SWORD AND CROWN - Lauren Dane
Torrid Tarot: Queen of Swords
Ellora’s Cave www.ellorascave.com
ISBN: 978-1-4199-0889-7
April 2007
Erotic Fantasy Romance
Rated: E-rotic

Molari - Present Day

Guest lecturer Rhea Harris often talks about magic, but it’s been years since she’s really been able to practice it.  Fifteen, to be exact: since the night she and her husband had a magical battle that resulted in his death and her exile to Earth.  Now though, the Nameless has returned to threaten the people of Molari, and Rhea is the only Practitioner capable of defeating it.  But of all the people to ask her to return, why does it have to be Jaac/Jax – who was first her lover, then her brother-in-law?

Because of his youth, Jaac wasn’t interested in tying himself to one woman the first time he and Rhea were together, so he left, and when he returned she was married to his brother, Paul.  Still in love with her, Jaac kept his distance, and then wasn’t there when she needed him most.  He’s been trying to get her exile lifted for years, and finally the Ruling Council is allowing Rhea to return.  But will Jaac be able to convince Rhea to give him another chance?

An intriguing and erotic tale, SWORD AND THE CROWN brings together two former lovers to battle evil.  Rhea, despite being one of the most powerful Practitioners, and with the Talent of sex magic, was a sweet girl and a bit vulnerable when she married Paul.  She lost her husband, her family and her home all in one night, and nobody stood beside her.  Rhea has grown up, and become cynical and distrusting, which isn’t going to help Jax.  Jax has regretted his youthful mistake for most of his life, and wants nothing more than to atone for both his abandonment of Rhea and her exile.  He’s hoping that being her partner in fighting the Nameless.  The chemistry between them sizzles, and with Rhea’s reservations about Jax, it’s not just sex that is between the two. 

Secondary characters include Rhea’s familiar, Sarai, a shape shifter who followed Rhea into exile, and various members of Jax’s and Rhea’s families, notably Jax’s sister, Petra, a seer, and Rhea’s sister Emmia, an empath.  Hopefully, Ms. Dane plans to revisit Molari in order to give any or all of these women stories of their own.  SWORD AND CROWN is an engaging tale that should not be missed.

Jennifer Bishop