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House of Terriot #4
Prince of Dreams
IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE CARDS . . . Kip . . . Prince in the shapeshifter House of Terriot He'd said he wasn't a mobster. . . She should have asked if he was a monster. Who was this too good to be true, always ready in a crisis guy working a menial job for her father? Ophelia knew things. Something was not quite normal about the Kip Terriot hiding behind another name in lace-up dress shoes and a preppy wardrobe – something wild and exciting as all hell. A dangerous something calling to that restless difference in her own soul. Ophelia . . . daughter of his enemy, girl of his dreams So sassy, so sweet so perfect . . . and what he had to do would destroy her. Kip was in New Orleans to save his clan and his kind, not to play white knight for Ophelia Brady with her quirky habits, curvy body and tormented past. His deception would rip the heart from her world, not help heal it. Was his family’s nemesis using his own daughter to make Kip the played instead of the player, pulling him between love and duty to make an impossible choice? “Emotionally captivating! A brilliant conclusion to a unique series!” – Book Bling
- GenresShapeshiftersFantasy
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 2, 2018
8 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Gideon
51 books1,026 followersWith over 72 sales to her credit since her first publication in 1987, Michigan author Nancy Gideon’s writing career is as versatile as the romance market, itself. Her books encompass genres from historicals and regencies to contemporary suspense and the paranormal. Her works have been published overseas in Romanian, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Danish, German, Icelandic and Chinese, among other languages.
Also listed on the International Movie Database (IMDB), she collaborated on the indie horror films In the Woods and Savage with screenwriting and ADR script credits, and even played the character “Bar Extra.”
A national speaker on writing in general and romance in particular, Gideon is a Western Michigan University honors grad with a major in journalism and minors in history and communications. She’s a member of Novelist, Inc. and the Mid-Michigan, Greater Detroit, PASIC and FF&P chapters of Romance Writers of America®, and is former vice-president, published author co-liaison and award-winning newsletter editor for MMRWA.
The mother of two grown sons, one married and proud producer of her grandson and the other shanghaied into being her occasional assistant, she 's retired from 18 years as a legal assistant.
A prolific writer, Gideon who also writes as Dana Ransom and Lauren Giddings, attributes her creative output, which once peaked at seven novels in one year, to her love of history and a gift for storytelling. She also credits the discipline learned through a background in journalism and scheduling writing time around diaper changes, Scout meetings, band lessons and outings to the Zoo Boo...and, of course, OCD. The due date for her third book and her second son were on the same day...and both were early! When on deadline, she'd turn on the laptop between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. to get a chapter in before work.
While the pace is often hectic, Gideon, a Gemini, enjoys tackling diverse projects. One month it’s researching the gritty existence of 1880’s Texas Rangers only to jump to modern themes of intrigue and possibly a legal thriller or two. Then, it’s back to the shadowy netheworld of shape shifters, vampires and movie serial killers. When not working on her latest plot twist before sunrise, even now that she no longer works 9-5, she enjoys indulging in Netflix, hosting her critique group, and feeding all things fur, fin and fowl. And, of course, reading.
Also listed on the International Movie Database (IMDB), she collaborated on the indie horror films In the Woods and Savage with screenwriting and ADR script credits, and even played the character “Bar Extra.”
A national speaker on writing in general and romance in particular, Gideon is a Western Michigan University honors grad with a major in journalism and minors in history and communications. She’s a member of Novelist, Inc. and the Mid-Michigan, Greater Detroit, PASIC and FF&P chapters of Romance Writers of America®, and is former vice-president, published author co-liaison and award-winning newsletter editor for MMRWA.
The mother of two grown sons, one married and proud producer of her grandson and the other shanghaied into being her occasional assistant, she 's retired from 18 years as a legal assistant.
