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Greg has lived an ordinary life until one fateful morning when all that changes. Greg has no clue how much his life is about to transform when he encounters Aaden and subsequently his cat. When odd things start to happen, Greg finds he must trust in things he’d never dreamed were conceivable while attempting to understand why Aaden is fighting their mutual attraction tooth and nail. Aaden has known since he was fourteen that he was different. Not only did he discover he was gay, but he also had a strange and bizarre connection to Max, the cat his parents adopted. Plagued for years with visions of another time and place, Aaden finds he must fulfil a promise. A promise that has nothing to do with him, but yet, it has everything to do with him. He finds that he must right a wrong that happened centuries earlier and acknowledge and accept his true soulmate. Sounds simple, right? Then why does life seem to be conspiring to stop him from connecting with Greg, on every level? Max is an extraordinary cat. He was the king of his kind—the Manx Cat Guardians—until he messed with the fates and became a soul bearer. For centuries, he has carried the burden of knowing he needs to aid the souls he carries, to find their true recipients and fulfil a promise made. Can he finally right the wrongs of the past when he has been keeping secrets, especially when the fates seem to be interfering? Only time will tell.
5 out of 5 (exceptional)
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is book 4 in the Manx Cat Guardian series, and you really SHOULD, at the very least, read book three, Where It All Began before this one. It has a direct impact on this one. Book two, When Past and Present Collide, would be helpful to know what happens to Stuart, but not as necessary as book 3.
Aadan goes to the Isle of Man to help Joe deal with his ex. His cat, Max, comes with. The minute Max lands on the island where it all began, the island that was once his home, things start happening: to Max, to Aadan, and to Greg, who works with Martin (book one) and Stuart (book 2) Can Max finally bring peace to his charges: to Olafr and Magnus, the two souls he has carried for a millennia and to Aadan and Greg?
After reading book two, I was waiting for this one, Aadan and Greg have a poweful reaction in that book and it flows over into this one. It bubbles and simmers along for a huge chunk of the book, and it's not til over 90% do they FINALLY come together! Aadan was fighting the attraction, the pull of Greg a scary thing, but once he decides to go with it?? Interruption after interruption keep them from being together! While incredibly frustrating, for them and us, I think it was right and proper it took them so long.
Greg now carries the soul of Magnus, and he feels everything that Magnus did on the fateful night in the nightmares that plague him. I said in my review for Where It All Began, that it would have been too much to hear from Magnus in THAT book. But here, Magnus has his voice, and while I stand by what I said, because it's truly painful reading, when Magnus calls to his beloved to finally end his torment, it is NECESSARY that he has his voice here. And you do need to hear what he has to say.
Max in utterly smitten (it's the best word I can find!) with Princess, and at the end of this book, he's left with an impossible choice! I could not call which way he will go, and hopefully I won't have to wait too long to find out.
Aadan's younger brother, Nick plays a part here, and his story is laid out. That could be quite explosive, given how Nick reacts to Brody, Aadan's friend!
I loved the final chapter, with both Magnus and Olafr having a say and them finally, after such a long time apart, coming together forever. OH!! Loved the little twist about when the souls were both in Max.
The author's skill continues to grow, and it shows in each and every book.
Aside from having to wait so bloody long for the main event, and for the choice Max in left with, I loved this book, so...
5 full and shiny stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Let me introduce myself, my name is Jayne, I’m a lady of a certain age (50 in 2019, bites fingernails). I am an identical twin, the younger one of course by 7 minutes. I am married to a wonderfully complicated man or as he puts it, off his rocker Rob. We celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this year. I have one daughter and currently one grandbaby.
I was born in the Isle of Man; this makes me Manx (not British or English). I moved to the UK for several years and as a child I lived in Italy for a while. But, the island calls to me. I love the sea and it’s only a stone’s throw from my home. The island is steeped in folklore and I have used some of this in my writing.
I have worked in the caring profession for 34 years and have been a hospital nurse manager, out of hours, for the past year and a bit. I made that decision to work part time nights so that I could pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a writer.
I have always believed that I could and would write a book, but life just seemed to get in the way. I took a senior nurse manager post several years ago. It just seemed to take over my life until I had nothing left.
I was offered an opportunity to have life coaching which I grabbed onto with both hands. When she asked me what I really wanted to do, the answer was writing. But we all know it’s not that simple, or so I thought. I was questioned as to why it couldn’t happen, then what could I do to make it happen. It was life changing for me.
So two years later, my career path has changed and so has my life. I found my happiness again in something that just brightens my day. Now I won’t say it’s been a breeze because it hasn’t been, but it has been fun and exciting. Oh, and the joy just fills me up.
I am asked a lot why did I chose to write a gay romance. The answer was easy it flowed out, to write something that was so different to what I was doing in my life. All the research I did said write about what you know, but that just wasn’t working for me for many reasons.
I went to a creative writing group (couldn’t recommend this enough for new writers); anyway the course leader gave me these words of advice. “Put your inner critic aside, put pen to paper and just write, don’t worry about what comes out, just write.” I was a bit, really that works, but I decided to give it ago and 6 weeks later I had this bones of my first book (113,000 words).
It’s unleashed a beast in my mind, now I can’t switch it off. I follow a lot of authors and I listen to them talking about their characters talking to them. I so get this now, I find myself muttering and talking at odd times. Waking at 3am in the morning with bits of story wanting a voice.
I have the second book all but written and the third book storyline ready to start. I think I’ll write different stuff as well but this seems to be where I’ve started.