The sparks of unexpected passion ignite in this electrifying GhostWalker novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan. When Malichai Fortunes attacks a problem, he does it full force—a habit that earns the GhostWalker a painful injury and a forced vacation in San Diego, California. With nothing but physical therapy on the horizon, Malichai is starting to get restless…until a … to get restless…until a striking blue-eyed blonde makes all his senses come alive.
Amaryllis is kind and warm and sees beyond Malichai’s rough exterior, but he can tell there’s something she’s hiding. Her innate healing abilities indicate she might be a GhostWalker—albeit an untrained one. Malichai doesn’t think their paths crossing is anything more than coincidence, but he can sense that one wrong word could send Amaryllis running.
When strange events at his temporary retreat put Malichai on high alert, he knows he won’t be able to deal with the threat and keep his woman safe in his weakened state. But calling in his brothers means telling Amaryllis what he really is, and revealing that he knows the truth about her too.…
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This is my first foray into the GhostWalkers series by Ms. Feehan, but now I’m addicted and need to read them all.
Malichai Fortunes is a GhostWalker, one of the elite. He’s on a forced vacation after an injury has him sidelined. You see, he puts his life in danger daily to protect our soldiers in war torn countries like Afghanistan. This time he’s hurt on a medical mission and he’s forced to lay low before he starts his physical therapy.
Since he’s never been on a vacation before, he doesn’t know how to relax and enjoy. When he hears that the dishwasher has broken down, he offers to help fix it. In his mind, it gives him a mission and get his hands dirty just a bit. Doesn’t hurt that Amaryllis will be in there as well. Amaryllis is a blonde goddess of an employee who’s suspicious and wary of Malichai. The more he’s around Amaryllis, the more he wonders if she’s a GhostWalker as well. One of the women that Dr. Whitney experimented on, who has escaped.
I love the heat between Malichai and Amaryllis. There’s a little bit of the insta-love, something I’m not a fan of, but there’s so much more. It goes much deeper and takes time to build.
This is a story to savor. Don’t try to speed read, you you’ll miss a lot and not grasp the whole story. I love Malichai for the fact that he came from nothing, that he grew up with a drug addicted mother who sold him for drugs. He could’ve been so different, grew up a gang member, a druggie, a thief or murderer. But he didn’t. He’s kind, caring, compassionate. He’s damaged, but whole, complex. A wonderfully written character who isn’t a cookie cutter representation of a man. There’s so many layers to him that I don’t think that even with the ending we got to the depths of this man.
Ms. Feehan has a way of writing a story that makes you feel like you’re a part of it. Like a movie playing in your head where you’re a character, not a spectator. It’s been awhile since I’ve read one of her stories and can’t for the life of me figure out why. She’s a master storyteller.
*I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher and this is my honest and voluntary review.
The only thing consistent in our lives is change. Some changes are good and some not so good, but the true test of strength is how we handle those changes. With that said Lethal Games is all about how the characters deal with change, both the good and the bad.
Malachi Fortunes did not grow up in the best of circumstances and the decisions that he made have definitely affected his life. The one thing in life he needs is to find that special someone that will him for who and what he is. While on a forced leave, he meets Amaryllis, her kindest and warmth immediately draws him to her but deep inside he knows that there is more to her than meets the eye.
Amaryllis is hiding from the one person who has made her different from everyone else. She is not one to trust easily as trust can be the betrayer and send her back to very life that she ran away from.
Only Malichi could find himself knee deep in a terrorist plot while on leave, together he and Amaryllis must find the terrorist and keep them from completing their mission. As they learn to trust each other and she also learns to trust his team, they will save the day, but at what expense to each of them separately and to their life together as a whole remains to be seen.
This book was truly heartbreaking in some respects but also truly joyful in others. Providing once again that while we can be strong individually, together we can conquer anything. #GhostWalkerNovel #GhostWalkerseries
LETHAL GAME is the sixteenth instalment in Christine Feehan’s contemporary, adult GHOSTWALKERS erotic, paranormal romantic suspense series focusing on an elite group (4 teams) of enhanced men and women known as the Ghostwalkers (GW). These ‘super soldiers’ were once part of an unauthorized government experiment performed by Dr. Peter Whitney but several soldiers have, since, opted into the program on their own. This is US Air Force pararescue medic Malachai Fortunes, and B&B employee Amaryllis’ story line. LETHAL GAME can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion.
Told from several third person perspectives including Malachai and Amaryllis LETHAL GAME follows in the aftermath of a rescue that went horribly wrong. Shot several times while trying to rescue a number of American soldiers injured and caught behind enemy lines in Afghanistan, Malachai Fortunes would use a second-generation ‘zenith’ patch to stop the bleeding before seeking medical help but Malachai would quickly discover that not all was going according to plan when a forced leave would reveal the continuing deterioration of his injured leg. Meeting Amaryllis, at a B&B in San Diego, California found our hero instantly attracted to a woman who was obviously part of Whitney’s orphan’s experiment. What ensues is the quick building relationship between Malachai and Amaryllis; the discovery of a home-grown terrorist plot; and the on-going breakdown of Malachai’s leg.
