Rider In The Storm
by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Reviewed by: Diane Davis White, award winning author
Ciara MacIain is a widow lost in her grief, struggling to overcome and get on with her life. On a dark night by the light of a blue moon, she encounters a man who can help her achieve the peace that has eluded her for so long. Roarke Devlin has come to her this night, pulled by some mysterious force, or perhaps his desire to meet the woman has held his heart in the palm of her hand. Ms. MacGillivray has outdone herself with this sensual, touching story of two lost souls who find each other through the magic of love—and a blue moon wish. Roarke is a sensitive hero any woman would love and Ciara is the essence of what every woman wants to be. Two thumbs up and a hurrah for this author. Magnificent!
Rider in the Storm
By DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Reviewed by Keelia Greer, author of, In The Space of a Heartbeat
Ciara MacIain has mourned the death of man she's loved for seven years. On the anniversary of Derek's death she goes to his grave to try and find a way to live again. Ciara wishes upon the Blue Moon, thinking Blue Moon Madness has come upon her for doing the task. Can dreams come true as the folklorists predict? Ciara isn't sure.
Driving the exact route Derek did just before his accident pulls hard and heavy on Ciara. A red sportscar stuck in the mire makes Ciara stop and offer assistance. The driver reminds her of Derek.
Roarke Devlin is mysterious. His mannerisms and speech shadow those of Ciara's ex-lover. Is Ciara willing to let the magic of the Blue Moon that has brought her a man to warm her cold heart?
Ms. MacGillivray has created a story full of passion and magic. Once more, this author has delivered an enchanting tale with characters that are unforgettable. This author has never disappointed me. Anything by DeborahAnne MacGillivray is on my keeper shelf.
Rider in the Storm
by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Reviewed by Aysel Arwen, Author of A Clan Chief, A Dragon And Evelyn
It’s not everyday you meet and fall in love with an Irish warrior-poet, but magick’s what you expect from DeborahAnne MacGillivray and it’s what she delivers in spades with her latest short story, Rider in the Storm. Ciara MacIain may have lived like the dead for the past seven years, but she is finally ready to bury the love of her life and try to move on. But, when what’s between two hearts is pure, loving again can take a miracle.
Roarke Fraser Devlin (don’t you just love a sexy man with three names?) is a man who knows all about miracles and he also knows more than he’s letting on about Ciara MacInain. Driven by voices from the past, two people with a heart for the ghost of another must decide if who they are today is enough to bind them for as many tomorrows as any of us are guaranteed.
Hard-hitting, dramatic and so ruggedly raw you will feel a sense of loss for a man you’ve never met, MacGillivray does it again by reaching into your soul and wrenching free emotions you never thought you could feel for people who only exist in her mind and through the ink slashed on the pages of the Blue Moon Magic anthology. And, if you think it’s stormy in the hills of Kentucky, you will certainly enjoy the deluge of sensuality that Ciara craves from the Rider in the Storm.
Rider of the Storm
by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Review by Ann Marie Bradley Author of "Blue Moon Magic"
DeborahAnne MacGillivray grabbed this reader with the first paragraph, and kept me glued to my seat in a race over country roads in a blinding thunderstorm right out of an old horror film. Ms. MacGillivray pens a tale with twists and turns, secrets, mysteries, and a lovable cat that steals the scene. Ciara Mclain has mourned the loss of her fiancee for seven long years. Unable to cope any longer, and hoping to find relief from the black depression that has haunted her so long, she drives to the cemetery on the anniversary of his death. There, she drowns her sorrows in a bottle of wine. Finding no relief, she wishes on the Blue Moon, praying that the stories she’s heard of its bewitching powers are true. Desperate, with no solution to her agony, she climbs back into her sports car and speeds along the curvy road, not caring if she lives or dies. On the same spot where her fiancee lost his life, she finds an identical car stalled and it’s driver working in the rain to fix it. Not one to pick up strangers, Ciara feels pulled to stop, and offers the driver, Roarke Devlin, a ride to town. And the magical journey begins with an instantaneous spark. Roarke brings Ciara a sense of peace and awakens a longing that’s been buried seven years. Roarke and Ciara embark on an emotional ride down memory lane, molding a relationship from an attachment that neither can deny. Their story is full of the pain of surviving and warm with love. Ms. MacGillivray has expertly penned her story, and gives the reader a stirring ride full of romance and suspense, and locks it up with happily ever after. This is one of fifteen stories in the Blue Moon Magic Anthology, and this reader is having a ball reading each one of them. It’s a not to be missed collection.
