Review - Fate & Fortune by Maz Maddox

The circus has come to Stallion Ridge, and with it is Victor, a phoenix shifter who tells fortunes and does slight-of-hand tricks. Sky is irresistibly drawn to the mysterious man, but doesn't want to get close for fear of being hurt. He's also concerned about repeating nightmares that seem to foretell a grim future for the town and especially the lawmen he calls family.

Sky has been something of a fixture in most of the stories in this series, although he has so far remained something of a mystery. Although a member of the team of lawmen who protect the growing town, the native has kept himself apart from the people he helps protect. While you can read this book without having read all of the books of the series, you will want to have read the first book Heartache and Hoofbeats, where Sky has a key part. It's always been clear that the man has had some trauma in his past, which has driven him to live away from his tribe, as well as his new friends in Stallion Ridge. In this story we finally find out why.

Victor is the newcomer to town, and also has a past he might like to forget, but can't. A little like Sky, he has a newfound family around him in the form of the circus performers he travels from town to town with. Victor seems like a really nice guy, but it's hard to see him with Sky. However, that's something of a trademark for this series: unlikely men finding their soulmates in unexpected places.

The arc of these stories is by now familiar, but each has featured a very distinct set of characters with their own unique challenges they need to overcome. The ending of this volume seems a little curious until the epilogue, which sets up the next and last book of the series.

“Fate & Fortune” is available from Amazon.