As I’ve said before, I’m not much into action or intrigue in my romances. I’m like one of those finicky kids who doesn’t like the different foods touching on their plate. I want my romances to focus almost solely on the romance, and my mysteries to be about the mystery. My action and suspense I actually prefer visually, enjoyed via television or in the theatre. That is why me embarking on a journey that is Zoe Archer’s Blade of the Roses series is a huge departure from my normal reading tastes.

Click to read 9 Star Review

A departure, yes, but well worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed WARRIOR. With me, it had all to do with a great story and approaching it with a certain mindset. I knew going in there would be lots of action, so I was prepared. I got action in spades. I was prepared for suspense and magic. Again, I got both. I wanted heat and tension between the hero and heroine and here Zoe did not disappoint. I wanted a dynamic and delicious hero and Gabriel was all that and more.

What great chemistry! I usually like my hero and heroine to have tons of conflict throughout the book. This wasn’t them. Yes, they had some at the beginning when she feared he was after her father. And then she tried to get rid of him when she set out to find the ‘Source’, but their attraction came soon after their first meeting and continued its relentless climb until they finally succumbed to it (much later in the book).

The other thing that really struck me about WARRIOR was all the wonderful detail Zoe includes in the book. I could so tell a whole lot of research went into this book but it’s woven into the story so effortlessly without that feel you sometimes get with historical books that shouts, “I researched this, therefore I shall impart everything I’ve learned in the following very dry dissertation.”

And the best thing about WARRIOR beyond the hero and heroine’s HEA and after these particular Heirs (bad guys) were conquered at the end, I’m now dying to read the next book in the series, SCOUNDREL. The hero, Bennett Day, is a known rake (I’ll have you know I have a terrible weakness for rakes) but will meet his match in the enemies daughter London Harcourt. That alone says conflict and yet more conflict. The harder they resist, the more I like it.

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I thoroughly enjoyed WARRIOR by Zoe Archer.

I loved that much of the book was done from the hero’s POV, which is so different from a lot of other books. Many of them tend to be only in the female POV and I have to say, I like what knowing what the guy is thinking.

Here are some of my favorite bits which I highlighted in my Kindle. I think many of them actually are from the hero’s POV.

So he’d done for her what he had done for his men, what he’d had to do for himself, so many years ago: showed the way back from that bleak place. One time, he’d made a trembling private, covered with the enemy’s blood, tell him all the bawdy limericks he knew, until the boy had tears in his eyes from laughter.

Note: I love this recollection of his. it shows him as a man of great compassion.

With a jolt, he felt himself slipping inside of her, her mind, her body, and it bound him to her, suddenly, powerfully, in a way he’d never experienced with another woman. A tight knitting of self to self.

Note: I’m not sure what words to use to describe this but i love the feeling as tho souls were overlapping

“I’ve got something that he doesn’t.” He turned back to Thalia, his eyes golden vows. “Someone to fight for.”

Note: Every girl should have a guy say that of her – sincerely, at least once in her life

~ Deanna

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I bought this book specifically because it was the Book Club Pick. As Beverley stated in her post when she announced WARRIOR as the pick, this was somewhat out of my comfort zone. I don’t read a lot of historicals but I do love a paranormal romance. WARRIOR was a solid read. I read it in three days, which is pretty good for me.

I was really concerned that the book being set in Mongolia was going to make this a difficult book to read but after a couple chapters I really got into not just the story but the setting itself. It took me awhile to figure out what a ‘ger’ was and I know I’ll never look at a tea pot the same way again.

I was surprised how well thought out the story was. I thought Ms. Archer did a great job in bringing the mystical, paranormal elements to life and made them so believable. I adored Gabriel and Thalia, together they made a great team. If I had to snipe about anything it would be that I could have used an additional love scene and sooner in the story. However, the ones in the book are much hotter than I expected. I already have SCOUNDREL and I plan to read it this week. Bennett sounded like a great hero.

~ Sandy

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I liked it, didn’t love it. I really loved the hero and heroine but thought the villains were really just too villainous. At one point in the book, Henry Lamb, one of the evil ‘Heirs’ bent on world domination by the British, kills a man in the most horrific way and that was hard to read. Then there was Tsend, a Mongolian who had basically sold out his countrymen for money. Yes, this is and was done in real life, but the concentration of such evil in this romance novel was sometimes too much for me. Parts of it did remind me of Indiana Jones and I did enjoy that. Zoe Archer’s storytelling does create a vivid picture. Bennett really intrigued me so I plan to go out and buy SCOUNDREL.

~ Joanne in NY

The winner (odds were good for this one) of the 2 (two) books of their choice is…SANDY!!! Sandy please email your snail mail and book choices to me at contests at theseasonforromance dot com.

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