The Heart of War [Kindle Edition]

Lisa Beth Darling (Author)

Book Description

Sink more than just your teeth into a real paranormal sizzler.

Inside the Heart of every Warrior breathes the Soul of a Hero--even within The Heart of War. Meet Ares God of War, the greatest Warrior the world has ever known. He's moody, grumpy, dominant, ravenously sexual, and above all, built like a Greek God.

Get lost in this sweeping dark saga of lust, rage, revenge, and redemption. Battle Ancient Gods while falling in love with Ares God of War and Alena MacLeod. They share
a love that will rock the world from the heights of Olympus to the
Celtic moors.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Judging The Book by the Pages 4 Stars--"I was so immersed in this heart wrenching story that I felt connected with the characters on so many levels. Not for the faint of heart, The Heart of War will take you on a ride you will never forget. "--TKay, Reviewer

Bitten by Paranormal Romance Perfect 5 Stars-- "Excellent and Fantastic read...every page only draws you further into the story and captures your emotions and interests immediately. I totally loved it! I look forward to reading the next installment "Child of War" in this new series."--Rhonda, Reviewer

The Pen & Muse 4 Stars-- "Lisa's writing is intense and descriptive, and her narrative flows smoothly. The main events in the plot are interspersed with amusing events and anecdotes, as well as plenty of erotic scenes to keep lovers of the genre happy." Roane, Reviewer

Bitten by Books 4 Stars-- "It was fascinating watching their romance and self discovery (kind of funny for immortals) and was very well written. While extremely violent at times, I really enjoyed the two working together during the battle between the druids and Ares.

Paranormal Haven 4 Stars-- "Ares is a giant ass, he lives up to his reputation of the god of war. But it was amazing to watch him fall in love with Alena and change his whole world for her. The bedroom scenes are very hot and steamy it will leave you wanting more." Athenna, Reviewer

About the Author

Lisa has been married for the last 25 years to her wonderful husband, Roy. The two live in New London, CT where they raised two (now adult) daughters.
Lisa was recently voted the Author of the Month for Elves on Shelves and is the winner of a plethora of awards for her earlier works. She is the author of 11 novels and 30+ short stories in the Dark Romance genre.
Always enthralled by romantic relationships. Lisa began writing Dark Romance stories in the 7th grade. A fact which her fellow students adored but often got her called down to the Guidance Counselor's Office to discuss her stories. Not deterred by the counselors but instead spurred onward by them (although they puzzled over the content of her work at such a young age, they always complimented her creativity and the way she told a story) her teachers and classmates, Lisa continued to hone her craft.
Today she brings conflict and suspense to unique couples through her full length novels. Never one to shy away from the less pleasant things in life, and instead believing it is in the Darkness where Character is created, determined, and defined, her heroes and heroines have their love tested by demons from within and without.
Her latest full-length novel "The Heart of War" blends timeless Greek Mythology with Erotica, Romance, and Suspense as Ares God of War falls in love with Alena, a seemingly fragile Fey. The lovely Alena is on the run from Cernunnos, Celtic God of the Forest and Death. The peace and quiet of Ares' secluded Greek isle is interrupted when the Olympians demand he turned her over to them. Glorious battles, hot romance, and dark passions combine in "The Heart of War".
Watch for the sequel, "Child of War" coming December 31, 2011

Product Details

• File Size: 947 KB
• Print Length: 598 pages
• Publisher: Moon Mistress Publishing; 2 edition (November 21, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004DCB3CA
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #467,607 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Well written characters, just too much May 3, 2011

By Julie T

Format:Kindle Edition

I enjoy reading about Greek mythology. In fact I enjoy reading about most mythologies, and as in most mythologies this book is full of the required: sex, arguments, lies, and sex. Our main god in this case is Ares, the true to form Greek god of war. I actually really like how she writes Ares. I fully believe that this can be a Greek god. Then we have Alena, also called Maggie, the chastity belt wearing fey descendant on the run. I don't like her as much. She bores me to be honest.

Ares is in exile and Maggie gets washed on to his island. Hijinks ensue. But these crazy shenanigans take forever to get started. I found the book to be too wordy for me. It was just a lot of things that I didn't really need to know about or things that dragged on. I found myself scanning through pages for main ideas quite a bit.

Like I said, I really loved how the gods were written. I don't know how I would have felt if the story pulled me in more, but the fact is I was a little bored.

I have not read much erotica. In fact I don't really think you can say I have read any before this. So that is my asterisk. The sex was pretty good. It was quite sensual. But (and again this may be a standard thing that I am just unfamiliar with) but sometimes it was a little rough. Like rape rough. I understand the threesomes and fun sex from the perspective of the gods but why did I need to read such random (in the context) violent sex? It just took me out of the story and I had to stop reading for awhile.

