Lady Mina of Stone Crest has a plan to save her people from the creature that has rampaged through her town killing everyone it finds.  When her plan goes horribly awry, she knows certain death is upon her. 

When Hugh the Righteous sees the creature about to murder the fair Lady Mina, he knows he must save her.  As the leader of The Shields, a band of warriors trained to fight the deadly supernatural creatures being loosed on the world, he is more than equipped to save her and her people.  But this creature is not like the others The Shields have encountered – it seems invulnerable.  They must find the person who wields the stones that control it to stop the beast.

All clues point to Lady Mina as the culprit.  She even admits she originally brought the stones to the town, but claims they were soon stolen from her and hasn’t seen them since.  Can Hugh trust Lady Mina, or are his feelings for her clouding his judgment where she is concerned? 

Donna Grant’s The Shields Book 1: A Dark Guardian combines several of my favorite things in a book:  Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical Romance, and a Series novel.  Yes, I am a sucker for a good series.  I love finding a group of fascinating characters and enjoying their intermingled stories for years to come.  The Shields series promises just that, and is off to a fantastic start with this first book. 

The Shields are an intriguing group of men, and the way the story unfolds seems to promise a sequel starring each member of The Shields.  The leader of The Shields, Hugh, kicks off the series in this story, and the way the book ends bodes well for future appearances by him and Mina. 

Mina is a tragic heroine, having been neglected and emotionally abused her entire life, and yet she still finds strength and a willpower to protect her people and her family.  Having accepted her supposed lot in life, she only wishes for more for those around her, showing her truly altruistic nature.  And yet as the story ends, we find that she is so much more than either she or the reader ever expected.  Still, exactly who she is and what it means is a mystery left to be unraveled in future Shields stories. 

Hugh’s endless reluctance to trust Mina grew somewhat tiresome, and this is really the only reason I did not give the story five Klovers.  I started to wonder towards the end why Mina didn’t completely walk away from him, yet I was happy when these two finally resolved their issues and came together for a happy ending.

 

Reviewed by Jennifer

 

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The SHields Book 1:

A Dark Guardian
Donna Grant
ISBN: 1-58608-968-4
New Concepts Publishing
September 2006
Erotica/Fantasy
eBook

Rating:

Posted November 2006