Synopsis:
Six months ago, Helle Madsen would have described herself as normal. Now she no longer knows if that terms applies, not after her entire life has been turned upside down by the reappearance of not one, but two, men from her very, very distant past.
Helle Madsen never believed in mumbo-jumbo stuff like reincarnation—until she came face to face with Jason Morris, a man who purportedly had spent fifty lives looking for her. Coping with being reunited with the lover from her ancient past was one thing. Having Sam Woolf, her vindictive nemesis from that same ancient past join the party was a bit too much. Suddenly, Helle finds herself the reluctant heroine of a far-flung, time-transcending epic story, one in which pain and loss seem to play a very big part.
This time round, Jason and Helle are determined to make it to the happily ever after. Unfortunately, Sam Woolf will stop at nothing to crush them. That ride into the golden sunset seems awfully far away at times.
My Review
Smoke in her eyes is the second book in the wanderer series. This review will contain spoilers from the first book A torch in his heart, you can read my review of that book here. I would strongly suggest you read that one first as I feel you would miss out on a lot of background otherwise.
This book picks up exactly where we last left Jason and Helle. Jason has been shot and is in critical condition, Helle at his bedside and Sam seems to have completely disappeared. The pace of the action doesn’t let up at all from this point.
Sam Woolf is still hell bent on revenge and he is only upping his game. A couple of other characters are thrown into the mix in this book, both connected to Jason and his past life’s. I loved the extra depth this gave to the book. In one sense I did miss the talk of their first life as the descriptions of that time were so evocative. However, there is so much going on here I’m not sure we needed that added dimension.
Surprises
What I loved in this book is Helle and Jason go through a very real and difficult patch in their relationship. In a lot of books of this nature things are usually all very rosy and happy ever after. Here Anna has given them challenges to overcome which made them feel all the more real. There were times in this book I really didn’t like Jason.
I feel there are also hidden depths to Helle that haven’t been explored fully yet. How did she leave those marks on Sam? Why is she able to run so very fast? And the relationship with her cat, I feel there is something deeper going on here and I am looking forward to watching it unfold.
When I started writing this review I went back to A torch in his heart. My over riding feeling about Sam Woolf was pure animosity. What surprised me most in this book is I started to feel differently. Yes he’s still essentially a misogynistic bastard, however, Anne has made me doubt myself. There are points during his narrative where you really do start to see his side and what he is going through. He is loosing himself and actually he doesn’t like it. Will I ever root for him? Absolutely not!
I found this turn around fascinating and for a good portion of this book I was questioning how I felt about the whole love triangle. I do love a book that makes you do that.
Lets Talk About Sex
Yes this is most certainly a grown up book. The sex is descriptive – you are certainly under no illusions as to what they are up to. Personally I like a bit of adult in my books, and the scenes in this book are very well written. If that is not your thing you may wish to skip over these parts.
Final Thoughts
Overall I enjoyed this book more that the first I think as the story was already fleshed out. I also loved how Anna has made me change my opinions on the main characters. They have such greater depth in this book. I was slightly disappointed that this isn’t the last book. Only because I feel the ending was really well done. Will this stop me reading the next one? Nope!
A great read for anyone who enjoys strong character leads. I would struggle to slot this into a particular genre. I feel it has a wide appeal. How many life’s would you live to find that perfect love? You’ll be asking yourself that many times during this book.
Many thanks to Anne for inviting me onto the blog tour and Anna and the publishers for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinions.
Author Bio
Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become
a professional time-traveller. As such a profession does not exist, she settled
for second best and became a financial professional with two absorbing
interests, namely history and writing. These days, Anna combines an exciting
day-job with a large family and her writing endeavours.
Her first series, The Graham Saga, is set in
17th century Scotland and Virginia/Maryland. It tells the story of Matthew and
Alex, two people who should never have met – not when she was born three
hundred years after him. With this heady blend of time-travel, romance,
adventure, high drama and historical accuracy, Anna hopes to entertain and
captivate, and is more than thrilled when readers tell her just how much they
love her books and her characters. There are eight books in the series so far,
but Anna is considering adding one or two more…
Presently, Anna is hard at work with her next
project, a series set in the 1320s featuring Adam de Guirande, his wife Kit,
and their adventures and misfortunes in connection with Roger Mortimer’s rise
to power. The King’s Greatest Enemy is a series where passion and drama play
out against a complex political situation, where today’s traitor may be
tomorrow’s hero, and the Wheel of Fortune never stops rolling.
If you want to know more about Anna, why not
visit her website, https://www.annabelfrage.com/
Twitter @abelfrageauthor
Author page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/annabelfrageauthor/
I would love to hear your thoughts, please leave me a comment