Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Kendal Richoux’s life began during the reign of Egypt’s only female pharaoh. After accepting the opportunity to drink the elixir of the sun, Kendal becomes immortal and the Genesis Clan’s slayer. History has taught her the dangers of getting too close to anyone who hasn’t harnessed the power of time.

After many years, she returns to New Orleans to finish a job she’s trained for all her life. It’s time for her to face her brother Henri, and it will have dire consequences to mankind if she fails.

Piper Marmande believes Kendal has come to take over the company her family has built over generations. As Kendal prepares for the most important battle of her long life, Piper does her best to uncover every one of Kendal’s secrets, making herself a distraction Kendal can’t afford as she hunts Henri and Ora, the vampire who seduced him to a life of darkness.

 

Book Review

This is a truly imaginative and ingeniously interwoven multi-century storyline. Plus, we have characters that are immortal with some being good and some being awful. It was delightful to see the same folks as they are today then with cut backs to three centuries ago or two centuries ago and then fifty to seventy-five years ago embellishing their depth. The story actually starts in 1482 BC making the primary character and her mentor thousands of years old. Wow! Additionally, there are a few unique sub plots with minor characters that also bounce back and forth through the years. As soon as I got into the swing of things, my enjoyment level went up multiple notches. It seemed natural that such a fantastic structure would be the backdrop for an apocalyptic scenario. This all happens on Earth, but I felt like this was simply out of this world wonderful!

Kendal Richoux is Asra’s current day moniker and I got to know her best of all, although one of her other identities is given quality time, Marquis Jacques St. Louis. The manner in which Asra creates and maintains this masculine persona was pleasurably inventive. There is a stunning and potent connection between Jacques and Kendal. Two powerfully traumatic events for Jacques continually haunt Kendal and are unnervingly intrusive as Kendal attempts to manage her current obligations as a successful businesswoman and as the greatest slayer ever produced by the Genesis clan, a mystically powerful group of immortals constantly at war with demons. 

Piper Marmande is a cracker jack, a thorn in Kendal’s side, a woman desperately fighting to save her family's business, and a stunningly beautiful woman who could double for Jacques’s lost love. Oh my! She is quite astute, but can also be a bit ditsy and incredibly persistent. I adored Kendal, but I loved Piper!

Henri, Abez, is Asra’s brother who chose to walk on the dark side and has been and currently is Kendal’s greatest threat. This is a startlingly stellar counterpoint to Asra’s brilliant polished persona. Perfect!

A good deal of this story takes place in and around New Orleans. I really loved the way the environs were presented. The city and Kendal’s estate, Oakgrove, were glorious settings for the action scenes and serene Southern sophistication. Even the evocative opening scenarios in Egypt were rich with august foundations for the balance of the story. This book is splendid and I definitely recommend it. Oh, by the way, there is a lovely story-related explanation of the French phrase used in the title ‘toujours ici” right at the end of the book. Very touching!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Bold Strokes Books for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 228 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	01-October-2011
Price	$9.99 ebook, $16.95 paperback
Buy Link	http://bit.ly/1cG0Ln4