Review of THE CRYSTAL CHALICE by Debora Hill and Sandra Brandenberg

VOLUME II OF THE LOST MYTHS SAGA

FireMountain Press, December 2006

After their return from the Land of the Wand (see our review), Marshall Storme, his girlfriend Lillian Curtis, Valaura Bennet, and Evan Stone try to create new lives on earth. But Evan can't seem to get Valaura to commit to him, to agree to marry and create a family. And Marshall's life as a rock star is just a little too tempting for him--when Lillian isn't around and beautiful Italian women camp out in his suite, it's just so easy to take what's being offered. Recognizing that the four need a push to move past the points where they've all become stuck, Evan comes up with the idea of returning to the magical land where they first fell in love--this time however, to the land of the Cup, the Chalice, rather than the land of the wand.

To Evan's dismay, the Land of the Cup provides new challenges to their love rather than resolving questions. The beautiful princess Silvera falls for Marshall and seduces him--with him unaware that by doing so, he's committing to be her mate. And King Lucifer, ruler of the land, sees Valaura's inability to commit to Evan as an open invitation for him to press his own suit. Things only get worse when Amazons kidnap both of the men--to turn them into sex slaves.

The four must wrestle with their own feelings while they attempt to ward off the threats from Amazons, lustful royalty, and the beautiful but dangerous Angele.

Authors Debora Hill and Sandra Brandenberg continue the story they begain in LAND OF THE WAND with a second tale of mixed up myth, all-too-human temptation, and magic. THE CRYSTAL CHALICE does have some 'middle book' awkwardness--romances we thought were resolved in the first book turn unresolved and the ending seems to demand a third book to wrap things up, but Hill and Brandenberg keep things moving along, bring back familiar friends from the earlier volume, and introduce new groups of characters, new facets of the magic of the land, and new romantic issues for our heroes to deal with.

If you enjoy light-hearted fantasy, there's a lot to like in this continuation of THE LOST MYTHS SAGA.

Three Stars

Reviewed 1/30/07

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