One man is a harbinger. The other a bad boy. She seeks to save their race. Too bad she has to die.
Aftermath cleaner, NiaMora, is destined to die--tonight. Severin, a harbinger of death, has already arrived to bear witness. But he'll defy his duty. He won't stand by and watch, not when NiaMora may be the Fae's last hope of survival.
Zan Wynn cares nothing for Severin's heroic delusions. The Fae-tech mogul has "spies" on NiaMora and her aftermath cleaner team. He wants her for reasons of his own and as the quintessential bad boy--some might say bad guy--he can't be bothered to play fair.
Oblivious to her doom, NiaMora focuses on the missing Way, the very essence of the Fae and the reason they are trapped in the mortal world. There's also the small matter of remaining single when she can't deny Severin's power over her or Zan Wynn's hypnotic pull. One man is her fate, the other the prelude to her destruction.
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I've gotta say that even with a few words Dubbin knows how to start a series (or at least what I hope will be a series). Like Chaos Tryst, Keeper of the Way presents the reader with this fully formed world that's quite different from our own. It's most comparable and probably supposed to be an Urban Fantasy title, but I don't quite get enough of a contemporary vibe to say for sure. Whatever, the point is it's very different from our own - there are fae and gargoyles and a whole host of other beings, some of which I recognize and some who are Dubbin's construct. It's all shown to the reader not told, so while you don't have to worry about a lot of boring info dump, sometimes I did find myself having to reread sections to make sure I understood exactly who (or what) was talking.
Spoiler-ly bits hidden behind the link below!
Click to Expand!I do wish that this novella had been a little longer though, mostly because I feel Nia and Severin's relationship would have benefited from the extra space to develop. Things happen so rapidly that while I like both characters individually, together I was a little suspect of the whole 'magical mind meld' thing. Even though Nia's worried about ever finding someone who would accept her on this deep a level at all, once it does happen she seems to be all sunshine and roses without much of a qualm. Maybe I'm just a suspicious person but that seemed to happen a little too easily.
Overall I'd say it's a fun, fast paced tale with action and romance. The 'love triangle' and mystery weren't all that hard to guess, but I enjoyed it just the same and would be interested in seeing how the world developed and learning more about the people there.
Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.
Series - 1) Keeper of the Way (? - maybe?)
**Sent by author for review consideration**
