People called Kylie write awesome books... or, my review of Vengeance Born by Kylie Griffin

Annika is the half-blood daughter of the Leader of the Na’Reish. She is a rare breed being part demon and part human, but she is welcome among neither. 

Kalan is a Light Blade warrior, one of the defenders of the remains of the human race. 

Kalan needs Annika to bust him out of her father’s dungeons where he is being tortured to death. Annika needs Kalan to escape for her misery of a life with the Na’Reish and to help her seek sanctuary amongst the humans. 

And so begins our adventure, rife with distrust and dislike. Our duo must work together to survive a perilous journey to safety but of course, nothing is ever easy. Politics, freaky carnivores called Vorc’s and centuries of racism make for a roller-coaster ride through a vivid fantasy world that will not disappoint. Nor will the growing attraction between our unlikely couple. 

I dig that Annika has powers to heal or harm and I would have liked to have seen a little more of them in action. She’s a layered heroine with strength and compassion, despite her truly cruddy up-bringing. Kalan is a sexy, solid hero and we soon forgive him his foibles in behaving in an iffy fashion towards Annika because his actions are always credible. There are damn good reasons why these people don’t trust each other. Lots of secrets and lies to be revealed, providing a rich tapestry for the turmoil to unfold upon. 

Kylie Griffin is a pro at plotting and world-building. She has an unhealthy obsession with LOL Cats but you’ll forgive her that once you’ve read the book. It’s great.

And you buy it here...

http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780425245361/vengeance-born