Reviewed by Roberta
TITLE: Running with the Wind
SERIES: Mermen of Ea: Book Three
AUTHOR: Shira Anthony
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 220 Pages
BLURB:
Sequel to Into the Wind
Mermen of Ea: Book Three
With the final confrontation between the island and mainland Ea factions looming, Taren and Ian sail with Odhrán to investigate a lost colony of merfolk in the Eastern Lands. Upon their arrival, the King of Astenya welcomes them as friends. Odhrán, however, isn’t so quick to trust the descendent of the man who held him prisoner for nearly a decade, especially now that he has someone to cherish and protect—the mysterious winged boy he rescued from the depths.
Armed with the knowledge he believes will save the Ea, Taren returns to the mainland. With Ian at his side, Taren convinces Vurin that their people must unite with their island brethren before it’s too late. When Seria and his men attack, Taren must call upon the ancient power of the rune stone to protect his comrades. But using the stone’s immeasurable power commands a hefty price—and Ian fears that price is Taren’s life.
REVIEW:
So, I was willing to read a book at the end of a series and see if I could follow along and truly understand and get into the story. Well, I have to say that I truly had no issues regarding that. That is truly a mark of an great author.
So, this book picks up after the ending of Into the Wind and our guys are trying to get to the lost colony and dealing with the death of Rider and the destruction of ships. Odhran is helping getting everyone back to safety. Bastian has been reborn and is now a child. Bastian has imprinted on Odhran like a baby bird to it’s mother. It’s really kinda cute how this sweet boy follows Odhran around and feels safe.
Taren and Ian are really the MC’s in this story and can I just say that you could totally feel the love that these guys had for each other. That Taren and Ian are the reincarnation of two other men…it’s really just so sweet. I love that even with the flashbacks to another time, that the love and faith that these two have…it’s really beautiful. I felt for each of these characters. You know that Taren is really being pushed into something so huge and it’s going to cost something from him and yet, he still does what he must in order to save his people. I loved Ian’s faith in standing by Taren. He knew that he would be a part of whatever goes down, however, he just wanted to survive with Taren. To be able to live out their lives together…that’s actually what they both want and need.
Odhran and Bastian…I loved the fact that as Bastian was reborn and becoming again….that the one that he wanted was Odhran. I loved watching him grow from childlike to adolescent to full grown man. I liked his evolution. I felt for him as he’s lost all memory of his life prior and just has to start over from scratch. To hear about Rider and not have any feelings regarding him, that is just so heartbreaking to me. Odhran on the other hand….wow… to live as long as he had and to still feel the sting of betrayal that Luca did to him. To see that he didn’t want to fall in love again because of what Luca did. I kinda feel that he was very gentleman like while his feelings for Bastian changed. I liked that Odhran had to also come to grips with his past.
There are some really good secondary characters, both good and bad. They all had their reasons for being around and boy…did they come out swinging. I love that in this story these characters are both human and other. Not all were mermen…Bastian is a dragon and Odhran is…well, I’m still not sure what he is, but Holy Hannah is he something AMAZING!! As you can tell, I really liked Odhran.
There was just a small amount of sexy times in this book and I have to say that what was there was truly non explicit and very tastefully done. It was to show the depth of Taren and Ian’s love and devotion to each other.
I will say that this book was sweet. I enjoyed the action and the characters. I have a feeling that if I’d have read the previous books, I would say that this book would truly touch me. However, as this is the only one that I’ve read…it’s still really good and I’m glad that I had the chance to review it.
RATING: 
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