Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Chanticleer First Place Winner

Inês: The Queens of Portugal Trilogy by Catherine Mathis – Historical Fiction, Romance, Courtly Intrigue

Inspired by a true story, Catherine Mathis’s incredible novel, Inês: The Queens of Portugal Trilogy, follows the forbidden love of Ines de Castro and Infante Pedro, and their indelible connection to one another even after a most tragic death.

Alfonso, the rightful heir to the Portuguese throne in Chao da Feira Palace in Santarem, nearly loses his crown to his stepbrother. Goncalves, a courtier, rescues the situation, earning him the king’s undying loyalty. Alfonso puts his son Pedro under Goncalve’s care to learn the moral code and values of the royal court. As the heir to the Portuguese throne and an only child, his father arranges a royal union for him with Infanta Constanza, a Castilian noblewoman.

Love, however, does not conform to alliances or compromise. The arrival of 15-year-old Ines de Castro of Castile in 1339, a lady-in-waiting to Infanta Constanza, creates a precarious rift between a father and his son. Pedro falls madly in love with Ines despite being already married to Constanza. He begins an affair that displeases the king and fuels palace gossip among the nobles. Fearing for the independence of his nation and possible revolts, King Alfonso is forced to take drastic measures that fan power struggles, betrayal, dishonor, and even death.

Catherine Mathis takes a blazingly smart and deep dive into an era of history that still resonates today.

With rich, robust, and evenly matched characters, she offers a historically accurate plot that is voyeuristic in all the right ways. Being fictionalized, in part, there is a lot to relish in the author’s creative craft, such as the introduction of minor characters who propel the plot into a sweeping conclusion. Plunging readers into the royal heart of a love story that has shaped history, Inês: The Queens of Portugal Trilogy is sublimely sensual with a captivating sense of charm.

Although it has a well-trodden conflict alongside it, this romance between a royal heir and a lady-in-waiting will gratify readers. Mathis excels through an abundance of tense and evocative dialogue, balancing it with the right amount of lively banter. The result is a tour de force that is surefooted and rich in human emotion.

The book’s details are brilliant and perceptible, whether they are used to describe the culture, sounds, attitudes, or smells of 14th-century Portugal.

The text’s most imperative scenes, within the palace walls, exude the intrigues of an institution that influences every sphere of society.

Inês: The Queens of Portugal Trilogy is a compact tale of love, loss, vengeance, and justice, delivering a swift kick to the heart. Exquisitely researched and told at a rapid pace, Mathis’s debut offering is a sweep of grace and virtuosity in its genre.

Inês: The Queens of Portugal Trilogy by Catherine Mathis won First Place in the 2019 CIBA Chaucer Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction.

October 15, 2025
IT’S YOUR TURN: How to Rediscover Yourself Prioritize Your Well-Being & Thrive with Purpose by Shari Biery – Personal Transformation, Women’s Self-Help, Midlife Change

The detailed and actionable guide, It’s Your Turn by Shari Biery, encourages women to reclaim the time and space they deserve in life from the slow creep of demands like home, childcare, and supporting a spouse’s career.

To help women take “their turn,” much of this book is devoted to slowing down: why, how, and when to do it. Even its conversational writing style is an invitation to do so. It’s Your Turn leads readers to reflect, assess, and make effective changes in their lives. This isn’t a quick-hit self-help book, but a meditation for navigating midlife flux amid marriage and family responsibilities.

Biery draws on her own experiences living through many challenges frequently encountered by modern women. She struggled most with balancing personal needs and family responsibilities. Biery’s own needs and dreams long fell by the wayside in favor of managing her household and supporting her husband with his career in the military. With It’s Your Turn, she hopes to share her process of reclaiming those needs and dreams and reclaiming her well-being.

It’s Your Turn is loosely organized around Biery’s “C.A.L.M. method.” Through Clarity, Awareness, Learning, and Mindset, she teaches women how to carve out necessary space for themselves.

After Part I sets the book’s intentions, Part II guides readers through the C.A.L.M. method. Then, Part III helps them reenter the world to “embrace your turn.” Throughout the book, boxed text inserts offer actionable tidbits like questions to reflect on and even a self-care game. This format invites readers to break out the highlighters and sticky notes, adding their own marks to the parts that resonate with them most.

Some of the lessons are more widely applicable than others. Biery is a military wife, and certain advice is clearly designed for military spouses in particular, including a list of military spouse resources near the end. Yet other advice, like a detailed guide to journaling, can truly apply to anyone.

