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Phoenix Force #2
Phantom Wolf
Some fires still burn when star-crossed lovers reunite…
When a dangerous mission leads him deep into the jungles of Honduras, Navy SEAL Sam Shaymore is confronted with his fiery past in the form of Kelly Denning. Once their romance had been forbidden because of class differences. Then a tragedy drove them apart. But the minute he looks into her eyes, Sam knows he's never forgotten the sultry kisses and luscious curves of the beautiful Enchanter Mage. Nor can he turn his back on helping her.
Sam's unit has been charged with arresting Kelly. But if he can believe her, Kelly needs his help now to save some kidnapped Mage children and to stop a conspiracy with far-reaching implications. Threatened with being kicked off his SEAL unit if he does not follow his orders, Sam must risk everything…even his heart!
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 4, 2013
8 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
About the author
Bonnie Vanak
136 books505 followersBonnie Vanak fell in love with romance novels during childhood. While cleaning a hall closet, she discovered her mother’s cache of paperbacks and started reading. Thus began a passion for romance and a lifelong dislike for housework.
After years of newspaper reporting, Bonnie became a writer for a major international charity. She travels to destitute countries such as Haiti to write about famine, disease and other issues affecting the poor. When the emotional strains of her job demanded a diversion, she turned to her childhood dream of writing romance novels.
She lives in Florida with her husband Frank and two dogs, where she happily writes books amid an ever-growing collection of dust bunnies.
After years of newspaper reporting, Bonnie became a writer for a major international charity. She travels to destitute countries such as Haiti to write about famine, disease and other issues affecting the poor. When the emotional strains of her job demanded a diversion, she turned to her childhood dream of writing romance novels.
She lives in Florida with her husband Frank and two dogs, where she happily writes books amid an ever-growing collection of dust bunnies.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 23, 2017
3 stars.
Again, I feel like I got dropped into the middle of a series. This time around, it's not Draicon Werewolf politics but Mage politics. Apparently there are two Mage factions, the high-born magic using Elementals and the branded and ID'd non-magical Arcane. The story revolves around the Elementals promoting genocide of the Arcane and the oppressed Arcane wanting to rise up against the Elementals. But it's difficult to understand how it all came about.
Our hero and heroine are caught in the middle of the Mage war. He's the scion of a high-powered Elemental family and she's the daughter of the family Arcane servant. There's a lot of history/baggage between them from when they were young lovers to when they met again years later. He's now part of the Phoenix Force and she's working to rescue Mage children. I liked the romance and there's a lot of action. Just wished that world-building was done a bit better.
Overall, a solid book.
Again, I feel like I got dropped into the middle of a series. This time around, it's not Draicon Werewolf politics but Mage politics. Apparently there are two Mage factions, the high-born magic using Elementals and the branded and ID'd non-magical Arcane. The story revolves around the Elementals promoting genocide of the Arcane and the oppressed Arcane wanting to rise up against the Elementals. But it's difficult to understand how it all came about.
Our hero and heroine are caught in the middle of the Mage war. He's the scion of a high-powered Elemental family and she's the daughter of the family Arcane servant. There's a lot of history/baggage between them from when they were young lovers to when they met again years later. He's now part of the Phoenix Force and she's working to rescue Mage children. I liked the romance and there's a lot of action. Just wished that world-building was done a bit better.
Overall, a solid book.
May 20, 2013
Read this review on Demon Lover's Books & More
This looked interesting, and I thought it might be on the short side, so I grabbed it from netgalley the other day (hooray for auto-approve!).
The first half of this book is really intriguing. We’re drawn instantly into a world of mages, and their 2 classes—the Elemental Mage and the Arcane Mage. The Elementals are the ones who hold all the power (literally), and the Arcanes are little more than servants, or second-class citizens.
But when this story opens, we see the young love between an Arcane (Kelly) and an Elemental (Sam). Unfortunately they don’t have a happy ending. They see instead, Kelly’s father setting fire to Sam’s home, with his family still inside. Kelly never believed it was her father, Sam couldn’t handle the emotions of losing his family and having his girl defending her dad, so he bailed.
Fast forward to the present day, and we see Kelly has been kidnapped and is being tortured, but she’s trying to keep the bad guys from hurting the kid she came to rescue.
Sam is now a Navy SEAL on a paranormal team, and they are there to save the kid. He has no idea Kelly is there, and when he sees her, he figures she’s one of the kidnappers. She is then framed for everything. The Elementals want her to be executed, and example made of her, and her kind stamped out like cockroaches. This makes it hard for Sam and Kelly to have a relationship.
