Spellbinder by Thea Harrison

Spellbinder by Thea Harrison
Also by this author: Midnight Kiss, Dragos Goes to Washington, Shadow's End, Moonshadow (Moonshadow, #1)
Published by Teddy Harrison LLC on July 18th 2017
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 0998139149
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From author Thea Harrison comes the latest story in the New York Times bestselling Moonshadow trilogy....

Kidnapped while on tour, musician Sidonie Martel is transported to the mystical land of Avalon. A human without magical ability, she is completely vulnerable to the deadly forces surrounding her.

When she defies her captors and refuses to share her music, an act of violent cruelty leaves her broken, her ability to play silenced, maybe forever. Her only hope is a whisper in the dark, gentle hands that offer healing, and a man who refuses to show her his face yet who offers advice she dare not ignore.One of the most feared and powerful sorcerers in history, Morgan le Fae serves a Queen he despises, Isabeau of the Light Court. Once a famous bard and an advisor to kings, Morgan has been enslaved to Isabeau for hundreds of years, acting as enforcer and the commander of her deadly Hounds.

Sidonie's music touches Morgan in places he had abandoned centuries ago, and her fiery spirit resurrects feelings he had believed long dead. For Sidonie, trapped in captivity, passion offers a comfort she cannot resist.

But Isabeau holds Morgan bound in magical chains that only Death can break. And in the court of a cruel, jealous Queen, the only thing that burns hotter than love is revenge...

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What happened to Merlin of the Arthurian legend is given it’s own Elder Race universe spin in Thea Harrison’s newest book Spellbinder (Moonshadow #2). The evil Morgan le Fae is the main character in this newest book in the Moonshadow paranormal romance series, which takes place in the same universe as Harrison’s Elder Race series. Harrison over several novellas and books has established Morgan as the deadly muscle of Queen Isabeau of The Light Fae. She will do anything and everything in her power to eliminate her perceived enemies, even trying to kill her twin sister. Isabeau has been portrayed as narcissistic, insane, and ruthless. To accomplish her goals she used Morgan le Fae the leader of her Hounds to make war on her enemies. Morgan even as a secondary character in the series has been penned as a complex character, and in this book his complexities and reasons are fleshed out when his life coincides with the non magical wholly human violinist Sidonie Martle. In Sidonie, Harrison writes a musically talented heroine that has more than normal human frailties, as she suffers from OCD. Morgan and Sidonie’s worlds crash into one another because of the sprite Robin, a character first introduced in Moonshadow. Robin as a character in Moonshadow brought me to tears, he was such a wounded and tortured character. The tears for Robin, in this book still fell, despite his using Sidonie horridly. He is a character that utterly breaks my heart, and I hope that someday he finds the peace he needs in the Moonshadow series.

In Spellbinder there are bad guys a plenty, as the entire court has been under Isabeau thumb, and they truly know no other way to live. The romance of Sidonie and Morgan isn’t thrust upon the readers and Harrison does a good job in letting it unfold naturally, which made the love story very believable. For longtime readers of the Elder Race series Dragos does make an appearance and a few series mysteries are still in play, as we all know Dragos lost some of his memories.

To be brutally honest, I thought after reading Moonshadow that Harrison was losing her mojo. Moonshadow wasn’t my favorite of her books. Even a not favorite book by Harrison is better than most other author’s books.  As a reader I didn’t connect to the romance between Sophie and Nick. I was worried. I have seen other fabulous authors slide into mediocrity, as they try to hold onto a series after their expiration dates. Some series curdle like milk long after the sell by date while others sour slowly. Fortunately despite me not connecting  with Sophie in Moonshadow Harrison’s MOJO is scintillatingly intact, praise the Elder Race gods. Infact this book is one of her best for the stunning romance; not since Pia and Dragos has a couple so ensorcelled  me as a reader.