A prolific writer, Gideon who also writes as Dana Ransom and Lauren Giddings, attributes her creative output, which once peaked at seven novels in one year, to her love of history and a gift for storytelling. She also credits the discipline learned through a background in journalism and scheduling writing time around diaper changes, Scout meetings, band lessons and outings to the Zoo Boo...and, of course, OCD. The due date for her third book and her second son were on the same day...and both were early! When on deadline, she'd turn on the laptop between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. to get a chapter in before work.
While the pace is often hectic, Gideon, a Gemini, enjoys tackling diverse projects. One month it’s researching the gritty existence of 1880’s Texas Rangers only to jump to modern themes of intrigue and possibly a legal thriller or two. Then, it’s back to the shadowy netheworld of shape shifters, vampires and movie serial killers. When not working on her latest plot twist before sunrise, even now that she no longer works 9-5, she enjoys indulging in Netflix, hosting her critique group, and feeding all things fur, fin and fowl. And, of course, reading.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 5, 2018
A gripping, emotionally charged finale to the House of Terriot series featuring the youngest prince Kip Terriot and Ophelia Brady, the daughter of his clan's mortal enemy. Although Prince of Dreams is the final book in the HoT series, the greater overall story arc woven throughout both the By Moonlight and H.o.T. series leaves me with hope we haven't seen the last of the Terriot princes yet. Their ultimate fate may be written in the cards, but this fierce clan of shapeshifters won't give up until they abolish every threat . . . or they're all dead. If you're new to either or both series, rest assured you can pick up this book and read it as a standalone without issues. Author Nancy Gideon does a fantastic job of filling in the blanks without overwhelming readers with backstory. Having said that, fans of paranormal romance will want to dive in at the beginning and binge all the books.
True identity unknown, shapeshifter Kip Terriot goes undercover in the Brady stronghold looking for evidence that will break the terrorizing grip Warren Brady and those from the North hold over New Orleans and Kip's clan and kind. There's no place in Kip's plans or life for sweet, lovely, sensitive Ophelia who saw him coming a mile away - or more accurately . . . in the cards and her dreams. Operating on emotional overload, these two characters connect in mind, body, and soul even as each plays their own predestined hand in opposing family politics. Phe wants to believe Kip is the white knight she's dreamed of for years, but Kip knows the ugly truth of who and what he is will destroy her, banishing all illusions of a happy-ever-after. Kip is a prince, but he's riding a dark horse of doom on a mission for his king as he's honor bound to do whatever it takes to save his family and their people - including wrecking life as Phe knows it. There's a dark, deadly undercurrent of danger rippling through New Orleans, and time is quickly running out. Lives will be forever shattered and altered. Who will be left standing once the dust all settles?
You'll need to strap yourself in for the wild, twisted ride and explosive climax Gideon delivers in Prince of Dreams! From cover to cover, the intensity and air of urgency build to a fevered pitch that will keep readers burning through the pages as once missing pieces of the puzzle finally fall into place even as new questions arise. Jaw-dropping action and explosive revelations culminate in this game changing addition to the By Moonlight series. A support cast rich in both new and past players ups the ante and changes the game rules as everything comes to a head that's guaranteed to rock readers worlds and leave them anxiously awaiting the next By Moonlight book - Rise By Moonlight! That's right, baby . . . Max, the big dog, is back! I say "Bring it on!" A Must Read by an author who never fails to deliver in a big way, Prince of Dreams is another priceless gem in the crown jewels of paranormal romance that's sure to leave fans reeling and ravenous for more.
4.5 Emotionally Charged Hearts!
*Many thanks to the author for the opportunity to beta read this book!
