Hero's Haven

Hero’s Haven by Rebecca Zanetti Dark Protectors #11 Quade has been busy keeping a bad guy in an alternate world prison for centuries and believes he is finally going to die and never come back when he is yanked out and saved by Haven. This is their story of running for the lives, fighting to stay alive, being captured more than once and suffering often. There were brutal fights, torture, exorcism attempts, a mating, catching up with The Seven and the mates of some of them, a visit with Hope and some of her friends and a rollicking good read in the end. I did find that the fights at times felt like filler and I wondered how many times a person could be kidnapped but it is a paranormal romantic suspense that forwards the overall plot of this series sand I look forward to reading the next one when it is ready. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington – Lyrical Press for the ARC – This is my honest review. 4 Stars

Hero’s Haven is another fast-paced, breathtaking installment in this author’s Dark Protector series. This paranormal romance is a wild ride full of action and suspense and I absolutely loved both Haven and Quade. The world that this author has created with her unique take on all of the paranormal creatures - the Kurjans, demons, vampires, and fae - is phenomenal and I like how she crafts each book with a focus on one particular couple all while keeping up with the interconnecting storylines. In the previous books, we learned that Quade has spent thousands of years in another world to protect the realm from Ulric. The horrors that this demon-vampire hybrid has endured is shocking. Haven is a very talented artist who paints her visions and has visited Quade in her dreams. When Quade’s world implodes and he is forced back on Earth, the poor girl believes she’s hallucinating when she finally meets him face-to-face! Quade’s character is rather endearing. He is the usual demanding, protective male that we all know and love from this author’s works, but he is also hilarious when it comes to all of his idiosyncrasies as he acclimates to being a part of the modern world. I liked Haven as a heroine as she is wildly independent, a survivor of a crazy past, and refuses to put up with Quade’s overbearing nonsense. Their connection is palpable, but being together isn't easy as there are many forces throwing obstacles in their way. I feel like in this book, compared to the previous one, that the underlying story progressed more. We see more of the cyst and the Seven, get a bit more from Hope’s POV, and discover more about the other dimensions/dream worlds. It was fun to get reacquainted with some the members of the Realm and the Seven from the previous books. I suppose, in theory, that Hero’s Haven could be read as a standalone as it is the story of Quade and Haven, but given the interconnecting characters and the overall underlying series plot, I do recommend starting with this series earlier books. I read a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley.

So I wasn't looking forward to this novella because Quade Karys and his eternity spent in an alternate dimension sacrificing himself to save the world, yawn, all the angst, yawn. But I was pleasantly surprised, this was more about Haven Daly the (apparently) human who has been drawing pictures Quade and the other members of the Seven, plus alternate dimensions, for years. Haven rescues Quade from the alternate dimension just when he thinks all hope is lost, but Quade's rescue brings the release of the Big Bad Ulric ever closer. It turns out Haven isn't remotely human, she's a hitherto unknown hybrid, her adoptive parents are religious zealots who think Haven is possessed by a demon and have been hunting her for the past decade, little do they know they have hired a deranged cougar shifter to track her down. So far and I was loving it, but then Quade defaulted to the domineering, me-right-you-wrong, alpha-hole mentality and I lost interest. Also, isn't it a rule that you can't rely on anything said in the throes of passion? You certainly can't believe a guy when he says he loves you so why should Quade extract a promise to obey him in everything by withholding orgasms? Anyhoo, when Quade starting laying down the law, and he only wanted to mate Haven so that he could take on her powers and go and rescue the lost Fae/imprison Ulric on his own - talk about a metaphor for marriage taking power away from women! - I lost interest. Also, does it seem to anyone else that Pierce and Ulric are quite frankly more clever and more powerful that the Seven? Just putting it out there ... Anyway, Quade hits some of my PNR buttons so this was only a three star read for me, others may well adore his manly take-charge nature. Can mad Ben be the next of the Seven to find a mate? And please for the love of all that is holy can we kill/imprison Ulric forever now? I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.