In the meantime, Kelly plans on going to Honduras to rescue the rest of the kidnapped children, but no one believes her. Not until it’s almost too late, that is.
I found this book to be hard to put down because I loved the idea of it. I loved the world, I thought the basic plot was great (I’m a sucker for betrayal plots), and I love when there’s a good romantic suspense element added in to the Paranormal Romance. But there were so many instances where the two Main Characters would get all hot and heavy, and then Kelly would say, “I want to be like when we were younger,” and it would ruin the mood. Once or twice, okay. But so many times! It wasn’t sexy, it didn’t build tension, it just annoyed me.
What I never understood is why Kelly was doing all these missions without any kind of survivalist training. She’s supposedly running a non-profit to save mage children who have been kidnapped, and yet she has only her magic to help her. No back-up, no super awesome skills, it was so weird. Like who in their right mind goes up against bad guys like that without any kind of training? It wasn’t a one-time thing, but it was her lifestyle, shouldn’t she at least have basic self-defense and survival training?
Then enter the SEAL team and I feel like once Sam and Kelly went off alone, it was so unrealistic. All SEAL training flew out the door (except when necessary), and at one point he was tricked into thinking he was rescuing a child, but it was a trap. So he put his gun on the floor when the child said he was scared. Sam had a perfectly good holster for his pistol! I don’t see any SEAL worth his salt putting his weapon on the floor for no reason. From that mid-point on, I had a harder time with some of the choices made by the characters. So many seemed ridiculous!
For instance, the bad guys catch them, and bind them in silver and then dump them in a slaughterhouse room. They turn on all the faucets, plug the drain, and leave. Sam breaks free of the silver mesh, but the faucets are all broken and can’t be turned off. Not once did they try to unplug the drain! Unless they had concrete poured into it, it shouldn’t have been a problem. Kelly nearly drowns during their escape! I was screaming “Unplug the drain you idiots!” at my nook. :/
Other than that, I thought that the whole plot was strong, the writing a bit repetitive, but good, I just got really annoyed at some of the things the characters did. I will read more from this author though, because her world was really interesting and the ending was really pretty good.
***ARC courtesy of Harlequin and netgalley
This looked interesting, and I thought it might be on the short side, so I grabbed it from netgalley the other day (hooray for auto-approve!).
The first half of this book is really intriguing. We’re drawn instantly into a world of mages, and their 2 classes—the Elemental Mage and the Arcane Mage. The Elementals are the ones who hold all the power (literally), and the Arcanes are little more than servants, or second-class citizens.
But when this story opens, we see the young love between an Arcane (Kelly) and an Elemental (Sam). Unfortunately they don’t have a happy ending. They see instead, Kelly’s father setting fire to Sam’s home, with his family still inside. Kelly never believed it was her father, Sam couldn’t handle the emotions of losing his family and having his girl defending her dad, so he bailed.
Fast forward to the present day, and we see Kelly has been kidnapped and is being tortured, but she’s trying to keep the bad guys from hurting the kid she came to rescue.
Sam is now a Navy SEAL on a paranormal team, and they are there to save the kid. He has no idea Kelly is there, and when he sees her, he figures she’s one of the kidnappers. She is then framed for everything. The Elementals want her to be executed, and example made of her, and her kind stamped out like cockroaches. This makes it hard for Sam and Kelly to have a relationship.
In the meantime, Kelly plans on going to Honduras to rescue the rest of the kidnapped children, but no one believes her. Not until it’s almost too late, that is.
I found this book to be hard to put down because I loved the idea of it. I loved the world, I thought the basic plot was great (I’m a sucker for betrayal plots), and I love when there’s a good romantic suspense element added in to the Paranormal Romance. But there were so many instances where the two Main Characters would get all hot and heavy, and then Kelly would say, “I want to be like when we were younger,” and it would ruin the mood. Once or twice, okay. But so many times! It wasn’t sexy, it didn’t build tension, it just annoyed me.
What I never understood is why Kelly was doing all these missions without any kind of survivalist training. She’s supposedly running a non-profit to save mage children who have been kidnapped, and yet she has only her magic to help her. No back-up, no super awesome skills, it was so weird. Like who in their right mind goes up against bad guys like that without any kind of training? It wasn’t a one-time thing, but it was her lifestyle, shouldn’t she at least have basic self-defense and survival training?