**Reviewed at Cross My Heart Reviews
True identity unknown, shapeshifter Kip Terriot goes undercover in the Brady stronghold looking for evidence that will break the terrorizing grip Warren Brady and those from the North hold over New Orleans and Kip's clan and kind. There's no place in Kip's plans or life for sweet, lovely, sensitive Ophelia who saw him coming a mile away - or more accurately . . . in the cards and her dreams. Operating on emotional overload, these two characters connect in mind, body, and soul even as each plays their own predestined hand in opposing family politics. Phe wants to believe Kip is the white knight she's dreamed of for years, but Kip knows the ugly truth of who and what he is will destroy her, banishing all illusions of a happy-ever-after. Kip is a prince, but he's riding a dark horse of doom on a mission for his king as he's honor bound to do whatever it takes to save his family and their people - including wrecking life as Phe knows it. There's a dark, deadly undercurrent of danger rippling through New Orleans, and time is quickly running out. Lives will be forever shattered and altered. Who will be left standing once the dust all settles?
You'll need to strap yourself in for the wild, twisted ride and explosive climax Gideon delivers in Prince of Dreams! From cover to cover, the intensity and air of urgency build to a fevered pitch that will keep readers burning through the pages as once missing pieces of the puzzle finally fall into place even as new questions arise. Jaw-dropping action and explosive revelations culminate in this game changing addition to the By Moonlight series. A support cast rich in both new and past players ups the ante and changes the game rules as everything comes to a head that's guaranteed to rock readers worlds and leave them anxiously awaiting the next By Moonlight book - Rise By Moonlight! That's right, baby . . . Max, the big dog, is back! I say "Bring it on!" A Must Read by an author who never fails to deliver in a big way, Prince of Dreams is another priceless gem in the crown jewels of paranormal romance that's sure to leave fans reeling and ravenous for more.
4.5 Emotionally Charged Hearts!
*Many thanks to the author for the opportunity to beta read this book!
**Reviewed at Cross My Heart Reviews
September 12, 2019
One of my pet peeves when reading a series is coming across things that contradict my memory of what I’ve read before requiring me to do homework searching back through previous novels to satisfy my analness. Sometimes with Gideon it’s minor and understandable for plot purposes like Kip being seventeen mere months ago in Prince of Shadows and twenty-one in the Terriot novels. Other times her novels include major changes in the rules by which the Shifter, Chosen and Ancient world operate or changes in a character’s backstory or abilities. Frequently I discover that the previous accounts in question were given by an unreliable narrator like Max’s father Rollo or his aunt Genevieve, or in vaguely worded passages that give an impression of something but are not hard fact, i.e., in this novel when it says early on that Warren Brady has old money and lives of in a family generational home leaving the impression he has long roots in the city. Nope, we learn it’s his deceased wife who provided those things. This novel more than any so far had me scratching my head in confusion every couple chapters.
Kip and Ophelia are wonderful characters and the development of their relationship despite the enormous stressors lovely and believable. Everything else, however, threw me for a loop, some were small things that felt odd like Kip’s immediate go-to in a conflict with humans being his animal form while his brothers do so only as a last resort or that Mary Kate is still a nun working out of St. Bart’s despite living with Philo Thibedeaux albeit platonically in fact if not feeling and her work at the clinic. For some reason the juggling of the names of Kip vs Chris by those who knew both names didn’t feel right in deeply personal moments at least partly because in a previous novel (if memory serves) it was a nickname given by his mom, while Chris was his bland persona’s name.
But it is the huge pivotal change in Terriot fortunes that caused a major disconnect for me that I never overcame as the novel unfolded. The first 150+ pages overlap with events in both Prince of Power and Prince of Fools, covering the same ground from Kip and Phe’s perspective while filling in the blanks of what Kip as his alter ego Chris Fraser (his step-dad’s surname as well as Nica’s) is doing (though how he could miss so many days of a new job to attend to family crises without getting fired is beyond me). The pivotal first hints of utter disaster happen just as the Princes fly home at the end of Prince of Fools after taking out several infiltrators. Fools has a few alone chats with Cale and his brothers Row, Colin and Rico to report and plan for a possible attack from the North. Not once is mentioned the first devastating salvo in the North’s intention to annihilate every last Terriot as Rico reported. The brothers’s ability to get back to Tahoe was directly affected by it according to Prince of Dreams. That being so the first word out of their mouths upon meeting Cale in Fools and integral to their strategizing would have been “What the %@ happened to our . . . and how the %@ are we going to get our people to safety?” Did Gideon not know while writing Fools what would happen in her next novel? Was she saving the shock value despite it making the final chapters of Fools a farce?
