The Warrior by Claire Delacroix Book Review by Miranda Fraser (Moses) ISBN: 0-466-61112-3 I found this book at one of those flea market type events. I love romance novels, and the back sounded so intriguing! I added it to my basket and it has since sat on my book shelf. Plus a bonus was it being a new author. As much as I love certain authors, it's always wonderful to stumble upon 'new' creators in a familiar genre. And this book... has had me going from one side of the spectrum to the other. When I started this novel I found myself going, "Okay, so my book review will start like this: 'I don't know who to recommend this book to because it's a lot... and really weird.'" But then I found myself reading for hours, wondering hopeful for what would come next, and I realized I was loving the story. The beginning's still weird, but let's jump into it! The story begins with Michael Lammergeier, returned to Scotland to claim back his family's lands. He is immediately confronted by an old crone who tells him of a prophecy and forces visions upon him.. in a kind of gross way. (Like I thought about stopping reading, but it was only the prologue so I kept on.) This leads to years of wondering about his own sanity and also delaying finding a bride. But that's alright because he is busy building a legacy and a name for himself. He becomes known as Hawk, a deadly rogue. And when he hears of a lord's daughter 18 years in age and unwed, he travels to see her for himself. Lady Aileen does not consider herself much of anything. Her interests as less than lady-like, as her step-mother points out often, and she is tall and plain. But when Hawk sees her he knows immediately he is going to marry her and devises a plan to see to it as quickly as possible. THIS IS THE OTHER PART OF THE STORY I DID NOT CARE FOR. It's honestly unappealing, and while I've seen 'similar' attempts to do a story this way I can tell it is not popular and for good cause. He tricks her father's priest into thinking that he had, um, 'assaulted' her, and thus he must wed them or leave her 'soiled' and ineligible for marriage. Obviously this didn't happen, it was just a ruse to marry her quickly and run away with her. But it certainly left a bad taste in my mouth. I also understand the historically accurate account of how this would have gone down, I mean the book takes place in 1409. But still, did not like that. BUT THE BOOK GETS BETTER I SWEAR. Consequently it gets better after this because they begin to form their bond. Aileen is honestly attracted to the Hawk as well though furious with his lack of courtship and trickery. He promises her that despite wedding vows he has no intention of forcing anything upon her and hoped to win her heart honestly. She is uncertain- and plans to leave if given the opportunity. However they have shared two passionate kisses but upon each one Aileen has suffered a vision so strong that she knows it to be a past life she has lived, not just a vision. Michael, terrified of this, rejects the notion and forbids talking about it. Even as his wife knows it is imperative they do. Her visions have told her as much. In past lives they have loved and lost the other. This lifetime she refuses to let the same occur. And I love this. I adore the thought that some souls are drawn together so fiercely because they had loved the other in past lives. Michael is also not done reclaiming his family's land, there is still a part of it that needs claimed and he believes that once this is taken care of all will be well and he can have a happy marriage. Aileen however believes that failure is certain to befall them if they continue to ignore the warnings they are being given. As the story progresses you fall in love with both characters, you hurt for their past lives, and you find yourself trying to figure out the mystery both of the past and their current situation. What had happened to cause this pain through all these lifetime, and what of the impending final battle? Were there not whispers of a traitor among them? It ends with an explosive battle or wits and brawn, everything is answered, and the characters all have some sort of a future laid out for them. The way it all ultimately came together, was truly different than any I had read before. It may have started off a bit distastefully, but the rest of the story was beautiful and a bit chilling. The intelligence of Aileen however stunned me through and through. She has easily become a favorite heroine in my opinion. In conclusion, this book should be recommend to a hopeless romantic. To someone who knows that history was not always pretty, and can handle the bad to see the beauty in the outcome. And this book should be for anyone who knows that a woman can both lead with grace and authority. Claire Delacroix may be a new name to me but she was first published in 1993, is an award winning author, has over 50 published books and novellas, and this particular novel was published in 2004 and is book three is a set of novels. I am intrigued and I do believe I have at least one other book on my shelf with her name, so I'll probably be reading that next. As always links to the authors pages can be found below. Read on my fellow bookworms, may we one day have Belle's library!
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Romance Novels
The big secret of many woman... and men! But why hide it? These stories are full of so much more than raunchy sex scenes and I for one LOVE them! Archives
May 2018
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