Then enter the SEAL team and I feel like once Sam and Kelly went off alone, it was so unrealistic. All SEAL training flew out the door (except when necessary), and at one point he was tricked into thinking he was rescuing a child, but it was a trap. So he put his gun on the floor when the child said he was scared. Sam had a perfectly good holster for his pistol! I don’t see any SEAL worth his salt putting his weapon on the floor for no reason. From that mid-point on, I had a harder time with some of the choices made by the characters. So many seemed ridiculous!
For instance, the bad guys catch them, and bind them in silver and then dump them in a slaughterhouse room. They turn on all the faucets, plug the drain, and leave. Sam breaks free of the silver mesh, but the faucets are all broken and can’t be turned off. Not once did they try to unplug the drain! Unless they had concrete poured into it, it shouldn’t have been a problem. Kelly nearly drowns during their escape! I was screaming “Unplug the drain you idiots!” at my nook. :/
Other than that, I thought that the whole plot was strong, the writing a bit repetitive, but good, I just got really annoyed at some of the things the characters did. I will read more from this author though, because her world was really interesting and the ending was really pretty good.
***ARC courtesy of Harlequin and netgalley
July 13, 2013
3.5 Stars
I had some mixed feelings going on as read this book. I was really drawn into the romance. It was angsty and full of mistrust and old hurts. It was sexy and held my interest from beginning to end. But. There are some strong racist overtones that disturbed me throughout the story. Don't get me wrong, it's not about the color of anyone's skin, but make-believe species or not, the prejudice was hard to read at times.
Sam and Kelly are two different classes of mage. He is Elemental. She is Arcane. In their world, his class rules, while hers is maligned and treated as servants. But 12 years ago, they were young and in love and committed to making things work between them. Until it appeared her father killed his family. He left her that day and they have been apart ever since.
Now Kelly works to rescue kidnapped Elemental children. The Arcanes who are fed up with oppression are taking the kids to drain them of magic, in the hopes to conquer the Elementals who have mistreated them so long. Kelly is willing to risk everything to stop her misguided people. It's as she is trying to rescue one of the kids that she is reunited with Sam. He is now a Navy SEAL and his team mistakes her for one of the kidnappers. She must make him believe the truth and convince him to help her in her mission before it's too late.
Kelly and Sam are clearly two people who have never gotten over each other. But they are both so damaged by their past. I think the author tried to make Sam more sympathetic by showing us how torn up he was over his family's deaths. Unfortunately, it was hard to look past how he and everyone else treated Kelly. Society sees her as less than nothing. The mages of Sam's class can basically do anything to her. The way people speak to her is appalling. And while Sam isn't like that all the time, there are parts of the book he clearly judges her... not just for her father's actions, but for her race. Neither is fair. He LEFT her alone all those years ago. She lost just as much as he did that day. Now he still acts like she was someone who did him wrong. It's just not fair. She is truly a good person and she gets shit on over and over again. Mostly by other people, but by Sam too. It's hard to get over.
That aside, there is good sexual tension there --and real emotion as well. Kelly is an extremely sympathetic character. I really wanted to see her happy ending. The thing is... when she finally gets it... it's wrapped up in a bow that is just a little too shiny. The end is just a little too easy. Especially in the bigger picture.
Like I said, mixed feelings. I didn't want to put it down, because it held my interest... but the treatment of the heroine was hard to take.
Rating: B-
*ARC Provided by Harlequin
I had some mixed feelings going on as read this book. I was really drawn into the romance. It was angsty and full of mistrust and old hurts. It was sexy and held my interest from beginning to end. But. There are some strong racist overtones that disturbed me throughout the story. Don't get me wrong, it's not about the color of anyone's skin, but make-believe species or not, the prejudice was hard to read at times.
Sam and Kelly are two different classes of mage. He is Elemental. She is Arcane. In their world, his class rules, while hers is maligned and treated as servants. But 12 years ago, they were young and in love and committed to making things work between them. Until it appeared her father killed his family. He left her that day and they have been apart ever since.
Now Kelly works to rescue kidnapped Elemental children. The Arcanes who are fed up with oppression are taking the kids to drain them of magic, in the hopes to conquer the Elementals who have mistreated them so long. Kelly is willing to risk everything to stop her misguided people. It's as she is trying to rescue one of the kids that she is reunited with Sam. He is now a Navy SEAL and his team mistakes her for one of the kidnappers. She must make him believe the truth and convince him to help her in her mission before it's too late.
