After a broken engagement Brethren doctor Tristan Morin tries to ignore the continuous attraction he feels for human nurse Karen Pierce for fear her involvement with him will put her in jeopardy against a vengeful family enemy. Karen Pierce understands the world of The Brethren and just wants to be with Tristan no matter the cost. Between fear from the outside and fear from his losing control, Tristan keeps pushing her away until a deadly encounter makes him realize how much he really needs Karen. But by then will it be too late or just in the nick of time?
This is the fourth book in Ms. Reinke's Brethren series and though it may be short in word count it's big on action and romance. Tristan has felt trapped for a long time because of family obligations keeping him in the community. The stress of this is intense and you can strongly feel his unhappiness with his situation. It's only when he's with Karen that he shows a more relaxed side of himself. His bloodline has learned not to harm humans but he still holds a part of himself back from her for fear his bloodlust will get out of control and you can feel the barrier between the two of them in the early stages of the story.
Karen is strong-willed and easily accepting of The Brethren world. She's no shrinking violet and is quite willing to fight for those she cares about, both Tristan and the community she's been calling home. Even though Tristan keeps pushing her away she still has hope for their future and works to achieve that.
The sexual interludes are steamy and the connection between Tristan and Karen is very believable. The concern that Tristan has in regards to their relationship is understandable and thanks to a character from a previous book he finds a way to keep control. The villain is indeed nasty and has held a grudge for a very long time which manifests in an intense final confrontation. The climactic encounter with the villain is very violent and bloody and makes you hurt along with the characters and ends in a surprising way. I was very much on edge while reading this scene and cringed as each punch was thrown.
I liked hearing about and seeing characters from previous books and liked how easily it tied this novella in with the rest of the series. For those who have not read the previous books in this series have no fear. The world of The Brethren was quickly and seamlessly explained as were previously known characters. At no time do you feel lost.
This was an entertaining and satisfying read full of action and romance. The world of The Brethren is an exciting and emotional society and with each book you get further sucked in to their way of life. I'm excited to see what comes next as the internal struggle for power amidst their kind continues.
My rating for this is a B+.
*This book was given to me by the author for my honest opinion.
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