Into the Wind by Shira Anthony

At the beginning of the month, I was trying to finish The Higher Law and reading m/m romance titles set in that time frame, the 1930s, when Into the Wind came out. After reading Stealing the Wind, I had to stop what I was reading and see what was next in for Ian and Taren.

Blurb (from Amazon):

Sequel to Stealing the Wind
Mermen of Ea: Book Two

Since learning of his merman shifter heritage, Taren has begun building a life with Ian Dunaidh among the mainland Ea. But memories of his past life still haunt him, and as the threat of war with the hostile island merfolk looms ever closer, Taren fears he will lose Ian the same way he lost his beloved centuries before. Together they sail to the Gateway Islands in search of the fabled rune stone—a weapon of great power the Ea believe will protect them—and Odhrán, the pirate rumored to possess it.

After humans attack the Phantom, Taren finds himself washed up on an island, faced with a mysterious boy named Brynn who promises to lead him to Odhrán. But Taren isn’t sure if he can trust Brynn, and Odhrán is rumored to enslave Ea to protect his stronghold. Taren will have to put his life on the line to find his way back to Ian and attempt to recover the stone. Even if he does find it, his troubles are far from over: he and Ian are being stalked by an enemy who wants them dead at all costs.

Review: First of all, let me tell you, Into the Wind tops Stealing the Wind as a sequel, all puns intended. While Stealing the Wind is about Taren finding out about his Ea heritage, Into the Wind is about Taren finding his place among the Ea. Not only is Taren Ea, but also a reincarnated hero from 800 years ago. Tasked with recovering the same rune stone he hid in his past life, him and Ian are separated during the trip. Don’t worry, they aren’t separated for long and there’s plenty of time before and after for hot merman on merman sex. Yes! Now that Taren knows his true nature, him and Ian have sex in their mermen forms.

The climax of the book is one of the best I’ve ever read. I jumped like someone had been behind a door and startled me and it took five minutes to move forward to the very next sentence that explains the outcome. I seriously nearly threw the iPad across the room. Not only do we find out more about Taren and Ian and what is going on amongst the Ea people, the end of the book sets up what should be an amazing end to the trilogy.

For Writers: If you’re a fantasy writer, you’ll love the rich world that Shira has built. I imagine the world to be kind of a Game of Thrones world set on world of coasts and oceans. From the human towns and ports where Taren was raised to island of the merfolk, it’s an amazing world that I caught up in from the beginning.

Another study for writers is Taren’s character. As a reluctant hero, we see Taren take on the cause he seems destined to help lead. Along the way, he continues to learn not only about his past, but also his abilities as a mage among the Ea.

Great job, Shira! Looking forward to the third book in the Mermen of Ea series.