2026 romantic fantasy, second of a pair. Now that Osric Mordaunt,
assassin, and Aurienne Fairhrim, healer, have worked out that they
kind of like each other… what will they do next?
Well, mostly, save the world. There are various things going on,
pointing in a variety of directions, but most people can agree that an
army of unstoppable corpse-soldiers is not a good thing for anyone
else; and the perpetrators of that are doing a good job of staying out
of sight. Of course, having to visit magical locations at the full
moon to keep the healing protocols going will throw our principals
into the thick of it.
At the same time, the romance blossoms in spite of the impossibility
of a long-term relationship. And this is the rare book that justifies
its sex scenes: seeing the way these people make love with each
other is a vital part of understanding their relationship.
Each of them has to face changes before becoming someone who feels
they can love and be loved. But while I enjoyed seeing them groping
towards working out what those changes would be, I also enjoyed the
action that bound them together.
The worldbuilding continues to be solid, and there are no miracle
resolutions: yes, all right, things end up much less bad than they
could have been, but this isn't a matter of exposing a bad guy and
making the problem go away. And while the romance may well lead to a
happily ever after, both of them are going to have a lot to do in
the future.
Given how much the first book of this series was marketed with
standard romance tropes, I am hugely impressed with the way it turned
out. (And these are the first novels Knightley has written! I hope she
continues.)