyn, I’ve been the leader of the pack—hard to believe, right? The thing is: I’m half-Fae. So even though my Were side is ready to heed the call of the wild, the other part of me is desperate to take flight. And much as it pains me to admit it, life without Trowbridge is really starting to were me down…
I AM WERE, HEAR ME ROAR.
To make matters worse, the wolves of Creemore want my blood—and the North American Council of Weres wants me dead. So I’m just counting the days until Trowbridge returns from the other realm…and comes to my brave rescue…and becomes my alpha mate. Wishful thinking? Of course it is. But given all the mess I’ve been through already, what’s the harm in doing a little bit of daisy-plucking? Besides, Trowbridge owes me bigtime. A girl can dream.
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THE PROBLEM WITH PROMISES
(Mystwalker #3)
by Leigh Evans
Genre: adult, urban fantasy, paranormal
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 25, 204
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Click HERE for our review of THE PROBLEM WITH PROMISES
NEVER MAKE A PROMISE…
Robson Trowbridge, the Alpha of Creemore and my gorgeous mate, tries to protect me, Hedi Peacock, half-Fae, half-were, from all the trouble I get into. The thing is, my past is pretty messy and bad guys keep knocking down my door. Witches, thug bikers, the North American Council of Weres, dark magic Fae, and even an evil wizard are all after me. The Old Mage is the only one I really care about: He has my dear twin brother captive on the other side of the Gates of Merenwyn—not cool. So my alpha love is helping me to keep my promise to free my brother…
YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO KEEP.
Unfortunately, everyone who helps me ends up in a heap of trouble too—including my Trowbridge. Now, I admit I’ve had my moments as a shivering coward, hoping he will come to my brave rescue. The whole Prince Charming thing is hard to shake. But these bad guys after me mean business and those damsel in distress days are over. You know that “last straw” metaphor? That was two straws ago. It’s now or never. Again…
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I was born in Montreal, Quebec but now live in Southern Ontario. I’ve raised two kids, mothered three dogs, and herded a few cats. Other than that, my life was fairly routine until I hit the age of 50. Some women get tattoos. I decided to write a book. A little tardy, but then again, Mum always said I was a late bloomer.
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