STEALING FIRESequel to Blue FireANGELA CASTLEISBN#: 9781936403240July 15, 2011Rogue Phoenix Presshttp://www.roguephoenixpress.com/E Book$3.99105 PagesParanormal RomanceRating: 5 Cups Adalardo is King of the Kells, a race of people on another planet. Nearly all of their women have been killed in a war with the Drac, so the remaining men including the king are looking for mates among the women of Earth. Penny Summerton is an unhappy, battered wife who despises her husband. She lives for the times that her husband is not at home and she can have some time to herself. When Penny uses some of her free time to go to the outdoor market with the hopes of finding some fresh fruits and vegetables, she has no idea she is about to run into her own future. Because she is not watching where she is going, she runs smack into Adalardo then falls down and cracks her head on the ground. She is unprepared for the handsome king to help her up and treat her tenderly. Unfortunately, the smack on her head causes her to faint and Adalardo and Jane, his best friend's wife, take her back to Jane's apartment. Adalardo knows right away that Penny is the woman for him and that he wants her for his queen, but she is married and, as such, off-limits. However, everything changes when the police show up at Jane's door and they are forced to return to Kell, taking Penny with them. Penny sees Kell as the perfect opportunity to escape her abusive husband forever, but when she confesses her wish and the fact that she is an abused wife to Adalardo, he has other ideas. Adalardo wants to bring her husband to Kell and challenge him, thus beating him and winning Penny for his own. But there are other forces at work, forces that could take Penny from Adalardo forever. Will his plan backfire, or will the Kells and their human spouses be able to overcome a great evil? Stealing Fire has everything you could ever want in a fantasy romance! I absolutely LOVED it! Ms. Castle does a fantastic job of incorporating all of the elements this reader loves in a romance novel: fantasy, aliens, supernatural bad guys, and characters that have a wonderful humanness to them. The wizard Tuthal ended up being one of my favorite secondary characters simply because of his willingness to realize he had made a mistake in his youth. It made him easy to relate to. In truth though, and this is another plus for this novel, all of the characters are easy to relate to. I also loved the chivalry of the Kell men when it came to human women. They simply cannot understand men or a society that abuses women and does not treat them as the treasures they are. I really liked that. Also, Ms. Castle has a real talent for incorporating realistic secondary characters into the story line, and I really enjoyed getting to know a bit about all the other players in the world of Kell. I am definitely looking forward to reading the first book in this series, Blue Fire, and any succeeding books in the future. Please keep them coming Ms. Castle, I for one will be buying! ReginaReviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
