When Elle Ison finally flees from a five-year abusive relationship, she finds that freedom is still just beyond her grasp. She has no place to run, no money and no options.
That is until a band of mysterious, good-looking heroes come to her rescue, sweeping Elle up into the world of ani-shifts, humans with the ability to shift into animal form. Elle becomes mesmerized by the magic of their world—one she believed only existed in her imagination—and the mystery surrounding the Lake family. Especially the intimidating Asher Lake who is charged with leading the secret organization of shifters known as the Union, and the protégés left in his care.
Elle is lost and lonely—and wants nothing more than to be part of a real family, even one as broken and dysfunctional as the Lakes. But if Elle chooses to stay, she must bind herself all over again—this time by archival laws which dictate that she make a commitment to a man who has vowed never to fall in love. For Elle, this means forfeiting the one dream she has never realized.
Elle must weigh her options: should she give in and relinquish her right to dream of love…or will she leave the safety of Lake Manor behind, along with the family she has come to care for—and never look back.

Goodreads

The fates are at it again…or is it destiny?

“It’s hard living with the things I can’t change. I don’t want to see guilt and regret staring back at me in the mirror every day of my life.” Being afraid to live, to really live is, is a common theme in the Lake household. If you are reading this I hope that you have read Call of the Raven as the Legend of the Raven picks up right where we left off.

After the intense ending of the first book we are brought right into the madness that makes up the Lakes. We get to really get to know the Lakes and the protégés. Each one has their quirks and differences. Elle, however, is taking things in stride. She has more or less been given an ultimatum. It’s one that keeps her safe and taken care of for her entire life. But there is a contract involved between her and Asher. I am not one for giving spoilers but we are met with a tragic event at the beginning and this has all of them on edge. As time goes on we really, REALLY, get to know the characters and learn much more of the Union and Council. Plus we get to get inside Asher’s head! (swoon) Asher is the keeper who vowed to never love and not to fall in love so that he doesn’t get called by the raven to his certain death. Elle being in the picture now has changed everything. Asher is breaking. Elle is getting comfortable. And they are all coming together as a family. With Grant’s daughter in the home with them it seems that Grant has been visiting her. Now on the hunt for Mary’s mom and any clue on what Grant was doing to try and break the curse everyone has been on high alert. With the Gothi around, the Blackbirds, and traitor lurking around things get really intense.

One of my favorite things about the series so far is that this shifter story is not the same as any others I have read. They are ani-shifts that are normal people but with different laws and some pretty cool abilities. The world building is amazing and the characters….well the characters you fall in love with. Each one has their own quirks and issues. We all can relate or know someone that is similar to each and every one of them. The intensity with the twists and turns make this a page turner. I couldn’t wait to see what happened and have already started book 3. I am hooked!!!

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When it seemed like I was only an F away from flunking out of the sixth grade, a retired schoolteacher took me under her wing. After some tutoring and testing, she informed my parents that the reason I was having trouble in school wasn’t that I was dumb but instead dyslexic. When my stepfather heard this, he decided to take me to a used bookstore with the belief that the best way to improve my reading skills was to read. Some of the books were hard to get through at first, but with his encouragement, I refused to give up. We made many trips to that bookstore, and I especially loved the science fiction and fantasy sections. Then one day, after complaining about the ending of a particular book, my stepfather told me that if I didn’t like the books that I had been reading, then to write one myself—so I did.

My first attempt resulted in a horribly written western when I was fourteen, staring a cocky gun-slinging cowboy by the name Curt Calhoun. Curt along with his seven brothers, who all shared C names in common, may never have seen the pages of a book, but that was the day I started writing, and never stopped.

Shawn Reilly lives in Mt. Comfort Indiana. She has three beautiful and talented daughters, one very loving and supportive husband, and an overweight American Pitt Bull Terrier named Noah. When she’s not writing she’s spending time with her family, boating and fishing, and attending signings. She is the author of The Union series and The Children of the Alliance Trilogy. She supports those with Lupus, Fibromyalgia, and animal rescue.

Website
http://shawnreilly.wixsite.com/shawnr…