A long time ago in the Kingdom of the Picts; 1400s Scotland; Present Day New York & Scotland

He is called Black Royce, a man with no heart but with a fierce dedication to upholding his vows to protect the innocent. With the blood of ancient gods in his veins, Black Royce is powerful and ruthless in his hunt and destruction of evil. He has vowed to live a solitary existence -- and then he meets his destiny.

Allie Monroe is a healer of great power, and she risks her life nightly trying to save those attacked by the monsters of evil. Allie has hidden her abilities all her life and worshipped the ancient gods in secret. Before her mother’s death, Allie was taught to hide her abilities. A member of a secret organization whose sole purpose is to fight deamhans, Allie is always on her own, until the night Black Royce enters her life and changes her world in ways she could never have imagined.

After defeating a demon trying to capture or kill Allie, Royce whisks her through time and space to his modern home in Scotland. Allie finds herself falling for the ancient warrior, but when she awakens at his home in Scotland, it’s the modern version of the warrior who saved her who captures her, heart, body and soul. But after only a day and night in Royce’s arms, Allie watches as he is killed before her eyes. Distraught and desperate to save the man she loves and the warrior who fought at her side, Allie risks everything to travel back in time and save him from his destiny. But the man she meets in the 1400s is not the modern man she fell in love with, or is he? And can Allie break through the wall Black Royce has built around his heart and reach the man inside the warrior before death strikes again? Or is Allie doomed by fate and destiny to lose the only man she has ever loved?

DARK RIVAL is the second book in Ms. Joyce’s The Masters of Time series, and I had strong doubts that it could possibly live up to its predecessor, DARK SEDUCTION. I was wrong. In DARK RIVAL we have a hero so focused on protecting the innocent and not allowing anyone to get close to him, that the reader will often despair of his ever becoming the lover Allie has gone through time to find. Royce is fiercely passionate and loyal, and will protect Allie at any cost -- even his own life -- but can the lust he feels for Allie ever become more, something lasting? Allie is an independent woman with an incredible gift to heal. She is drawn to those who are in need just as the power of light inside her draws the most evil deamhans to her. The passion between Allie and Royce is palpable, and the interaction between them is filled with raw and sometimes painful emotion.

A novel that will rivet your attention from the first page to the last, DARK RIVAL will have you smiling, cheering, and shedding more than a tear or two. I recommend you keep a box of tissues at hand -- you’ll need them. An absolutely spellbinding read and a novel that earns Ms. Joyce another Perfect 10. I cannot wait for the next book in this series and highly recommend DARK RIVAL.

Terrie Figueroa