The Shattered Sylph by L.J. McDonald

Publisher: Dorchester

Published: 9/15/2011

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Rating: Entrée




     
                        
        
   

   

   Ril’s first memory of this world was seeing the man known to him as Master and later as Leon. kill his adolescent queen before his very eyes.  As a Battle Sylph bound to a human, he was compelled to obey Leon's every command. For many years Ril was bound to the form of a large red tailed hawk, unable to speak or walk as a man. He hated Leon with an unholy fury, but Ril held no animosity towards females.  Hearing Leon’s wife cry out in pain, Ril rushed to her side. It was this night that Ril met Lizzy, Leon’s oldest daughter. At the moment of her birth, Ril knew she was his. Injured in a battle, Ril is permanently crippled and now has pulled away from Lizzie, who is now blossoming into a mature woman. Hurt and angered by Ril’s distance, Lizzy becomes closer to Justin, who intends to wed Lizzie.  When Lizzie is abducted by pirates and sold as a harem slave, Leon and Ril must mend their differences and come together to find a daughter and a mate.

  I  read this book immediately after The Battle Sylph, so Ril’s devastating injuries were still fresh in my mind, as was his enduring love of Lizzie. I will admit that Ril was one of my favorite battlers. He was the most damaged of the three I became attached to in the first book. This book is several years in the future and their sylph valley is growing and starting to realize it’s potential. There are still many, many roadblocks, and more than enough enemies. The majority of the story takes place in a foreign land. Forcing the men looking for Lizzie into close quarters at times.  There are a lot of attitude adjustments and forgiveness needed before things can be made right.

  There are a ton of new elements added to the series both in the valley and abroad. It kept me turning the pages even though I was desperately in need of sleep. This author has the ability to keep you glued to the pages to the detriment of even your health. This series is JUST that compelling. I was swigging expresso and Red Bulls with ibuprofen just to keep my eyes open. I had to make sure Ril would be OK. I was that heavily invested. I truly did not believe the first book could be improved upon. It was. This book was a more intense but easier read because I knew so many of the players and where they had been. I defy you to read these books and not be effected. It is not a possibility.