Earth is bleak and frozen for the most part, most living underground to survive.  Humans are now at the bottom of the food chain with Lionsblood and other groups in control these days. 

A slave at one of the wretched human farms, Talia does her best to help the younger children survive with little food, freezing conditions and a brutal owner.

Lionsblood leader Dykstra is looking over the slaves to purchase a human male when a mouthy female catches his notice.  Dykstra is intrigued by Talia but questions whether the frail woman can survive in the caverns he and his people call home.  Something in Talia calls to him but can Talia be the lionsmate that Dykstra thought he’d never find?

An original idea of mankind’s future can be found in the exciting and romantic adventure Lionsmate.  This imagined world is well thought out with a fascinating variety of characters.  Lionsblood Dykstra and the human Talia are both strong alpha’s with very dominant personalities.  Their constant mixed signals frustrated me after awhile because there were so very many.  Loving, then resistant and so on for too long or too often it seemed.  I enjoyed the overall story, the characters and the climatic ending is great but I wish they hadn’t fought quite so often.