Abel Jin and Delilah Johnson have lived their lives with a hole in their soul, yearning for something they don’t understand.
Until one night Delilah is in mortal danger and a man who’s otherworldly strong and supernaturally fast saves her. Delilah is then cast into a world where fiction comes to life in the form of Abel, her destined mate, a vampire/werewolf hybrid who claims her at first breath as his.
But Abel knows the danger isn’t done. He’s dreamed for centuries that his mate will perish and he will stop at nothing to keep her safe.
For Delilah, she’s not only coping with fantasy come to life, but a mingling of very different families. Not to mention, she has on her hands a man who doesn’t understand his true nature and has lived his long life thinking he’s a monster.
Abel and Delilah together fills the hole that has been clawing at them for decades. But finally finding each other, it also tips their destinies as the last of The Three. They must unite with the other destined lovers, who with Abel and Delilah, are fated to save the world.
Or die trying.
You should know that I love Kristin Ashley. I've read every single one of her books (and
some of them twice). She's kind of got
it all as far as I'm concerned: she's funny, sexy, romantic, she has quirky
characters and the best damn alphas around!
I pre-order anything new she has coming and anxiously await its arrival
on my Kindle. That being said, I'm not
really a fan of paranormal romance.
Sure, I loved Twilight and most of the Sookie Stackhouse (True
Blood) books, but as a general rule, I avoid the paranormal. So, I avoided all of Ms. Ashley's fantasy and
paranormal books until I couldn't anymore; until there was nothing left to read
by her, and I was in so deep with her that I dove in against my own will. I have to say it was soooo worth the
risk! I mean, no way did I want to read
that one about the genie (Three Wishes), and then I cried my eyes out
for that genie and loved every second!
Ditto on the Fantasyland series!
I dreaded reading them and then couldn't put them down! In fact, I think the Fantasyland series
may be my favorite of her series! I just
knew I'd never, never, never like a guy who was the king of a band of
primitive (and literal) wife hunters who just take whomever they want because
they're big, strong men, but damn if Lahn (I pictured him as Khal Drogo from Game
of Thrones throughout the book and that didn't hurt) wasn't (maybe) my
favorite Kristen Ashley man of all time!
And I read the 'Burg Series and the Mystery Man Series and the Colorado
Mountain Man Series--those guys are some serious competition! How does she do it?
That being said, I started The Three series
last. Even though KA has proven herself
to me over and over, I was dreading reading about more vamps and weres--it just
seemed so overdone, you know? But oh Ms.
Ashley, how I wish The Three were The Five or The Six
because three just isn't enough!
In the first and second books of The Three series, we
met Lucien (a badass vampire) and Leah (his human mate), as well as Callum
(king of the wolves) and Sonia (his werewolf mate), two of the prophesied
"Three" who would save humankind.
They are all awesome, and you will love their stories too, but in Wild
and Free, we meet Abel and Delilah, the last of The Three. Now, Abel is the supernatural being to beat
all supes; he's not even supposed to possible, but he is--and in a big
way. Abel is a werewolf/vampire hybrid,
and he was left in an alley as a baby and has been raised and cared for by a
Chinese-American family (five generations of them). He is completely loyal to this family, as are
they to him. They've hidden and
protected him for over 200 years, and in this book, we meet the family of this
generation, Jian Li, Xun, Chen and Wei.
Xun, Chen and Wei are his brothers, for all intents and purposes, and
Jian Li has served as both his mother, sister and daughter her whole life
(she's the biological mother of Xun, Wei and Chen). You will love these brothers for the loyalty
and love they show their brother, but also for their humor and courage; and
Jian Li is so understated and calm. She
is strong and stoic, brave, and so much the core of this brood. She carries all of this throughout the book
and just lifts people up and holds them in such positivity and warmth--I loved
her.
The book opens with poor, clueless Delilah being attacked by
a group of vampires and werewolves, after having embarked on a personal
pilgrimage to find something she's felt she's been missing her whole life. She is saved by Abel and his brothers, and
Delilah and Abel quickly discover (like, almost instantaneously) that an empty
feeling they've both carried all their lives is suddenly gone. Knowing that Delilah is in serious danger but
having no idea why, Abel and his family hide her away and go about trying to find
an explanation. The explanation comes
soon enough in a big, fat violent way; and from there the action takes off like
a lightening bolt.
Abel and Delilah are a power couple to be reckoned
with. Fiercely loyal and protective of
each other, snarky and funny, and all with such passion that you'll wonder how
they have the energy for it all. Ms.
Ashley has a way with the alphas that will make you love them even when they do
things that make you want to hit them, but she also shines with her
heroines. All of her heroines are strong
women who know their own mind and aren't afraid to go get what they want. They are fun and funny, and so freaking
adorable that you'll love each and every one of them. Delilah is no exception. Get ready to fall in love with Abel and
Delilah.
Along the way, we meet Delilah's father, Hook, and his band
of biker buddies, all of whom are incredibly endearing and quirky, as well as a
band of crazy-funny witches, some wraiths and phantoms, golems, and I can't
even remember who else. We're also
reacquainted with some of my favorite characters from the earlier books: Lucien
and Leah, and Callum and Sonia (of course); as well as Gregor, Yuri, Stephanie,
Ryon, Calder and more. There's a side
story within the book about Yuri and a human witch named Aurora that I adored,
as well, and let me tell you something: I never thought I'd want more
Yuri. In the previous books he's been an
arrogant, selfish, know-it-all, BUT even as I say that I have to admit he's
always been loyal and shown an enormous amount of love and affection for his
"sister," Sonia (as well as his father, Gregor). In Wild and Free, we get to see Yuri
in a totally different light; he's still smug and arrogant, and a bit of a
know-it-all, but there's so much more. I
could easily read a whole book about Yuri and Aurora (hint, hint, Kristen
Ashley).
Even when these characters are stuck being still for what
seems to them like an eternity, I was glued to my book. Kristen Ashley has a way of making even the
most mundane events completely interesting (although nothing is mundane in this
world). There are plenty of sexy times,
lots of smiles, and characters that you won't ever want to let go. This book will grab you and hold on tight,
and when you get to the final showdown, you'll be on the edge of your
seat. My hands were ice cold and my body
locked up reading it. I cried and I
cheered; and in the end, I thought it was just perfect. One thing you should
know about KA that I appreciate like you wouldn't believe: She always gives you
an HEA, and even when she leaves one book, and you know there's more to come,
she never, ever leaves you in a painful cliffhanger--she just leaves you
wanting more.
If you haven't read The Three series, I can't imagine
why. I am living proof that Kristen
Ashley can overcome all of the paranormal-romance prejudices that you may be
harboring. Seriously. Romance doesn't get better than Kristen
Ashley (even the fantastical and paranormal kind).
P.S. If you're reading this, Kristen Ashley, my friend Erica
and I would just like to put in our votes for more Calder and Ryon. You know, if you're not busy or anything.;)
Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana but has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.
Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multi-generational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland and existed amongst the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.
And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.
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