Lover’s Talisman by Ashleigh Raine

Melissa's Top Pick for May!

Lover's Talisman by Ashleigh Raine
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Genre: Erotic Paranormal


Summary: Welcome to Talisman Bay, where all hell breaks loose on a daily basis, especially when you fall in love.

Book one in the Talisman Bay series.

For twelve years Stephan Rashleigh has lived in the shadows, patrolling the city streets as leader of the Talisman Bay Shadow Walkers. The danger of his world leaves no room for a woman in his life. Until now. It should have been easy–rescue Mariah, then let her go. Except once she’s in his arms, he can’t walk away. Vibrant, breathing life into him, she makes him feel again.

Mariah DeSilva isn’t interested in falling in love, even with the gorgeous hero who rescued her from a brutal attack. When her best friend is kidnapped, she turns to the only man she can trust to help. The more time she spends with Stephan, the less she can hide her growing feelings for him. There’s so much more between them than an explosive romp between the sheets, against the wall and everywhere in between.

As they search for Mariah’s missing friend, a sinister evil is revealed, someone who’s been watching, waiting for Stephan to reveal his greatest vulnerability–falling in love. This enemy will stop at nothing to wipe out the Shadow Walkers and claim Mariah for his own.

Warning, this title contains the following: Bondage and knife play (don’t worry, no one gets hurt). A fantasy ménage scene—two brothers loving one woman, yay! Magical orgasms. Pleasure sparks. Lots of demon killing, lots of cursing while killing demons, and even more sex (without the demons).

My Review: When I first read the summary for this book, I knew that I just had to read it, because it sounded so intriguing. Ashleigh Raine did a great job of not letting me down. Lover’s Talisman has strong, well-developed main characters; and the secondary characters are nearly as well-developed and get just about as much time as the hero and heroine. The plot is complex and well thought out, though a bit confusing at times. I found myself getting hints of the bigger picture on the characters and plot throughout the story, with little pieces of the puzzle placed here and there. Considering that, this was a thought provoking story, as I had to continuously think about hints and guess at what they meant, just to have a small puzzle piece laid out later to answer some of my questions about a character or the plot.

Stephan is a really good man and very likeable. He is committed to his life as a Shadow Walker, and as such, does not get into intimate relationships. He is very responsible, very smart, and thinks about the bigger picture. He is the leader of the Talisman Bay Shadow Walkers and each member of his team holds him in very high regard.

Mariah is a beautiful woman who has not had a good time of it most of her life. Her mother moved from one man to the next very quickly and she never met her father. Her mother died young, leaving Mariah just turned eighteen and alone. Just a few days after her mother died, Bruce, her mother’s last boyfriend, attempted to rape her. Soon after, she met Michael, who she thought was the one, just to learn later that not only was he not the one, but he was very nearly her killer. Mariah steers clear of men and relationships because of her past, but when she meets Stephan, she is drawn to him. She has no choice but to turn to him when Twyla, her best friend, is kidnapped.

The sex in this book was hot, both the fantasies of characters and the real deal. Overall, this was a really good book and one that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys erotic paranormal romance. After reading Lover’s Talisman, I know that the story is not nearly complete, so I am glad that this is just the first in a series, because I would be sorely disappointed to not find out the rest of the story.

Rated 4 1/2 Delightful Divas by Melissa!