Title: Palehua
Series: Last Warrior #2
Author: A.J. Llewellyn
Genre: Supernatural Mystery
Length: Novel (155 pages)
Publisher: Silver Publishing (January 26, 2013)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts
Blurb: Lio Paikai is adjusting to both his new, extremely passionate relationship with his lover, Kord Ashley, and his status as ‘Ailani, the reincarnated, loyal warrior who fought for the last king of the Hawaiian islands Oahu and Maui. Having severed his ties with his mother, Kalani, Lio grows closer to his father and his new family, but Kalani won’t leave them alone.
Violating a restraining order of protection, Kalani is arrested. Hours later, when Lio accompanies his stepmother to a birthing class, a strange woman falls from the sky landing on the hood of his SUV. Old wounds, old curses and the demand for retribution threatens to destroy his entire family. Lio must uncover the identity of the fallen woman and soon learns her heartbreaking connection to his mother and the damage it has caused Kalani her entire life. Lio must right an ancient wrong and appease the old island gods that demand an immediate Palehua: blood sacrifice.
Product Link: https://spsilverpublishing.com/palehua-ebook-p-1365.html
Reviewer: Any
Review: A mysterious read with an exotic backdrop.
Not having read the first in the series, it took me a while to connect to Lio and Kord, and to understand exactly what it was Lio could do. As I read on, this became clearer—and more interesting. I really liked the imaginative set up in the Last Warrior world. I was particularly drawn into the “reliving the past” moments that Lio finds himself in, as the mystery of the dead Monday woman is revealed.
The writing is quick-paced, full of banter, and easy to read. That being said, I found there were a few too many harmonious scenes where my concentration waned. This came partly because of the romance. Lio and Kord’s attraction to each other is passionate and sexy, but filled with neither tension nor conflict, and I felt the book would have benefitted to see these two lovers being tested in some way.
Things did become really gripping at the climax of the book where, through Lio, we learn the truth about the terrible murder of the Monday woman. . . .