Brandi Carroll put her life on hold three years ago when she couldn't save her young nephew from disappearing into a black void in his closet by something she had no other name for but boogeyman. Since then, despite her efforts to stop the creature, more children in her hometown of Mt. Airy, Georgia have disappeared from their bedrooms without a trace. The local sheriff is certain a serial kidnapper is responsible, but the only one who knows the truth is Brandi. Naturally, no one believes her, except the parents of the missing children, who've seen Brandi's filmed proof of the monstrosity that had taken their children. Everyone else thinks she's either gone off her rocker or that she's responsible herself for the kidnappings.

Enter the Templar Knights. Julian, Marduk and Ramiel have been on their own decades long search for the Seven Keys of Solomon. They've found and recovered five of the ancient treasures, including the Spear of Destiny, the lance used to run Jesus through in his last moments on the Cross. The search for the final two keys takes the three Templars to Mt. Airy, and no one is more surprised by what they find there than Julian. After meeting Brandi, he finds it almost impossible to keep his mind on his all important assignment, even though saving the world rides on the swift acquisition of the last two keys. Since the beginning of time, malevolent beings have been escaping Hell and now overrun the world. When all seven keys ultimately come together, the gate to Hell will open and all those dark entities will be sucked back into the dark abyss from whence they came.

Simple? Hardly. With the sixth key stolen before it can be acquired, the seventh key - when it's found - must be protected until the sixth key can be recovered. But when the FBI inserts itself into the mix, threatening to arrest Brandi for the kidnappings, Julian must make certain that doesn't happen. Because if anyone needs to be there when the gate to Hell opens...it's Brandi.
.
Hopefully, Lover's Key is just the beginning of a brand new Sherri L. King series. I've read just about everything she's written, and this book ranks right up there with the Horde War series as an intense page-turner. Brandi and Julian don't meet until several chapters into the book, with sexual tension building through several more chapters until it finally explodes off the pages.

Julian is six-foot-five-inches of powerful immortal, sexy enough to blow Brandi's socks off even while he's ticking her off. Brandi is independent, dogged and courageous. When she takes off on her own to search for her nephew, she drives the seven-hundred-year-old Templar absolutely insane with frustration and worry. But since her courage, honesty and fortitude amount to half the reason he loves her, he finally figures out it's better to join her than butt heads with her. Read and enjoy this great book. It's a keeper!

Reviewed by: Merrylee