Immortals: The Crossing | Joy Nash | What an intriguing blend of Celtic lore and Christian fantasy

Immortals: The Crossing | Joy Nash | Dang good book :-)

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Immortals: The Cro...

	Immortals: The Crossing Joy Nash Love Spell, 2008 - 324 pages average customer review:based on 12 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

For centuries they have walked among us--vampires, shape-shifters, the Celtic Sidhe, demons, and other magical beings. Their battle to reign supreme is constant, but one force holds them in check, a race of powerful warriors known as the IMMORTALS.

For Manannán mac Lir, a musician and Celtic demigod, life had become a blur of post-gig parties, expensive whisky, and cheap sex. And then the baby almost died--a baby he had sworn to protect. On the hunt for the would-be killer, Mac finds Artemis Black, a stunningly dangerous woman who's inexplicably able to intertwine life magic with death magic. For the safety of his people, he should destroy her. But the aching vulnerability in her eyes calls to him. And the raw desire she inspires has nothing to do with a spell. Their love may be forbidden, but Mac and Artemis can't go back once they've made...THE CROSSING

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What an intriguing blend of Celtic lore and Christian fantasy

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

A CK2S Recommended Read!

I fell in love a little bit with Manannán mac Lir, "Mac," when he put in an appearance in Kalen and Christine's story (The Awakening) and after reading his story in The Crossing, I love him all the more.

Mac is a Celtic demigod and half Sidhe who has always found happiness in his music. However, after the epic battle to save Immortal Tain from the demon who owned him, Mac is at a loss. His free lifestyle has grown weary. When a Sidhe village under Mac's care is attacked by an impossible thing, a spell made of both life and death magic, and a baby nearly dies, Mac has a new mission - destroy the one responsible.

Artemis Black is a desperate woman. Her son's soul has been stolen by the most powerful of demons and her only hope is to bargain with another demon to save him. Her ability to weave life and death magic is a dangerous one, leaving marks on her soul that can never be erased each time she uses it. She'll do it however to save Zander, even if it means lying and cheating to get what she wants. The last thing she needs is an appealing Immortal demigod dogging her every move.

Mac cannot let anything happen to those under his protection yet when he finds Artemis, her desperation calls to him in ways he never imagined. Now he will do anything, even make The Crossing, Artemis at his side, into the very depths of Hell itself. How can a being of life magic like Mac survive in the very pit of despair and death?

Mac is permanently scarred from the battle for Tain's soul and that blackness is tainting his every thought and action. The temptation is great to just give in and let the death magic win until he meets Artemis. She is a rare witch who will help him hold onto the life magic at his core all the while her presence in his life makes the desire to hone his new death magic stronger. Artemis is a good person forced to perform foul magic out of desperation. Somehow even in her darkest moments before Mac entered her life, she always managed to hold on to the love in her heart. Mac and Artemis are perfect complements to one another. Their love for one another shines through everything, from facing down the Sidhe council to the ultimate battle for their souls, and that of little Zander.

The Crossing is so fast paced that it blew my mind the events unfolding occur in less than two days when the time line registered in my brain. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I've had a pretty hectic few weeks and it was driving me crazy I couldn't just sit down and polish off the entire book in one sitting. It was that good. Joy even manages to throw a few shockers into the mix that made the story that much more captivating. I also enjoyed the chance to catch up and visit with Kalen and Christine and see how they've been faring since The Awakening.

The Crossing is yet another excellent book by Joy Nash. She has never disappointed me with one of her stories and I'm happy to say this one surpasses them all. What an intriguing blend of Celtic lore and Christian fantasy! Who else would have dreamed up having a Celtic half-Sidhe demigod face down demons in all ten circles of Hell? I enjoyed Dante's Inferno years ago when I read it in school so I especially loved Joy's nods to his brilliant vision.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, October 2008. All rights reserved.

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Dang good book :-)

Thoughtful, realistic, great well rounded, well written characters. A hero you loved to love not loved to hate (Tain). A heroine that you could be proud of (Samantha). This was the book I was least looking forward to out of the series, because when a character has been totured, the writting of other paranormal writers, has a tendency to dwell so much on that its depressing to read. This book talked about it, embraced it and moved on from it, but it a believable and well written way. This is now my favorite book out of the series.....

Fast-paced, inventive fun

Fast-paced, fun and inventive, I found myself wishing this latest book by Joy Nash would go on just a little bit longer. I enjoyed both the heroine and the hero. Mac Lir is everything a hero should be, and more. I loved their descent into hell together, and found myself both laughing out loud and holding my breath, hoping they'd make it out okay. What a ride!

