Good Book....awful cover

I have to admit, the covers for this series are quite terrible. And not embarrassing-but-you-secretly-love-them terrible like romance novels. Just terrible as in ugly, and having nothing to do with the story or the people in it. But minus all of that..I continue to enjoy these books.

The Hero Strikes Back
By: Moira J. Moore

Write up: In a realm beset by natural disasters, bonded Pairs-Source and Shield-make the land habitable and keep the citizenry safe. Now, like it or not, the Shield Lee Mallorough and Source Shintaro Karish have to work together to catch a crazed killer targeting aristocrats-just like Karish.




I enjoyed this installment of the series because it gave us more insight into Shintaro and how he grew up. Also, we got lots of moments between Lee and Shintaro that I can see is slowing building into something really deep. There connections and bond goes well beyond what exists between the other pairs we encounter. Lee is fighting it for sure, but it is obvious that she is attracted to Shintaro and is in denial. While Shintaro is a lot more aware of what is going on between them, and what is going on with himself internally. I can't wait till it all comes to a head. Lee likes to see herself as completely in control and a professional all the way…it would be interesting to see how she handles facing the unexpected.

One of the main themes of the book seems to be family dynamics. Lee's mother comes into town to reconnect with her and we get a good picture of how Lee is viewed and how she views her family. Being that she was taken from them from such a young age, she does not know how to relate to them, nor they to her. Her mom does all kinds of heavy-handed mother things like trying to set her up with various men, and telling her how to dress, and Lee does not react the way she expects or likes...which causes friction. And Shintaro's mom...oy...what a nightmare. The revelations about how Shintaro was treated by his family before he was went away to train as a source, and how he continues to be treated, gave a lot more insight into what makes him tic. The impression of him in the first book as being a light-hearted, happy-go-lucky type playboy takes on a whole new twist...and frankly made me want to make Lee love him more, or at least show it more than she does.

And of course there is the main storyline and mystery of the extreme and unusual weather going on in their city, as well as the disappearances of various highborn men and women. This allowed us more insight into the world and how the weather and the people are connected. It gives us some tantalizing insights into the role of the Gods and how the Highborn are kind of essential to the world and its balance. I am looking forward to seeing how the rest of the books explore this factor and explain how this world and its systems were created.

But, all in all, it was a fun easy read that added to my previous reading of these characters.


Overall grade:  B+