Customer Reviews

Assassin's Honor (A Novel of the Order)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A sexy little romp through a very imaginative world. Burns has created a sensually entertaining and teeth gritting PNR that is sure to please die hard fans of the genre or newbies looking for an introduction. Very original, Burns' characters are charming, the story is something new that I haven't experienced before, and I also feel I learned something: a few curse words in Italian! While at some points the world did over-power me, it was nothing to detract from the whole, which was a well-written, well thought out novel.

REVIEW: Emma Zale, archeologist, is on a dig near Cairo when her mentor is brutally murdered and the MO is the same as her parents murder 5 years earlier. The authorities immediately look to Emma as the number one suspect. When locals step forward with conflicting evidence, Emma is released and is sent back to the States, but her reputation is tarnished and she will not be able to go on any more digs.

Faced with this sudden change, her life is reeling, especially after she finds a strange coded message from her father and a very hot assassin pulling a little B&E in her apartment. When hot assassin, better known as Ares DeLuca tells her that her life is in danger and she needs to go into hiding, trusting him with her future and protection, after their stormy introduction she isn't very open to his ideas. It takes a brush with death and an encounter with a not so friendly assassin for her to change her mind and follow Ares into his world, giving up her own.

The world of the Sicari is richly described and quite remarkable. Burns paints a picture that will drag you down and have you believing there are hot Italian assassins running around with swords and telekinesis. From the intermingling of Latin and Italian phrases, to the portrayal of Sicari customs, you can tell Burns put a lot of effort in her world building and it paid off. There were only a few things that irked me, but nothing that detracted from the overall likability of the novel. The first was that a few plot threads were left hanging, hopefully these will be rectified later in the series. The human bad guy was eradicated a little bit too quickly for my liking - but it might have been done this way to show exactly how ruthless the Praetorians are. Then the characters were a bit too stubborn. It drove me a bit crazy. I understand pig-headedness drives a romance and builds tension - but I really wanted to slap the two of them and be like "get over yourselves!" But, once again, the novel was excellent, well worth your time. Burns has this genre down.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Adult novel with heavy sexual content, violence and cursing (usual in Latin or Italian), for a mature audience. Fans of Paranormal Romance will really enjoy. A great PNR introduction for romance fans ready to take that paranormal plunge. Fans of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Kenyon's Lords of the Underworld, York's The Moon Series, should enjoy.

I just finished this book this morning and it took me a while to think about if I really liked it and how to rate it. It wasn't a bad story, overall I think I liked. So finally I broke it down this way:

What I liked: I liked the Sicari. The author did a good job with building up this secret society with all the laws, heirarchy, and rituals. Her descriptions of them were very vivid (especially the fight scenes whch can get muddled in descriptive detail, but not in this book). I could actually see the fire and feel the heat of it (okay, it was also 95 degrees yesterday). And I loved Ares. I mean, come on- a man named after the god of war has "fine" and "hot" stamped all over his body. Ms. Burns did a great job with his character, describing his struggles and why he did what he did. For the most part he and his motivations were easy to understand.

What I didn't like: While this was very well written, sometimes the descriptions of a character's thoughts or feelings went on for pages and I wanted to get back to the action or have them act. The closer I got to the end of the book the more I began to only skim those passages. I also did not like Emma. I tried to understand her truama and sometimes her actions made sense (for instance when she intervened) but sometimes her thoughts, feelings, and lack of action made no sense. The further you got into the books the less she listened and let Ares explain what he thought and felt and why he did certain things. Later she would use his lack of explanation against him and I'm sitting there thinking "but you didn't give him a chance!" I understood she was hurt in the past, but as a character from begining to end she seemed to lack an honesty with herself that also kept her from being honest with him. This lack of honesty went on right up to the end. When she was finally ever honest with herself she was so slow to act in going to him to take responsibility for her part in things, while she was always quick to pass the blame off on him. Her lack of trust, honesty, responsibility, and action made her seem churlish, spoiled, and childish. Nope, I didn't like her at all and since she was a main character that was a big draw back for me.

I'm not completely sold on this series or author yet. I would like to read the next book in the series just to see where it goes. She set up a nice story for antoher couple already, but that female seems a lot like Emma so I'm hesitant to read it. I will read a couple of more books by Ms. Burns, but she's not on my must read list yet.

Archeologist Emma Zale is in big trouble. While on a dig in Cairo, she has uncovered proof of an ancient order of assassins called the Sicari. However this exciting revelation is overshadowed by the untimely murder of her mentor and she is the main suspect. Years before her archeologist parents were murdered in a similar manner while they searched for relics involving the Sicari. Due to lack of solid evidence, Emma is released from jail and she heads back to the United States, her future as an archeologist on thin ice. She retreats to her parents home where she finds a cryptic message from her father.

