This new fantasy world Carol created for the Neo's Realm series is a fascinating one. Uniting the 'old world' of Greek gods and the newer world containing vampires, fae, and shifters provides a rich backdrop to the unfolding story of Neo's and Michael's lives.

Neo starts out as a selfish, dominating bastard. One who has been tortured and had a difficult life, granted, but I still had a very hard time liking him. As Michael puts it somewhere near the end: shit happens and you're not the only one who's suffered, get over it. However, Neo does learn, albeit slowly, and fully redeems himself as far as I'm concerned.

Michael, on the other hand, starts out as 'the victim'. Created for Neo's needs (and who wants THAT on their resume?), thrown into the deep end by his father, he can't help himself and falls in love with Neo. Interestingly, my opinion about him also changed somewhat when he turns out to be just as selfish, if in a different way, as Neo.

I liked that both characters are flawed, and really have to struggle to find their balance with each other. External forces also interfere, and they plus the fascinating secondary characters make for a complex setting and an interesting story. I definitely look forward to the next installment!



NOTE: This book was provided by Total-E-Bound for the purpose of a review. ( )