The newest series from Caridad Pineiro starts off with a bang and a sizzle.

Adam Bruno has a secret… lots of secrets. He can manipulate energy, sense auras, and transform into other animals by absorbing their power. Adam’s adopted, he doesn’t remember where he came from and feels a little lost because of it. The power within him wants to get out, and he worries about what will happen if he loses control.

Roberta ‘Bobbie’ Carrera is still healing from the injuries she sustained in Afghanistan. Surviving a deadly blast that took out half of her platoon gave her a second chance at life, and she’s determined not to waste it on fighting battles; until her brother’s boss almost gets abducted before her eyes. Bobbie’s not one to stray from a fight and she feels connected to Adam in the strangest way. As the pair join forces in trying to track Adam’s attackers, emotions flair and tension rises.

Yet, neither Bobbie nor Adam is aware that more than one threat exists, and to overcome danger they will have to surpass unlikely enemies; including Adam’s adopted father and the ever energy hungry Shadow Hunters.

This new series focuses on two groups of beings, Light Hunters and Shadow Hunters. The mythology surrounding these paranormal humans is interesting and compelling. I really enjoyed Pineiro’s approach and explanations behind the existence of the two groups.  Surprisingly what really kept me going was the reality of Adam and Bobbie’s relationship. They meet, are inexplicably drawn to one another, but still deal with the issues of newfound bonding. This emotion melting, trust building part of the story moved me.  Both characters have experienced pain and loneliness, although from different circumstances but the description of it and how it drives there attraction is awesome! Like in this one scene:

“I’ve had no one.” The pain behind the words was achingly alive, so much so that she couldn’t ignore it even though the last thing she wanted was to get more involved with him. She’d already had too much of conflict and wanted nothing more than a peaceful and stable life.

But she couldn’t ignore his pain, so she closed the distance between them and cradled his cheek. That unnerving chatter of energy greeted her, but she pushed it back as she said, “I’m here now.”

Adam’s stomach did a somersault while his heart constricted almost painfully. “Now” was so fleeting an instant in time, but he welcomed it. In the brief moments that Fate had tossed them together, the growing emptiness he had been experiencing had abated.
He locked his gaze with hers—that smoky-hot look which ignited heat like that of the finely aged scotch he had tasted earlier. Shifting his face, her palm was soft against the rasp of his evening beard. A memory rose up, of the cat twisting and lifting its head for her caress. The pleasure that followed.

He wished he could do the same. Feel her touch across his skin. Experience the wonder of her kiss, but kissing her…
Kissing her would be insane, he thought in that split second before he made up his mind.

Let’s just say it gets better from there, and is smokin’ hot. Now for the ‘buts’, which involves the fact that there are a lot of POV jumps in this story. I’m not big on POV jumps, although at times they are necessary. You get to see multiple scenes with Adam’s real parents. While the time spent with them provides info to the back story, I felt that the information could have been drawn out a different way involving the main characters somehow. There are a few times that the story drags a little, but I will say that Pineiro keeps you guessing as to how everything will play out in the end. 

Overall, a good start to a new series and I’m interested to see how Adam and Bobbie’s conclusion will play out in the upcoming books.

~ Landra