Kelly and Sam are clearly two people who have never gotten over each other. But they are both so damaged by their past. I think the author tried to make Sam more sympathetic by showing us how torn up he was over his family's deaths. Unfortunately, it was hard to look past how he and everyone else treated Kelly. Society sees her as less than nothing. The mages of Sam's class can basically do anything to her. The way people speak to her is appalling. And while Sam isn't like that all the time, there are parts of the book he clearly judges her... not just for her father's actions, but for her race. Neither is fair. He LEFT her alone all those years ago. She lost just as much as he did that day. Now he still acts like she was someone who did him wrong. It's just not fair. She is truly a good person and she gets shit on over and over again. Mostly by other people, but by Sam too. It's hard to get over.
That aside, there is good sexual tension there --and real emotion as well. Kelly is an extremely sympathetic character. I really wanted to see her happy ending. The thing is... when she finally gets it... it's wrapped up in a bow that is just a little too shiny. The end is just a little too easy. Especially in the bigger picture.
Like I said, mixed feelings. I didn't want to put it down, because it held my interest... but the treatment of the heroine was hard to take.
Rating: B-
*ARC Provided by Harlequin
September 27, 2013
Loved this book. I do feel sorry for the situations that Sam and Kelly had to go through when they were growing up and the trials that are facing them now that they are older.
Sam Shaymore is an Elemental Phantom Mage who is a Navy Seal on a mission to find out what is happening to a Elemental Phantom Mage child who happens to be a senator's son. Upon finding the boy on an island, they run into a Enchanter Mage female by the name of Kelly Denning. At first Sam and his team think that Kelly is the kidnapper with some help but soon find out with some help from Kelly that she was taken hostage when she jumped a boat trying to rescue the boy.
After returning to the United States Kelly tells the Seal team about her company that helps find missing mage children. But is then put through some obstacles due to the threat of mage children. Kelly runs off to Honduras even though she is told to stay in the United States. Sam and his team is ordered to go find her and bring her back. After Sam and the team find her and get her into custody they find themselves in a predicament with mages that want to kill Kelly and find a mage that is able to take on another person's form who is actually a copy of Sam. Sam starts to believe Kelly on the fact that there are other kids missing and she can help find them. Sam tells the rest of the team that he will go with Kelly to find the other kids. During this time Sam and Kelly have to fight their old feeling for each other or work in trusting each other again. This is where you find out that Sam and Kelly had a relationship long before this and it turned out horrible with Sam leaving Kelly after everyone assumed that Kelly's father killed Sam's family. Also Kelly and Sam have to figure a way to help Elemental Phantom Mages realize that Enchanter Mages are the same as they are instead of a lesser class of mage that means Elemental Mages harm.
The thing is though can Sam and Kelly repair their relationship and survive the search for the kids are will they find themselves in more trouble they they were counting on?
Sam Shaymore is an Elemental Phantom Mage who is a Navy Seal on a mission to find out what is happening to a Elemental Phantom Mage child who happens to be a senator's son. Upon finding the boy on an island, they run into a Enchanter Mage female by the name of Kelly Denning. At first Sam and his team think that Kelly is the kidnapper with some help but soon find out with some help from Kelly that she was taken hostage when she jumped a boat trying to rescue the boy.
After returning to the United States Kelly tells the Seal team about her company that helps find missing mage children. But is then put through some obstacles due to the threat of mage children. Kelly runs off to Honduras even though she is told to stay in the United States. Sam and his team is ordered to go find her and bring her back. After Sam and the team find her and get her into custody they find themselves in a predicament with mages that want to kill Kelly and find a mage that is able to take on another person's form who is actually a copy of Sam. Sam starts to believe Kelly on the fact that there are other kids missing and she can help find them. Sam tells the rest of the team that he will go with Kelly to find the other kids. During this time Sam and Kelly have to fight their old feeling for each other or work in trusting each other again. This is where you find out that Sam and Kelly had a relationship long before this and it turned out horrible with Sam leaving Kelly after everyone assumed that Kelly's father killed Sam's family. Also Kelly and Sam have to figure a way to help Elemental Phantom Mages realize that Enchanter Mages are the same as they are instead of a lesser class of mage that means Elemental Mages harm.
The thing is though can Sam and Kelly repair their relationship and survive the search for the kids are will they find themselves in more trouble they they were counting on?
September 2, 2015
Amazing way strength and romance won out against predjuticed of one race against the other race. Bonnie Vanak was a series ( Phantom Force ) that show what we are going through right now. Writ in with a strength that knows love will over come all things bad.
