Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Harper Kidd is a highly respected marine archaeologist. Yet, with the economy in a slump, he’s trapped working in an oil company’s exploration division. Now, at the ripe age of thirty, Harp is disgusted with his employer’s damage to the undersea world he loves, tired of his ATM-card-filching ex, and tormented by beautiful dreams of an undersea lover. It’s time for a change and when his best friend, Stick, pleads with him to assist on a deep-sea dig in the Mediterranean, he jumps at the chance.

Harper’s spirits are high when they discover the ruins of an ancient civilization, and soar to the heavens when they discover a statue of an ancient pelora, a mysterious hybrid creature said to mediate between the worlds of reality and fantasy—and the very lover who holds the starring role in his dreams.

When the crew discovers the site is teeming with unexploded ordnance from the conflicts in the Middle East, and the excavation turns deadly, Harper must choose between saving his best friend and saving the pelora he’s fallen in love with.

 

Book Review

Harper Kidd, of 'Heartifact' by Aisling Mancy, is tired of doing work he has to do and longing for the work that is his passion. Harper is a marine archeologist working on an oil rig because he needs a job. Knowing that the oil rig is killing the coral reef they are working near breaks his heart. When his best friend, Stick, offers him a chance to use his skills and education on a project she is working on, he grabs it. Harper quits his soul-killing job and joins Stick in a new adventure.

Harper isn't even sure what the project entails but trusts Stick not to guide him wrong and follows her in blind faith. When he realizes the position involves being head archeologist of a sea salvage project that involves ancient underwater artifacts, he's thrilled. The only thing is, the crew has discovered unexploded bombs making diving treacherous. Two of their divers have already lost their lives. Before they dive again, the area has to be disarmed, at least as much as humanly possible.

Harper has his own dilemma in the form of very hot dreams about a man built like a Greek god. The man says his name is Pelora. The dreams are so vivid that Harper hesitates to wake up even being on an exciting underwater expedition. Although this man inspires the greatest passion Harper has ever felt, he is instinctively afraid of him as well. As time goes by, Pelora begins to appear to him at other times. He learns that Pelora is a god who is imprisoned beneath the sea as punishment for murdering someone, doomed to be there until he loses someone he loves; highly improbable with him banished under the ocean.

Although the passionate lovemaking between Pelora and Harper is over the top in heat level, this is not a typical love story. Loving someone can hurt and sometimes presents us with an almost impossible choice between love and loyalty, reality and fantasy. Aisling has presented such a dilemma while seamlessly combining mythology with archeology, making me believe that someone like Pelora can actually exist. Aisling also gave me an education in underwater salvage in the process of weaving this fantastical tale. It's obvious that Aisling has done a lot of research to achieve such a high knowledge of the subject. Although I didn't absorb it all, reading about it was fascinating.

If you enjoy reading about hot marine archeologists, Greek gods, steamy sex, underwater exploration and the dangers that lie below, you may like this story. Thanks, Aisling, for the unusual, enlightening tale.

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novella, 88 pages/22163 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	24-November-2016
Price	$2.99 ebook, $8.00 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Heartifact-Aisling-Mancy-ebook/dp/B01N0BHXXV