Reread in January 2016.

I am working my way through a reread to get ready for the next books in the series, and I also just plain love the Prakenskii brothers (they're Russian, enough said!) and the Sisters of the Heart, the found family of women who buy a farm together and are united by personal tragedy and their gifts of power over the elements.

I can easily say this is still my favorite so far (out of the first 3 books), although I loved to the third power Water Bound and I really did enjoy Spirit Bound. I think that this has the best action and the romance between Airiana and Maxim is so natural in its progression. Although they seem to start as enemies, the mutual alliance they found becomes a bond of trust and love.

It hit me hard like for the first time how lethal Maxim is. He doesn't play around! Airiana is sweet, but she has the capability to dive into the fray and do what needs to be done. She's feisty too and she definitely tells Maxim what she thinks. They're such a great couple!

The children are integral to the story and adorable, but it's so awful and heartbreaking what they have experienced. The subject matter here is definitely not for the faint of heart.

I'm super jazzed to finally be able to start reading Earth Bound and excited about Fire Bound coming out in April! I've a feeling that Casmir is like Maxim on steroids.

This was a comfort reread that I completed on my Kindle Text-to-Speech between May 21 and June 8th, 2014. Anne Stuart is my all time favorite author. Her skill with writing romance is evident in her category Harlequin books as much as her mainstream books that she writes now. She has a way of combining romance with edgy danger and suspense to make the kind of book that a romance fan who loves action, thrillers or suspense can enjoy for equal components. She shows the knowledge of key elements to a scintillating romance story: A compelling hero, a likable and identifiable heroine, a scenario that allows tension to grow and culminate into a lifetime love, and plenty of moments of enjoyable, sigh-worthy scenes between said hero and heroine along the way. Reilly is the kind of guy you'd want to be stranded in the jungle alongside (if you want that at all). He's the strong silent type, and beneath the rough edges, he is a decent person with a firm moral compass. He's also sexy and strong and appealing in that luscious romance novel hero way. He's got more than enough bad boy appeal (or otherwise this wouldn't be an Anne Stuart book). I pretty much hate being hot and sweaty and dirty, so a jungle doesn't sound fun to me, but I love reading books where the hero and heroine slog together through a jungle because they are so much fun. Carlie is one of my favorite Stuart heroines. She's actually rather innocent (courtesy of spending nine years in a convent), but also has plenty of emotional scars from the tragedy of her past. She's soft but also strong, and not a pushover that makes a dominant hero like Reilly seem like a bully when he acts all gruff and grumpy. She's taken a lot of licks in her life, but she keeps on ticking. The chemistry between Reilly and Carlie is electric as it can only be in an Anne Stuart book. Even though the love scenes aren't that descriptive, they feel steamy to me. Because Stuart is so good at building tension. You can feel their attraction (reluctant at first) and the slow slide into love that makes it clear that neither will be able to walk away when they get back to safety. I had a happy, sappy smile of satisfied romance lover when I finished the book, even though I've read this at least twice before now (probably more). Timothy, the baby is an integral character. He reveals the vulnerabilities of both characters, and personalizes Reilly as a man who is tough as nails but also can be gentle and caring with an orphaned child. The scenario is exciting and fun, although more energy is focused on the romance since this is a shorter-length category romance. there is more than enough atmosphere present to buy the sense of risk of being in a war-torn country south of the border. Although this is from the 90s, it doesn't feel dated, but moreso classic. One of those tried and true romances from that period that I consider a sure thing when I need an escapist romantic pick-me-up. I am biased in the sense that I am a diehard Anne Stuart fan, but this is definitely one of my all-time favorites by her. Recommended! flag