This month, I read fellow Champagne Book Group author (and editor) Sevannah Storm’s The Healer, the second book in her Blood of Legends series. It’s the first shifter novel, paranormal romance, and ebook I’ve read cover to cover. Much to my eternal shame, I’m a slow reader, but I devoured this book in 3 days.
The Healer is a dual-POV story that follows Ilona, a doctor fresh off her residency, and Rhys, the new alpha of his shifter pack. After a personal tragedy derails Ilona’s career, her grandmother sends her to a rural shifter community where Rhys is visiting his brother and taking some much-needed time off. Rhys becomes infatuated after startling her on the snowy roadside in his bear form. Unbeknownst to her, she shares blood with the woman he wants—and can’t have.
Unfortunately for Rhys, Ilona isn’t up for dealing with shifter nonsense or risking a broken heart. But roped into filling in for the shifter’s country doctor and recognizing the importance of shifter blood’s healing properties, she can’t quite pull herself away. Until she realizes it’s her bloodline that got Rhys’s attention. Ilona is not about to be anyone’s consolation prize. Rhys must prove he truly loves her (and no one else) or lose the mate he’s destined for.
I love the female lead in this book. Ilona’s a realistic mix of resilient and vulnerable. She’s intelligent, pragmatic, and devoted to her craft. While she knows her limits, she still pushes them and cares for others without putting herself last. I also love her sassy grandma.
Rhys is hot, obviously—he never lets his alpha side get the better of his kindness or sense of responsibility.
I also liked the worldbuilding in this novel. I haven’t read too many books where vampires and werecreatures live separately from but harmoniously and known to humans. I loved the snowy, rural setting, too.
Fun, steamy, and relaxing, the Healer was what a novel should be—enjoyable. I recommend it to anyone who needs more romance and monsters in their lives.
K.W. Bernard 