The third of four brothers to be cursed by the goddess of chaos and war and granted immortality so as to conquer cities in her name, the hero spend half his night burning from the inside out until he nothing but ash and bone, only to heal and await the next night when his torment will begin again. It's at the time of his pain that he meets the heroine. Naked, otherworldly and possessing such openness and innocence, he is captivated by her. And she is very clear about the fact that she is even more captivated by him. She thinks his burning is beautiful not knowing the agony is costs him. And she urges him to give her three days to explore his body and know him better. The hero, who's known nothing but war and pain for so very long is finally given a taste of true happiness. Though he is hesitate at first to allow himself even the smallest hint of peace, his defenses are easily destroyed and in the matter of a few hours, they are lovers. Vowing to never again love another woman after the betrayl of his first wife, the hero stubbornly refuses to admit to himself that he could feel anything other than lust for his new lover but it's clear that deeper feelings have begun to evolve. It's hard not to care for such a woman as the heroine. She has a child like excitement about her and a love for life in general. Everything she discovers in the world around her marvels her and in the joy of her happiness, the hero himself finds happiness. But he knows his life is not his own. His service to his goddess rules everything and the heroine is a distraction that could become dangerous, just as his brother has warned. Then the 3 days are up and heroine much return home. In a panic at the thought of losing her, he accepts her invitation to visit her home, not knowing that she is a selkie and the trip he agreed to thinking to be away for a few days has turned into a month. Stuck is a strange place, the hero finds himself involved in selkie politics and soon realizes that war is universal and his expertise is in need in the heroine's world as well. There, he battles suitors, a threat to the crown and the enemy sirens, all the while trying to discover what he's willing to risk for the sake of the heroine's love. I was rather disappointed with this book considering how much I liked the first two in the series. This story was weird and the whole selkie angle was odd and out of place. There wasn't much better the hero and heroine either, beside the frequent sexual encounters. It was sex from start to finish with, what I felt, was little substance other than that. I enjoyed the heroine, I can say. She was super sweet and endearing but strong when she needed to be and possessing an honesty about her that made you admire her. I enjoyed the hero as well. Not as much as the other 2 brothers but I liked his struggle with his curse and with trying to rationalize his right to find happiness. I liked the fact that he was willing to fight for that happiness even if he refused to consider it love. They were good together but the chemistry wasn't sparkling or magical. That paired with a less than stellar plot line created an okay book but not one I was gaga over. ( )

This novel is the 3rd book in a series, but can be read as a stand-alone. A historical fantasy romance in which the 3rd brother falls for a selkie. I enjoyed the selkie world and the different races, although I would have appreciated more about the sirens. The female MC is faithful and a bit innocent in many ways while the male MC was quite stubborn over certain things. Overall, if you liked the other novels in this series, you will want to read this book. I will read the next one, but I hope the MCs are further developed. For historical fantasy romance readers.

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