October 17, 2017
We follow Elemental mage, Sam Shaymore now as he comes face to face with his past. He and Arcane mage, Kelly Denning, were forbidden lovers when they were young and Sam ended things right quick when he sees that Kelly's father murdered Sam's family. Now, on a rescue mission for a mage child, he comes face to face with Kelly who is in some serious trouble. Her presence on this mission has her implicated in the kidnapping and she's considered a criminal. But Kelly insists she's on a mission to stop an Arcane mage from becoming a dark lord and trying to rescue 9 children who were kidnapped and taken to Honduras. She manages to convince Sam and his team to help her, but Sam is determined not to trust Kelly and not to let her back into his heart even if he is tempted by her. Kelly has already had her heart broken by Sam and feels the same - tempted by determined to resist. But their mission to find the evil that is kidnapping children puts them in close quarters and their issues will have to be resolved if they're going to work together.
Get ready for a whole lot of new rules. In the Draicon series, things were pretty established, and we were learning the set up of the universe with the paranorms around them. This story sets off on an entirely different set of rules - entering the world of the mages, both Elemental and Arcane, and the political and social structure of their mini-universe within the larger paranorm world. It's a lot to understand but somewhat cleverly, if uncomfortably done, to mirror racism and Jim Crow or one could even say the holocaust. A ways back, some Arcane had gone crazy and become a dark lord and since then the Elemental mages have subjugated the Arcane mages, forcing them to work for them, carry identification, taking away rights and freedoms. There is a whole lot of prejudice going on here - on both sides, but I find it disturbing that despite one race subjugating the other, both are portrayed as justified in their prejudices. In fact, at one point, it's Kelly, the Arcane who has been subjugated her whole life, who has to apologize the the hero, the Elemental for having railed against Elementals...which he believed included him. It is both fascinating, clever and disturbing at the same time. I'm still not sure if I liked it more than I didn't. What was even more disturbing was the revelation at the end that Nothing like wishing the best and hoping for the happiest life for your child, huh? This indicates that mom cared more for the plight of her people than for the happiness of her daughter.
The romance between Kelly and Sam was loaded with tension and plenty of chemistry but, just as in the last book, also loaded with inconsistencies. The characters and their feelings were like pendulums - one minute Kelly is hard and tough and doesn't want anything to do with their past and the next she's telling him how much she misses their relationship and wants to rekindle what they had and then the next minute again she's telling him to back off because it seems like he's trying to recapture what they had and they can't do that. I couldn't keep up with them. I wanted to try though. The set up and the angst that was going on was more than enough to keep me engaged throughout this story, even if I was getting peeved at the characters changing their minds all the time.
Get ready for a whole lot of new rules. In the Draicon series, things were pretty established, and we were learning the set up of the universe with the paranorms around them. This story sets off on an entirely different set of rules - entering the world of the mages, both Elemental and Arcane, and the political and social structure of their mini-universe within the larger paranorm world. It's a lot to understand but somewhat cleverly, if uncomfortably done, to mirror racism and Jim Crow or one could even say the holocaust. A ways back, some Arcane had gone crazy and become a dark lord and since then the Elemental mages have subjugated the Arcane mages, forcing them to work for them, carry identification, taking away rights and freedoms. There is a whole lot of prejudice going on here - on both sides, but I find it disturbing that despite one race subjugating the other, both are portrayed as justified in their prejudices. In fact, at one point, it's Kelly, the Arcane who has been subjugated her whole life, who has to apologize the the hero, the Elemental for having railed against Elementals...which he believed included him. It is both fascinating, clever and disturbing at the same time. I'm still not sure if I liked it more than I didn't. What was even more disturbing was the revelation at the end that Nothing like wishing the best and hoping for the happiest life for your child, huh? This indicates that mom cared more for the plight of her people than for the happiness of her daughter.
The romance between Kelly and Sam was loaded with tension and plenty of chemistry but, just as in the last book, also loaded with inconsistencies. The characters and their feelings were like pendulums - one minute Kelly is hard and tough and doesn't want anything to do with their past and the next she's telling him how much she misses their relationship and wants to rekindle what they had and then the next minute again she's telling him to back off because it seems like he's trying to recapture what they had and they can't do that. I couldn't keep up with them. I wanted to try though. The set up and the angst that was going on was more than enough to keep me engaged throughout this story, even if I was getting peeved at the characters changing their minds all the time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2022
✅ Ce que j'ai aimé :
- l'histoire
- les personnages et leur caractère
- l'héroïne qui n'a pas besoin d'être sauvé
- les multi points de vue
- la relation entre les personnages
- les pièces du puzzles qui s'emboitent
- se lit rapidement
❌ Ce que je n'ai pas aimé :
- je trouve que le résumé est mal adapté au livre.