Rider in the Storm
By DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Review by Patty Howell, author of "No Laughing Matter"
Living in the face of extreme loss demands courage. Ciara MacIain has questioned that choice several times over the last seven years. Desirous of moving on with her life and in a bid to say farewell to her lost love she hosts a solitary graveside party—including champagne of which she is the sole imbiber. But in the grieving, goodbyes yield to anger and then to wishes uttered under the force of a Blue Moon night. The ominous sky, giving way to electrically charged energies, sends Ciara fleeing the cemetery and the impending storm. Speeding down mountainous terrain, uncertain about leaving the past, but hungry for a future, she's hurled headlong into what she thinks is a reenactment of a Twilight Zone episode.
With dynamic and poignant characterization, writer MacGillivray takes us on a journey of both the precariousness and continuity of life. She drew this reader into the maelstrom of overcoming a broken heart with a twist of a renewed heart. Having read several of this writer's stories, she receives from this reader a hearty Bravo! for a story well conceived, well written.
Rider in the Storm
By DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Reviewed by Gerri Bowen,Author of Blue Moon Reunion
Seven empty, lonely, numb-filled years have passed since Ciara MacIain lost her love, her fiancée, her Derek, in an auto accident. At the seventh anniversary of his death, she decides enough time for grieving has passed. Life needs to go on. She wants a man, a family, a home. So she visits his grave, a ceremony designed to say good-bye. But ah! Easier said than done. She loved him. The blue moon is above, and hears a half spoken wish from Ciara. After she leaves and drives home, she happens upon a stranded driver in the exact spot her Derek had his fatal accident.
Disconcerted by a red car similar to the one driven by Derek when he was hit from behind is mired in the mud, and at the exact same spot, Ciara stops to assist, and picks up Roarke Devlin. Immediately Ciara is confronted by the image of Derek and that of Roarke. The evening progresses, and her confusion increases.
If love is eternal, and can find a way to continue, it is highlighted in this story. DeborahAnne MacGillivray is a gifted writer, and writes knowledgeably of grief, of love, and of acceptance. Rider in the Storm will not set you down until the very end. Well done.
Rider in the Storm
By DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Reviewed by Kenda Montgomery Official Reviewer for
The Mystic Castle
A love that endures, one that lives, breathes and beats still—this is Ciara MacIain's dilemma. For seven years she has maintained the pain of losing, through death, the one person that made her heart whole.
How can she let go of that last vestige of her lover's life, her grief? It keeps his memory alive and she knows not how to release it. On the anniversary of her lover's death she encounters a stranger. Roarke Devlin is a man possessed by haunting whispers of another life. Something has driven him to the hills of Kentucky, and the rolling storm this night drives him into the arms of a beautiful woman. When his strange actions and astounding comments begin to alarm, Ciara knows all is not as it appears. Something about this alluring and sensual man speaks to her as once another did.
Author MacGillivray reaches into the heart of her readers, barring no emotions that come with the loss of a loved one. Ciara is a compelling character, one that many a reader will relate to in her suffering.
Roarke is simply a hero that readers must experience for themselves. His role in the story is so amazing and I for one did not see his pleasingly climactic role coming. Yes, he's sensual, but also so cleverly mysterious that the ending packs an astounding punch. Every aspect of this story is alive, from the thunderous storm to the persnickety cat, Sinnjinn. A wonderful addition to MacGillivray's growing slew of writing successes! You can find her story in the "Blue Moon Magic" anthology, and don't forget to pick up its counterpart, "Blue Moon Enchantment".
Rider in the Storm
By DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Reviewed by Jacquie Rogers, author of Faery Special Romances
A firm tug on the heartstrings . . .
Ciara MacIain has mourned her fiancé, Derek, for seven long years. Roarke Fraser Devlin has looked for his memories and the woman he loved for those same seven years. Can the Blue Moon’s magic help two souls unite and find the happiness they both deserve?
DeborahAnne MacGillivray has written a story of true love and passion, of longing and loyalty. This tale will stay with you long after you’ve closed the book! Don’t miss her other story, "Devil in Spurs" in Blue Moon Enchantment (Highland Press).
