DANGEROUS MISSION
Vivianne Blackstone devotes herself to her career, putting her love life on hold. Her latest project is a spaceship designed to protect Earth from the deadly Tribes. But its engineer, the alluring Jordan McArthur, now threatens both her job and her wary heart . . .
AN UNDENIABLE DESIRE
Jordan’s past goes back to King Arthur, and he must find the ancient artifact that can save the galaxy. Vivianne’s ship is his best hope, but convincing the fiercely independent beauty won’t be easy. Especially when the passion flaring between them burns through their defenses – and love is the last thing they need to survive.

Jordan by Susan Kearney (The Pendragon Legacy #3)
February 23, 2010
Paranormal Romance
Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Forever; Original edition
Reviewed by Karra

Welcome to the world of Dragonshapers: beings of human origin that can shape-shift into dragons. They fight an epic battle against the Tribes who’ve wanted to rule, enslave and destroy them since King Arthur’s days and the mysterious Jordan is Earth’s only hope for success.

When workaholic and control freak Vivianne Blackstone discovers her gorgeous, difficult employee Jordan has lied about his life and work history, she freaks out. If that information is leaked to the press, her very successful company could be in jeopardy, making her dislike Jordan even more. She has no problems distrusting the man, but it’s herself she starts to doubt when she remains inexplicably drawn to the imposter.

The spaceship they’re working on is Earth’s last hope to recover the Holy Grail in an attempt to keep it from being used for evil purposes. The Grail has fallen into the Tribes’ hands, and with its power to make their enemies immortal, the holy relic could be used as a tool of destruction against every planet in the galaxy.

Vivianne is reluctant to fire her most brilliant employee, even though he’s lied about his history, but when Jordan scoffs at her attempts to rid herself of him and installs a mysterious new power source into the spaceship, one that not only sends the ship into orbit way ahead of schedule, but also fuels their secret desires for one another, Vivianne has no choice but to go along with Jordan’s hidden agenda.

And Jordan definitely has a hidden agenda. He has a destiny to fulfill, one that’s taken him thousands of years to achieve, and nothing—and no one—will stand in his way. But he can’t deny the attraction he has for Viv, as he calls her, or the passion they unleash when forces beyond their control drive them into one another’s arms.

Now as they, along with an untrained crew, hunt through the universe in search of the missing keys that fully power Jordan’s ancient staff (no pun intended), as well as prepare for the final showdown between Dragonshapers and the head of the Tribes, disheartening secrets are exposed and loyalties are drawn, causing panic and hurt amongst the crew in the final critical moments of the mission.

But with the realization that the galaxy and all Dragonshapers rely on the sacrifice of Jordan’s life to save them all, Vivianne must face the one man she’s come to love and reveal her own hidden agenda: she’ll stay and fight by his side, sacrificing her own life if she must.

Because Jordan has become Vivianne’s world and surviving without him isn’t an option.

Jordan is what I believe to be the third and final book for the Pendragon Legacy series written by Susan Kearney. There could be more books, as she left the ending with a plot opening, but as the main plot is wrapped up in this book, it’s more likely she’d deviate to another series rather than continue with this one. Only time will tell.

This series of books takes a historical figure like King Arthur and a mystical relic like the Holy Grail and entwines both into a world that is fascinating and chock full of adventure. I read the first two books of the series, Lucan and Rion, before starting Jordan and though all of the books can be read as stand alones, I would suggest you read them all and in order so that you can grasp the full story and wonderful world building that Susan Kearney has created.

The books are set in the future, where space travel from Earth is new and exciting, if not completely necessary, and new worlds and species are introduced in thorough detail. What’s great about each of the books is that even though they are romance novels, the plot is never lacking in excitement and there is never a dull moment. When the hero and heroine aren’t kicking butt or discovering the deceit of certain individuals, they’re immersed into exploring their relationship and its possibilities.

I’ve found that each book has a bit of a sex theme that’s kind of amusing ::cough cough:: dragon sex ::cough cough:: but for Jordan, I’ll give you two words: antigravity sex.

Oh, the visions that come to mind with that, eh?

That’s just one of the fun things about Jordan. Jordan as a character is totally gorgeous, and filled with so many secrets that at times I wanted to take a mallet to him and crack him open, exploring all the man had to hide. He is a strong character, literally carrying the weight of the worlds on his shoulders, and though his destiny is one that I would personally fear, he embraces it with dignity and grace, already used to the idea that he was pretty much born as a sacrifice for the greater good.

Vivianne is another strong character, who’s had to grow a tough skin over the years in order to survive and be successful. Thrown together with Jordan, they find comfort in each other’s arms, though neither is willing to admit it at first. As they learn more about one another, through conversation and mystically-forced memory swaps, their hardened shells begin to crack to reveal their vulnerabilities, allowing trust and love to bloom.

The imagery created in this book is vivid and detailed, allowing the reader to envision the exact setting as the author’s intended. I’m typically not a fan of science-fictionish books, with space adventures and explorations, but I enjoyed the adventures Kearney created as she sent her shape-shifting characters on a wild goose chase to various worlds in search of Jordan’s missing keys and ultimately, the Holy Grail itself.

The ending might have been a little hokey and a little of stretch in believability within her created world, but Susan Kearney somehow made it work for the book, successfully tying up all loose ends. The dialogue is straight forward and reflects the personalities of all the characters and with the attention to detail given to the surroundings and creative plot line, Jordan is a strong finish to what’s been an enjoyable paranormal romance series.

Rating: 4/5

~*Karra*~

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