Calli Torcher's world comes crashing down around her ears when her cold-hearted father informs her that not only has he sold her favorite horse, but her days of being able to live in her home are numbered. She has already lost so much, a mother, her career in the rodeo was lost to an injury, and she can never have children. Then, something wonderful happens; a portal to another world, Lladrana, opens, and she is taken there to be the new Exotique, to work with the volarans, the lovely flying horses. Not only that, but her injuries are healed. Now, instead of being unloved and unwanted, her gifts are needed and she is respected.

In short order, she is also loved. The volarans adore her, the other two Exotiques, Alexa and Marian, feel like sisters, and the Song summons the perfect man, Marrec bond to her. They are even able to adopt children. Happiness does come with a price. The Dark is pressing in on the land, demanding all of Calli's time, taking her away from the family she is building. Every ounce of joy is overhung with two threats; the danger inherent in fighting horrors, and the lingering shadow that the Snap will come and take Calli from her new home.

This is among the most joyful series of novels in any genre. It deserves to be considered a classic. Each page wraps the reader in the love and wonder of Lladrano, so that when the ending page arrives, YOU feel the Snap, pulling you reluctantly back to the real world. Ms. Owens has mastered characterization, interweaving the lives of the main characters from past novels into the those of the new expertly, so that you meet new friends as you catch up on the old. Many series falter after the first book, but this one just improves.