Bambi Unbridled: Review: Greene's Calling by A.D. Starrling

Greene's Calling
by A.D. Starrling
Series: Seventeen #3
Pub. Date: April 27, 2014
Publisher: Self-Pub
Pages: 392
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley

My Rating:

Sultry Scale:

An immortal healer. An ancient legacy reborn. A chain of cataclysmic events that threatens to change the fate of the world.

When a plane crashes in the Amazonian swamp where Conrad Greene is attempting to live out the rest of eternity, the jaded immortal who was once one of the Bastian First Council’s greatest assets stumbles across a conspiracy involving the recently elected president of the United States.

Caught in the middle of the intrigue is US Secret Service agent Laura Hartwell, the one immortal on Earth most likely to put a bullet through Greene’s skull.

Greene is coerced into returning to the life he had left behind by the leader of the Bastians and reluctantly agrees to assist the Americans in their investigation. As disturbing incidents start to unfold around the globe, Greene and a team of elite human and immortal agents must track down an elusive organization hell-bent on shifting the power balance of the world.

Can Greene stop the deadly countdown that threatens to alter the course of human history and regain the trust of the woman he loves?

Greene's Calling is another well-written, well-researched, action-packed, brainy book from A.D. Starrling. What else is there to say? I have never been a huge fan of the action thriller genre, but I cannot get enough of Ms. Starrling's books. I have to take a minute to talk up this author for those of you who may not have heard of her before. I, myself, ran across this series quite by accident, and that was a very lucky day indeed. I was just discussing these books with my friend Deanna, who loves action movies, because these books would make fantabulous movies. I do hope they get optioned one day. But I was saying that these are books that you can just tell that the author is super intelligent (hence the aforementioned "brainy" description). I mean, its not everyday I enjoy a book discussing chemistry and macromolecular materials and engineering. I'm a lawyer, we typically don't do math and science very well. ;) I am foisting these books on my little bro now as he has an interest in biomedical engineering, so I think he will appreciate how smart these books are.

That being said, if you are not a brainy person, and are worried you may not be able to follow along with these books, never fear. I know not one iota about science and chemistry, and I do just fine. The books are fast-paced and action-driven so you will speed along with the plot without getting hung up on the dynamics of the explosives that feature heavily in this book. And for you romance readers, this book has some of that too.

We start Greene's Calling following the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. This was a nice little history lesson, and sets up our back story for the villains in this installment. This was a nice touch and made me reminisce on reading some of the more heavily-detailed historical romances I have read by authors such as Bertrice Small. I always say I would have learned history a lot better if they let a fiction writer help with the writing. But, I digress.

We later meet our main character, Conrad Greene, where he has exiled himself to the jungle after things went sour with his soul mate. I really liked Conrad and his four-legged friend, Rocky. The special bond between the two was wonderful, and I can understand the lengths Greene went to when he saved his best friend. Greene's soul mate is Laura, and they have been separated for 300 years. But when Greene learns she may be in trouble, he rushes to her side. I was set not to like Laura based on her treatment of the man, however she eventually won me over. The plot did not waste a lot of time on the drama between the soul mates, instead focusing on the supernatural terroristic threat from Ariana and her progeny. I would have liked to see the relationship issue flushed out a little more I think, but I didn't notice it as I was reading. It only came to me now that I'm done. So I doubt you will miss it either.

This book was just as action-packed as the previous two, and the plot came together nicely as the immortals worked with US govt officials to uncover and neutralize the threat to major cities around the globe. I still think that King's Crusade is my favorite book of the series. I really miss Yonten - he was such a great character. But this was a great addition and ties together nicely with the previous books. I think we are building towards a big culmination where all of the "special" immortals will be called on to work together for some common goal, and I look forward to that progression.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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