Increasingly these novels are marred by inconsistency. Characters and groups are portrayed as virtually omniscient and omnipotent, always one or ten steps ahead. We are told certain characters are extraordinarily powerful or talented to a degree that verges on invincible such as Kip with tech, Brady with his money and stranglehold of connections, or Bram in his devious viciousness. And yet when disaster strikes they are blindsided and helpless. Strong leaders we are meant to admire and mostly do like Max and Cale know the treacherous landscape they stand on yet repeatedly fail to act proactively or with finality against known and suspected enemies and emerging cracks in the foundation of their rule. How are public casinos a safe place to imprison a no longer poisoned deposed immoral monarch or to protect loved ones, especially when those of suspect loyalties know about them? Why when danger strikes does Cale not use the skills Max taught him? Why once they expose the architects of their initial loss, can they not get back what was taken through the same means? Yet we are asked to believe all of the above and more.
Without giving away specific spoilers and a review already longer than anyone wants to read I cannot say more. Nancy Gideon writes incredible novels with vivid, complex, flawed and often charming characters. Her in-depth portraits of the beauty, complexity and heartbreak of families or their lack evokes enormous feeling and insight. Her articulation of living in the aftermath of trauma is powerful. I was stunned when I first read Masked by Moonlight. It is in the execution of her plots, mostly compelling, that she is often inconsistent and stretches credulity to a breaking point. As both spinoff series have progressed my inner dialogue with the novels is increasingly full of “What? Wait a minute! That makes no sense. Didn’t it say in that other novel . . .?” getting in the way of my enjoyment, and from page 165 in this novel that stream was continuous. My 4-star rating comes from the heartbreaking and courageous final chapter and epilogue.
Kip and Ophelia are wonderful characters and the development of their relationship despite the enormous stressors lovely and believable. Everything else, however, threw me for a loop, some were small things that felt odd like Kip’s immediate go-to in a conflict with humans being his animal form while his brothers do so only as a last resort or that Mary Kate is still a nun working out of St. Bart’s despite living with Philo Thibedeaux albeit platonically in fact if not feeling and her work at the clinic. For some reason the juggling of the names of Kip vs Chris by those who knew both names didn’t feel right in deeply personal moments at least partly because in a previous novel (if memory serves) it was a nickname given by his mom, while Chris was his bland persona’s name.
But it is the huge pivotal change in Terriot fortunes that caused a major disconnect for me that I never overcame as the novel unfolded. The first 150+ pages overlap with events in both Prince of Power and Prince of Fools, covering the same ground from Kip and Phe’s perspective while filling in the blanks of what Kip as his alter ego Chris Fraser (his step-dad’s surname as well as Nica’s) is doing (though how he could miss so many days of a new job to attend to family crises without getting fired is beyond me). The pivotal first hints of utter disaster happen just as the Princes fly home at the end of Prince of Fools after taking out several infiltrators. Fools has a few alone chats with Cale and his brothers Row, Colin and Rico to report and plan for a possible attack from the North. Not once is mentioned the first devastating salvo in the North’s intention to annihilate every last Terriot as Rico reported. The brothers’s ability to get back to Tahoe was directly affected by it according to Prince of Dreams. That being so the first word out of their mouths upon meeting Cale in Fools and integral to their strategizing would have been “What the %@ happened to our . . . and how the %@ are we going to get our people to safety?” Did Gideon not know while writing Fools what would happen in her next novel? Was she saving the shock value despite it making the final chapters of Fools a farce?