Ares De Luca is an assassin descended from an ancient Roman bloodline--The Sicari. He is honor bound to kill only in the name of justice. Although he is mortal, he processes certain gifts such as telekinesis. He is in search of an ancient relic called the Tyet of Isis. Unfortunately, he is not the only one that seeks this relic that holds much more than monetary value. Believing that Emma has the Tyet of Isis, he shows up on her doorstep intending to take it from her. He soon comes to realize that Emma does not have the relic however she processes a unique gift--the ability to see an objects history when she touches it. That, coupled with the cryptic message from her father could be the key to finding the Tyet of Isis. When an attempt is made on Emma's life by a mysterious hooded man, Ares saves her life and takes her under his protection.

Assassin's Honor is an exciting adventure into a world of paranormal mystery and suspense. When Emma and Ares first meet the attraction is immediate but the danger that surrounds them as well mistrust and miscommunication keeps them from acting on their mutual attraction. The sexual tension that builds between these two is exciting and delicious and when they finally come together, the wait is certainly worth it.

Ares is strong, sexy, honorable and dedicated to the order making him a very desirable hero. He resists his attraction to Emma because of a tragic romantic history, not wanting to make the same mistakes over again, however he finds himself compelled to protect and save Emma's life time and time again.

Emma is also reluctant to act on her feelings for Ares. She is just out of a relationship where she was betrayed. She is not wanting to be made a fool of and is half convinced Ares is only using her to find the Teyet of Isis. After some very serious mistakes where she nearly gets herself killed and Ares selflessly saves her life and takes her punishment, she to finds him irresistible.

We get a fairly good feel for what the order of the Sicari is all about, but much room is left for further development of this world. While the set up of the order of Sicari is interesting it was most certainly the romance that stood out for me in this book. There are mysteries solved but the greater mystery is left unanswered leaving the door open for further exploration into the mysteries of the order of the Sicari Assassins.

I look forward to future books in the series.

I read ALOT. That being said, this is the first time I'll felt the need to write a review. I really enjoyed this story.

Ares was delicious,Lysander compelling. I felt robbed of knowing Julian and Bastien. Atia was a little harsh but in her position I suppose it was a necessity. The character who really got my gander was Emma. REALLY? By the time I was 3/4ths done with the book I wanted to go find her and beat the bejesus out of her. You know, they say actions speak louder than words and Ares showed her nothing but compassion,caring,and concern not to mention his ability to rock it in the pocket. She treated him like the enemy except when she was "overcome" by sexual urges. I got tired of her projecting every hurt done to her in the past onto him. I get trust issues..I really do...and I understand the need for angst to build a riveting story but Emma's childish behavior and lack of concern for Ares' feelings made me want to scream. It was a good thing the Assasin had honor because Emma was sorely lacking in it. In closing,let me reitterate...this was a great book. I truly look forward to reading Lysander and Phae's story. You won't be dissappointed buying this book.

This book had a lot going for it - archaeological mysteries, solid writing, intriguing other-world, and action and suspense and romance and adventure. So where did it all go wrong? The heroine, the female protagonist, Emma. She was like...nails on a chalkboard or a fork scrapping on your teeth. She was abrasive, self-involved, illogically stubborn, constantly confrontational unless she was crying and clinging to the man she blamed everything on and, oh yes, often times just plain stupid. I just couldn't do it. About three fourths the way through the book I started skimming, skipping most of her dialogue and pathetic internalizing altogether and just reading the parts pertinent to the plot. I wish I could give this more stars because there was a lot I did like about it, or at least could have liked if the heroine didn't muck up just about every page (she was the starring character and was featured on nearly every page or important scene). Go ahead and try it for yourself, you may have an entirely different opinion about her and may love the book (as others have). But for me, nope. 2 stars, two docked for the character of Emma and one docked for miscellaneous other small things (not fast paced enough, too much internalizing, and a murky back story, i.e. "we only kill to avenge innocents" mission that I found a bit ambiguous and unclear and maybe even a bit too self-righteous).

So you get 2 super secret psychic societies, a sexy archaeologist, a missing artifact, sex, cryptic warnings, etc. etc. Anyone else getting Indiana Jones vibes? Me too...at first, but really they're not related.

Ares (yes that's really his name) was sooo sexy, dark, brooding, dangerous, mysterious...at first, but than he had to ruin it by getting feelings . Now don't get me wrong, feelings are great, but not when it turns the man into a sap. I mean, once the feelings came into it, the dark, brooding, dangerous etc etc. pretty much disappeared.

Emma was a great heroine, really relatable and very stubborn, which means you start feeling bad for Ares at some point.

Of course there's the necessary life or death situations, the misunderstandings (aLOT of those) the whole nine yards.

All that being said, it is worth a read, and I really did enjoy it.

My first taste of this incredible author. The story has a wonderful, passionate, mind-blowing, and awe-inspiring plot which captures you from the start to the end, and makes you crave for more.

Emma Zale is an archeologist who might have just made an outstanding discovery at her dig in Egypt. But when something odd happens in the tunnel, Emma goes to investigate. There she discovers her friend and mentor dead from a mysterious attack. This begins a series of strange events that will change Emma's life forever, and also challenge what she knows to be historical truth.

