Review: Shield of Fire by Boone Brux

Shield of Fire

(Bringer and the Bane, #1)
By: Boone Brux
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Published: Dec. 6, 2011
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating:

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Protecting humans is the Bringers’ duty. Sending demons to the Shadow World is their pleasure.
In one night, Ravyn’s life plunges from barely tolerable to deadly. Forced to flee the only home she’s known, she stumbles headlong into the clutches of Icarus, a powerful demon intent on stealing her powers. Unfortunately for him, she has no intention of cooperating.
When Rhys realizes the woman he’s rescued from the Bane Demon is no mere human, his obligation as a Bringer dictates he protect and train her in the ways of his people. But he’s unprepared for the intense desire he feels for the fiery Ravyn. To surrender to his need may mean her death.
As the Demon King’s desire for ultimate power escalates, fathers are slated against sons, and foes are made allies. The Bane threat upon them, Rhys and Ravyn must quest to unite the last of the Bringers–and explore a passion too powerful to ignore.

The book is written in both the main characters pov’s but also in the villains pov as well. So it was interesting to see what was going on behind the scenes before an attack happens. There is quite a bit of action in this book considering that Rhys is a shield/protector, so he’s always battling the Bane/demons. As well as the fact that Ravyn has managed to gain the Bane King’s unwavering interest. I liked that the danger that’s presented in the beginning of the book is present throughout the entire story. You never get swept up into the romance and forget about the danger that’s going on around them.

I like the world that the author created. We have a historical paranormal romance with chunks of adventure in it. I found myself not only liking the main characters but the side characters as well. Ravyn is a strong female character. She’s new to the whole paranormal world since she’s been living in an abbey the entire time. She’s never left the sacred grounds until the night her friend is murdered and she escapes the same fate by running away, only to run into the hands of a Bane. A creature that she thought was just a myth. However, she’s saved by Ryhs and taken under his protection only to find out that Bringers also exist as well. She doesn’t fight the news and in fact becomes an asset to Ryhs on a couple of occasions when it comes to fighting the Bane.

Ryhs is a 300 year old Bringer. He’s been fighting the Bane a lot time and is actually the only full blooded Bringer left. So when he comes across a young woman who isn’t exactly human, he’s intrigued to figure out what exactly she is. There’s no way she can be a full blooded Bringer since they were all killed off centuries ago but she harnesses more power than he does. Since the Bane seem to have their sights set on Ravyn, he takes on the task to keep her safe.

Heck even the Bane, Icarus, is a big part in the story. He’s the second in command of all Bane and his father is the ruler. He’s sick and tired of being under his father’s rule. He’s ready to take over but he has to get the timing just right, otherwise it won’t end so well for him. So when his father orders him to retrieve Ravyn, he decides to figure out why and take her for himself.

Like I said, all the characters in this story have a backbone. None of them were one dimensional. We even meet Rhys’ best friend Luc who is a womanizer but is also very loyal to both Rhys and Ravyn. As well as a crew member named Jaden. Who, has a little bit of evil taint but proves that they will protect their comrades when the time comes.

There were some parts in the story that were predictable but there were also a handful of surprises that I didn’t see coming as well. I wish the cover were different only because Rhys has long black hair… not a buzz cut. But overall I enjoyed the story and look forward to the next book in the series.

“Sometimes, if a person is lucky, everything is right with the world. It may only last for a minute or and hour, but for a brief span of time, no wrongs exist.” -Ravyn