This is not the first of Lynn’s books I’ve reviewed on my blog, nor do I suspect Nightbred will be the last. The series is presented as paranormal suspense romance, and Nightbred lives up to that label, but at the same time, I find myself captured by the use of language not so as to distract from the story but more to embellish upon it, transcending the genre standards to offer stunning imagery.

Tie that skill with words and phrases to characters we either already know or soon find ourselves captivated by, toss in a mystery adventure with lives on the line and you’re starting to see why I pick up her books without hesitation.

Nightbred focuses on Jamys, the victim of Brethren torture and his mother’s betrayal, who is struggling to find his place in a world that sees him forever as the teenage boy he was when he turned. This is especially true for his father, a man unwilling to chance any more harm to the remainder of his human family.

It’s no surprise Jamys fell for Chris, a street-wise human who defended him when no one else would and lets no one push her around.

But that’s in the past, and Nightbred is about their future. Three years have passed, spent separately in a desperate attempt to prove they are each worthy of the other. As is often the case, their efforts push them apart rather than bringing them together, but neither of them are the type to passively accept the failure. Their future requires they open up to the chance of hurt and rejection, challenges their loyalty to each other and those they love, and introduces a new element with a lot of potential stories woven around it.

This novel is complex, compelling, and at times, dark and painful. It’s not light reading, but at the same time it’s one of those books you don’t want to put down while you wish you could delay the end. It didn’t leave me wanting, and yet it has enough left to discover that I’m already looking forward to the next in the series.