This book focuses its advice for family-oriented women who want to find more balance and self-care in their lives.

It’s Your Turn isn’t intended as a guide for decision making about looming relationship difficulties, major financial issues, or long-term career and education choices, although women navigating divorce, business failure, and other major catastrophes may still find benefits here. Biery occasionally touches on more serious issues like health problems but is careful to stay within her realm of expertise.

Clever use of anecdotes adds to the messages of well-being in It’s Your Turn. The chapters begin with windows into real people’s lives which illustrate Biery’s advice in action.

Some anecdotes are drawn from Biery’s career as a health and wellness coach, while others come from her own life. In one instance, Biery uses her experience navigating the Covid-19 pandemic as an example for slowing down daily routines to bring clarity to what one truly need in life.

The advice shared in It’s Your Turn is given by a qualified expert who has used these methods to successfully make changes in her own life, and the welcoming, encouraging, and authentic anecdotes make it feel as if the reader and the author were supportive friends chatting over a cup of coffee. A wonderful combination for delivering the message that “It’s Your Turn.”

It’s Your Turn by Shari Biery won First Place in the 2024 CIBA Mind & Spirit Awards for Spirituality and Enlightenment Non-Fiction.

August 20, 2025
NUTSHELL REGATTA by Jonna Laster – Picture Books, Children’s Adventure Books, Imagination & Wonder

In Nutshell Regatta by Jonna Laster, the narrator’s grandmother reveals adventures in nature that could easily be missed without her watchful eye.

With her wise guidance, clouds turn into campers, dandelions hold moon yokes, leaves sing, and a broken branch takes on the form of a fox. Most importantly, twigs and pebbles become sailors who embark on a grand regatta in their nutshell sloops and sailboats.

Three ships come to the forefront of the story. Two of them sink, their twig sailors swimming safely to a nearby lily pad, while one continues on. Its passengers Burt the pebble and Betula the birch twig encounter what appears to be disaster, but when they fall over a waterfall, the grandmother guides the narrator to listen close. When they hear a faint “yipeeeeee” from the bottom of the waterfall, it’s clear that all has turned out well.

The narrator takes more ownership over the fantasy in the end, wondering aloud to their grandmother about where Burt and Betula might end up—downstream or even all the way to sea. The grandmother doesn’t miss a beat, suggesting the twig and pebble passengers might send a postcard. And indeed, the final illustration of the book is just that—a postcard from Burt and Betula!

From beginning to end, Nutshell Regatta is an imaginative poem.

Laster takes mundane aspects of nature—like twigs, pebbles, and common flowers—and turns them into lyrical images and dramatic adventures sure to captivate any child or child-like heart. The tension of Burt and Betula falling over the waterfall is just the right touch of stress, with a valuable resolution.

Laster could have resolved the story with the grandmother or narrator scooping the nutshells out of the water to save them. Instead, she takes a different and more developmentally helpful direction: the little sloops fall down the waterfall, and the grandmother coaches the child on creating a happy outcome for the event (the passengers going on a new adventure). This resolution could help guide anxious children to find positive meanings in change and transition.

The illustrations are wholesome and sweet, with little twig people peeking out of each picture even before they are introduced into the story.

The images serve the story immensely by bringing to life the cheerful adventurers in all shapes and sizes.

Regardless of what children take away on a conscious level, they will be delighted by the fantastical lens through which we see Burt and Betula’s adventures.

But for discerning young readers, Laster’s direct message is that “there are passengers everywhere,” if only you might look for them.

Children will surely come away from Nutshell Regatta inspired to make twig people and shell boats of their own the next time they find themselves in nature.

Nutshell Regatta by Jonna Laster won First Place in the 2023 CIBA Little Peeps Awards for Early Readers and Children’s Books.

July 1, 2024
MISTRESS Of LEGEND: Guinevere’s Tale Book 3 by Nicole Evelina – Arthurian Legend, Historical Fantasy, Myths & Legends

In Mistress of Legend, the enticing finale of Nicole Evelina’s Guinevere’s Tale trilogy, matters are life-and-death by the second sentence, pulling readers deep into Guinevere’s fate in this retelling of Arthurian legend.

We come upon heroine Guinevere in the midst of an ill-fated romance with Lancelot. It’s far from her first troubled entanglement, but the stakes rise as she’s severely injured and faces even more threats, pursued by possible enemies. The novel’s beginning is woven with backstory, which adds suspense to the drama unfolding in Guinevere’s present. This summarizing might be slow for readers familiar with the series, but makes the story accessible for those who haven’t picked up the first two books.