- un épilogue un peu plus long
- l'histoire
- les personnages et leur caractère
- l'héroïne qui n'a pas besoin d'être sauvé
- les multi points de vue
- la relation entre les personnages
- les pièces du puzzles qui s'emboitent
- se lit rapidement
❌ Ce que je n'ai pas aimé :
- je trouve que le résumé est mal adapté au livre.
- un épilogue un peu plus long
November 14, 2018
Loved this and looking forward to the next book . Hope more books are in the pipeline for the other seals. Renegade deserves a book .
August 31, 2014
Star crossed lovers reunite in this paranormal romance. We have two classes of mage: Elementals (basically the aristocracy with all the power) and Arcanes (2nd class citizens with lesser powers.) 12 years ago our hero Shay (Elemental) had an affair with Kelly (Arcane) - they were going to reveal their love to Shay's father, when Kelly's father sets fire to Shay's manor killing his mother, father and brother. Shay dumps Kelly and goes off to become a paranormal Navy SEAL. He encounters Kelly on a mission to rescue some kidnapped elemental children and the pair have to work together to rescue the kids and prevent rogue arcanes from creating a Darklord and exterminating the elementals.
The romance in this novel isn't bad. The characters were well developed, believable and their attraction sexy. Shay was a bit alpha male and I wouldn't have forgiven him so easily for his mistakes, but that aside I thought the book managed to convey his vulnerable side and his love of the heroine. Wasn't too keen of the class divide it was a bit racist - the two types of mage obviously a metaphor. Making Kelly a hybrid at the end was such a cop out move.
The plot of the novel was overcomplicated and there was far to much being thrown in - take our hero for example: he's an elemental (aristocratic mage), he's also a navy seal, a werewolf AND a shapeshifter of other forms including human and can change sex - he turns into the heroine at one point. Fair play she also turns into him but.... Its too much.
We've also got loads of plot elements in here: reunited star crossed lovers, dead family members not really dead and holding secrets, kidnapped children, a mage civil war, doppelganger shapeshifers, navy seals... The tying up of the plot is very rushed and I was scratching my head going wait - she shape shifted into him and the kids were really a ruse and where the hell did that come from?
I also didn't feel there was enough distinction between Arcanes and Elementals - I'd love it if this divide was explored a bit. I'd guess that elementals were born with powers and arcanes learnt magic through books, but the whole plot was so rushed I didn't feel this idea was given justice.
The pace of this novel is fast and this kept me hooked throughout, mainly on the strength of the characters, but I felt the story was overcomplicated, a tad racist and overly melodramatic towards the end. It had some interesting idea but never quite manages to make the most of them.
The romance in this novel isn't bad. The characters were well developed, believable and their attraction sexy. Shay was a bit alpha male and I wouldn't have forgiven him so easily for his mistakes, but that aside I thought the book managed to convey his vulnerable side and his love of the heroine. Wasn't too keen of the class divide it was a bit racist - the two types of mage obviously a metaphor. Making Kelly a hybrid at the end was such a cop out move.
The plot of the novel was overcomplicated and there was far to much being thrown in - take our hero for example: he's an elemental (aristocratic mage), he's also a navy seal, a werewolf AND a shapeshifter of other forms including human and can change sex - he turns into the heroine at one point. Fair play she also turns into him but.... Its too much.
We've also got loads of plot elements in here: reunited star crossed lovers, dead family members not really dead and holding secrets, kidnapped children, a mage civil war, doppelganger shapeshifers, navy seals... The tying up of the plot is very rushed and I was scratching my head going wait - she shape shifted into him and the kids were really a ruse and where the hell did that come from?
I also didn't feel there was enough distinction between Arcanes and Elementals - I'd love it if this divide was explored a bit. I'd guess that elementals were born with powers and arcanes learnt magic through books, but the whole plot was so rushed I didn't feel this idea was given justice.
