Across Shadowed Paths

The Immortal Accords #6

by Anna Hawke

Three days. Two people. One cabin. A mating bond triggered by a vampire’s bite.

Blair escaped the horrors of her past, but they never stopped haunting her. Driven by the need for revenge, she ventures into the heart of enemy territory. When she’s exposed as a vampire, being rescued strands her in the wilderness with her best friend’s brother.

Living in the shadow of his sister, Kaien fears he can claim nothing to his own merit. When he saves Blair’s life, he’s stripped of his abilities and trapped in a mating bond with a woman who refuses him. Thousands of miles away from his clan, he must battle against the need to claim her as his fated mate—and the one thing that could solely be his.

Away from civilization, the masks they wear crumble, and the scorching desire between them ignites. Sheltering together in a remote cabin, Blair and Kaien must survive the elements—and each other.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 2, 2024

About the author

Anna Hawke is a paranormal romance novelist dedicated to bringing to life the voices inside her head. The vivid, fictional world of the Immortal Accords was inspired decades ago in a high school classroom, now given two-dimensional form within her debut novel, Beneath Fated Bonds.

With a degree in Journalism and a vested interest in grammatical perfection, Anna’s written works contain sarcasm, spark, and sexy alpha males too handsome for their own good.

When she isn’t busy wrangling her three young children, gorgeous husband, and an opinionated grey tabby, Anna enjoys reading romance novels, riding horses, and traveling to places where hiking boots are required. Writing, however, is her favorite pastime, and Anna loves nothing more than pouring herself a 24 oz mug of tea, wrapping herself in a blanket, and giving her imaginary friends a voice.

Reviews

[Kathy Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raise your hand if you have been known to hold a grudge against fictional characters. You didn't know that was a thing? Neither did I until I met Blair in From Tortured Fates. Y'all. That woman has had me fuming for 3 months and refusing to read her book. All because she did something to our beloved Circe and Luc that I did NOT approve of. IYKYK.

Since I have been invested in this series from the moment I picked it up, I finally just said forget it. Pick up the dang book and read it. And so I did. I was not 100% sold on Blair going into the book, even though I was assured that others had the same feelings I did and ended up loving Blair. She's definitely rough around the edges and goes out of her way to be defiant. But about halfway through, she started growing on me. I may or may not have loved her by the end.

Okay fine. I did end up loving her. But I believe that Kaien had a lot to do with that. The man was her perfect mate. He balanced her, strengthen her, protected her, smoothed out those roughened edges, and simply loved her. She has never had that in her life and didn't know how to react. Through Kaien's love, she was able to discover who she truly was and learned to love in return. *le sigh* I love love.

As for the continued story, y'all. All I have to say is PLOT TWIST! I did NOT see that one coming and I'm even more invested than I was before. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Ms. Hawke has quickly become one of my favorite authors. The worlds she creates are unique and intriguing. Once I start one of her books, I have the hardest time putting them down. She is amazing! If you haven't read any of her books yet, I highly recommend checking them out!

As for my casting... *dreamy sigh* Aren't these two perfect?! Your answer should be a resounding YES! Hehe.

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC reading. I liked the worldbuilding and the plot. While the scenes about the shooting and the fighting are written in a fast and more to the point style, to me the scenes about the romance could benefit by some editing. Especially when de mc's think about their feelings toward each other the story drags on and I loose interest.

[Melina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
This one was a little weird. It felt rushed in the first couple of chapters (like, how exactly do mating bonds work in this universe), and then it kind of dragged in the middle chapters (yes, yes, we know you don't like each other, get on with it). The ending was okay.

Oh, and this is definitely not a standalone book. If I didn't know from the previous book what was going on, I would have been lost.

This author's books are hit and miss for me. I absolutely loved the last one. This one was okay, which means that the next one I'm going to love also. It's like one, yes, one, no, and on and on.

[Ali Alley EscapeThroughABook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn’t read a book by this author before, and I was so thrilled! While the intimate scenes are a fade to black that doesn’t mean this book lacks passion in the romance. This book is full of passionate romance.

This Fantasy Romance is a great read thats full of passion.
The romance is a slower burn type, which helps build excitement.
The book has both POVs from the FMC, and MMC.
The book moves at very quick pace, never letting your mind wander.
The story brings in events that happened in previous books. Allowing for world building to continue growing more complex with each book.

[Mileruichi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I think to fully enjoy this series, you have to accept that the side war story is none existent. It doesn't make much sense how they take some decisions and some others are ridiculously convenient. If the author had focused on the politics of the four races, it would've been better to be honest. It doesn't annoy me too much because I came here primarily for the romance, but as I always say if you're gonna add something to your story, make it make sense.

[whimsical reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. Blair was so dumb in previous books. I held a grudge against her. But did end up liking this book in the end. Not as much as the other book. She was often unkind to Kaien who didn’t deserve it. He was lovable and different than his sister. I thought his name was pronounced like Kane but there is already a Kane. So that hurt my brain a bit.

Forced proximity. More kissing than usual books. They sleep together before the actual mating finalized.

[Karli Majeski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampires. Elementals. Werewolves. Fated mates. Who wouldn’t like it? My only thing I have to say it is that the story jumped from a secret mission to becoming fated mates for several chapters then back to mission. While it wasn’t off putting I wish it gave more about the secret mission with Torrin. All in all, definite read! **I was an ARC reader**

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great story and I truly enjoyed reading it. I loved the world building the author created and I absolutely loved all the characters. Overall, I highly recommend reading this book and I can’t wait to read the next book in the The Immortal Accords series.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

[June McKibben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blair and Kaien have deep chemistry. Blair is stranded when she goes into enemy territory for revenge. Kaien comes to rescue her and a matung bond is triggered. This book has twists and turns that will keep you hooked.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the different jargon was kind of hard to follow in the beginning but overall I enjoyed the book. I different take on mated bonds than I normally read but it was a cutesy read. I do wish there was more detailed action/fight scene from when Blair was rescued but it makes sense for a short read.

[Laurel Tonti · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a really good series. minus the covers and titles(this title was fine tho). i love all the characters. i was hesitant to read this cause in past books i didn’t like blair much but this was really good.

[Sariel Persis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blair and Kaien were highly entertaining! I absolutely loved the sort of reversal of the “brother’s best friend” trope, with it being “best friend’s brother” instead! I really like how it’s semi-realistic in that their power has limits, too!