ARC Review: Kiss Across Swords

Kiss Across Swords
Teal Ceagh
Erotic UF/Time Travel/MMF
Time-Crossed Love/Book 2
Ellora's Cave/November 2010

From the author's website ~

Taylor Yates never dreamed growing up she would end up happily living with two drop-dead sexy vampires and time-hopping through their thousand years of personal history. Her life is complete…or is it?

When she finds herself at the siege of Jerusalem during the first crusade, Veris doesn’t know her at all and doesn’t want to. Worst of all, he and Brody are total strangers, and Taylor drives a wedge in deep between them by trying to seduce Veris at their first meeting—not something a lady of the day does if she wants to keep her head.

Taylor and Brody must woo Veris using the customs of medieval England, win his heart and his full commitment before Jerusalem falls in four days time—or when they return to their own time, their lives as they know them will be gone…

After reading Kiss Across Time, the novella where Taylor meets and falls for vampires Brody and Veris, it was easy to get into their continuing story in Kiss Across Swords. It's been four years since the three became lovers and now Taylor wants to be turned. The only problem is Brody and Veris are not completely on board with the idea. The past is very much in the present with both men having strong feelings about the significance of turning a human to a vampire.

The time travel they had previously done bore no ill effects but now things are changing and Taylor might lose her lovers. This time Brody and Taylor time travel back to when Brody and Veris first met. Taylor being there causes a disruption in Veris and Brody's past. When they should have become lovers, Veris now thinks Taylor is Brody's wife and tries to keep his distance from them.

The scenes when Brody is telling Taylor how he and Veris first became lovers all those centuries ago I found to be very erotic. These two men are warriors but they are also very sensual men. Ceagh shows the reader how beautiful and seductive two men can be when they unleash their desires for each other. I don't read a lot of books with m/m but I found the love story between Brody and Veris moving and powerful. This time, with Veris not knowing Brody or Taylor, both of them took part in seducing Veris. I loved reading about when Brody and Veris first met. How they came to know each other and built their bond over the centuries. It wasn't easy for Taylor and Brody to get Veris to trust them and begin to form that bond.

This is a time travel and through that travel we get to explore the land of the Crusades. The history in the story is fascinating. When Veris and Brody first meet it's 1099 and they are fighting in the first Crusade. The feel of that time and place comes through in the descriptions of the land, the people and the politics. It was interesting to see how 21st century Brody and Taylor especially, acted in a time from so long ago.

All three characters are well developed with distinct personalities. Brody is the peacemaker and tends to defer to Veris, believing him to be the more intelligent of them. Veris is more stoic, exhibiting a calm demeanor. He is a man that keeps much to himself and likes to think things through before acting. I saw Taylor as a bit of a wild card. She's intelligent and thoughtful but can let her temper loose when angered. She also loves very fiercely and shows it through her actions and selflessness with Brody and Veris. The author did a wonderful job showing the give and take between these three.

The story was filled with history, passion and emotional love scenes between three unique individuals. It's a romance that has a number of elements, all combined to make a very captivating story. I'm looking forward to reading more in this imaginative series.

Rating: A-