The pace of this novel is fast and this kept me hooked throughout, mainly on the strength of the characters, but I felt the story was overcomplicated, a tad racist and overly melodramatic towards the end. It had some interesting idea but never quite manages to make the most of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2016
Setting: Tennessee – Elemental family mansion with tunnels; Honduras;
Theme: justice; love; fight for equality;
Characters:
Kelly Denning: Arcane Enchanter Mage; Sight Finders; of those that are relegated to service status, feared by the Elementals, 2nd class citizens – and by some Elementals, slotted for extermination; Sam’s 1st lover when she was 18, and he 21 – and he gifted her a tricel – which protects her and enhances her powers; we find out in the end her father was Elemental, who pretended to be Arcane so as to be with her mother, his lover; he was working with Mrs. Shaymore for freedom/equality…
Samuel Jackson Shaymore: privileged Elemental Phantom Mage – could shift into any life-form; now a U.S. Navy SEAL – elite Phoenix Force; when he decided to confront his father with his relationship with Kelly, they go to the house – but the house is on fire, and Kelly’s father runs out laughing manically; they break up, he’s wild for a bit… he joins the SEAL’s when his shifting almost leads to a human’s death – and though still hot tempered, he is finding discipline and a family;
Colton Shaymore: dad very anti- Arcane… catches wife and Cedric Denning (Kelly’s dad) whispering together in their bedroom, and jealousy overcomes him and he kills Cedric then his wife… fire starts – and he can’t rescue his son… leaves the house, shifted to look like Cedric… though feels guilty, falls in with anti Arcanes who absolve him of any guilt; he comes through in the end to help his father;
Summary:
10 years later, she’s rescuing an Elemental child, and so is Sam’s SEALs – at first she thought to be part of the plot, but no evidence… but child’s father (a Senator) brings her up on mage charges… she also hears elemental children taken to Hondorus, and she goes, and gets Sam to follow… she believes an Arcane, having found the old spells, is trying to become a Dark Lord – which takes the sucking of power until death of 13 innocents.
Sam trying to do right, but can’t believe the worst of Kelly; they become lovers again… working on trust… he follows her back to the states…and it ends up that the Senator’s wife is the Dark Lord, and wants to annihilate the Arcanes… and Kelly and SEALs stop her…
Theme: justice; love; fight for equality;
Characters:
Kelly Denning: Arcane Enchanter Mage; Sight Finders; of those that are relegated to service status, feared by the Elementals, 2nd class citizens – and by some Elementals, slotted for extermination; Sam’s 1st lover when she was 18, and he 21 – and he gifted her a tricel – which protects her and enhances her powers; we find out in the end her father was Elemental, who pretended to be Arcane so as to be with her mother, his lover; he was working with Mrs. Shaymore for freedom/equality…
Samuel Jackson Shaymore: privileged Elemental Phantom Mage – could shift into any life-form; now a U.S. Navy SEAL – elite Phoenix Force; when he decided to confront his father with his relationship with Kelly, they go to the house – but the house is on fire, and Kelly’s father runs out laughing manically; they break up, he’s wild for a bit… he joins the SEAL’s when his shifting almost leads to a human’s death – and though still hot tempered, he is finding discipline and a family;
Colton Shaymore: dad very anti- Arcane… catches wife and Cedric Denning (Kelly’s dad) whispering together in their bedroom, and jealousy overcomes him and he kills Cedric then his wife… fire starts – and he can’t rescue his son… leaves the house, shifted to look like Cedric… though feels guilty, falls in with anti Arcanes who absolve him of any guilt; he comes through in the end to help his father;
Summary:
10 years later, she’s rescuing an Elemental child, and so is Sam’s SEALs – at first she thought to be part of the plot, but no evidence… but child’s father (a Senator) brings her up on mage charges… she also hears elemental children taken to Hondorus, and she goes, and gets Sam to follow… she believes an Arcane, having found the old spells, is trying to become a Dark Lord – which takes the sucking of power until death of 13 innocents.
Sam trying to do right, but can’t believe the worst of Kelly; they become lovers again… working on trust… he follows her back to the states…and it ends up that the Senator’s wife is the Dark Lord, and wants to annihilate the Arcanes… and Kelly and SEALs stop her…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2015
I read this book in between books in the A Song of Fire and Ice series, needed something happy. It was happy, I'll give it that. Well, kind of. Sort of. The main characters end up together. That's happy, right?
So this book is about mages. Two separate races (not sure if that's the right word...) of mages. There are Elemental, who are aristocratic jerks for the most part. And Arcanes, who are pretty much slaves to the Elementals. I really don't know what the difference is between the two. I'm thinking the Arcanes got uppity back in the day so the Elementals knocked them down a few pegs.
