Running with the Wind

This is the third book of the series and you do need to read them in order as each picks up where the other left off. High fantasy isn’t one of my favorite genres though I love a good well-written one from time to time especially if the subject is myths. This an absolutely amazing take on merfolk.
In this book we find everyone reeling from the battle that left them aboard the Chimera with Odhran and the Sea Witch sunken and destroyed. (I won’t tell you how since that is a spoiler). Odhran spots something in the water. After their investigation, they find a winged child in a hot cocoon and take him aboard. The island brings back memories for Odhran and Ian and they build stronger friendship and trust. The winged boy sticks to Odhran and grows at a fast rate. They meet the king and find it quite different than they thought and they also found the colony they were searching for deserted. Weary and after more battles, they head back to the mainland to figure out their next move.
Again we have a very intriguing story. There is lots of emotion and character growth as each man gains their power and learns to use it. You will need tissues! I loved how Shira practically paints a picture of the scenery with words. The sights and smells and tastes are so real. I fell in love with each character and ached with their aches.
If you like a good High-fantasy, Mermen, friendships, soulmates, a very good romance, a touch of sadness yet a happy ending this is for you!

heartsonfirereviews.com
Review by Barb
There aren’t enough superlatives in the English language to describe the wonder of this series, so I’m simply going to use outstanding and marvelous to start. And this particular story is the icing on the cake, the crème de la crème, so to speak and quite frankly exceeded my expectations.
The saga picks up where book two leaves off with Odhrán sailing the Chimera, his own ship, transporting the others back to their home base after the catastrophe aboard the Sea Witch. Bastian has been reborn and is first introduced as a young child who is unable to speak but seems attached to Odhrán and is unwilling to leave his side. As the story progresses, Bastian grows at an amazing rate and by the time his maturity is that of a thirteen-year-old, he knows he’s in love with Odhrán. But Odhrán, wary of love due to his betrayal at the hands of Luka centuries before, refuses Bastian’s overtures and Bastian settles in with Taren and Ian on the Phantom, Ian’s ship.
Taren and Ian are together throughout this whole story and form a solid and cohesive unit against any and all threats. Both acknowledge their rebirth from their former lives as Treande and Owyn, though Ian still struggles with trying to remember that life. With Taren now in possession of the rune stone, Ian fears for Taren, knowing the rune stone has the power of the goddess behind it and wary of what that power may bring.
Hoping to learn more of the history of the Ea, the merfolk, and to connect with others of their kind, they set out to find a lost colony in the Eastern Lands. Along the way, they discover that the traveler they befriended one night is Eiran, King of Astenya, and they are pleased to accept his help. Odhrán, who travels with them, is less trusting of the man who is descended from the powerful king who held him prisoner when he was a young man. Together, they discover the lost colony, but it has been abandoned, and it’s likely that it was abandoned centuries before.
Throughout the trip, Taren is visited by visions of the past and apparently of the future as well. He believes that what he’s discovered here is the key to the future of the Ea, and he accepts that his role will be as leader to his people to merge the two warring factions and bring all of the merfolk to live in this underwater colony.
Easy? No way. Difficult? An understatement. Using the stone to help relocate the Ea? Potentially lethal to Taren— and Ian knows it.
Taren and Ian need to fight not only the ruling council of the island’s merfolk, but their arch-enemy Seria as well. And while all of this is going on, Odhrán and Bastian are having their own struggles as Bastian wants to be closer to Odhrán, and Odhrán wants to stay rooted in his fear of romantic involvement.
I loved the subplot struggle of Odhrán and Bastian, and what happens when Bastian finally transforms to a full dragon— his beauty, his power, his determination to help save the Ea at all costs, and finally his determination to live so that he can get back to Odhrán and convince the foolish man that they belong together. (BTW, Shira Anthony— that romance would make a great “sister story” to this one. Just sayin’.)
And, of course, I loved the main plot, and this time I was able to follow the plot without getting lost. I know that’s because the author picked up all the loose threads she had left like breadcrumbs throughout the last two stories and wove them into this tale in a beautifully intricate pattern that formed the tapestry of this amazing saga.
Kudos again to Shira Anthony for giving us a “who’s who” directory at the beginning of the story— perfect for those of us who suffer from short-term memory loss.
I’ve never been a fan of fantasy, yet this fantasy series ranks high on my list of all-time favorite series, and I can’t recommend it highly enough to all lovers of M/M romance.

http://bikebookreviews.blogspot.com.br/2015/06/running-with-wind-release-day-review.html
If you, like me, couldn’t wait to read more about Taren, Ian and Odhran , the wait is over… Today is release day!!! And I’m so glad I got to review this amazing book.
If you haven’t read this series yet, you cannot miss it!
Taren was a slave for all of his life… when he’s kidnapped by a pirate, he finally feels the freedom for the first time and when he meets Ian, his life changes in ways he couldn’t ever imagine. He discovers that Ian is a shape-shifting merfolk, called EA, and he is one of them too.
Taren believes he can save his people, the EA, but he will need more than just his powers to do it. He will need the support of Ian and his friends.
After all the anguish and uncertainty from Into the Wind, we get to finally know all the turns in Taren and Ian’s life to fulfill their Destiny, and wow, I couldn’t put this book down… My heart went out to Ian and Taren, while they tried to put their fears and doubts to rest and trust in their bond, in the love, so prepare yourself for one more great ride through the EA world.
The amazing secondary characters in this story are an additional charm and make you wish for more. I know this is the last book of Ian and Taren’s story, but there are hints of a new story and I’m hoping Odhrán will get his own story, because he so deserves a HEA too.
Thank you Shira for this amazing reading and thanks Bec for allowing me to review it.