Many more characters appear, waving the web of intrigue Guinevere finds herself caught in.

Evelina builds this setting through well-researched cultural details, like the holidays and rites of Guinevere’s pagan world, and the symbolism and ideology of the Christianity that threatens to blot her world out.

Though it’s a work of fantasy, Mistress of Legend has the feel of magical realism. Paranormal abilities like Guinevere’s “sight” fit subtly within Evelina’s carefully constructed foundation. Details down to ritualistic makeup and intoxicants are based on fascinating historical truths, many of which are explained in the author’s notes at the end.

Evelina avoids foreshadowing to ensure her characters’ futures long remain inscrutable. Unpredictable shifts in individuals and relationships seem to arrive at every turn, making for a thrilling, if at times mystifying, read. Guinevere’s relationship with Morgan, Arthur’s second wife, feels uncertain until the end, as the two vacillate from enemies to friends and back again. Meanwhile, Mordred, son of Morgan and Arthur, undergoes surprising development that makes perfect sense only in retrospect.

The use of “the sight” by characters like Guinevere and Morgan provides windows into other places, even the future, as the women experience highly realistic visions.

This allows Evelina to show two places at once without using multiple points of view (though some characters are so fascinating that readers may wish they could see things through their eyes). Instead, only Guinevere’s perspective is given, and readers feel her claustrophobic sense of being trapped in the mechanisms of fate.

Along with the characters involved in it, this tale of political intrigue only grows more complex with time.

The story begins to feel like a tapestry whose threads disappear and reappear in the weave. Some characters – even main ones – vanish and are nearly forgotten, only to return when they’re least expected. Guinevere’s life-threatening injuries, so crucial to the first pages, are soon eclipsed by even more pressing problems. Yet they return to the narrative from time to time, the marks left behind to remind the aging Guinevere of how much she’s lived – and how much is still in store.

Mistress of Legend fits well within the literary tradition of retelling classics from a strong woman’s point of view.

It’s a great pick for readers of magical realism, historical fiction, and new twists on old classics. It takes things a refreshing step further, too, with a strong female character who remains formidable, agile, and the subject of much male attention as she ages past 40. Youth is no threat to Guinevere. The foolish grabs for power that surround her are.

The pace of the novel shifts wildly: speeding through seasons, only to suddenly slow and zoom in on the intense details of a moment. At times, it feels a bit like whiplash – but surely that’s how Guinevere felt, as the life she built crumbled time and time again. Readers remain close within her viewpoint, feeling everything she feels, in a world whose only constant is change. Ambitious though she is, her true quest is simply for peace.

Mistress of Legend by Nicole Evelina won First Place in the 2018 CIBA Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction.

The Guinevere’s Tale series by Nicole Evelina won Grand Prize in the 2021 CIBA Book Series Awards for Fiction Series.

March 29, 2024
STIFF HEARTS by Jo Deniau – Historical Fiction, 1950s, Family & Social Issues

Stiff Hearts by Jo Deniau follows the journey of a youthful soul, Gillian Jeanne Rysert, as she tries to live with openness and connection despite the abuse she suffered from her mother.

As Gillian stood at the front of her patio, she couldn’t help but wonder whether her mum, Hannah, truly valued her, after going through utmost scorn and hatred. As readers will learn, Hannah could not deliver such love as she had not grown up with it either. Instead, Hannah had chosen to maintain a routine of reminding Gillian of her lamentable birth, without regard for how deep the sentiments would slash her daughter’s spirit.

Brutality had rocked Hannah’s family and, in turn, Gillian learned early not to oppose Hannah’s remarks under threat of a brisk slap. The two women lacked a mother’s adoration and, so deprived, had hardened their own hearts.

But hope and excitement would radiantly shimmer on Gillian months later, as she secured herself a job and an apartment in Greenwich Village.

This unprecedented change delivered much-needed independence and serenity. She began to nurture a sense of self-worth as she found herself at the center of attention in her workplace, away from her heartbreaking past and draconian mother. However, memories still plagued her, including her sister’s and father’s untimely demise, along with her own narrowly-evaded childhood death. These traumas stall her personal transformation and make her question whether she had any chance of ever opening her stiffened heart to love.

This story will fill myriad readers with empathy, adoration, and understanding, as Gillian’s struggles relate to the social conflicts of the modern day.

