Shadow Game - Christine Feehan

ISBN 0-515-13596

Publisher - Penguin Books

I was first introduced to Ms. Feehan's work through her Carpathian series, and I've found she's an author well worth the read if you have an interest in paranormal erotic romances.

Unlike the Carpathian/Dark series, Shadow Games deals with the psychic abilities of a group of soldiers who have been enhanced by the work of the renown scientist, Peter Whitney. For some time Captain Ryland Miller and his unit, have been kept under lock and key. They've been the subject of repeated experiments and several of the team members have died over the months. Ryland is on the verge of breaking out, as he and his people work together to try and baffle the security devices, cameras and persuade the guards to look the other way. That is until Lily, Whitney's daughter, walks into the facility and sparks fly between them.

From the very first there is something binding them, a link, a bond that knows no end. They can't ignore it, no matter how they try to, and it quickly becomes apparent that the attraction between them might have been manipulated by Professor Whitney, a fact neither Lily nor Ryland are very pleased about. When Lily's father is killed it's Ryland who provides the link, the anchor she needs in order to bring her back from the psychic link with the dying man. Without that anchor the death of her father might well have claimed her life, and Lily is left torn between trying to trust Ryland, and finding out just who is responsible for the death of her father.

The sparks fly between Ryland and Lily as they work together, pushing past their distaste for the situation, and their attraction for each other spins out of control.

Lily is a strong willed, intelligent woman, with power psychic abilities. She's spent her entire life working with her father and learning to both control and refine her gifts. She's lived her life behind walls, protected and sheltered by the men and women who worked for her father, and the change in circumstances thrusts her into the truth of her situation.

Her life has been a web of lies, and Ryland is the one waiting to catch her when she falls.

Ryland, a soldier, a man who has been taught to kill, to lead a unit of warriors, and yet with her he becomes something else. A man she falls in love with.

Ms. Feehan has written a skillful blend of suspense, paranormal romance, and erotic torrid emotions. She portrays the way the unit works together in a manner that is believable and yet doesn't swamp the story with the military background of the group. Ryland is a strong, alpha male who wants to control and protect Lily, without destroying who she is. The fact Ms. Feehan has managed to write his character in a way that makes him sympathetic shows the level of skill she has as an author.

I give Shadow Games 4.5 out of 5.