cover image Mystical Warrior

Mystical Warrior

Janet Chapman. Pocket Star, $7.99 mass market (368p) ISBN 978-1-4391-5990-3

Chapman follows February's Dragon Warrior with a romantic, funny, quietly intense story of wounded survivors reluctantly finding love. Fiona Gregor spent most of 1,000 years as a red-tail hawk, helping her brother heal souls. When she returns to human form, she fears men but needs a place to stay. Against his better judgment, Trace Huntsman, a friend of her brother's, agrees to let her move into his empty upstairs apartment. After a rough childhood and years of fighting in Afghanistan, all Trace wants is peace and quiet. The struggling lobsterman has no room in his heart for a beautiful but timid woman who collects strays and cleans like a zealot. By the time demons chase a powerful wizard into town, Trace and Fiona have gotten under each other's skin, sharing both humor and heat as Trace's quiet competence and dry wit give Fiona the space to regain her innate strength. (July)