While clearing out her late mother’s home in Cat’s Paw
Cove, Florida, Molly Hendrickson finds an unusual antique necklace. Wearing it
makes her feel confident and sexy—things she hasn’t felt since her ex broke off
their engagement or, really, ever. She decides to keep the jewel but takes
other items to Black Cat Antiquities, the local antique store, to have them
appraised.
Lucian Lord, a reincarnated 12th century knight, moved to
Cat’s Paw Cove after a scandal in which he revealed his magical abilities to
his former girlfriend. Demoted by his superiors, he’s running the antiques shop
while his grandfather is on vacation. But, when Molly brings in artifacts
tainted by dark magic, Lucian is duty-bound to find and contain the dangerous
energy before it wreaks havoc not only on the town, but the world.
Living by the knightly code of honor, Lucian vows to help
Molly, especially when he realizes the necklace is the source of the ancient
magic he’s hunting. He’s determined to save his headstrong damsel and redeem
his tarnished reputation—but first, things will get very, very hot.
Fun book with romance and a battle between good and evil.
The book opens with a prologue telling how Lucian and his cat, Galahad, ended
up in the position they are in. Lucian is a reincarnated knight whose mission
is to track down objects with dark magic and contain them. He is in Cat's Paw
Cove helping his grandfather with his antique shop after getting in trouble
with his bosses for revealing his magical abilities to his non-magical girlfriend.
The revelation did not save the relationship, so he's off relationships for the
time being.
Molly is a third-grade teacher who is in Cat's Paw Cove
to clear out her late mother's home before selling it. Her self-esteem took a
hit when her fiancé broke off their engagement, and her mother's death added to
her unhappiness. When she finds an unusual necklace and tries it on, it changes
the way she sees herself.
I liked the first meeting between Molly and Lucian. He
and Galahad first notice her as she stood in front of the shop. Lucian is attracted
to her from the moment he sees her, a fact that isn't lost on Galahad. Galahad,
who was formerly Lucian's squire, is a fourteen-year-old boy in a cat's body.
It was fun to see Galahad stir up Lucian during Molly's first visit. Molly is
just as attracted as Lucian and has a hard time concentrating around him.
Things start to get crazy when Molly takes some jewelry
to Lucian but keeps the necklace for herself. On the professional side,
Lucian's dark magic alarms go crazy every time Molly takes the necklace out of
its special box, but because Molly puts it away quickly, Lucian has a hard time
locating the source of the magic. Every time that Molly puts the necklace on,
she feels sexier and more confident, and more determined to have Lucian. It
quickly becomes clear that the dark magic has a personal connection to Lucian
after a hair-raising confrontation at his shop. I ached for Lucian when
instructions from his bosses made it look like his relationship with Molly
would be over before it began. The final confrontation was intense and
terrifying as Lucian battled to save Molly from the evil that followed him
through the ages.
This was the darkest of the Cat's Paw Cove stories so
far. The intensity of the danger Molly was in kept me glued to the pages until
it was done. The evil was balanced by the depth of the love that Lucian and
Molly felt for each other. That love played a huge part in the resolution of
the final conflict. There was also an unexpected twist in the aftermath of the
confrontation that had a big impact on Lucian and Molly's future.
On the lighter side, the cats were an essential part of
the story. I loved Galahad and his relationship with Lucian. It was fun to see
him rile Lucian up, especially when it came to Molly. He was also Lucian's
biggest supporter and backup when danger came calling. The four Sherwood cats
that belonged to Molly's mother turned out to be more than just pets. Their
protectiveness of Molly was fun to see when Lucian came calling, and I loved the
interactions between them and Lucian.
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