AEquana: A Fantasy Romance Novel

Linda Mooney
PublishAmerica (2007)
ISBN 1424140064
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (5/07)

John Eagletalon, former Navy Seal, was granted a medical discharge after being shot in the back.  Technically he still owed the government fourteen months.  Admiral D. E. Corinth recalled him to be partnered with Maja Van Der Beek, daughter of famed scientist Isak Van Der Beek.  Talon was to be more than her partner he was to be her bodyguard.  His relationship with her grew even deeper; he became her lover.

Maja was born with a unique birth defect.  Maya has gills; she’s capable of swimming fast and deep, almost eleven-hundred feet. The Navy uses her to retrieve and tag items.  The government calls her AEquana.  She’d recently lost both her father and partner.  She was determined to go solo, but the Navy was just as determined that she would accept a partner.  They presented her with several, all of which she turned down until she met Talon.  He didn’t try to flatter her; as a matter of fact, he insulted her.  She knew they could work together.

Talon knew he was in love with MG (Mermaid Girl) and he had every intention of taking her away from the cruel existence thrust upon her.  MG didn’t trust easily, but from the beginning she new Talon was different.  She knew she could depend on him. 

Slaw and Shipp treated MG as though she were an animal to be controlled.  In one scene the evil Shipp kidnaps MG and places a collar around her neck and tethers to the bottom of a tank filled with extremely cold water.  He drugs her caring not that the pain is horrific.   He never expected that MG would fight back and win.

WOW!  This is one of those books that you can’t put down.  The characters are so well-defined that they seem to come to life on the pages.  Talon and Maja are perfectly suited for each other.  While she seems too naïve and innocent, she draws strength from Talon.  Because of him, she desires to be free and finds the power to fight for that freedom.  Slaw and Shipp are evil antagonists.  They care only for what Maja can do for them.  They care little for her well-being and will torture her and put her through tests to meet their own ends.  The plot is fascinating, well-developed and a pleasure to read.  “AEquana is sure to become a favorite with fans of fantasy and romance.  I suspect we will be hearing a lot more from Linda Mooney.

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