Knight's Realm ~~ Present Day

Every year, the Knight's Realm holds its annual tournament, in which mortals are allowed to experience medieval life, and where the Darkyn can joust and engage in sword-fighting. It's also the one time of the year when Jayr, the only female seneschal in the Kyn family, can be intimate with her maker, Byrne. For centuries she has been his loyal servant, but she's also harbored a love for him that makes her ache inside. Little does she know that her master has felt the same way.

Byrne feels a debt towards Jayr that he believes can never be repaid. Centuries ago she saved his life, and in turn he made her immortal. But the guilt he feels for taking her mortality keeps Byrne from expressing the intense emotions he has for her. To give Jayr the freedom he believes she deserves, Byrne will use the tournament as a way to find a new leader for his realm, giving her a new master. But what will happen when his faithful seneschal finds out that he plans on leaving her?

The two may never get a chance to reveal their love as another Kyn is intent on destroying Byrne, and they will use Jayr as a means to do it.

There's a lot to be said about the Darkyn novels, plenty of good, a little bad. But one constant is that Lynn Viehl sure knows how to tell a hell of a story. I just have one little quibble with EVERMORE, and then I'll move on. This is supposed to be Jayr and Byrne's story, whom readers met in the third book, but I didn't feel as if I really got a chance to know them more since Kyn leader Michael Cyprien and his wife Alex take up a vast majority of the book, a couple I felt have had a little too much exposure. I know that these stories have many characters and themes that intertwine, which is what makes them so engrossing, but the romance and lust between Byrne and Jayr seem rushed at times because there was a secondary plot that was taking over.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, we can start on what makes Lynn Viehl's Darkyn tales so great. The author has this wonderful ability to pull readers into these richly woven tales and make this world utterly believable. And boy, can she create characters. Jayr is quite possibly the most unique person in the entire series, as she is the only female ever allowed to be a seneschal and has conformed her life around that. The fact that she had yet to reach full maturity before Byrne turned her also makes her one of a kind, as her looks have allowed her to blend in with the men of the Realm, even though they know her as a woman, yet they respect her as any man. Byrne is also a great leading man, tortured by the role he played in Jayr's life, but even more pained over the love he feels for her, which has caused him to become riddled with guilt. They have both harbored these emotions for a very long time, and when they finally get the chance to act on them after centuries, the pages will singe your fingers.

Ms. Viehl also introduces some new characters, but none as interesting as Robin of Locksley. With his mysterious past and cavalier attitude, I'm sure I won't be alone in wanting to read his story.

Another winning title from Lynn Viehl, EVERMORE will find its way into the hands of many!

Courtney Michelle