Published: May 20, 2008
I really enjoyed this book both times I’ve read it. We have met Cadeon and Rydstrom in a previous book and Rydstrom says that Cade had already met his mate and he did. In Holly. Who is a mortal mathematician and has some issues. Only those issues are going to start being quite small when she finds out that she is a Valkyrie and is kidnapped by an order of demons because she is the vessel for this accession. Which means she will either give birth to the next ultimate good or ultimate evil depending on the which way the sperm donor leans. The big problem with her being Cade’s mate though is that the only way for him to get his brother’s crown back is by handing her over to an evil sorcerer. Yeah, if you’ve been reading these books you should realize that immortals don’t just hand over their mates. But he has to not only keep her alive, keep her eating food so she is fertile, he also has to not fall for her though everything in him demands it. That was probably the worst part of reading this book. You want them to be together but Cade keeps thinking that if he doesn’t get that sword to put his brother back on the throne he will never be anything more than a fuck up. And Holly is grappling with being an immortal and despising Cade and then caring for him. It is quite the merry-go-round honestly.
And since this is my blog post I’m going to take a minute to say how much of a dick Rydstrom is. I didn’t realize it the first time I read this book but my god he needs to take some responsibility. He blames Cade for losing his kingdom when he is the one that left for a war that wasn’t entirely necessary. He is the one who abandoned Cade as a young boy to a foster family and when that family was killed he didn’t even give his condolences. He is also the one who spent centuries telling Cade how much of a fuck up he is and berating his lifestyle instead of just talking to him. Like good lord, I wanted to slap Rydstrom. And he fully expected Cade to give up his mate so he could have his kingdom again when there is no way he would have done the same. He is a hypocrite and I’ll probably harp on that more when we get to his book’s review. I just needed to get that off my chest. Besides feeling terrible for Cade’s situation this is a really good and really quick read. Holly is smarter than anyone gives her credit for and rises to each occasion even though she doesn’t want to. A read worth your time for sure.
—“You’re calling me a–oh, now I’ve heard it all! The schoolmarm’s calling the demon a buzz kill.” -Cade to Holly, pg. 164—
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