**Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques**

Orphaned at a young age, and raised by her fanatical uncle, Linea has suffered tremendous physical and emotional abuse for the majority of her life. She finally finds the strength to escape, but her fresh injuries cripple her flight to freedom.

When the Warlord King Draven finds a broken young woman lying crumpled in his forest, he refuses to leave her, accepting personal responsibility for her care. He senses she is different, and finds himself drawn to her, even in her battered state.

When Linea awakes, Draven knows she is lying about who she is, isn’t sure he can trust her, and yet can’t help but love her in spite of his numerous doubts.

The Warlord’s Gift is the first solo work I have read by Veronica Chadwick. Although I dearly loved the stories she has co-authored with Lora Leigh, this story is the one that firmly stamped me as a fan of her work.

With her co-written work, she has succeeded in both the Contemporary genre and the Science Fiction genre, and The Warlord’s Gift shows she is equally as talented spinning a tale in the Fantasy genre.

Linea is an absolutely heartbreaking heroine. Having endured years of hardships that would have completely broken many people, she has somehow managed to maintain an inner strength and innocence that endears her to the reader. Where such abuse may have bred mistrust and hatefulness in some people, it has instead fostered empathy in her for those less fortunate or mistreated. Often thinking of others before herself, she exhibits a noble spirit that proves irresistible to the man she loves, Draven.

Draven is the epitome of the alpha male many women dream of: fiercely protective of the woman he loves, and yet amazingly tender and aware of her needs. In one character defining scene, Draven shows his mettle in such a way that leaves no uncertainty he is always conscious of Linea’s past and is considerate of her fears. While he definitely pushes her limits in many ways, he never pushes her in areas that will trigger her fears of physical abuse.

On that note, I would like to give snaps to Veronica Chadwick on how responsibly she handled the sex scenes between Draven and Linea. She writes enough heat between the two lead characters to satisfy anyone, but uses a pair of supporting characters to treat us to some spicy situations that would not have felt comfortable if abuse victim Linea had been part of them.

This book guaranteed Veronica Chadwick a spot on my automatic buy list, and I can’t wait until her next release!!!

( )