REVIEW BY SARAH! MANATAKA BY ELLA J PHOENIX (@transcendsdreams)

Blurb:

Since she was a child, Chloe has endured horrible nightmares about a Native American prince living in a time long forgotten. She never understood why, until she finds a stone that matches the one in her dreams. It has unimaginable powers, powers Chloe doesn’t understand. Fueled by memories of someone else’s past, she sets off on a wild quest for the stone’s birth place, hoping to also find answers to her foreboding dreams.

On the outside, Mason Green looks like a hard working, self-made millionaire, with too busy a life for romance. Very few people know the real reason for his self-imposed seclusion. It’s safer that way. But when a sexy historian shows him a supernatural stone from a forgotten tribe, Mason is intrigued - maybe the relic is the salvation he’s been waiting for. Ignoring the irrational attraction that threatens to crack the cask around his heart, Mason agrees to help Chloe.

As their wild quest becomes a dangerous mission, they must find the relic’s birthplace before Mason’s past catches up to them.

Review:

Chloe has just aquired her dream job: working at the Smithsonian Instutite in Washington, D.C. When she stumbles across a stone with Native American markings as she's archiving items, she's amazed to see it light up at her touch. Deciding she needs to find the mystical land of Manataka, she travels to Arkansas and hires a guide - Mason Green.

Mason is Native American with a huge chip on his shoulder. He takes the job with one purpose: to take the Tula stone and end his curse of immortality. The guilt and shame he bears from his life 200 years ago is too much and life has become meaningless over so much time. Then Chloe marches into his life and becomes his "little tornado" as they search for Manataka.

This is a great read. There were a few plot holes but nothing that ruined the story. It was full of steamy sex scenes and, I have to say, Phoenix is one of my favorite fighting-scene writers. I had figured out who the villian was, but was still surprised by his second ("real") identity.

The characters were my favorite part of the story. Mason is a character you hate to love, and Chloe is just so damn sweet you can't help but empathize with her. Watching them fall in love was too much fun.

This is the second book by Phoenix I've read and I am so impressed by the lore and worlds she creates. I envy her imagination. I hope she turns Manataka into a series!

Rated 4.5 Zs