Lindsey Piper

The heroine once lived her life in a cage at the hands of an evil man who kidnapped her from her family and experimented on her. Known simply as the pet, she was liberated by the leader of their race but once again found herself in a cage, this times at the hands of the hero. But she escaped, driven by visions of a child who, with her help, will rise up and end the barbaric gladiator games that enslave her people. The hero follows her, fully expecting to drag her back to Greece but the strong willed woman he encounters throws him off. She's bold in her dismissal of his powers and openly mocks him. He's disturbed by the way she makes him feel like a man. For so long he's been untouchable. The all powerful, but reluctant leader of their race, both relishing in his arrogance and command and bemoaning his unwanted position. He uses none of the influential powers to help his people but just one day in the heroine presence opens him mind to just how selfish he's been. Despite the fact she's been a slave almost all of her life and is cursed with ability to see the future, both good and bad possibilities, she's using her powers for the good of others. She's open in her belief that things will be as they are meant to be but that isn't something the hero is comfortable with so he denies her abilities and calls her a liar for most of the book. Though she's deeply hurt by his lack of faith, she's unable and unwilling to stop their destiny of becoming lovers. I so wanted to like this book and in many ways I did. I knew in my heart that it was a great book but the language and the tempo of the story threw me off. I struggled to become engaged with the writing. This is because every sentence was so grand and dramatic with metaphors and heavy phrasing. It was like trying to read Shakespeare in a lot of ways. But as I said, I did like it. There were times where a got into a rhythm and could go with the flow and it was then that I could have felt right in rating this a 5 star. But alas, I overall it was a jumble of conversations going around in a circle with nothing much happening in between blips of action.… (más)

After killing her husband and taking her and her son captive in the Lab. the heroine suddenly finds herself in a new more frightening prison. In the cage, the Dragon King she is is put on display when she and other warriors fight for the oppressive human overlords that punish weakness and reward violence. Separated from her son and insane with the need to escape and find her child, she's blind to everything around her but the man assigned to teach her to kill is the only thing that sparks anything within her. The hero has spent his entire life in the Cage. Born from a warrior father, he's been taught that the only glory he can hope to find is in the arena. And this is something that he's taken extremely seriously, living for nothing but the roar of the crowds and the pride that his achievements have provided safety for his family and allowed his sister to birth a child. He's disgusted with the idea that all he's worked for is brought so low and he's now to have a partner in the cage, a weak link, someone he must keep alive for 3 matches. He is a harsh man, molded into his environment with perfection he possesses no pity or leniency and is willing to be beat submission into he pupal. But he's also smart. He soon realizes that the woman in his charge doesn't respond to his manner of teaching, so he switch's it up. He teaches her that the only way she can save her boy is to win and through winning, she'll embrace who she's meant to be. But as time goes on, he sees more and more of her strength, her pride and her astonishing powers. But it's only after her powers are unlocked and her old previous life is forgotten that he regrets his decision. She turns into the perfect killing machine, lives for the battle as he once did. But in doing so, it is he that sees the error of his ways. He realizes that he's been a slave instead of a warrior. That unleashing the warrior within her has killed the woman he's falling in with. When he denies her the brand of the serpent, a marker of ownership by the men who hold them captive, he invokes her fury. But in doing so, he saves her the fate he's known. Soon, her memory sparks again and she remembers the truth. The truth that she once vowed to burn the place down and save her son and with the hero's help that's exact what she'll do. This was a very interesting and very different sort of romance novel. It was grittier; darker. The hero was not a nice man when you first meet him but as the story went on you could really start to see that he begins to doubt what he's been doing for so long. He's never cared for anyone the way he begins to care for the heroine and it changes him. The heroine fights her situation every step of the way but that doesn't stop her from being a truly badass fighter against anyone who steps before her. The hero included. Though there's sexual tension between them from the jump, she really did not like him at first. Who could when he punches you, beats you and holds back food rations in a bid to turn you into a slave. But towards the end, when the things he's done and said in defense of her honor and safety come to light, she sees into the man who's been on her side from the beginning, even if neither of them knew it. The ending to this book is also exciting and heart pounding, when they ban together and fight there way out of their prison. Lovely characters with deep emotional flaws and a hero I absolutely adored despite his misplaced sense of loyalty, this is a step above your typical paranormal romance and a hell of a start to the series.… (más)

This book was a "stumble upon" one for me at the local library. Our library has a romance section so I decided to start with "A" last names and work my way forward.

The cover caught my eye as did the blurb. I'm glad I picked this one up because, for me, from the very first chapter to the action-packed ending, I was invested.

Audrey and Leto were an amazing pair and watching the byplay between them as well as the heat and intensity of attraction kept me riveted.

Audrey's backstory, her brutal honesty and her reason for fighting just made me want to see the two of them succeed even more. Leto was no slouch and was just as interesting a character as Audrey.… (más)

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Silence and Hark fall in love in a significantly better book than the first of The Dragon Kings series.

Opening Sentence: “This is not going well.”

The Review:

Hark and Silence first meet on the streets of Hong Kong, in a fight that will change their lives. Both have dark pasts, both have regrets, and both are bonded in this quick novella that takes barely any time to read. It starts as a fight in a bar, and it becomes a romance that will never change without disastrous consequences.

First, let’s talk about the characters. Hark of Sath and Silence (AKA Orla) are both Dragon Kings, or those that look like humans but really have powers, depending on their heritage and what clan they are of. Silence was the character that was more engaging, because she had that air of mystery that will make you want to know more. Hath was the character that never stopped talking, which is ironic because Silence is, well . . . silent, until she meets Hark. Both characters had redeeming qualities, and I didn’t see any problems with them.

I didn’t have high expectations after reading Caged Warrior, because quite bluntly, I did not enjoy that book. This, however, has a more positive review because of the main problems I had with Caged Warrior are either eradicated or not important here. I was confused in Caged Warrior and in Silent Warrior I was not, although it helped that I read the first book beforehand. I thought the first book took too long. In this installment of the series, it was more brief and to the point.

This eBook has action, romance, and humor, so to sum it up, I thought it was a good book. Nothing life changing, so not deserving of the five star title, but still worth your time if you enjoyed Caged Warrior! Read Caged Warrior first. I repeat, read it first! It helps so much with the clarity of the plot and such, so please read it first. Give it a try!

Notable Scene:

The tall, gracefully thin woman rose to her feet. Blood trickled down the back of her injured ankle. She walked with a slight limp, but nothing about her posture suggested it was time to call it quits. Her skin held the golden sheen of their people-the appearance of tan no matter the exposure to sun-yet the lights leached her color. With white-blonde hair, she was pale on pale with the flashes of black fire in her eyes.

And she was collared.

At one time in her past, or maybe even now, she belonged to one of three human cartels that traded in the flesh and brawn of Dragon Kings. The collar meant that her gift as a Sath-to borrow the abilities of other Dragon Kings-was dampened. She needed to fight like a human, no matter her people’s remarkable capacity for recovering from physical injury.

FTC Advisory: Pocket Books /Simon and Schuster provided me with a copy of Silent Warrior. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.… (más)