Gillian’s reckoning with her traumatic past shows the hope of awakening to a brighter tomorrow. Stiff Hearts is a tale of resilience in the face of fear, and the courage to leap into new opportunities even if one might falter. All the characters are well-hewn, creating a rich and complex narrative with important lessons to teach.

As Jo Deniau discloses, being on the receiving end of cruel and unrelenting criticism, especially when it comes from a parent, weighs heavy on the heart.

Gillian’s story sheds light on the damage of this kind of criticism. It skillfully presses the importance of decent and ethical parenting, to create a haven for children. Deniau is an author whose concept of life is exceptionally alluring, and whose strong convictions and regard for current subjects weave throughout her writing.

Stiff Hearts by Jo Deniau won First Place in the 2022 CIBA Somerset Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction.

June 28, 2023
WHEN YOUR LIFE DEPENDS On IT: Extreme Decision Making Lessons from the Antarctic by Brad Borkan & David Hirzel – Travel & Exploration History, Personal Transformation, Antarctic Expeditions

When Your Life Depends on It by Brad Borkan and David Hirzel is a mosaic of incredible factual stories from the “heroic age” of South Polar expeditions, reviving timeless lessons of tactical decision-making for the present world.

Six vital polar expeditions between 1901 and 1917 catalyzed some of the most difficult and tough judgments in history – choices teetering on the border between life and death. The alluring fascination of Antarctica’s mysteries drew the heroes of this era, even while the continent’s frontier remained dangerous and unyielding. These journeys are treasured records of ambition, teamwork, sheer determination, and sacrifice. With a storytelling-driven approach to learning, When Your Life Depends on It contains a striking collection of true heroic tales from these six expeditions, imparting lessons about goal-setting, overcoming challenges, and approaching adversity with grit.

The thrilling and momentous stories, coming from over a century ago, nimbly flow through each of the book’s twelve chapters. Each story serves as an object lesson for dealing with modern-day personal and business dilemmas. The reader is placed in the role of judge, evaluator, and student as they reflect on various sensible, selfless, and steadfast choices made along the polar journeys.

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn” (Benjamin Franklin) – this quote holds the core purpose of this book.

The expedition stories immerse readers, drawing parallels between historical expedition conditions and contemporary challenges. The question “What would you have done?” at the end of each chapter and story engages and interests the reader.

The objective third-person narration pairs with a second-person point of view in these stories. The accounts of the dangerous and uncertain winter journeys –be it for national pride, scientific discovery, or personal goals– are not limited to the narratives of the authors. A recommended reading section at the end of the book contains diaries and accounts written by the expedition leaders, as well as pictures for curious readers. The authors offer links to several books and DVDs that they recommend for a continued Antarctic journey.

Bringing together motivation and history, When Your Life Depends on It pays homage to the pioneers who spearheaded great scientific and geographic endeavors and inspired later explorers with their camaraderie and passion.

This book offers stirring adventure with historical significance and valuable lessons on self-development. Its lessons are true to the quote – “It is the way you deal with and react to adversity that defines your life story” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf) – no matter what the terrain is, whether it’s chilly polar regions or your personal and business spaces.

When Your Life Depends on It by Brad Borkan & David Hirzel won First Place in the 2019 CIBA I&I Book Awards for Non-Fiction Guides and How-To Books.

August 12, 2022
SUBURBAN VAMPIRE RAGNAROK by Franklin Posner – Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Political Intrigue

Franklin Posner gives readers an adventurous dark urban fantasy filled to the brim with vampires, werewolves, black-eyed kids, and even Sasquatches in his novel Suburban Vampire Ragnarok.

Here is a fully realized underworld of vampire factions and governments along with ancient organizations tasked with keeping track of the paranormal.

The story opens in the past, with Scott Campbell’s father capturing a German bunker during World War II. This section is reminiscent of F. Paul Wilson’s The Keep and Saving Private Ryan with a little taste of Indiana Jones. After they find a handful of mysterious artifacts, the story then jumps forward a generation to Scott, the suburban vampire working in tech support in the Pacific Northwest.

Scott’s life is complicated. Between a recent divorce, living with his widowed mother, and working for an over-controlling boss he has plenty to deal with.

On top of that, he is a vampire who must suppress the urge to feed on human blood.

Something sinister stirs behind the scenes of the vampire political world. Jack, the vampire who turned Scott against his will in hopes of using him in a diabolical coup, still has followers hidden in the vampire government. As Elizabeth and Jeremiah, vampire enforcers, hunt down the last of Jack’s sirelings and try to root out someone embedded within the vampire council, Scott falls deeper into the machinations of an evil plot and must fight to protect those he cares for.