This book focuses on Kelly (an Arcane) and Sam (an Elemental) who are, of course, in love. Well, that's how they started. Then Kelly's dad might have burnt down Sam's family's home, killing his parents and younger brother. Really put a damper on the relationship. Years go by, Sam is now a Navy SEAL and Kelly runs an organization that helps protect Elemental children, or something. I wasn't really paying attention. So, they run into each other during a mission. Both were trying to rescue the same kid. Then things happen. Kelly is arrested. Sam is cranky a lot. Then Kelly cried. Sam might have cried. Then plot twist! Kind of. There's a twist, but it really has nothing to do with the main plot of Arcanes supposedly kidnapping Elemental children to sacrifice them and eat their powers. Which was all a ruse anyways so, yeah...
This book had a tendency to confuse me. And I'm tired of the dudes in these books being all "I want to have sex with you" while the chick is all blushing and giggling. But yeah, distracted me from the death and destruction that George R. R. Martin was putting me through.
So this book is about mages. Two separate races (not sure if that's the right word...) of mages. There are Elemental, who are aristocratic jerks for the most part. And Arcanes, who are pretty much slaves to the Elementals. I really don't know what the difference is between the two. I'm thinking the Arcanes got uppity back in the day so the Elementals knocked them down a few pegs.
This book focuses on Kelly (an Arcane) and Sam (an Elemental) who are, of course, in love. Well, that's how they started. Then Kelly's dad might have burnt down Sam's family's home, killing his parents and younger brother. Really put a damper on the relationship. Years go by, Sam is now a Navy SEAL and Kelly runs an organization that helps protect Elemental children, or something. I wasn't really paying attention. So, they run into each other during a mission. Both were trying to rescue the same kid. Then things happen. Kelly is arrested. Sam is cranky a lot. Then Kelly cried. Sam might have cried. Then plot twist! Kind of. There's a twist, but it really has nothing to do with the main plot of Arcanes supposedly kidnapping Elemental children to sacrifice them and eat their powers. Which was all a ruse anyways so, yeah...
This book had a tendency to confuse me. And I'm tired of the dudes in these books being all "I want to have sex with you" while the chick is all blushing and giggling. But yeah, distracted me from the death and destruction that George R. R. Martin was putting me through.
November 6, 2013
With a name like PHANTOM WOLF, I really was expecting a romantic suspense with one part of the couple being a werewolf. Instead I discovered a hot romantic suspense. between mages of two different factions. Now don't think that I was complaining because I very much enjoyed the ride.
I would compare PHANTOM WOLF to Romeo and Juliet except that it isn't between warring families. When Shay and Kelly were younger, their love paid no attention to their differences in station until a tragedy drove them apart. Brought back together again to rescue some children, they find that the heat between them is hotter then ever but they can't manage to overcome past hurts and misunderstandings.
I found it easy to empathize with both of the main characters even though I did just want to shake them both when they allow the prejudices of their classes interfere with their relationship. There was just enough tension and danger to keep me engrossed along with some hot love scenes that aren't too explicit. I do recommend it to my readers who enjoy a paranormal romantic suspense. I rate it a 3.5.
*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.
I would compare PHANTOM WOLF to Romeo and Juliet except that it isn't between warring families. When Shay and Kelly were younger, their love paid no attention to their differences in station until a tragedy drove them apart. Brought back together again to rescue some children, they find that the heat between them is hotter then ever but they can't manage to overcome past hurts and misunderstandings.
I found it easy to empathize with both of the main characters even though I did just want to shake them both when they allow the prejudices of their classes interfere with their relationship. There was just enough tension and danger to keep me engrossed along with some hot love scenes that aren't too explicit. I do recommend it to my readers who enjoy a paranormal romantic suspense. I rate it a 3.5.
*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.
November 14, 2014
This had a really interesting plot but the dialogue was rubbish. The protagonists have the same argument interspaced with action all through the book. I was totally turned off by it. Really wooden. It was a pity because there was so much potential. I found her ignorant, irritating and so bloody narrow-minded. She had no understanding, and although she admits it that she was blind, I didn't find her appealing. At least Sam was a man with heart and although he admits to being a womaniser and a flirt, he at least has growth during the course of the story.
July 3, 2014
I loved this fast paced, fun read. Shay is part of an unique SEAL team made up of paranormals. He is on a mission to save a senator's kidnapped son. He moves into the compound where the boy is being held and confronts the person he was told kidnapped him. Little does Shay know that he is about to arrest his ex fiancée, Kelly, an Arcane Mage.
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December 29, 2014"A novel storyline, creative mythology and well-developed characters make Vanak's tale a must read." RT Book Reviews, rated 4 1/2 stars
Miniseries: Phoenix Force
Category: Paranormal Romance
Miniseries: Phoenix Force
Category: Paranormal Romance
January 3, 2015
liked the intense connection but the mage powers were weird but like the love story
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