Known as Olivia Archer, Joanna is the Kairos, daughter of both the Light and the Shadow, a legendary creature who will tip the scales in Las Vegas’s battle between good and evil. That she wears her dead sister’s face is something very few people know. In order to assume her identity, she had to give up Ben Traina, the love of her life. But some things are harder to sacrifice than others…

Regan DuPree, a Shadow member, has discovered Joanna’s greatest weakness, Ben, and exploits it mercilessly, prompting Joanna to engage in some very questionable behavior. But saving Ben isn’t Joanna’s only priority. A mysterious copycat creature known as a doppelganger is bent on killing Joanna and assuming her role in life. The Tulpa is terrified of it. The Zodiac Troop doesn’t know how to defeat it. And Joanna is torn between protecting those she loved and those she’s learning to love.

Be warned. This paragraph contains a slight spoiler as I rant. So skip it if you don’t want know. Why can’t Joanna end up with Ben? Why must her life be impossibly difficult? Isn’t there enough on her plate to advance the plot without tossing Ben out: the Tulpa, her new-ish position in the troop, Regan knowing her secret identity, the signs of the Zodiac coming to pass, etc? Why not off Warren, the troop’s leader, and make Zoe, her MIA mother, the new troop leader?

Whew. Now I can continue. I’ve eagerly read the first two books in the Zodiac series and constantly wondered how all the loose threads could ever be possibly tied up. They aren’t. Not in this novel anyway. The Tulpa is still bent on killing or converting Joanna. Joanna’s bastard daughter from a previous rape is still unaware of her heritage. No one knows where Zoe, Joanna’s mother, is. The troop is still missing some star signs. Look out if Ms. Pettersson dies before finishing this series. I’m not sure anyone can successfully pick up where she left off.

I’m not sure Ms. Pettersson’s novels can be considered romances. While they do contain some romance and sex, they are more an angst-ridden ride in the head of a woman trying to find her place in a world she no longer recognizes. If you read the first two novels of the series, the third installment will not disappoint. If you haven’t, you’ll still be able to pick it up, though you might not have as much emotion invested in Joanna’s struggles. For a satisfying, fast-paced and at times, heart-rending read that will leave you biting your nails and wishing Ms. Pettersson wrote faster, you can’t go wrong with The Touch of Twilight.