Highland Stallion

The Horsemen are a race of shape shifters who can change from Human form (Huform) to the form of a winged centaur (half-man, half-horse). There are at least two types of horsemen – the sleek, fast Fighting Carriers built for speed, and the Highland breed built for strength, with a physique similar to that of a Clydesdale. The hero in this book is Zach, who first appeared in Hill’s Captive Stallion. Zach is a Highland Horseman who has spent most of his life as a slave in the mines until he led a rebellion that freed all the slaves. Now free for the first time in his adult life, Zach must learn to cope with that freedom.

Zach has been sharing dreams with Sophia, a woman who is his soul mate. When dream sharing occurs, the two involved must search for each other until they succeed in finding each other and become mates in body as well as spirit. But Zach feels that he must prove he is capable of earning a living and supporting a wife before he searches for Sophia. Zach doesn’t realize that fate has a different plan for his life...

This novel is book 3 in the author’s Horsemen series. What I really like about this series is its internal cohesion – the “universe” of the story is consistent over the three books. This careful development is apparent in this book, and it gives depth and interest to the story. Zach’s story stands independently, so the reader does not have to read the first two books in the series in order to understand this one. (I do urge readers to try the first two books too, because they are very enjoyable!) The characters of Zach and Sophia are nicely drawn, and come across as good people, even though they may have some problems. We also get to meet friends from the first two books – Terra and Inez, and Moor and Susana – which is a lot of fun. The many sensual sex scenes are quite explicit, but always take place as the result of a loving relationship between a male/female couple. I enjoyed this book and know it will please other shape shifter fans.

Reviewed by: Jean