Known for her Crosspointe Chronicles and Path of Fate epic high fantasy series, Diana Pharoah Francis brings her talents to a world based on our own; with a few dark twists. In this second of the Horngate Witches series, heroine Max must grow beyond her narrow role as leader of Giselle's Shadowblades and revisit a painful past.

Set soon after the conflicts in Bitter Night, CRIMSON WIND begins with Max fighting desperately against the dreams sent by a dark demigod to whom she has been promised. Before keeping that witch-made vow, she must bring order to the gutted force needed to defend Horngate and carve out time to bring those she left behind decades ago to safety.

The battle fought to save Horngate was successful, but the Guardians (rulers of the magical realms) are moving forward with their goal of eradicating humanity and bringing the chaos of magic back to Earth to run wild again. One of their next sallies will encompass the area of California where Max grew up. Fir 30 years her family has believed her to be dead, now Max must return to save their lives and bring them to Horngate. Her arch-rival Alexander (and the only man who makes her blood boil in all the right ways) will be accompanying her on her mission. As they go out into the world once more, they encounter battles no one could foresee and a painful secret that could cost Max more than she thought she had left to lose.

Francis has a talent for bringing you into the thoughts and feelings of her characters almost immediately. Max is a fascinating heroine with her unswerving allegiance to the woman who destroyed her life and betrayed her trust. Although I have not read the first book in the Horngate Witches series, I had no trouble at all climbing aboard for the ride and caring deeply about the events from the first page onward. I am eager to backtrack and read Bitter Wind and even more eager to read the next one to come.