The relationship between Malachai and Amaryllis is one of immediate attraction but Amaryllis knows to reveal the truth could mean imminent death if anyone were to find out our heroine had enhanced, super powers. A psychic healer injected with several animal and insect DNA, Amaryllis knows it is only a matter of time before Dr. Peter Whitney discovers her whereabouts, and forces her into his breeding program. Malachai Fortunes knows Amaryllis is a Ghostwalker and his mate, and is immediately drawn to the feisty female but Amaryllis is reluctant to reveal her true powers, lest Malachai is a member of Whitney’s extraction team. The $ex scenes are limited but intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
There is a large familiar and colorful cast of secondary and supporting characters including several Ghostwalkers from the other three Teams. Ken and Jack Norton make a cameo appearance; most of Malachai’s team and their significant others (Diego Campo, Ezekiel Fortunes, Gino Mazza, Team leader Joe Spagnola and Mordichai Fortunes, Draden Freeman, Trap Dawkins, Rubin Campo and Wyatt Fontenot) join our couple to take down a government led home-grown terrorist attack, as well as the return of Dr. Trap Dawkins and his mate Cayenne. Christine Feehan continues to address Trap’s behaviour by way of Asperger’s syndrome, found on the high end of the autism spectrum, an address meant to assuage the character’s deplorable behaviour in Spider Game (book 12).
LETHAL GAME is a bit of a departure from Christine Feehan’s recent style of writing in that the detailed, graphic violence, or mention of abuse and torture, are limited especially as it pertains to women and children. Our hero is not a manipulative, controlling, oppressive alpha male like many of the author’s more recent leading male characters but he is desperate to protect the woman with whom he has fallen in love.
I would also like to address the similarities between the author’s Dark Carpathians and the Ghostwalkers as it pertains to the ‘healer’s in both of her series. From the ability to ‘see’ into the body, and heal by psychic energy, alongside one or more additional healers is very reminiscent of the Dark Series, and their ability to heal. The descriptions and graphic details regarding the psychic surgery are familiar and comparable, almost parallel to the earlier works in the Dark series.
LETHAL GAME is a story of family, friendships, relationships and love; a story of power and control; of fate and love. The premise is engaging, entertaining and intriguing; the characters are energetic, dynamic and courageous; the romance is emotional and captivating.
I loved this one! It pulled every emotion and I am still reeling. Malichai came come live with me anytime, sigh, I wish. Malichai is a Ghost Walker (super soldier for the new) and a medic. He will stop at nothing to help his brothers in arms, to the detriment of his own health. His last foray basically left him dead and he is recuperating in San Diego at a B&B. Forced recuperation. There he meets Amaryliis and is immediately attracted, even knowing she is hiding something. There is mystery with what she is hiding as well a plot that comes to light that could kill thousands. I am not a writer, so I cannot even begin to express the way my heart swelled, my tears flowed and laugh out loud with Malichai. I like that Amaryliss seemed to be a quiet strength to walk beside him, not behind him. I highly recommend this one, there was plot and more plot with romance, steamy scenes and love. Love of family, love of brotherhood, love for each other. I just really enjoyed this one. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc. I freely volunteer my thoughts, my opinions unsolicited.
When Malichai Fortunes suffers an injury, he is strongly encouraged to take a vacation to California to recoup. He does not relax well and finds himself getting friendly with the staff of the B&B he is staying at.
Amaryllis is beautiful, sweet, and seems to also have some special gifts. He is sure she is one of Whitney’s experiments, but it is a delicate balance between outing himself or her. But as they spend time together it is obvious that they are drawn together. These books are almost always insta-love, but it has been established that Whitney created bonded pairs so it does not bother me that they form quick attractions and attachments.
And Malichai seems to be having issues healing and the situation is becoming more dire and will require assistance from his brothers. And that means exposing his secrets to Amaryllis and hoping she does not run scared.
And strange things seem to be happening around them. Whispers of murder, attacks, threats, and a possible large scale target. So this Ghostwalker vacation is anything but peaceful and relaxing…it might just be as deadly as any mission.
I was engaged from the start and enjoyed the storyline and the end, but somewhere in the middle it started to drag and seem somewhat tedious to me and it took me longer to read it. These books are always longer than most usual romance reads and have a lot of detail so it is understandable. There were a lot of antagonists, conspiracies, and events to keep track of leading up to the climax. But I loved Malichai and Amaryllis, and how they were able to explore their new relationship and build trust. And also how his brothers and teammates rallied around him while Malichai was going through a difficult situation. My heart hurt for him and what he was dealing with.
