Hello, and welcome back! I've been doing quite a lot of reading recently, trying to stay indoors where it's cool. I've actually put a rather large dent in the August stack of review books already, but I still have one more July romance I want to share with you before we get to those.

This time out, I have Terri Brisbin's Mistress of the Storm
(Brava, received from publisher), the final tale in her 'Storm' series. Duncan of Skye is known simply as the Healer. Isabel's step-father Sigurd sends her to Duncan to learn his secrets so that Sigurd can find a way to use them for his own gain. It is not the first time that Sigurd has sent Isabel off to a strange man, and she expects it will not be the last. But it is the first time she has known any pleasure in the act, and that frightens her a great deal. When Sigurd arranges for her to spend a month with Duncan, she is more disturbed than she would like, both by the arrangement and the things she knows her step-father expects, and by the way Duncan makes her feel. She doesn't know Duncan has watched her before they meet, only that when he touches her, she loses all control. Duncan keeps his own secrets, even as they are falling in love, and he makes a complicated arrangement to ensure her safety and that of her younger sister when he is no longer able to do so himself--a time he knows is fast approaching. This series has been fabulous from the start, with its Scottish setting and the sexy bent to each of the stories. Duncan is delicious, as Isabel is troubled by the things she's been forced to do in her lifetime, then healed by the relationship that develops between her and Duncan. I love this. If you're looking for a different sort of paranormal romance, you really ought to give this series a try. I'm borrowing four and a half of Cupid's five arrows for this one.

Until next time, happy reading!

Terri Brisbin

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