~DESTINY~
It is believe that Nidaba
is one of the oldest Immortal High Witches still living. As such, the Dark
Ones crave the power taking her heart would bring them. Nidaba hasn’t
survived so long being weak, however. To stand against her is to endanger
one’s own life.
Nathan King lives a quiet life, spending his immortality safely hidden away
from the spotlight. His long life has seen more loss than one man should
bear. But when he finds the woman he loved long ago in a mental hospital in
a cathartic and unresponsive state, he rescues her. Saving the woman he
loves is not quite that easy, however. Now he must save both her mind and
the love they once shared.
We first met Nidaba during the story INFINITY, in Maggie
Shayne’s ETERNAL LOVE collection. I was intrigued by her
then, and so was very happy to find that she is the heroine of DESTINY.
Ms. Shayne builds a rich and involved history for Nidaba, and I was
fascinated by the way the story of Nathan and Nidaba’s shared past unfolded,
moving between their youth together centuries ago and the present day, where
they find themselves estranged yet still undeniably drawn to each other. As
it turns out, their past has much to do with their present, and they must
explore to find a way back to each other as friends and lovers.
Although this story can be read by itself, I do recommend it be read in
series order, after reading ETERNAL LOVE. The stories build
upon each other, with each tale inciting curiosity in the reader about one
of the main characters for the next story.
~IMMORTALITY~
Puabi hasn’t lived a good
life. Not in her mortal life, and certainly not during the course of her
long existence as an immortal. Having stolen the lives of other witches in
order to prolong her own, she has lived without remorse as a Dark One.
Everything changes when Matthew Fairchild rescues her from the depths of the
sea and takes her to his private island to care for her until she is well.
Slowly, Puabi finds the need to repent, to be somehow better than she was.
And with Matthew, she finds a part of herself that has been missing for far
too long.
I have to say, IMMORTALITY was a very different story for me.
How do you take the previous story’s villain, who is utterly unrepentant
concerning their numerous misdeeds, and turn her into a heroine? By not
sugar-coating it, that’s how, just like Maggie Shayne did in this story.
Ms. Shayne never makes excuses for Puabi, never excuses her actions. What
she does do is show us the history that, coupled with bad choices on Puabi’s
part, made her the woman she is now.
Then she begins to redeem this character, slowly but surely. With a man who
can lover her despite her flaws, as Matthew does, and one completely
selfless act, Puabi begins the path to redemption and finds true love in the
process. As her story ends, you are left with the feeling that this is just
the beginning for Puabi as she embarks on the rest of her life with a new
outlook.
Reviewed by Jennifer
