Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Into The Wind
SERIES: Mermen of Ea #2
AUTHOR: Shira Anthony
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 216
BLURB: Mermen of Ea: Book Two
Since learning of his merman shifter heritage, Taren has begun building a life with Ian Dunaidh among the mainland Ea. But memories of his past life still haunt him, and as the threat of war with the hostile island merfolk looms ever closer, Taren fears he will lose Ian the same way he lost his beloved centuries before. Together they sail to the Gateway Islands in search of the fabled rune stone—a weapon of great power the Ea believe will protect them—and Odhrán, the pirate rumored to possess it.
After humans attack the Phantom, Taren finds himself washed up on an island, faced with a mysterious boy named Brynn who promises to lead him to Odhrán. But Taren isn’t sure if he can trust Brynn, and Odhrán is rumored to enslave Ea to protect his stronghold. Taren will have to put his life on the line to find his way back to Ian and attempt to recover the stone. Even if he does find it, his troubles are far from over: he and Ian are being stalked by an enemy who wants them dead at all costs.
REVIEW:
Wow! Great way to start an exciting book, just at the beginning of a battle at sea. The Phantom has been attacked and Ian and Taren are hot in the middle of it…. During the battle they are separated and Taren ends up on the island they were headed toward, on their quest to find the rune stone. Taren is rescued on the beach by a young boy, Brynn, who claims he can lead Taren to Odhrán, the pirate that may have or at least know where the stone is. Off they go leaving poor Ian behind wondering what’s going on. He’s able to sense through their bond that Taren is alive, but that is about it. Part of me was sad about how much time Taren and Ian spent apart during the first half of the book, but we see them together during Taren’s visions of their previous lives, and memories of their current lives. There is a flashback to a lovely interlude between them early on, that gives us a reminder of how hot they are together in their Ea forms, entwined in the water. I would have liked a bit more of that!
So this is part of a very complex story, the good Ea on the mainland, the bad Ea on their home island, and the humans who may or may not know much about the merfolk. There is magic, and mystery, a dagger, a rune stone, visions, reincarnated souls, ghosts/spirits. All tied in to a big wonderful plot. I read the first book when it came out, I wish I’d read it again before reading this one. There are things I don’t remember as well as I would like. Good things happen, and bad things happen, there’s a big thing at the end that made me cry. We meet Odhrán, at first I was annoyed that he took time and book space away from Ian and Taren, but I got to know him, learned his story, and developed some serious sympathy for him. I think he’s a fabulous addition to the cast and hope we see more of him. I hope he gets some happiness too, he’s got some issues…
This is a hard one to review without giving away plot lines. It was partly character developing, Taren learns lots about his former incarnation, his folks, his life, but not much about the stone that can help anyone. Not much happened to move forward the battle between the two factions of the Ea. It was very focused on Taren, which was just fine, but he spends a lot of time away from Ian, which I was sad to see. I think their bond needs to strengthen a bit. They are very committed, I hear that in their words, but I need to see their love first hand. There was not enough physical expression of their love in this book, it doesn’t have to be erotic, just some sex, cuddling, relaxing. I know…. They had stuff to deal with, but I needed some merman loving!
I enjoyed this book very much and I’m looking forward to more. There is a lot left out there for us to know. There’s got to be a big battle at some point, this book really didn’t get us that much closer. The participants are gathering information, allies, and potentially a weapon. There was certainly some action in this book, a couple of sea battles, but it was more… I can’t find the word. Internal instead of external maybe? Developing Taren as a character more, Ian not so much, Odhrán as well. None of that is a bad thing by any means, but I think I was expecting a bigger story, as I remember the last one being. I also remember a fair amount of sex in Stealing the Wind, not so much in this one.
The writing was great, I’m always amazed that authors who write fantasy can keep track of such big worlds. So many characters, odd names of people and places, maps and directions, rules and myths. It can’t be easy, and Shira does it well. As I said before this is a complex story, she has built a complex world, with complex characters, and a very complex history. If you have read the first book, you’ll like this one, it just expands the story started in the first one. If you haven’t read it, you need to, or you’ll be lost and confused. This is epic fantasy, very well done!
RATING: 
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