Found wandering in a
field as a child, Lee Ross was given a name by the state and put in a
foster home—without anyone realizing she wasn’t entirely human. All her
life, she’s tried to forget the odd dreams that have plagued her, of
monsters creeping through the night and a man fighting demons by her
side. But the bruises she wakes with are all too real to ignore… Then
the man from her dreams appears—in the flesh. His name is Kalen—and he
insists that her destiny lies in his world, the world of her
dreams. To save their people, he must convince Lee to give up everything
she knows, follow her heart, and cross over into the Under Realm—even
though once she does, she’ll never be able to return…
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This one, gorgeous cover included, had a killer blurb on the back. Thankfully it lived up to most of the promise. The author weaved a creatively unique world filled with bizarre creatures and ancient, brutal wars. For the most part the story continued on in an interesting arc with new developments, surprises, suspenseful action sequences, reasons to keep reading. Despite the promise of a superb world, there were a few things holding this one back a few notches.
First of all, the more intriguing person, a villain, was killed off. Just when that arc was developing, the situation I was most interested in vanished. This was a dissappointment. I understand having to do it to end off one situation and rescue the heroine out of a sticky spot and continue the tale on a different way, I just wished it were handled differently as I felt the villain added one of the most complex, fascinating depths of the story. It fell flatter when the character left and felt too convenient to wrap that section up.
Also, as with some Paranormal Romances, there were some unrealistic sex scenes that were out of place and slowed the actual story down. Thankfully it doesn't start until after page 100 and the plot mainly remains first and foremost. The sexual scenes were erotic and well-written, but I didn't care much about that with these two. Perhaps it was because of the action and non-stop everything else occupying my mind, but I just didn't invest anything much into their personal relationship and care whether they got together or not that way.
Like some other romances and PAs before it, Through the Veil suffers from overuse of names in dialogue. It's unnatural and I'm not sure why it's mainly this genre that does that particular writing sin. The heroine was likeable enough, even if a bit flighty and one-dimensional. The hero was more intriguing, Kalen being determined for a cause he believes in fighting for, actually losing his temper sometimes at Lee's hesitations, until he fell too much under the "romantic spell" in the second half.
The plot is not purely Paranormal romance, there are many science fiction elements, an almost medieval feel with all the wars and different world aspects, and it's more of a cross-blend of multiple genres.
Overall the writer is talented and creates her world strongly, uses beautiful prose to describe everything, and is clearly backed by strong enthusiasm for her work. While the last few pages felt a bit abrupt and anticlimactic, it was still an enjoyable piece.
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