Aphrodite's Secret
Lovespell, May 2003, 5.99, 351 pp.
ISBN: 0505525380
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Like all Protectors, Jason Murphy has special abilities that enable him to communicate with sea creatures and turn into a were-dolphin. However, unlike his peers, Jason has an evil father Hieronymous to contend with. His odious dad imprisoned Jason for six years causing him to miss the birth of his son Davy to the human Lane Kent. In turn this also left him subject to being declared an Outcast by the Venerate Council of Protectors for violating the required registration of half-breed births.
Hieronymous has plans to kidnap his half-breed grandson so he can steal the child's superior intelligence and become the smartest evilest dude in the world. Jason wants to win back the trust of the only woman he ever loved, but never bothered to tell Lane about his species. Even more important he must keep his son safe from his own father.
The lead couple is a delightful star-crossed pair, who clearly cherishes one another yet cannot trust each other. Hieronymous is kind of cartoonish as a villain, yet that adds to the pleasure of the tale. The other Protectors come across pathetic wasting time arguing over whether their peer Jason is a risk due to his gene pool to the point that the reader will scream at them to stop squabbling and take on the villain all ready. Perhaps nobody but Julie Kenner could take a farfetched tale even by fantasy standards and turn it into an amusing escapist novel.
Harriet Klausner
The review of this Book prepared by Harriet Klausner