Echoes of Angels by Caitlyn McKenna is her first novel in the Keepers of Eternity series.

Julienne Hunter is a woman at a crossroads in her life.  A successful model who had made her way to the top she is also a woman who has made some very bad decisions on her journey.

 
After being attacked by her estranged husband things come to a head and Julienne finds herself in a rehab centre.  Now clean of the drugs she had become addicted to but scarred both physically and emotionally she is almost ready to check out and face the public again.

But on the day she is to leave she receives a surprising offer from the family her mother had fled from when Julienne had been just a child. 

Unable to resist and needing a little more time before she can go before the cameras Julienne travels to visit her forgotten grandmother.  Before her death Julienne's mother had never revealed why she had fled from her family but Julienne knows it does have something to do with the mysterious Morgan Saint-Evanston who her mother hated.

Julienne arrives at Blackthorne Manor where she finds her grandmother Anlese who is ready to welcome her back home with open arms.  Not so pleased to see her is Morgan himself who Julienne finds herself constantly exchanging heated words with. 

Unable to leave at first through lack of money, and then through lack of will, Julienne finds herself drawn into Morgan's dark world and uncovers the secret of her own heritage.

Julienne is a heroine who is flawed and it is in her knowledge of her flaws that the reader finds empathy with her and almost from the start is rooting for her to find her place in the world.

Morgan meanwhile is everything the tortured hero should be and takes the darkness to a whole new level.  Sometimes cruel to those around him, he can be violent and does not believe himself capable of having a relationship with anyone.

Julienne is drawn to Morgan like she has never been drawn to anyone before and she sets out to become a part of his life.  But hanging over her is the knowledge that he is leaving in only a matter of weeks and that he is determined to cut all ties with his past, including her.

An added complication is after her arrival at Blackthorne Manor Julienne finds herself having disturbing in dreams in which Morgan murders her and in which she herself kills another.  As she sees things around her that she saw in her dream Julienne begins to wonder just how far Morgan would go to leave her behind when he leaves and whether he is capable of murder.

Time in running out for Julienne to find out what her dreams mean and what the terrible secret is that sent her mother running from Blackthorne Manor all those years before.

With a surprising twist at the end this book promises to be the start of a exciting new series.

Readers of regular romance novels should know that this book is very dark and contains some strong language and references to violence.  If you are easily offended this book may not be for you. But for those of us who enjoy the darker novels Caitlyn McKenna is a refreshing new voice in the genre.

Echoes of Angels is now available in paperback as well as in e-book form from Zumaya Publications.

RATING : 
(if you need an explanation of the hearts ratings see my homepage)

Also by Caitlyn McKenna: Descent of Demons

Links to  online stores

Visit Caitlyn McKenna's Website