This installment brings suspense, action, mystery, romance, steam, and emotion. This world is so richly crafted and intertwined. This brings back his brothers Ezekiel and Mordichi as well as many of the other Ghostwalkers. I love revisiting all of the unique characters with their special skills. They are such a devoted and accepting group. I hope that we see his brother, Mordichi or his old friend, Rubin get a story next.
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review
LETHAL GAME by Christine Feehan is book 16 in the Ghost Walkers Series. This is the story of Malichai and Amaryllis. I haven’t yet read the previous book, so for me this was a standalone book. I will say this author’s writing allows for that with her writing but I did feel I would have love to have read the previous character’s story line since some where in this book. Malichai has been forced to take a vacation to heal physically and mentally after very bad assignment the Ghost Walkers were on. Never having done a vacation and used to always be on alert he isn’t having a good time. Then he meets Amaryllis who works at the place he is staying and he feel an intimidate connection but he knows she is hiding something. Amaryllis is on the run and doesn’t usually stay in one place long but she has enjoyed her time at the Inn and has built a friendship, but she knows that Malichai is dangerous but is he what she needs?
With Ms. Feehan books you get the steamy scene, alpha male, strong heroine and story line that keeps you turning pages! Loved this book.
Lethal Game is a fabulous journey of finding unparalleled love and discovering unending courage in the face of both disaster and heaven. This story kept me on my toes and captivated my full attention. I was left in awe and truly loved every part of this marvelous adventure! There was never a dull moment wit this thickly layered and wonderfully complex storyline. My imagination ran wild as I was slowly exposed to the incredible characters and unforgettable story that I discovered along the way. Just when you think you know what is coming, a wicked twist comes along that changes everything and leaves you guessing once again. What a thrilling journey!
Malichai is confident in his place in this world and his life’s purpose. Nothing can make his confidence waver. Even when he is confronted with the worst mission outcome possible, his resolve is solidly in place. Amaryllis was the last person that he would have ever expected to stumble across during a forced vacation. She invades his senses and distracts him completely. If he was on a mission, he would be in so much trouble. She isn’t sure what to think about Malichai, but what she finds is nothing like she imagined. When trouble moves in and finds them both unaware, they are forced to react and fight back as best as they can. When their two worlds collide with danger and intrigue, they find themselves fighting everything but each other. Will they find a way to hold onto what they have found, or will forces outside of their control rip them apart forever?
Weaving in and out of the story, we come across spectacular characters whose depth and complexity stole the very breath from my lungs. They truly transitioned this story into a fabulously creative masterpiece. Malichai and Amaryllis made sure to steal my heart and soul throughout their fabulous story. They left me in a heap of happy tears and huge smiles. That is the mark of a successful author. One challenge after another marked this story as one of great strength and courage, and I never wanted to see it end. What an incredible world full of beauty, love, and danger that will imprint itself onto your very soul!
Christine Feehan is a truly gifted and stunningly creative author of breathtaking fantasy that will never fail to stir your own creativity and spur on your heart to feel more then it ever imagined possible. I savored every second of this marvelous adventure, and I never wanted it to end. This world stole my heart and left me wanting to learn so much more. I can’t wait to read more and dive into this spectacular world where things are never what they seem!
With an author as prolific as Christine Feehan, it’s inevitable that occasionally a book will disappoint the reader, which is what happened to the last book I reviewed by this author. This book, however, is so much better! This story grabs the reader from the start, and is unrelenting and fast-paced.
Malichai Fortunes is injured during a rescue attempt, and through sheer grit and determination and at great cost to himself, he not only saves the day, but somehow survives. His leg is very damaged because of the attack, and he is packed off to California to recuperate at a San Diego bed and breakfast, run by Marie and her friend and co-worker, Amaryllis. Malichai is instantly drawn toward Amaryllis, and it doesn’t take him long to figure out why: these two were made for each other. Both of these protagonists are formidable in their own right, but together, they are so much fun to watch!
This story is so much richer because of the interplay–between the protagonists, between Malichai and his team, and especially between Malichai, Amaryllis, and his brothers. Insecurities and vulnerabilities are exposed in both protagonists. The suspense ramps up to sustainable and intense levels and does not relent!
This is an incredible book, and it feels like the reader has just ridden a roller coaster at a top-notch amusement park! Along the way, expect murder, mayhem, kidnapping, attacks, and a plot that could kill thousands of innocent civilians. There might be a few bombs involved as well, along with some steel-toed boots and a few super-soldiers.
This book stands on its own, but is part of a larger group of stories based upon a group of GhostWalkers and the struggles they face just trying to survive. The reading experience is more fulfilling if the reader is aware of the backstory for the GhostWalkers, but this story can be read without that background. However, if you do read this book without reading any of the prior novels in the series, you are going to want to read them all!