When Ari Lake, guardian to his brother the Keeper of the Union, and a Labrador Retriever in his ani-shift form, wakes from his less than favorable rescue from the Gothi, he soon learns that he is still, to a certain extent, being held captive. This time, however, it is by different captors and for solely different reasons—there is something that they wish for him to see. When his eyes are opened to the revelation of yet another enemy threat rising up to come against his brother, and a potential traitor is revealed under inadvertent conditions, heartbreak automatically ensues. Afterwards, in the shadow of a waning moon, carrying the knowledge that Asher is falling in love, all too quickly, with Elle Ison, Ari sets out to do the one thing he was born to do, and that is to protect his brother anyway he can, even when that means the possibility of sacrificing himself in order to keep Asher alive.
Asher Lake, a wolf in his ani-shift form and Keeper to the body of ani-shifts known as the Union, knows one thing; he wants Elle Ison to be more than just a sealed contract. After learning of potential dangers in the woods of Brokenridge, he sets out to find Elle and his brother Nixon, who have run off in search of answers that could end the Raven’s curse on Asher’s life—a cruse which states that if he falls in love he will die. When he finds Elle, it’s all he can do to convince her how he feels. But time and peace are items that the Lakes know little about. Soon after, not only does he suffer severe physical pain along with the heart wrenching agony of betrayal, he leads his brothers, the Circle, and the Blackbirds into battle against the Gothi. All the while hoping that Elle will accept the fact that he was chosen specifically because the Elder’s and Grant knew that he would always, gladly and wholeheartedly, sacrifice himself for the ones he loves.
In every sweet moment there always seems to be a knife waiting to cut. This pretty much sums up the entire book, a beautiful disaster. Every time they are making headway or going in the right direction there is another PLOT TWIST! In this story we find more enemies and find some new friends and allies. Asher is breaking down and has confessed he wants Elle. Elle confessed she wants Asher. But now they have different obstacles standing in their way. On top of this Ari is still missing but is safe. He was given the opportunity to see what was really going on and now all the brothers are smack dab in the middle again. A lot of loose ends are brought together in this story with all the proper twists and turns to get you there. The books are all very intense and this one is no different. All of the characters are fighting their own personal demons while having to fight the Gothi. Many different emotions are flying around, along with wraiths! The Lakes are taking back control of the Union and Asher, as the Keeper, is doing what the Keeper is supposed to do, lead. There are traitors and unexpected allies around every corner. Continually keeps you guessing as to what is going to happen next. This was a very exciting and suspenseful installment to the Union Series. A lot of questions get answered but I have so many more questions! I literally finished this book and started book 5 right away, which has been incredible so far. This is a series that is completely consuming. I go to bed thinking of the characters and wake up ready to find out what happens next. I am still rooting for Asher and Elle in the end! I’m biting my nails trying to figure out if they will get their happily ever after….oh and a few others too!
 
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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.
