Meteors devastated the Earth. World Governments developed plans to help surviving citizens. The United States disbanded and salvageable land was divided into four quadrants—North, South, East, and West—governed by The Remnant Council.
Struggling to survive, seventeen-year-old Ava ends up in juvenile detention, until she is selected for a new life—with a catch. She must be injected with an experimental serum. The results will be life changing. The serum will make her better. To receive the serum, Ava agrees to join a program controlled by ISAN, the International Sensory Assassin Network.
While on a mission, she is abducted by a rebel group led by Rhett and told that not only does she have a history with him, but her entire past is a lie perpetuated by ISAN to ensure her compliance. Unsure of who to trust, Ava must decide if her strangely familiar and handsome captor is her enemy or her savior—and time is running out.
International Bestselling, Award-Winning Author Mary Ting writes soulful, spellbinding stories that excite the imagination and captivate readers all over the world. Her books run a wide range of genres: science fiction, fantasy, and swoon worthy stories. Her storytelling talents have won her a devoted legion of fans and garnered critical praise.
Mary was born in Seoul Korea and resides in Southern California with her husband, two children, and two dogs—Mochi and Mocha. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Becoming an author was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother. After realizing she wanted to become a full-time author, she retired from teaching after twenty years.
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Three Reasons You Should Read This Sweet Small-Town Romance:
Saving the Mountain Man was a quick and sweet romance that had just a bit of excitement and fun as well.
The dogs – oh my gosh – the dogs. That’s all I can say.
I loved the little check-ins from the last couple that were included for those that have read the series – but it doesn’t take away from this story for those that haven’t.
Will she choose between the career move of a lifetime or take a leap of faith into a happily-ever-after?
Eliza Dogsitting for my sister and brother-in-law, while they were off on their honeymoon, seemed like the perfect opportunity to reflect on God’s plan for my life. It was blissful until the sled dogs escaped their kennels.
Thankfully, a dog-whispering angel in the form of Rollin, one of my brother-in-law’s closest friends, comes to my rescue. We soon get to know each other, and I start to fall—hard and fast.
Rollin’s friendship is like manna from heaven, and his culinary skills aren’t bad, either. But when a once-in-a-lifetime photography contract comes my way, I have to choose between staying in Alaska or leaving my mountain man behind.
Rollin If a friend needs something, I’ll drop everything to help them out. When I get an unexpected, frantic call from Eliza in the middle of the night, I rush straight to her.
Corraling the pups isn’t a problem, but my feelings for her might be. Her sweet, sensitive personality is a breath of fresh air on this Alaska mountain.
But when my café has an emergency and Eliza has a chance to leave, it looks like our romance might be over before we have a chance to begin.
Can’t she see that God’s plan for us is bigger than what the world has to offer?
Saving the Mountain Man is a really sweet short-story romance. It opens with a bang and some sled-dog magic that start Eliza and Rollin on their way to a happily ever after. There were a few things at the beginnin I found a little perplexing – such as why ask someone who is afraid of dogs to watch over a pack of energetic sled dogs – but I just rolled with it.
Once again, the Alaskan scenery is really brought to life, and I love how much of it was fit into a short story so that as a reader I could really see and feel the places around them. I would have liked to see some of that storytelling magic brought over to the characters and their story a little bit more.
At times the story was rushed (even for a short), and the couple seemed to be shoved together with little lead-up or courting (I’ve always liked the courting and getting to know you stage). There’s just enough of a mention of the previous book’s couple to catch up with them really quick which I always enjoy as well.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
For nearly six hundred years, Vlad Tepesh cared for nothing, so he had nothing to lose. His brutal reputation ensured that all but the most foolhardy stayed away. Now falling in love with Leila has put him at the mercy of his passions. And one adversary has found a devastating way to use Vlad’s new bride against him.
A powerful spell links Leila to the necromancer Mircea. If he suffers or dies, so does she. Magic is forbidden to vampires, so Vlad and Leila enlist an unlikely guide as they search for a way to break the spell. But an ancient enemy lies in wait, capable of turning Vlad and Leila’s closest friends against them…and finally tearing the lovers apart forever.
The final book in the story of Vlad and Leila didn’t feel like as much of a romance as it did an urban fantasy. Yes, we still have all the romance elements and a happily ever after (or for now at least), but so much happened without the two of them being together. It tried too hard to bring the side characters to the forefront of the story. And I assume that’s because their story will be coming soon. But it did cause this last book to fall a little flat in the romance department.
Now, I enjoy a good urban fantasy all the time, so the lack of togetherness didn’t bother me in general. But this was supposed to be a romance. The urban fantasy part of me loved the action and the lore. Finally seeing how Leila “came to be” and learning more about her history was really nice – if it did take up a little too much of the story. It gets stuck there for quite a while. But, in a world as vast as Jeaniene Frost’s, there may be a reason for this that I don’t understand just yet.
Vlad’s past is fleshed out a lot more, and we find out that his version isn’t really the right one – and he doesn’t know it. I really enjoyed that part of the storyline. The shock and confusion from a vampire that always strives so hard to stay in control and all-knowing was a nice change of pace.
There are still a lot of loose ends at the conclusion of the book, but we do know that there are people working on “things” still. Again, this gave it less the feeling of an ending for Vlad and Leila and more of a feeling of a setup for what happens next – those two were just along for the ride.
