Infinity (Immortal Witches Series #2) by Maggie Shayne

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A Bewitching Romance

Last year, Maggie Shayne delighted readers with her bewitching tale ETERNITY, a mystical blend of romance and fantasy that introduced Raven St. James, an Immortal High Witch. This captivating story of a love that reaches across centuries and becomes as immortal as the lovers themselves resonates with timeless passion, powerful magic, and haunting heartbreak. Now Shayne returns with the next chapter in the saga of the Immortal High Witches. Infinity is the spellbinding story of Arianna and Nicodimus -- a story of love found, lives lost, and the heartbreaking effects of the ultimate betrayal.

It is the year 1511, and in the Scottish Highlands a young woman named Arianna Sinclair is devastated by the drowning death of her beloved sister, Raven. She seeks solace among three women known as the Crones, village outcasts who practice mysterious rituals. While Arianna has yet to discover the truth about herself, the three women know she possesses a power far beyond anything they, the mortal Crones, have.

Someone else knows of Arianna's powers, too, and her life is forever changed when he rides into town one day. His name is Nicodimus Lachlan, and with his help Arianna will discover the truth about her past, her future, and her heart. She will discover true love only to lose it, find an inner peace that will be lost to the ravages of war, and die a bloody and violent death only to be reborn again. For she is an Immortal High Witch, one of a secretive and magical group both gifted and cursed with eternal life.

Nicodimus is an Immortal High Witch as well and thoroughly bewitched by the lovely young Arianna. As a respected member of the community because of his relationship to its leader, he weds Arianna in hopes of protecting her from the paranoid, witch-hunting villagers. And while he vows not to love her for fear of reliving the heartbreak he still suffers from the loss of his wife and sons 700 years before, Arianna is otherwise determined.

Before their love can be fully realized, warring factions who have pursued Nicodimus through centuries of time exact their revenge on the tiny village he calls home. Arianna learns the truth about herself when she is killed and comes back to life. Before she can react to this newfound knowledge, she is kidnapped and imprisoned by one of the dark witches, who intends to use her as a lure for Nicodimus, his true quarry.

Shayne's style of writing is engaging, intelligent, and sophisticated. Her characters are poignantly real and her stories utterly mesmerizing. The love between Arianna and Nicodimus is exquisitely drawn, their star-crossed fates both heart-wrenching and heartwarming. Infinity is both romance and fantasy at their best, all of it wrapped up in a tidy package of lyrical prose that makes for an unforgettable and highly pleasurable reading experience.

—Beth Amos

From the Publisher

For five centuries, Immortal High Witch Nicodimus has been suspended in an eternity of darkness. His heart had been stolen away in the ultimate betrayal by his love, Arianna. Now Arianna has found a power that returns him to her arms--one that also summons an ancient enemy.

Publishers Weekly

The sequel to the successful Eternity follows Arianna Sinclair from the 20th century back to the 16th-century Scottish Highlands, where she realizes her powers as a witch. High warlock Nicodimus Lachlan arrives in the Highlands seeking peace and shelter from an enemy. There the immortal Nicodimus finds that Arianna, the golden child he has been observing for years, has turned into a beautiful and stubborn woman. They marry, but their honeymoon is disrupted when Nicodimus's enemy raids the village, killing everyone, including his wife. Now, having experienced her first death, Arianna discovers that she, too, is immortal, imprisoned by Nicodimus's enemy. Nicodimus rushes to Arianna's rescue but, misunderstanding her sly plan to rescue him, dies thinking she has betrayed him. Five hundred years later, Arianna is able to resurrect Nicodimus, only to find that he doesn't remember the love they once shared. Evil surrounds them again, but this time Arianna is determined to protect the man she loves, even at the risk of her immortal soul. Although skillfully written and action packed, this adventure does not live up to its more captivating predecessor. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

When Immortal High Witch Arianna's unintended betrayal causes the "death" of her equally immortal husband, she spends the next 500 years searching for the means to bring him back to true life; but her ultimate success rouses the dark forces and pits the pair against an ancient evil in a battle that--this time--they must win. Complex, mystical, and occasionally chillingly graphic, this mesmerizing tale skillfully blends a classic High Fantasy theme with a sensual, poignant romance and creates a story that is emotionally satisfying enough to appeal to fans of both the fantasy and romance subgenres. Shayne (Eternity) is a popular, best-selling writer of paranormal and fantasy romances. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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