Josh Friedland is a star player on the Manchester Rovers football team (you know, the kind of football you play with your feet) and he loves playing the role. Though he’s on injury leave right now, Josh is not too worried about his career. What he is worried about is his brother Laurie, also a player on the team, who has disappeared. Josh and Laurie are griffin shape shifters, and in his 250 years of life, Josh has never before not been able to sense Laurie. Josh agrees to visit California as the guest of George Skeffington, the new American owner of the Rovers. Without Skeffington’s knowledge, Josh is undercover for Dept. 57, also searching for Laurie.

Skeffington is a man who wants to control everyone around him. He’s got his four sons cowed, and he’s trying to get his stepdaughter, Chana Rafiz, under his thumb, too. But Chana is determined that Skeffington will not get control of her life. Right now, she’s working as her stepfather’s hostess, but she has a plan to get out when her contract runs out. But then Josh Friedland comes to visit, and Chana begins to feel things she’s never felt before.

It’s rare that you see a griffin shape shifter in romance, so I was very intrigued simply by the unusual concept of this novel. The author’s writing style and plotting make this book a pleasure to read. The plot is complex and yet completely understandable by the reader, the style is straightforward, yet imbued with emotion. The characters of Josh and Chana come alive on the page, and even the secondary characters appear three-dimensional to the reader. The relationship between the hero and heroine is very erotic, yet romantic as well. I have to admit that I enjoyed this book so much, I went right out and bought copies of additional books in the Dept. 57 series!

Reviewed by: Jean