Laurie London's Assassin's Touch

[Eva Millien]

The first book in the Iron Portal series is an intriguing fantasy romance.

 Rickert is a Cascadian assassin that protects one of the iron portals between Cascadia and Pacifica.  Neyla is a talent that has been drafted into the Pacifican army against her will.  When Rickert finds Neyla unconscious by the portal, he knows he can’t kill her, but he can’t let the enemy keep using her talent, either, so he brings her to his home.

The author has created a unique world of romance, greed, suspense, action and magic.  The plot flows at even steady pace with twists and surprises along the way that keep things interesting.  Strong characters draw the reader deeper into the story and the words leap off the page drawing the reader along on this great adventure.

I love how the author has created two different timelines in one story.  One world has evolved with technology and mimics our present, while the other seems to mimic our medieval past.  The scenes are well written and flow smoothly with no confusion as to where the characters are in the storyline. 

The romance between our hero and heroine progresses in a believable rate with well written and steamy sex scenes.

The final battle with Neyla’s former team is rather abrupt, for them to be such terrors to the Cascadian people. It was okay scene that I think could have been great had the scene been expanded on some.

I found this book to be an engaging and entertaining read and I will be looking forward to reading future books in the series.

4 STARS