Goody
A powerful, real estate developer has been buying up land in the area and wants my business. He refuses to take no for an answer. My bakery, Goody’s Goodies, has been in the family for more than a century, it is the only thing I have left of my grandmother. I will not sell. But his threats are becoming real and people are dying.

Tristan
I have been searching for the mystery woman I scened with in a club in New York. I knew she was mine but was called away just before she was unmasked. Imagine my surprise when she shows up at the B&B next door to my planned lifestyle club, The Refuge. She has drawn the fury of a very old and dangerous shifter.

This is not the first time I have met up with this evil. It is time for the sword to awaken for it is said the sword can kill a dragon.

Can we eliminate him before he turns everything Goody loves to ashes?

The Reviews!

	Denise DeCrescito (From In Here)
5.0 out of 5 stars A fast-paced start to a great new series
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2022
Verified Purchase
“Fate has a way of leading us to where she wants us to be.”

Once again, author Delta James gives us a story that combines elements of romance, fantasy, real history, creative history, action, adventure, and just the right amount of spice to make a perfectly delicious book. “Illusion” is the first book in the ‘Masters of Valor’ series, which is a spin-off series from the ‘Masters of the Savoy’ series. There is a prequel called “Prophecy” which sets up this series, but this book is so well written that I think you can follow everything even if you haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading the prequel.

“Illusion” begins in New York, where Cynthia ‘Goody’ Goodson is a successful pastry chef. She arrives home early one night and discovers her boyfriend in a situation that explodes everything she thought they had together. She’s still a member of a lifestyle club although she hasn’t been there in a long time because her boyfriend wasn’t into it. She calls to ask if she can book a room there for a few nights and a session with a Dominant so she can clear her mind. Sometime later, a death in the family has Goody relocating to North Carolina to settle her beloved grandmother’s estate, which includes a bakery that’s been in the family for generations.

Tristan Crawford is a renowned treasure hunter of lost ships. He happens to be at his lifestyle club in New York when asked to scene with a blindfolded submissive. They have an amazing session together, then he’s interrupted by an emergency call from a friend and abruptly leaves. He’s happily surprised to meet her again in North Carolina, and excited that the unusually perfect chemistry between them is as powerful as it was in New York City. Tristan and Goody have a second chance at love in this romance with strong paranormal elements, and they make the most of it.

This is a fast-paced, action-packed story that kept me involved from the first paragraph to the last. The main characters are compelling, and I really wanted them to get their happy ever after. Also there are BDSM elements in the book, Tristan comes across as particularly sensitive and romantic, not hard-edged. The villains are horrible, and their treachery runs deep. There are a lot of characters in the book but it never gets confusing, and as a reader you’re aware that most are characters that will be recurring in the series. As usual with books by this author, I’m very much looking forward to the next story!

	Redrabbitt
5.0 out of 5 stars SHE WAS HIS NORTHERN STAR
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2022
I would strongly encourage anyone reading the Masters of Valor series to read the Prophecy prequel, which sets up this series. It will help the reader understand the four main male characters, Gabriel Watson, Tristan Crawford, Bennet Greyson, Ford Montgomery, and the magical swords, Courechouse, Clarent, Arondight, and Caliburn.

Masters of Valor is a spin-off series from the Masters of the Savoy series where present—history—and paranormal collide. In that series, Gabriel ‘Gabe’ Watson, head of security at the Savoy, will meet Anne Boelyn, who has escaped the veil and her prison between light and dark at the Tower of London. The following stories will share how Tristan, Bennet, and Ford find their swords and how they use them to fight evil.

This story begins in New York, where Cynthia ‘Goody’ Goodson is a highly sought-after pastry chef known for her baking. She will come home early, catch her live-in boyfriend cheating on her, and learn their years together as a couple was a farce. As a Midnight Caller BDSM club member, she will go there for the night and ask for a session with a Dom—while she remains blindfolded. The night is one for the books—but he gets a phone call and must leave. Several months later, her grandmother dies, and she must go home to Rackham’s Roost at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It is time to return to her roots, and Goodson’s Bakery is renamed Goody’s Goodies.

“Fate has a way of leading us to where she wants us to be.”

Tristan Crawford comes from old money, but his family considers him the black sheep, except when he makes news as a famous treasure hunter of lost ships. He will be in New York and at Midnight Caller when asked to scene with a mystery submissive who chooses to be blindfolded. They have an incredible scene—and he plans on enjoying her more until he gets a call for help from one of his friends and must leave. What a surprise to come to the Outer Banks and meet up with his mystery lady. The story will share how Tristan finds his treasures and makes his fortune, leading him to the second sword, Clarent, the Sword of Blood Peace—the sword that slew King Arthur.

I love the fast-paced, action-packed, mystery-suspense supernatural story. What isn’t to love, two strangers, one magical night, months later, reconnection, and the erotic chemistry are as strong if not stronger than their one night at Midnight Caller. Tristan and Goody are the yin to the others yang. Throw in several critical people, a few troublemakers, and an evil dragon! You have the good, the bad, and the ugly all collide.

“He was insane; he was obsessed; he was hers.”

Tristan: Cynthia Goodson, love of my life, holder of my heart and soul, the only woman I ever wanted to sail off into the sunset with, will you marry me? Sweet thing? I’m waiting.
Goody: You don’t really think I’d turn down my very own knight in shining armor, now do you?
Tristan: The appropriate answer is yes.
Goody: Then if that’s what you need to hear, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I would rather slay dragons with you than own and operate a five-star Michelin restaurant.

“It was as if each supplied the missing piece to the other that had always been missing.”

YHR
5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, Magical New Series!
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2022
Tristan Crawford is one of the four comrades who found themselves in a cave trying to escape their enemies. A spectre appeared rising from the pool of water in the cavern with a sword called Courechouse and told them about the four magical swords Courechouse, Clarent, Caliburn, and Arondight. Tristan is the Master of the magical sword called Clarent, the Sword of Blood Peace, the sword that slew King Arthur. After leaving the Raiders, Tristan becomes a treasure hunter and eventually found Clarent in a shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean.
Cynthia Goodson aka Goody works under a celebrity chef in New York. To overcome the betrayal of coming home to find her boyfriend with one of his co-workers in bed together, Goody, decides to seek comfort at BDSM club. She asks that she be blindfolded for the session. Tristan is her mystery Dom for the night and there is a deep connection between them. Unfortunately, Tristan get unexpectedly called away and Goody leaves the next morning so neither of them know who was their partner.
Fate intervenes.
The previous year, Goody moved back to Rackham’s Roost in North Carolina. Her grandmother left her the small town bakery that had been in her family for generations. Goody has successfully expanded the business but is still dreaming about her ‘mystery Dom’ Tristan is now back in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, close to Rackham’s Roost, having joined his four comrades in their business. They always said that they would come together and form Steel Knights Investigations after all the swords had been found. The perfect first case for Steel Knights Investigation is to probe into Faith Goodson’s, Goody’s grandmother’s, unexpected death.
Another delightful book and the beginning of an amazing series by Delta James.