Neve March is a stained, UNLIT in a world of witches and
magic so she was trained as a soldier, one of the Nightwatch
that guards the walls of the elite. She might not be
ecstatic with her life (having gone through a nasty
breakup), but she has her work and friends and her own form
of honor. But her life is quickly changed with the rescue of
a woman who has been missing for a dozen years, with no
memory of where she had been. The attack of their enemy
during the rescue sends Neve and the rescued woman to
Blacklake encampment and the attention of Commander Trey
Stone, Blacklake Prime. He seems to be a man of honor,
strength, and respect and one with secrets -- just as she
has secrets of her own. You see Neve March just might not be
UNLIT after all, as the wind sometimes speaks to her with
warnings and help.
Having helped save one of the elite she is rewarded with an
invitation to an exclusive Masque, but all is not right with
that populace. Then Trey Stone and Lord Kiro, a strong
healer and man with much pull in the elite world, asks Neve
for help and the uninitiated soldier goes undercover in the
glitz, glamour and debauchery of the elite, to find a traitor.
UNLIT is a fascinating read. The two main characters could
not be more different in their backgrounds but are amazingly
the same in their thoughts and actions. They are both
fighters, warriors who will do whatever it takes to make
things right. There are a lot of things that happen in this
book that will take your breath away, make you angry at
certain people, cry for others and applaud when the bad guys
get theirs. As with most of Ms. Arthur's books this is a
highly sexual storyline, but when it came to this couple it
seemed to never be the right time. You could feel their
tension and with Neve being considered taboo she felt he
couldn't be interested in her. (You will have to read UNLIT
to get the full gist of why she believes this but it links
to the staining of her skin and prejudices.) As their
stories unfold, however, it becomes obvious Trey has no
prejudices of any kind and does feel a lot for Neve. When
they do finally come to an understanding it is explosive and
rather satisfying for them as well as the reader. The ending
is a really romantic moment and for romance readers worth
the wait.
Keri Arthur is one of the few authors who can take an
inhospitable world, filled with prejudicial self-indulgent
people and turn it into a romantic paranormal not easily set
aside. I found myself thinking about Neve, the outcast of
the society, and Trey, a self-outcast of the same society,
whenever I had to put down the book. I hope this is not a
one-shot book and that Ms. Arthur takes us back to this
world as there are still a lot of intriguing characters that
I would love to see come to life under her direction.
Winterborne has long been a city divided between
those who have magic, and those who do not. Between those
who are free, and those who are not…
Though classified as having no magic, Neve March can hear
the whispers of the wind and sometimes even control her. But
it’s a secret she must hold close if she wishes to continue
as Nightwatch—the soldiers who guard Winterborne against
those who roam the wastelands and feast on human flesh.
But when Neve investigates a faint SOS signal, she not only
unearths a woman close to death, but a plot involving an
ancient enemy long thought dead.
In an effort to expose those behind the plot, Neve goes
undercover amongst Winterborne’s elite—a dangerous step that
could expose her secret and rip away all that she holds dear.
But the trail of treachery leads her from Winterborne’s
golden halls to the heart of the enemy’s hive, and it will
shake her belief of not only who she is, but what she is.