Another well written story about realistic characters with a shape-shifting condition. She is honest in her portrayal of why someone would stick with Dante, even exploring leaving him, and then the reality of the surprise near the end. There is nothing big, grandiose, or wonderfully sweeping about this love story. Just a person trying to find a place to balance everything as best she can while loving the impossible.

I open a Sharon Shinn book and just know that there will be rich storytelling and a feast for the imagination and maybe a lovely, furtive romance. And then there’s this book, which is, I guess, about obsessive love. And shapeshifters. And sadly, Twilight did a better job at a paranormal love story. Just skip this one – all of her other books are wonderful, so I’m sure the next one will be better.