Book Review: Mariah's Love

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Mariah's Love     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Louise Crawford
Class/Genre:   Fantasy   Romance
Phoenix, Mar 2002, $6.99, 340 pp.

Relatively new Chadyk Commander Rathyn watches his soldiers battle the Syrithians when a woman appears and disrobes. She is obviously a Syrithian enchantress and though he knows he should capture her, Rathyn is frozen by her beauty and the desire that wracks his body. When she sees him finally approach, the woman changes into a steed and flees.

Not long afterward, Rathyn meets with the Syrithian Council in an attempt to secure a peace between the two people. However, his predecessor Marcus the Butcher left a legacy of deceit and murder so that no one trusts the Chadyk. The Queen Mariah is the enchantress he met at the rim of the battlefield and based on her seer rejects Rathyn’s overture. The Syrithians attack and Mariah among others is captured. As Rathyn and Mariah come into constant contact, they fall in love. Are their feelings stronger than the distrust and hatred their followers feel and can their love ultimately end the belligerence between the races especially when his role in the Chadyk Empire changes?

This is an exhilarating romance that skillfully entwines some fantasy and science fiction elements into the plot. The story line is loaded with action yet insures that the two species seem genuine so that readers can accept the racial relations or lack thereof. The cast brings the tale to life as prejudices on both sides make the forbidden love between the lead protagonists seem deadly and treasonous. Fans of the three sub-genres will want to read this enchanting treat.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner