Outsiders

Wildside #2

by Melanie Jackson

Cyra Delphin never felt quite right in her skin. As a child, her parents made her hide her gifts ... but certain things don't stay buried. What others are afraid to acknowledge --- the modern world's seedy underbelly, its Wildside ruled by dark magic and goblins --- doesn't simply go away. And when that darkness came to call, Cyra sought sanctuary in the Nevada desert.

She found Thomas Marrowbone. He, too, was part of the Wildside. Beneath his tormented shell lurked something powerful and inhuman, but also something primal and erotic. Cyra recognized it, and for love she would follow the enigmatic loner into the depths of Hell. Their true destination --- Sin City --- held the Queen of the Goblins and an unholy court; and the journey would test both their bodies and hearts ... but their quest's success promised salvation and a happiness Cyra had never known.

Genres: Romance, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Melanie, an award-winning author of more than fifty novels, stories and poems lives with her writer husband in the California Gold Country with their cat (also a writer who has a page on myspace) and their dog (who is hoping to get a page on facebook as soon as she masters typing). Melanie likes gardening but hates the deer who also like her garden, and she volunteers at a local animal shelter.

Reviews

[Paranormal Romance · Rating 2 out of 5]

All her life the heroine felt different from everyone around her. Under the spell of her parents who wanted her be human, she knew she was something odd, a freak but never knew exactly what. Now, she's on the run from Goblins who've stolen her job, an ex boyfriend who's stolen her work and she's lost in the desert in the middle of no where. There she almost runs a man over with her car. He pops out of nowhere and is clearly in need of medical help but does something to her brain and she obeys him when he tells her to take shelter in a nearby cave. The man then informs her that she is Fey, a selkie to be precise and he's taken control of her mind to quell the panic he can sense welling up in her. As they spend the night in the faerie cave, the heroine listen in rapture as the hero details the world of the fey and informs her of his job to prevent the Goblins from destroying the city. From the instant she meets him, the heroine is absolutely captivated by the strange man with golden eyes. He becomes a mentor for her, teaching her about her power and about her people. But beneath that is an intense attraction that soon can no longer be denied. The hero has struggled to deny himself the heroine as he's tormented by the memory of his wife's death. The manner in which he met her and the way she died because of him resonates similarities with his relationship with the heroine and he tries to stop his desire for her but she's nothing like the woman he lost. She's strong, capable and far from timid. She seduces him and when he leaves for Sin city to stop the Goblins, she follows him. There he must do everything in his power to protect her, even calling up the beast that lives inside him. The dragon inside has always been a cancer on his soul, something he considers an immense threat and something to be fears but the beast is just another part of him. She brings that realization out in him when he can see just how possessive and protective the beast is towards the heroine. In fact she brings out a great deal of good in him. He can smile again, find joy in life again. And in turn, she can finally live the full life she's been denying herself all these years in repressing what she truly is. I can safely say that this was an odd book. But then again when you read a book by Melanie Jackson you're almost guaranteed to be in for a bizarre story. She has a very unique mind and it transfers into her very kooky plotlines. Goblins for god sake. Although I enjoyed the hero as a character and the heroine even more so, I was bored with the dramatic over the top conversations and phraseology. If it was just a tiny bit toned down I felt it would have made for a more serious story but alas she went for drama instead of realism. Really it was the damn Goblins that was the most off putting I don't know why.

[Mandy Beyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting combination of suspense and romance, this book pits various fae against trolls and goblins for the safety of California and ultimately the world. Unknowingly to most humans, goblins have taken over more of the world than people know, and in Vegas, mind control on a massive scale is being experimented with. But, the goblins have bigger plans - to set off dirty bombs in California and take over before anyone knows the true culprits. Into this mess steps a scientist with unknown fae blood - having passed for human all her life, Cyra does not even know her own powers. Taken captive temporarily by Thomas Marrowbone, she soon realizes more than life and love are at stake.

This was a fun romance and I liked the Wildside fantasy world.

[Karen Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

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