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Book 6

The Immortals in the books series are warriors who keep magical beings like fey, vampires, demons and shape shifters in check. The main character Manannan mac Lir is a member of this secret society from the discussion of past actions throughout the book. It is also hinted at early in the beginning he is indeed immortal, this fact is later verified through plot exploration. The book opens in an interesting manner with Mannanan mac Lir 'call me Mac' waking next to some random 'fangirl' with whom he seemed to have shared a night of carnal pleasure - whose name he tries valiantly to remember for the next few pages. Eventually he is able to convince said 'fangirl' to leave his abode, after wards he leaves to get some beer at the local pub where again his steps are dogged by 'fangirls'. After being chased from place to place by 'fangirls' he runs to his friends castle where it is theorized by the resident witch that he has absorbed some death magic, which has caused his physical maturity from teen to adult. Unfortunately he also learns there has been a death magic attack on a fey village which falls under his guardianship. Quickly he runs to the village, where he learns the magic has been reversed, saving the life of a baby faerie. Jubilation abounds in the village as thanks are given to Mac. Mac knows he did nothing and his ire is peeked when he quickly finds the trail of strange magic used near the village. The singular magic twins death and life magic - an impossible feat - calls to him and leads him to find a witch by the name of Artemis Black. Artemis sadly does not know who Mac is, causing an uncharacteristic blow to his fragile male ego. Then Mac bodily kidnaps the witch who twined death and life magic, while she challenges Mac as she stealthily steals his heart and captures his soul. Eventually the two embark on a trip which will change and entwine both of their lives forever. Mac and his siren sidekick Artemis Black journey through the hell - yes actual hell - on a crusade to return a child's innocent soul. Bound by a demon's promise, Artemis must venture forth while Mac is drawn into hell to pursue Artemis who slipped through his fingers. On the way they find the love they both thought was impossible in each other.

**** This reads as a great stand alone book. As part of a series it could be much better. Since I didn't have the rest of the series under my reading belt, the importance of Manannan mac Lir's numerous and varied titles fell a little short of impressing me. It was also most mysterious why 'fangirls' found Mac so incredibly handsome, his physical description seemed sinisterly similar to my town's sanitation team leader. From my experience with other series, such as Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series, sex with a fae is more enjoyable than sex with a normal human, but this isn't addressed outright in this book. Because of the fantastic elements inherent in the story's plot, a prologue explaining the world's quirks may have helped me like the book more, as well as introduce the series to uneducated readers. The Immortals in the book could have been explored a bit more, also the reason why they were all Immortal. The Scottish setting and immortality immediately made me think of another series - Highlander. Luckily Joy Nash writes so well this similarity is cursory at best. Secondary characters, although gifted with beautiful names, their physical descriptions and place in the world remains a mystery. Enough of a mystery to place this series in my "'round to it category" - but not up with my 'must read'. At the beginning of the book, setting is not apparent, which rather than turn me off from the book, compels me to read more. Mac, the ubiquitous moody male lead in every romance novel, shows surprising ability to grow and change as a character, unlike most two-dimensional romance book males. From allusions to previous books we realize Mac has changed from a carefree teenager to a brooding 30-something, filled with ennui from his banal bacchanal. This previous character development which occurred in earlier books drew me in further and made me think that this would not be the usual romance novel plot line. The life magic vs. death magic plot line rule creates a beguiling juxtaposition within the series which must be explored further. So many things in this book hint there is a more complex and exciting world which richly deserves exploration. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. ****

Reviewed by Danelle Callahan for Huntress Reviews.

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Fantasy romance

The five previous books in the Immortals series have focused on five immortal brothers. This sixth instalment takes one of the side characters from the previous stories and focuses on him. Manannán mac Lir is half god, half sidhe, and is pretty bored with his immortal life. That is, until he meets the improbably-named Artemis Black, a very unusual witch who has been stealing life essence from various magical villages.

Artemis is on a mission, one she can't reveal to Mac. But Mac just can't leave her alone, knowing that she's in trouble. As Mac and Artemis travel to the depths of the dark world they have to learn about trust, resourcefulness and immortality.

This book was rather patchy with some exciting parts and some dull parts. Mac is supposedly British but the dialogue was very awkward with him using English slang ('bloke', calling people 'love') but not always correctly. The 'love' part was completely overdone as well. Mac and Artemis continually escape from almost certain death which got rather repetitive and I didn't feel convinced by their romance. This book is probably one to miss.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 200

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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