Overall, I thought it was okay. It has some things written well, like the characters, but I was not pulled in and some of the sex was a turnoff. But it was ripe with mythologies and was an interesting world that she built. If this sounds like your cup of tea, check it out!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of The Heart of War August 22, 2011

By LITERAL ADDICTION

Format:Kindle Edition

The Heart of War, OF WAR series, Book #1

Author: Lisa Beth Darling

Synopsis:
The Heart of War blends timeless Greek Mythology with Erotica, Romance, and Suspense as Ares God of War falls in love with Alena, a seemingly fragile Fey. The lovely Alena is on the run from Cernunnos, Celtic God of the Forest and Death. The peace and quiet of Ares' secluded Greek isle is interrupted when the Olympians demand he turned her over to them. Glorious battles, hot romance, and dark passions combine in "The Heart of War".

Our Review [By LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha-Michelle L Olson]:
Ares, God of War, has been exiled from Olympus and lives on his own private island with his harem of women. He's pretty much what you'd expect from A God of War--a misogynistic jerk with little to no regard for the value of a woman and you can't help but hate him. When a new women washes up on his private beach, Ares is in for quite the surprise (or SURPRISES as it would seem), and you find yourself softening to him as the story progresses.

Maggie (Magdalena by birth, called Alena by Ares) washes up on a shore with a spotty memory, a gritty past, an attitude, and several secrets. When she meets her new host, her life as she knew it becomes something entirely new. When you first meet Alena it's hard to like her because you really don't know much about her. You feel for her as tidbits are revealed, but at first she seems somewhat naďve and vulnerable. That doesn't last long. She becomes the heroine you want in a paranormal romance and then some.

If you're a fan of mythology you will absolutely love this book! It explores close to all of the Greek Gods and Goddesses as well as several of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses and lesser magickal beings as well.

As for overall storyline, this book has it all, but as Lisa's website states, her books are not for the faint of heart! The book was an action packed thrill ride full of twists and turns and surprises you'd never see coming. It had steamy romance, gut churning violence, heart pumping action sequences, witty dialogue, vivid imagery, & head scratching mystery and intrigue.

There were characters you loved, characters you loathed, characters you just couldn't get a good grasp on because they were so mysterious, and supporting characters that brought everything together nicely.

From a series standpoint, I felt that this first book was a greatly laid foundation for the next installments. Though readers who dislike significant back-story may find pieces of it boring and drawn out, I personally felt that it was necessary to set up the remainder of the series going forward.

I do have put in a caveat for Kindle eBook readers. There are numerous errors in the Kindle copy from Amazon. If you have an internal editor that you just can't shut off, it might be wise to read the book in a different format. Or just do as I did and tell your inner editor to shut the hell up because the story was too good to put down because of typos, missing words, etc!

All in all, LITERAL ADDICTION Paranormal Book Club gives The Heart of War 4 Skulls, and would definitely recommend it to Fantasy and Romance Readers who like their PNRs edgy, gritty, and not all hearts and flowers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Greek Mythology story July 3, 2011

By Tishia

Format:Kindle Edition

he Heart of War is an enjoyable story that deals heavily with Greek mythology. Ares, the god of war, is in exile from Olympus and lives on an island with some guards and a harem of women. Ares is basically a big, arrogant jerk. He uses these women for sex, he doesn't really have any feelings for them.

One day a fey woman named Magdalina (also knows as Maggie and Alena) washes up on his shore. She has no idea how she got there, her memories of recent events are pretty sketchy. One thing she remembers is the fact that she has been on the run for several years from Cernunnos .

Even though Ares is suspicious of Maggie, he treats her well and lets her live in his home. He looks at her differently than the other women in his home, and a romance ensues. This is a fairly long book and has a lot of information. Greek mythology lovers will definitely like this book. There is also a lot of graphic sex and violence involved, so it's not a lighthearted love story.

The author did a wonderful job with the world-building and back story. You can easily imagine this world the author describes, though I thought the book was almost too wordy. I actually caught myself getting bored in parts of the book. I do think the book could have been shortened a bit, but overall I thought it was a good, original story. If you're not uncomfortable with violence and erotica, you should give this book a shot!

More About the Author

I've been married for the last 26 years to my wonderful husband, Roy. We live in my hometown of New London, CT.

My writing career began in junior high, around the 7th grade. A fact that my fellow students adored but often got me called down to the Guidance Counselor's Office to discuss the adult nature of my stories. While the experience was never pleasant, I was not deterred by the counselors' worries I was spurred onward by them, as well as by my teachers, and my classmates, I continued to hone my craft throughout those formative years.

Today I bring conflict, passion, love, and suspense to unique couples through full length novels. I'm never one to shy away from the less pleasant things in life, and instead I believe that it is in the Darkness where Character is created, determined, and defined, my heroes and heroines have their love tested by demons from within and without.