Running Scared (Sentinel Wars #3)

I'm not dying until I get to kiss you.

Available at Amazon.com

Running Scared
Shannon K Butcher
Sentinel Wars, book three
ebook, 286 pages
Published May 1st 2010 by Onyx Books
ISBN 9781101404416

They are the Sentinels. Three races descended from ancient guardians of mankind, each possessing unique abilities in their battle to protect humanity against their eternal foes: the Synestryn. Now one Sentinel's survival determines the fate of them all.

Lexi Johns has one purpose: to free her best friend from the hands of the Sentinels. And Zach, the Sentinel she has been running from for months, has one goal: to convince her that their destinies are entwined. For the magic that Zach has absorbed could destroy him if he doesn't find the woman who can channel it for him. And he knows Lexi is the one.

From an early age, Lexi has been taught to fear the Sentinels. And now she is an agent of a group out to destroy them. So when Zach finds her, it is Lexi's chance to strike at the heart of the Sentinels. But, as Lexi sees Zach's courage, selflessness, and honor, she begins to doubt her beliefs — and is faced with an unbearable choice.

Zach and Lexi's story began in book one of this series and touched back in book two where we found a very desperate Zach still searching for his runaway lady. Actually, 'desperate' doesn't even cover it.

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Excerpt from Burning Alive review: As a Theronai, Drake, along with Thomas and Zach, have lived centuries fighting against Synestryns (demons and monsters) in a never ending effort to protect humankind. Earth is but a gateway to the world Athanasia, and the Synestryns want in. The Theronai bear a "lifemark" which resembles a tattoo of a tree that covers their torso that was but a seed at their birth and grows as they age. Until, ultimately, it withers. And as the leaves fall, they know their soul will wither and fade as well.

Their only hope is to find a Theronai female that can channel the power that they spend their entire life harvesting and storing. They themselves cannot use the power, only their bonded mate. Who can also ease the pain of their long lived existence and the battles and loss that have come with it.

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Zach... has never ceased to make me smile. It's his "Baby, where are you?" mantra that just ever so seductively brushed against my good side. His "I need you, honey" hope filled cry that kept me going in their story even as Lexi was pushing me off and out and just... away.

Lexi was raised by a single mother who filled her head with a surplus of lies that have kept Lexi on the run since childhood. And it's only gotten worse since meeting Zach way back in book one where she hightailed it faster than the centuries old warrior could keep up. For her, the Theronai are the enemy and the Synestrians are their pets. They capture women, brainwash them, and drink their blood until leaving them a dried up corpse. All the while, leaving behind tainted lands that refuse to grow crops.

On the run from Zach, Lexi returns to her now deceased mother's old allies, the Defenders of Humanity, and is given the mission to be bait long enough to get her C-4 filled Honda to the Theronai's stronghold and blow them all to hell, and save Helen in the process. And the oh so desperate Zach falls hook, line, and sinker.

While Zach is being his good ol' selfless warrior self, slowing enlightening Lexi to the truth, we follow the developing back stories of Madoc and Nika, Torr and Grace, and reunite with Drake, Helen, Paul, and Andra as well while getting into the truth behind the Theronai's sterility, a glimpse into the forces working against the Theronai, and witness the slow division of Gilda and Angus. Shocking fact: Gilda is a hell of a lot more powerful than I had assumed.

Torr suffered an attack in book one that has left him paralyzed from the neck down. After weeks of the Sanguinar's failed attempts to heal him, Torr is convinced that his existence has become worthless. He can't fight the Synestrians. Can't seek out his lady. He wishes, simply, for death. A death that no one will allow him. A victim of circumstances, saved by the same attack, Grace takes it upon herself to take care of Torr even as he pushes her away with brutal honesty, in all forms of crass and vulgar threats. Truth is, she's fallen for the goodness still inside him. And Torr is equally drawn to her.

Madoc, meanwhile, is determined to put space between he and Nika despite the constant need she expresses for him. Unfortunately, while his mind and body have every noticeable reaction to her presence, his ring is lifeless. No glowing. No swirling. And to a Theronai, that's the only response that matters.

After eight years of fighting true, soul shattering madness, Nika is slowly coming back to life. And she needs Madoc to keep her stable. Her mind suffers out of body experiences, being pulled into the heads of Synestrians over and over, living their bloodlust and their deaths, while her own body withers as a sack of bones. A body Madoc can't bear to hold nor touch lest he break her further.

So he spends his time slaying each Synestrian he can find and fucking prostitutes in the between. Damn you, Madoc. You're awesome but you suck.

This series... is like one big puzzle. Each book has a number of pieces. Some that fit. Some that will fit eventually. It's a mindfuck, pure and simple. And you have to keep going. You have to know where it leads or you won't know how it ends.

And I *have* to know how it ends.

I also need a break. =)

4 out of 5 stars.


Previously in the series:

Finding the Lost (Sentinel Wars #2)

Can't you feel me shaking?

