The Warrior by Kinley MacGregor

Before I dive into today’s dish. I want to remind everyone about February With Author Island going on here at dee & Dee. There are several ways to be entered for prizes this month, 1 – comment on any of the posts that are about Author Island Authors. 2 – Join the Author Island Tiki Hut Forums and chat it up. 3 – Get your recipes ready, we’re going to be collecting a few of those as well! And speaking of recipes, don’t forget that the Author Island Chatters Cook Blog is now public, so you can search out some great recipes from both readers and authors.

And now without further ado…

The Warrior by Kinley MacGregor
(BCC)

Trust No One…

Lochlan MacAllister was born to lead. Ruthlessly groomed to take control of his clan, he has given his life to his people. But when he learns that the brother he thought was dead might still be alive, he embarks on a quest to find the truth.

Catarina wants a life of freedom. But now Catarina’s royal father wants to use her as a pawn to ensure a treaty between conflicting lands. So much so that he’s willing to kidnap his daughter to force the issue. But when she escapes, fate throws her into the path of a man she loathes.

Lochlan is stunned to find the shrewish Cat being hauled away by unknown men. Unwilling to see even her suffer, he frees her only to learn that she has her own demons to fight. When their fates intertwine, two people who know nothing of trust must rely on each other, and two enemies who have vowed their eternal hatred must find common ground, or see their very lives shattered.

This really isn’t the best of BCC’s. It’s good to a point, but severely misleading there at the very end. It does a great job of grabbing the attention, and while I understand that’s the reason there even is BCC, I still don’t like the feeling of being tricked.

That said. I really enjoyed this book. Lochlan and Catarina have met before, in fact Lochlan’s brother is married to Catarina’s cousin. However, Lochlan doesn’t really care all that much for Catarina and her smart mouth, and Catarina doesn’t really like Locklan’s arrogance.

Lochlan discovers that a brother he has long thought dead could still be alive, and family is very important to Lochlan. He would love nothing more to have his brother back with him, after he strangles him for lying to them all of these years, of course. So, leaving the clan behind in search of his lost brother Lochlan sets out only to come across men rough housing a lady. But it isn’t just any lady; it’s the smart mouthed Catarina that he really cannot stand. But, worse than his dislike for Cat, is his dislike for bullies. So to the rescue he comes.

Cat has had it. She finally gets away from her captures only to have them ask the town for aid in keeping her. When a rather large man comes at her, she prepares herself for defeat, only to find that he is sticking up for her. Too bad it’s Lochlan MacAllister, a man she loathes. But, he does save her, and for that she’s thankful. That is until she lets him know that her father is the King, and Lochlan says he’s taking her back to him. Cat doesn’t want to be married to some stuffy man who treats her as though she is property.

Lochlan decides he will help Cat find her uncles that have always looked out for her, but first, he must get to a tournament where a man is that may know of his brothers fate. On their journey, Cat and Lochlan face the kings men who want her back, an old enemy of the MacAllister clan, and their own insecurities of their past. Lochlan’s father was not a kind man, and not only does his past misdeeds follow Cat and Lochlan on their journey, they could eventually be both of their downfalls.

MacGregor also writes as Sherrilyn Kenyon, and as you know I really love Kenyon’s books and that’s how I came to read her books under the MacGregor name. When I first got The Warrior, I was thinking it was one of her Knights of Avalon books, so I was a bit disappointed when I realized it wasn’t and I was going to be reading a book that was one of a series when I hadn’t read the previous titles. However, I had no problems jumping right into the story, and any information I would have needed MacGregor gives throughout the book.

There were a few problems with the book, mainly MacGregor’s affinity for head hopping, but I’m used to that by now, and she actually does it in a way that doesn’t lose the reader. There were also a few points that sort of get mentioned that I felt were going to be a big part of the plot and they just got dropped.

The love story gets wrapped up fairly easily, and that also bothered me just a bit. It all seemed out of character for the King to just let these two be together, but the action throughout was amazing, and I could not put the book down. In fact, I’ll be going out and buying the other books in the series, just because I enjoyed this one so much.

Also, the very end has a bit of a surprise for fans of this series, and it makes me wonder if we may be getting a new Dark Hunter book that ties into this series. I know I sure wouldn’t mind reading it (hint, hint Sherrilyn, hint, hint).

All in all, for all of the little things wrong about the book, there were so many things right that I had the book read in less than three hours. Filled with action, steamy love, and a fair bit of suspense, The Warrior is a treat for any fan of Kenyon or MacGregor, and also an excellent way for new readers to join the Brotherhood.

Take Care