Posner explores themes of coming to terms with a new life.

Scott’s life has changed drastically in many ways, and becoming a vampire is only one of them. After his divorce, his mother is encouraging him to get back out there and see new people.

Scott does slip a few times, but he learns from his mistakes and the guilt they bring him. He also learns to trust those who still want to be part of his life, even when they know the monster that he has become. He knows that to be near him is dangerous, but, ultimately, it is their choice.

There are a few spots where the tone of the story becomes a little too light in contrast to the tension of the scene, but the story and drama behind that tension are strong.

Readers will marvel at the fully realized world presented in this book.

The political complexity of the many organizations, governments, and agencies make for exciting power plays and relationships. Plus, readers will delight with the handful of cryptids who play roles, both small and large, throughout.

Readers hungry for vampires with intricate and grounded struggles will be pleased with Franklin Posner’s twisty tale of supernatural creatures in a modern world.

Suburban Vampire Ragnarok by Franklin Posner won First Place in the 2018 CIBA Paranormal Book Awards for Supernatural and Paranormal Fiction.

July 25, 2022
DILLION And The CURSE Of ARMINIUS by John Middleton – Historical Fantasy, WWII, Young Adult Fiction

Hang your disbelief by the door, pull up a chair, and prepare to step back in time to a period of unrest that would forever change the world In Dillion and the Curse of Arminius by John Middleton.

British and European legends set the stage for ancient warriors with a clarion call to re-awaken to battle—and only the innocents can intervene.

In 1936, the children of the privileged le Close family pursue their interests and enjoy their lives at their patriarchal home, gifted to the original Baron le Close by King James centuries ago. Since Oakholm Abbey lay on the border of England and Wales, everyone looked to the Baron to protect the surrounding farmlands from Welsh raiders. They would slip down from the wilds of the Welsh hills and valleys just beyond the old monastic estate and do their damage on the population.

By virtue of their lineage, the youngest generation of the le Close family, Gilbert and Emelia, have certain special abilities. Gilbert is attuned to the animal kingdom—and it to him—and wanders fearlessly into deep forests on the Welsh borderlands where he discovers magical places. These places exude an aura of intense spirituality, bringing Druids and secret ceremonies to mind. On the other hand, Emelia is percipient, although she is only just learning how to understand the meaning of her experiences.

Unbeknownst to Gilbert and Emelia, trouble brews across the channel.

They will soon become integral in saving both the lives of their good friends, Axel and Rebecca, German refugees now living in Amsterdam, and in helping good conquer evil in their part of the world.

Meanwhile, at Schloss Wewelsburg, a centuries old castle in south-western Germany, Heinrich Himmler, the commander of Hitler’s SS, has turned to the occult to realize a dream. He believes in the supernatural and wants to contact and enlist the aid of the fabled Cherusci warriors who conquered the Romans centuries ago to assist in Germany’s attempt to rule Europe.

Himmler connects with a revenant whose ancestor was second in command to Arminius, the chieftain of the fierce Cherusci tribe that freed the Germanic people of Roman rule.

What happens next, when the bucolic world of life at Oakmont Abbey collides with the occult, is the stuff of legends.

Gilbert and Amelia will discover their connections to their ancestral history, and are called upon to fulfill their predestined roles as guardians of a sacred place. They will be sorely tested, and must call upon everything in their beings to survive, to secure the survival of their friends, and to save their way of life.

In Dillion and the Curse of Arminius, author John Middleton has created a work of fantasy fiction with a plot that will appeal to pre and early teen readers. Much of the writing is lyrical with vivid imagery, creating a mystical mood—set up with a complex storyline and sophisticated language.

Dillion and the Curse of Arminius won 1st Place in the 2019 CIBA Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction.

July 15, 2022
WISHES, SINS, and the WISSAHICKON CREEK by PJ Devlin – Contemporary Fiction, Americana, Short Stories

Wishes, Sins, and the Wissahickon Creek by PJ Devlin emulates the lives of fictional characters brimming with hope and promise yet living a truthful life of existence in the gorgeous setting of Pennsylvania’s Wissahickon Creek.

The book encompasses ten short stories making it a complete work of fiction. Devlin creates characters which are rich in both experience and struggle. Not only do they live in a real world created by Devlin, but her characters, a mix of children and adults, both struggle with daily, real-world issues most Americans deal with. The stories are all relatable in this sense, which makes the text come alive, page after page.