Increasingly these novels are marred by inconsistency. Characters and groups are portrayed as virtually omniscient and omnipotent, always one or ten steps ahead. We are told certain characters are extraordinarily powerful or talented to a degree that verges on invincible such as Kip with tech, Brady with his money and stranglehold of connections, or Bram in his devious viciousness. And yet when disaster strikes they are blindsided and helpless. Strong leaders we are meant to admire and mostly do like Max and Cale know the treacherous landscape they stand on yet repeatedly fail to act proactively or with finality against known and suspected enemies and emerging cracks in the foundation of their rule. How are public casinos a safe place to imprison a no longer poisoned deposed immoral monarch or to protect loved ones, especially when those of suspect loyalties know about them? Why when danger strikes does Cale not use the skills Max taught him? Why once they expose the architects of their initial loss, can they not get back what was taken through the same means? Yet we are asked to believe all of the above and more.
Without giving away specific spoilers and a review already longer than anyone wants to read I cannot say more. Nancy Gideon writes incredible novels with vivid, complex, flawed and often charming characters. Her in-depth portraits of the beauty, complexity and heartbreak of families or their lack evokes enormous feeling and insight. Her articulation of living in the aftermath of trauma is powerful. I was stunned when I first read Masked by Moonlight. It is in the execution of her plots, mostly compelling, that she is often inconsistent and stretches credulity to a breaking point. As both spinoff series have progressed my inner dialogue with the novels is increasingly full of “What? Wait a minute! That makes no sense. Didn’t it say in that other novel . . .?” getting in the way of my enjoyment, and from page 165 in this novel that stream was continuous. My 4-star rating comes from the heartbreaking and courageous final chapter and epilogue.
October 4, 2018
I've long been a fan of Nancy Gideon, and especially Max and CiCi from her Moonlight series. With the House of Terriot we have the stories of a shifter King and his 3 Princes. I've enjoyed all of these books, but Kip as the Prince of Dreams is definitely a contender for the top spot in my heart! As the youngest Terriot, Kip has found his role as a technology and money man. When he is sent in to gather intel on a Terriot enemy, he finds that he may be forced to choose between his family and his heart. I loved seeing Kip / Chris and Ophelia find each other, and then find their way.
This book has a bit of everything - intrigue, action, tragedy...and of course, romance. It was a page-turner, hard to put down once I started. I would highly recommend, but I would also recommend that you read this along with the Moonlight and the rest of the House of Terriot series - it will make much more sense that way.
Finally, I'll just say that I am waiting with bated breath for the next Moonlight installment - Nancy, you've just teased us with that ending!
5 ★
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
This book has a bit of everything - intrigue, action, tragedy...and of course, romance. It was a page-turner, hard to put down once I started. I would highly recommend, but I would also recommend that you read this along with the Moonlight and the rest of the House of Terriot series - it will make much more sense that way.
Finally, I'll just say that I am waiting with bated breath for the next Moonlight installment - Nancy, you've just teased us with that ending!
5 ★
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
October 24, 2018
She did it again! Nancy Gideon hooked me from the first page until the end. Not a book I could put down. Kip Terriot has to be my favorite prince. He's real and down-to-earth, just what Ophelia needs and loves. Although this is the last of the House of Terriot stories, there's more to come from Ms. Gideon. I never thought I'd enjoy shifter stories until I read Nancy Gideon's. The romance between Kip and Ophelia is so tender and at the same time hot. Kudos to Ms. Gideon for another entertaining story.
September 29, 2018
I read this book very slowly because I wanted to savor every word. Kip and Ophelia's story definitely can compete with the other Terriot princes' star-crossed and angst-filled, but eventually triumphant, romances.
October 2, 2018
4.5 Stars-A great conclusion to the series.... I really enjoyed the Terriot princes and their stories.
October 19, 2018
All hail
I love this world. Great sum up of this arc and set up for next to come. Long live the Big Dog!
I love this world. Great sum up of this arc and set up for next to come. Long live the Big Dog!
October 19, 2020
Wow, with each story it gets better. The way it end feels like it should be another book. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews