4.5 Wine Glass #Review of Legend of Love by Lisa Kessler

Title: Legend of Love
Series: The Muse Chronicles #2
Author: Lisa Kessler
Format: Kindle, 256 Pages
Published: December 5, 2016 (Lisa's Lair)
ISBN: ASIN: B01GF9YK32
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 Wine Glasses

The Prophecy - “Every generation the nine daughters of Zeus are reborn, and with their rebirth are also nine Guardians. They will be marked by the gods, and given gifts to protect his treasure. Their abilities will only be unlocked when they find their muse.”

Callie O'Connor's life has never been the same since the Muse of Epic Poetry came alive inside of her. Now she's on the other side of the country, working as civilian psychologist for the Navy, and leading her Muse sisters in their quest to reopen the Theater of the Muses.

But nothing could have prepared her for Hunter Armstrong. He's a Navy Seal, driven, confident, and dangerous. And he plans to do more than just protect her.

The gods couldn't have picked a better Guardian. But as Hunter soon discovers, Callie has some skeletons of her own in the closet, and loving her could lead to his destruction.

Linda's Thoughts:
“No matter what you tell me—” his lips curved into a sexy smile “—I’ll still want you.” 

“But you’ll at least understand why it’s a bad idea.”

He tipped his head back under the water. “Oh, Doc…” He ran his hands through his hair and met her eyes again. “I’m the king of bad ideas.” 

Legend of Love by Lisa Kessler is another exciting, fast-paced, action-packed installment in The Muse Chronicles series. The series has strong Greek mythology overtones and is based on a prophecy that deems that every generation the nine daughters of Zeus are reborn along with nine guardians – one of each of the Muses.  In Legend of Love, the Muse of Epic Poetry, Navy psychologist Callie O’Connor, finds her guardian, Navy SEAL Captain Hunter Armstrong.

Legend of Love picks up pretty much from where Lure of Obsession ended. The cult of Kronos worshippers who were dealt a blow in the first book are strengthening again. This time, they have their eyes on Callie to be their next victim.

As the story opens, Hunter is on mental health leave with orders to see a psychologist while spending the holidays with his family in Crystal City after his last mission didn’t end as expected.  A comrade was captured by insurgents, and once intelligence finds where he is being held, an extraction mission will be imminent. Having an alpha mindset, Hunter is not keen on seeing a doctor even though he’s experiencing PTSD symptoms. But, he does as ordered and makes an appointment with Dr. O’Connor. He was not expecting him to be a her. Neither was he expecting to be attracted to the therapist or to start hearing voices in his head or to suddenly have an old birthmark become an angry shade of red.

Callie does not date her patients ever. But, she has to admit to herself that she is attracted to her new patient. Callie has her own issues from a failed past relationship where she felt that choices made by the adrenaline junkie in her hurt her former partner. Therefore, now she keeps her daredevil side locked away and refuses to get involved with anyone else. Then… Hunter changes doctors… and he’s no longer her patient. But, Callie has another problem. As the unspoken leader of her sister Muses, she had instituted a no-dating pact for them to limit their distractions until the Theater of the Muses becomes a reality. Completion of the Theater would inspire mankind to reach for their dreams in the arts and sciences. One Muse has already breeched the pact. How can she fail her fellow Muses by breaking the pact herself?

Both leads were likable and their romance seemed genuine – though Callie fought their attraction a bit more than I would have liked. I really enjoyed their surfing scenes in which Hunter, a world-class surfer, taught Callie to surf. Lisa’s writing was so vivid that I felt like I could actually feel the rush that Callie experienced when she caught her first wave.

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes from Legend of Love:

“I’m coming into this embracing that wild spirit in you. I don’t want to clip your wings. I want to fly with you.” 
---

“I love surfing, but ---" his gaze wandered over the thin sheet covering her body before he met her eyes again " --- no wave could ever compete with you.” 
---

“Hunter scooped her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing and carried her over to the bed. He laid her down and then moved behind her to spoon her, his arm holding her close to his chest. His lips brushed her ear. "Before you push me away, you have my word that once you're asleep, I'll go in the other room, okay?" ...
Without moving, she whispered into the darkness, "What if I don't want you to go?” 
---

 “I thought when you finally kissed me, I'd be able to walk away." He shook his head, his voice lowering to a throaty whisper. "I was dead wrong.” 

Legend of Love is a pulse-pounding blend of sweet, heat and dangerous perils. This book fleshed out more of the history of the Order of the Titans and why they are doing what they are doing. Legend of Love could be enjoyed as a stand-alone read if that is your preference. That said, I enjoyed hanging out with Nate, Mel and Maggie and the rest of the Muses from the first book herein.

Breath of Passion is up next. It will be Erica's love story. She is the Muse of Lyrics who is also known as the Muse of Passion and Erotic Poetry! I’m also excited about seeing more of Hunter’s friend, Reed, who happens to be an awesome surfer too! Oh My! I can’t wait! Bring it on!


Suggested Reading Order: 
Lure of Obsession (Book #1)
Legend of Love (Book #2)
Breath of Passion (Book #3) – Coming May 15th 2017!