Review of Eternally Bound by Stephanie J. Bardy
By: Luna Lupine

Welcome to the end…

Recently, I was informed that I will be allowed to be freed from this current incarnation of Luna Lupine. It appears that surviving the Myth Master last month warranted this wonderful endowment. Beings that this was my final book review, I wanted to do something personal and not do another Stephen King book. This time, I decided on TwoM alumni and soon–to–be Managing Editor (SPOILERS?), Stephanie Bardy and her debut novel, Eternally Bound!

While there is so much going on in this book, first and foremost Eternally Bound is a love story. But, do not be fooled by that, there is a plethora of content that would draw male readers into this novel. You want a kick–ass action adventure, it's there! You want hot sexiness, it's there! You want some dark and brooding moments, it's there! You want supernatural and magic, it's there! There is everything for everyone! But, passed all the sub genres, what Eternally Bound is truly about is the journey of the delicate turn bad ass woman, Gwen Morgan, and a hot, explosive–eyed Lance Dawson who explores their feelings in the undertone of this story.

I think the back cover description really pinpoints the story it self: Gwen Morgan, young widow single mother, seeks shelter for her daughter, at the house of the local shipbuilder. She is weak and sickly, and has pinned all hope on the elder Dawson's and unknowingly on their son, Lance. At the death of her husband, after the death of their son and twin to their remaining daughter, Gwen, alone, wracked with illness and with nothing to her name, makes the only choice she feels she has.

As the Age of Sail is starting to fade, Lance Dawson struggles to keep his schooners alive and relevant and agrees to a contract that could be his undoing. With hidden secrets and the potential to behave like warships, his total focus is on this endeavor and not on love, romance or even his own marriage. He must keep the exact nature of the ships a secret as long as possible, in the hopes that he can save his town and the people in it from the never ending raids. Although there haven't been any on land for many years, Lance and many others struggle with the constant attacks on the water. He has never forgotten the battle that took his only brother from him and has spent his life making sure that no one else suffered the same pain.

As Lance fights his own inner battles, Gwen struggles with hers and their seemingly shared past lives. Both experience disturbing dreams, unusual sounds in the house and a strange magic that seems to encompass all it touches. Mixed in with all this is the ghost of Gwen's deceased husband, determined to not let her go, the shade of Lance's hedge witch mother Belle and the living tirade of Lance's wife Abigail. All overseen by Lance's brother Tristan, who died in a raid on the town many years ago and who's spirit is forever bound to the house and to Lance. A house that once entered, no one ever seems to leave.

For both it's a struggle to find happiness. For Gwen, peace of mind and body, for Lance, peace of soul. How can a love that feels so right, be so totally wrong? If they are destined, why does it seem like everything is conspiring to keep them apart? Will either find what they are searching for, and will the spirits of Dawson House ever find rest?

For one, the answer is simple. Murder. The ultimate end and the only escape that can be seen. In the realm of the living, plans are set in motion that will change the course of all involved, while in the realm of magic and the dead, the wheels of fate have also started turning once more.

Can Lance and Gwen find true happiness amidst all the deception and barriers? Fighting emotion, an arranged marriage, and spiritual troublemakers, it will be a battle for both. When all hope is lost, they must look for the tiniest of sparks, the faintest of lights within the darkness. For that light, will guide them home, will open their minds to a world of things that they never imagined possible, and to a magic that seems to be Eternally Bound.

Now, I know that I have said this multiple times in past reviews, but for your new comers I will reiterate, I am not for love stories, but Stephanie Bardy has done such a amazing job in weaving the content of adventure, mysticism and romance together into a sweeping, breathtaking story!

I know from the boss, who, happened to be the publisher, wink, wink, has informed my that this was only the first of a trilogy in a series! So I am all in, sister!

When I finished the novel, I wanted to know about Stephanie. I admit that while we work together for a sometime on this magazine, we really do not know each other. So, with that said, you can track her down at her website: www.stephaniebardy.me (which you need to update, girl), Facebook at www.facebook.com/authorstephaniebardy and is the host of The World of Myth Bits podcast at: www.jayzomon.com/jayzomodcast/the_world_of_myth_bits. Also, you can check out her short stories here on the magazine and see how her current The Huntress world tires together with the Bound Universe.

So for Stephanie Bardy's debut novel Eternally Bound, I award four romantic and spirit filled stars! I highly recommend this book which can be picked up at Amazon.com (www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729875084/). Well, the moon is out and I am finally allowed to be set free. I will join my sisters to roam the forest, while we hunt for unsuspecting pray…

Farewell…
Luna Lupine III