Customer Reviews

The Sorceress & the Savage

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

 

 

This is a book about a woman who is different from her people, and can't figure out why. She knows a lot of the things they do are not quite right, but she follows them anyway. Once she gets to her homeland, she meets a man who is very different from her, but seems to know more about her culture than she does. The romance in this book is almost treated secondary to the good versus evil story that is threaded throughout the book. While I liked the book, I thought that it dragged on in spots, and Gar, the man she falls for, comes out looking a little too simple. It's still a good book, and worth the time to read.

Don't get me wrong. Saranne Dawson has written some good books in the Romance/Fantasy sub-genre. The ideas are mostly original and intriguing. I've bought some of her books on the promise of the idea alone. This book though, just does not appeal to me. I'm 50% done and slugging through the rest. I'm a huge fan of the Romance and Fantasy genre, but for the romance to work, the reader has to care for the hero and heroine. To put it bluntly, if the enemy did them both in, I won't shed a tear. I give it a 3, because it did hold my interest for a while and the great cover. Ms Dawson can do much better than this.

I found this to be a tough read. I normally enjoy reading about primitive heros, but normally a romance author will portray them as somehow more civilized and honorable than the outwardly civilized villains. Gar, the hero in this story, was boring, and the character epiphany I kept expecting never materialized. He never seemed like a fully fleshed-out human being to me. The heroine annoyed me as well. All in all, it was a struggle to finish. I skim-read the last third of the book and heaved a sigh of relief when I was done.

It's not often that I come across a romance that is actually unique. This author did a wonderful job blending together fantasy and romance. The story is original and the characters are likeable... The heroine is strong yet retains her femininity. The hero is sweet without compromising is alpha male status.I am so tired of the typical romance heros and heroines that bicker through 90% of the novel and keep themselves apart for no reason other than pure stubborness. These two are honest with themselves from the beginning, their reasons for having to be apart are understandable and realistic.There were only three things that I did not like about this novel:1.The hero was annoyingly dense at some parts, I just wanted to reach into the book and smack him upside the head. :)2. The action scenes weren't exciting enough, but that has been a problem with every romance I've read that has action. 3. There weren't enough love scenes. This author did a great job writing the initial love scene, it was erotic and romantic. I got the impression while reading this that she was afraid of overdoing the lovemaking scene descriptions, far too many romance writers do this. But aren't these scenes the main reason for reading this genre? (Unless of course you are a fan of the Regency subgenre, which I am not)Still, this book deserves 5 stars. I highly recommend it if you are looking for something a little bit different.

I've read just about everything by this author and this is another great story. I read between 1,500 to 4,000 pages a month so sometimes it seems like I'm reading the same book over and over and can predict what will happen. That's one problem I've never had with any of Ms Dawson's books. In this book the melding of reality with fantasy kept me on the edge of my seat and I read it in less than 24 hours. The growth of both main characters warmed my heart, since that's what all of us want in real life. Some may be offended by the seeming infidelity. I'd recommend it for anyone tired of the same old plots in romance novels.

Great fantasy read. I like books that grab you at the beginning and make you care about the characters. Fantasy elements are believeable and enjoyable. Recommended.