The first story, I Wish It Every Day, exists in the premise of a lasting, pseudo friendship between two women, Mary and Julia. The two past high school friends reminisce at a coffee shop one fine day, yet the meeting exists only because of a chance. The reader learns of the ladies’ lack of real friendship since the time regrettably passes without daily correspondence. Piece Man, the second in the group of short stories, creates a picture from an art piece in an art gallery. A child and an adult realize the importance of time and the fleeting speed of life. Devlin’s third story, Original Sin, captures the lives of a family devastated by death and the sins of a priest. The irony of this story exists in the mother’s wish for her son.

Wishes, Sins, and the Wissahickon Creek continues with beautiful settings and attention to detail in the depiction of every scene.

Devlin’s attention to detail and superb storytelling acumen invites readers to live in these ten short stories, as if they are truly part of the text. Each story represents new characters and new dilemmas. The unique tie to the ten stories is the setting of Pennsylvania and the eastern United States. The strong and determined people of Wissahickon may suffer, yet they pick themselves up and move on, much like the determination and perseverance of middle-class Americans. Devlin skillfully captures the true spirit of twenty-first century middle Americana.

Readers whose interests lie in middle America or Americana contemporary literature will enjoy this award-winning collection of short stories. Understanding the human dilemma as told by one who lives in the Wissahickon Creek area brings authenticity that readers will surely appreciate.

Wishes, Sins, and the Wissahickon River by PJ Devlin won 1st Place in the 2018 CIBA Somerset Book Awards for Contemporary, Literary, and Satire Fiction.

April 8, 2022
SOULMATED (Joining of Souls Book) by Shaila Patel – Paranormal Romance, YA Paranormal, Coming of Age

Eighteen-year-old Liam Whelan must balance the pressure and danger of his new role leading his entire empath clan while searching for a fabled ‘soulmate’ in Shaila Patel’s paranormal romance novel, Soulmated.

Since the age of six, guided by his father’s visions, Liam and his family have traveled across the United States, moving from town to town searching for the girl destined to “join” with Liam. However, no empath in centuries has found a soulmated union. No one knows what joining actually means. Liam tires of his parents’ search for what he considers a fantasy girl, but he agrees to give up one more year of his life. The family moves to North Carolina for Liam’s senior year.

Laxshmi Kapadia will graduate a year early. Her mother, an overprotective and overbearing widow, plans Laxshmi’s entire life. Either her daughter attends med school or marries a proper Indian boy. Neither prospect appeals to Laxshmi, who wants to major in dance and doesn’t even want to start dating, let alone get married. So, when she meets the handsome new boy two doors down from her house, she doesn’t understand why he’s so drawn to her, unaware of her latent empathic abilities.

Liam marvels at Laxshmi’s power, smitten with her mesmerizing eyes. But as the two become closer, a strange power begins to emerge, a force that threatens their lives and draws the attention of the enemies that Liam must face as a leader.

Liam and Laxshmi bear the weight of responsibility, both to the family and themselves.

At barely eighteen, Liam has to prove himself worthy to lead his clan. He embraces the great honor but fears the added burdens of becoming the “prince.” In addition to his rigorous schooling, he constantly reviews the financial documents of his people to be sure of their success. His heightened empathic abilities make him an asset to the entire empath world and a dangerous wildcard. Liam doesn’t want to control the Group of Elders, but his father pushes him toward that future. This responsibility combines with his remarkable potential, and Liam becomes lost in his abilities.

Laxshmi struggles under no less responsibility.

Her father died five years ago, and since then, Laxshmi’s mother has focused entirely on her. Mrs. Kapadia struggles financially and determines that her daughter must do better by becoming a doctor or marrying a wealthy man. Though she balks at her mother’s control, Laxshmi can’t help but feel she must be the dutiful daughter to keep a promise made to her father. Can Laxshmi give up on her dreams for the sake of her mother? Laxshmi honors her mother’s wishes to stay away from all boys, especially those who are non-Indian, though it means she may be missing out on a genuine love with Liam.

Ironically, both Liam and Laxshmi find a certain freedom in the responsibility of a relationship with each other. Though they must invest great emotion, they make that trade for the chance to choose their paths. Rather than being burdened by another’s emotions, they make each other stronger.

Shaila Patel’s Soulmated won 1^st Place in the 2015 CIBA Paranormal Book Awards for Supernatural Fiction.

February 11, 2022