Ares DeLuca is a Sicari, an order of telekinetic assassins that came down from ancient Romans. Ares is a Legatus - the leader of the Order's Chicago guild and he has been sent to see what, if anything, Emma has or knows about them from her time in Egypt. His order has been keeping tabs on Emma for a while now and it seems like they aren't the only ones because while Ares is with Emma, there is an attempt on her life. The question is why?

Thrown together trying to figure out who wants Emma dead, brings an attraction between Emma and Ares to light. Ares has already taken a hit from letting love make him forget to follow the rules of the Sicari - he has no desire to be put in this position again. However, that same attraction, and no understanding of the Sicari rules by Emma, does just that - places them both in jeopardy of losing their lives because of bad decisions and impulsive acts. Their attraction is growing as is the danger surrounding them. It's going to be a fight to overcome the danger and mistrust around them. The question is what is going to be the biggest fight - Emma and Ares against the evil, or between Emma and Ares themselves?

Honor and trust can be the road to ever lasting love. Emma and Ares find this out in Assassin's Honor. Emma relieves the nightmare of her parents' murders when she finds the slain body of her friend while on a dig. Ares had no problem following his orders until he actually came face to face with Emma. I have to admit that I felt for Emma, being thrust into a world she didn't understand and had no knowledge of the rules governing them. Making mistakes would have been unavoidable. I felt that it really didn't help when Ares kept trying to fix the mistakes but never told Emma everything that was happening around her or how it would affect them both. I found the attraction between them as natural as a smile and could tell the extent of their love for each other because of what both were willing to risk. Communication and understanding was the true path to the love they both wanted. I found Assassin's Honor to be suspenseful and romantic in equal parts, and loved the intricate twists and turns that followed Emma and Ares on their path.

Jo

Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

In the beginning, the chemistry between the two is evident. But, my first impression of Emma deteriorated fast, as the story went on. I went from liking her confidence and determination, to despising her arrogance and stubborness. I think the author screwed this character up royally. Emma was supposed to be wise and have a certain amount of knowledge and understaning in the area of different cultures. She was an archeologist for crying out loud...not to mention, she has the whole psyhcic advantage. When Ares told her not to interfere NO MATTER WHAT! She should have done just that. But, Emma didn't want to listen anyone or anything, everything had to be her way, and when her actions cause effects that she didn't like, she blamed everyone else, but herself. It is rare that I want to be the crap out of a character. But, Emma slowly and literally began to drain my enjoyment from the pages. I felt the author over did the dumb bitch persona where Emma was concerned and because of it, her character pretty much overshadowed the other characters.

Overall, with the exception of my irritation for Emma, I thought this was a very entertaining first book for a series. I thought the plot was enjoyable and intriguing. I appreciated the authors talent for merging both historical and paranormal elements, but in a modern day world. I look forward to reading Assassin's Heart, and hope that there is more interaction with supporting characters and much less Emma (or at least a major smackdown!).

From the back cover..

A woman with visions of the past...

Archeologist Emma Zale sees the past when she touches ancient relics. It's how she uncovered evidence of an ancient order of assassins--the Sicari. When a sinfully dark stranger shows up on her Chicago doorstep demanding an ancient artifact she doesn't have, he drags her into a world where telekinesis and empaths are the norm. Now someone wants her dead, and her only hope of survival is an assassin who's every bit as dangerous to her body as he is to her heart.

Bonded to an honorable assassin...

Ares De Luca comes from an ancient Roman bloodline of telekinetic assassins. A Sicari, he's honor bound to kill only in the name of justice. But when the woman he loved was murdered, Ares broke the Sicari code and used his sword for revenge. Love cost him dearly once before, and he's not willing to pay the price again. At least not until hot, sweet, delectable Emma walked into his life. Not only does she hold the key to a valuable Sicari relic, she might just hold the key to his heart.

Their dangerous passion will redeem an assassin's honor...

My Review:

Emma is an archeologist and on a dig near Cairo when she once again must face a murder to someone close to her. The first murder she had to endure was that of her parents. But before her father is killed he leaves a coded message for her and she finds it right before someone tries to kill her. That's when a Sicari named Ares DeLuca tries to help her by telling her she needs to go into hiding because her life is in danger. But of course she isn't wanting to give up her whole life and Ares friends, the other Sicari are less than friendly to her when she first meets them because she is an outsider.

So many things happen while Ares is hiding her and we get to meet some of the other characters in the world of the Sicari. Including the bad guys, the Praetorians who want all the Sicari dead.

Monica Burns has made up a whole new world of hot heroes with smoldering eyes and telekenic powers. It's easy to tell that this new world took a lot of thought and time to make because it's incredibly believable. She even gives us a lesson in her own cross between a Latin and Italian language that the men seem to love to speak throughout the story. I even learned a few cuss words, even though I don't know exactly what they mean yet.

While reading this book I got a pretty good lesson in the Sicari way of doing things and their customs, while some of them may seem barbaric at first I understood why they are needed and why honor is so important to them by the end of the book.

I can't wait for more books in this series.