Still of the Night (Skye Druids #5)

Donna Grant

Blurb:

Forest child they call me. It is within the woods that I find solace and feel the magic of my ancestors. For I am a Druid. One who can trace her roots from the very first to call the Isle of Skye home.

The isle draws many to its magical shores. It drew him. Imposing, bold, and handsome. We fell hard and fast that summer. Then he left with the tide to the city.

I learned to live with the cracks and fissures on my pieced-together heart, the scars only I can feel.

Until the day he walks back into my life asking for a second chance. I yearn to give it to him. How can I not? He’s the only one I’ve ever loved.

The only one I will ever love.

But there is a darkness growing on the isle—a treacherous evil that has targeted him. I’ve lost him once.

I won’t lose him again.

Themes: Druids, Magick, Fae, Paranormal

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

Once again I am amazed by the way that Donna Grant manages to bring in the story of two people that have loved and lost and turn it into such an epic and amazing story of good vs evil, one that leaves you wanting more even as you are thrilled for the HEA in the end. I have been looking forward to learning more about Ariah since we first met her in previous stories, her calming influence and ability to bring other peace just had to be explored, but I had no idea just how integral she was going to become to the Druid community as a whole or to the growing battle for the Skye Druid’s survival against their many enemies. This story has many plots interwoven, to make a beautiful tapestry that leaves readers trapped in the story from beginning to end and unable to give up reading until the very last word. More and more the stories are clearly becoming a dangerously complex and terrifying plot that is being directed by a shadowy figure with a grand plan that we have yet to see for the Druids, not just on Skye but all over the world. I am dying to see where Grant takes us, not just with the next book, which after that epilogue I have really high hopes I know who the H/h will be, but also in the gran scheme of the whole series. The next book (Blood Skye) should be amazing and I know I will be taking a day off work to read it as soon as it hits my email. You just can’t beat a story of second chance love, mixed with danger, drama, and epic evil getting it’s behind kicked written by a master of her craft like Donna Grant.

Ariah, Forest Child and Druid, has made a home for herself on the Isle of Skye and is content in her life, even though her heart was once shattered. She is concerned about the dangers facing the Druids, but she isn’t a warrior and knows she stands on the edges of the war, until her past comes back in the form of her ex and brings with him the pain and evil that has been stalking the Druids as it shifts its focus to her. Killian Flanagan has returned to Skye determined to win back Ariah’s heart and find a way to earn her forgiveness for walking away almost a decade ago. But almost as soon as he arrives, strange mishaps and deadly unexplainable dangers begin to unfold. Soon Killian and Ariah find themselves in the center of the plot of the Evil that has been trying to eliminate the Skye Druids and they must work with friends, both old and new, to uncover a way to defeat this enemy or it could cost them not only their second chance at happiness, but their very lives.

As usual, these characters are fascinating and filled with hidden depths that lead readers to want to continuously ask more and more questions as we get to know them better. Killian is obviously the kind of man that grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, always being told his path and that if he strayed from said path, disaster would strike. Meeting Ariah as a young man opened his eyes, but he was too brash and lacking in confidence at that time to buck what he’s always been told to forge his own destiny with her and instead gave up his chance at happiness with her. Now he has come to realize that he can never be whole or happy without her, no matter what he achieves in life, and has moved away from everything he’s known and trusted in before to build a life with her if only she will trust in him. Determined to win her forgiveness he jumps feet first into her life and finds himself in an all-new world, filled with magick—Druids, Fae, Dragons, and so much more—and fighting for his life around every new corner. But even with all the danger he has never been more sure of his path and his love for the woman that has never left his heart. He is sweet, sexy, kind, and smart, and even when he is trapped it what seems a hopeless situation he never gives up fighting to get back to Ariah—Honestly what more could a girl ask for in the mate of her heart? Ariah has for so many years underestimated herself and let others underestimate her as well. She has simply been the calming influence and tea provider of both the Druids and the humans on the island, convincing herself that her magick is weak and she could never fight alongside those like Rhona or Elodie. When Killian suddenly returns to her life, turning everything upside down she is forced to face the truth that after her heart was broken she simply allowed herself to hide and give up living, but now with attacks around every corner she has to either learn to fight and defend those she loves or risk losing them forever. I loved watching her find her inner strength and come to realize her true ability and important to her people, remembering her lessons and understanding her own truths as she found her way to peace and understanding. She is charming, loving, caring, and calming, but also cunning, and when she connects with her elements has the patience and strength of the Earth at her disposal as she thwarts and ultimately defeats their enemies.

Still of the Night is one of those Donna Grant novels I have been dying for, a long story I could really sink my teeth into instead of some of the shorter ones we’ve had recently, filled with plot development, drama and character growth. Killian is the perfect wounded hero, looking for redemption and willing to work to earn it as he steps through the veil and finds himself in a world of magick, danger, loss, and love. I loved his adventure as he worked alongside his new friends battling enemies and protecting the Skye Druids and the love of his life as he found a way back into her heart once and for all. Ariah is the perfect foil to Killian’s brash and wounded hero, calm and serene on the outer layer, but inside still broken and trying to live with part of her heart missing as she too is faced with the new dangers that are seemingly directed at her. Ariah must face several truths as she journeys out of heartbreak and back into the arms of her soulmate, and she must find her footing as both protector and warrior if she has any hope of surviving the coming war for the lives of all Druids. Passion is not a problem for these two former lovers as their love and chemistry seems to have survived their decade-long separation, apparent the moment they set eyes on one another and almost combust. I truly loved every moment of this second-chance love story and I am dying for more to come in this series as the peril heats up and the secondary plots continue to become more complicated. I have no idea how Donna keeps it all organized (I suspect tiny gnomes whispering each plot to her) but there are so many plots knitted together that sometimes even I can’t keep it all straight. I suspect someday we will see the pattern, but for now I am just enjoying the ride and can’t wait for what comes next!

*eARC provided by the author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.