Available at Amazon.com

Finding the Lost
Shannon K Butcher
Sentinel Wars, book two
ebook, 276 pages
Published November 3rd 2009 by Penguin Group
ISBN 9781101155790

They are the Sentinels: three races descended from ancient guardians of mankind, each possessing unique abilities in their battle to protect humanity against their eternal foes–the Synestryn. Now a young woman must put faith in a warrior whose power frightens her even as it draws her in.

Andra Madison knows that monsters are real. She’s been fighting them ever since her family was victimized by the Synestryn eight years ago. Now she’s devoted to finding children who’ve been abducted by the Synestryn. When she gets a call about a lost little boy, she tracks him to a warehouse on the outskirts of town, where she’s aided by a trio of human men…or so she thinks.

Paul has been searching for centuries for a woman like Andra. To find her, he strikes a bargain with a bloodhunter that could cost him his life. Now his desire for Andra threatens to destroy his much-needed control. Against her wishes, Andra agrees to join Paul on a journey fraught with danger–one that leads directly to the Synestryn.

Almost instantly, I was bespelled by this vivid, danger driven world of Butcher's. Moreso here than even the last book. From the moment, Paul, ...the loner and photographic memory gifted, Madoc, ...and the much loved and equally loathed, Logan, stepped into the scene, my heart went pounding. Logan charmed me from the first time he ever spoke and while Paul was a curve ball no one saw coming into the picture, much less expected to stick around, he made an impression strong enough to make me sit back and.. well, drool.

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Excerpt from Burning Alive review: As a Theronai, Drake, along with Thomas and Zach, have lived centuries fighting against Synestryns (demons and monsters) in a never ending effort to protect humankind. Earth is but a gateway to the world Athanasia, and the Synestryns want in. The Theronai bear a "lifemark" which resembles a tattoo of a tree that covers their torso that was but a seed at their birth and grows as they age. Until, ultimately, it withers. And as the leaves fall, they know their soul will wither and fade as well.

Their only hope is to find a Theronai female that can channel the power that they spend their entire life harvesting and storing. They themselves cannot use the power, only their bonded mate. Who can also ease the pain of their long lived existence and the battles and loss that have come with it.

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Paul, with but a few leaves left, is in desperate search for the Therani female that could save him, having lost the chance with Helen when she chose Drake. Thank your lucky stars, Paul. Andra is sooooo much the better option. And yet, ..hold that thought.

The trio find Andra at the beginning of a battle with Synestrians who've managed to take captive a little boy named Sammy. The fight is quickly over, but in the aftermath they soon lose sight of Andra as she rushes the lad to the hospital and to his parents. When she arrives home, it's to find a semi-rested Paul sitting on her couch. He tries talking. She's not in the mood. So he's forced to plan B. And with one touch, expecting God knows what and finding nothing, Paul is left baffled. She's not his One. Andra, on the other hand, has a completely different response and, in a blink, goes from sleep deprived to a lust driven seductress that can't get close enough to her sword-wielding hero.

And a shell shocked Paul is left wondering what the hell just happened. Was happening. Was about to happen.

Logan is adamant that Andra belongs to Paul. And as much as Paul doubts, he finds hope in Logan's insistence. Soon enough, the rush he was waiting for slams into him at a casual but stressful meeting of Andra's skin. Delayed much?!

Meanhwile, Madoc has his own problems. He lost the last of his leaves some time ago. Living on borrowed time and waiting for a death that he feels quick in coming, Madoc succumbs to hiring out prostitutes in order to find a release of... everything. Even as Logan lies passed out on the couch with Paul guarding over a sleeping Andra in the bedroom. Needless to say, I was so not expecting that scene. Nor was I expecting Madoc to actually carry the backstory with none other than Andra's sister, Nika, who's been in and out of the psychiatric hospital for the past eight years and is currently on death's door for fear of demons and people forcing her to eat blood. Needless to say, Madoc has one wacky trip ahead of him.

What if it's now or never. What if I don't let you go?

Paul has *the worst* luck when it comes to getting a woman's commitment. First Kate, who walked away from him and chose someone else. Now Andra, who takes his luceria (with little else but gut instinct and Logan's cryptic coercion to guide her), which leads to Paul swearing his life to her. To live for her. To kill for her. To die for her. To share the rest of his existence with her. And what does she give him? Three days. She swears THREE DAYS.

I didn't need the author's descriptive detail of the look on Paul's face. I only needed a mirror. The man finds his soulmate after centuries of waiting, searching, hunting, and the bitch promises him three fucking days. Can't even give the guy a whole week! Oh wait,... three days and an hour!!

And the man doesn't learn. He's off proposing to a woman that hasn't even told him she loved him yet.

Are we still holding that thought?

Back when I read book one, I was freaking out over Zach and Lexi's story. That which won't come until book three. Here, I was dying to dive into Madoc and Nika's--which won't come until book four. And now there's Torr and Grace, which begins here but doesn't conclude till book eight? Hey, but Logan gets book five! How did I get so addicted to this hopscotch series??

So much love. So much anxiety. 5 out of 5 stars.


Previously in the series: