Death was nothing new for Mangan O’Bannon, but years on the battlefield has taken its toll on his mind. The only place left for him to seek solace and forgiveness was a monastery. After a year, the emotional scars were still fresh. To help him resolve the turmoil and ready himself for his final vows, he’s been given a quest to find a holy object. After a year, he started to lose hope. Until a fallen angel crossed his path.  

After witnessing her parent’s death, Ashleigh’s only reason for living was revenge. Her gypsy father taught her many illusions and tricks to prepare her for her future. She’s now using them to seek vengeance on those who allowed her parents' killers to go free. When a monk came to her terrorized village, Ashleigh knew he was more than what he appeared. Though he might be handsome, the warrior in him was a danger to everything she had hoped to achieve. There was no choice –she had to get rid of him. 

Mangan and Ashleigh lives became intertwined when outside forced push them together. To survive the coming turmoil, they must learn to trust each other and themselves to survive. Their sparing turned into passion and each must make a decision to live in the past or forge a new future. But when they try to do that, they uncover a plot that could ultimately cost them their lives.  

The book really captured Mangan’s emotions in the first scene and instantly pulled me into the book. Each time the two characters clashed, their attraction sparked into an inferno. Ashleigh’s tricks throughout the story are very original and entertaining. Unfortunately, halfway through the book, their religious beliefs made me uncomfortable, especially when the talked about God while intimately involved. The awkwardness of it pulled me out of the story and I couldn’t get back into the rhythm again. Though the religious theme fit the characters, too much of it left me outside the story.

May 21, 2008