The vicious attack Capt. Gabriel Huntley witnesses in a dark alley sparks a chain of events that will take him to the ends of the Earth and beyond - where what is real and what is imagined become terribly confused. And frankly, Huntley couldn't be more pleased. Intrigue, danger, and a beautiful woman in distress - just what he needs. Raised thousands of miles from England, Thalia Burgess is no typical Victorian lady. A good thing, because a proper lady would have no hope of recovering the priceless magical artefact Thalia is after. Huntley's assistance might come in handy, though she has to keep him in the dark. But this distractingly handsome soldier isn't easy to deceive...
Warrior: (Blades of the Rose)
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More About the Author
Zoe Archer is an award-winning romance author who thinks there's nothing sexier than a man in tall boots and a waistcoat. As a child, she never dreamed about being the rescued princess, but wanted to kick butt right beside the hero. She now applies her master's degrees in Literature and Fiction to creating butt-kicking heroines and heroes in tall boots. She is the author of the acclaimed BLADES OF THE ROSE series and the paranormal historical romance series, THE HELLRAISERS. She and her husband, fellow romance author Nico Rosso, trade off writing the books in the steampunk romance series THE ETHER CHRONICLES. June 2013 will see the launch of her new gritty Victorian romance series, NEMESIS, UNLIMITED for St. Martin's Press. Zoe and Nico live in Los Angeles. Please visit her on the Web at http://www.zoearcherbooks.com/
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Sonoma Lass
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Warrior is the beginning of an exciting new series of historical fantasy romance novels -- three of my favorite kinds of fiction rolled into one. I've been eagerly awaiting these books.
The Blades of the Rose are men and women who work to preserve the freedom of magic in a mid- to late-Victorian fantasy version of our own world. The Blades exist primarily to fight against the Heirs of Albion, a powerful society of men dedicated to finding and controlling the sources of magic in order to bring the entire world under British rule. Each book tells the story of one couple finding love while fighting against the Heirs.
In Warrior, most of the story takes place on the Mongolian steppes. The heroine, Thalia, is the daughter of a Blade, eager to experience her first mission. The hero, Gabriel, has recently left the British army and finds himself in the midst of her mission due to his sense of honor and desire for adventure. As they try to beat the Heirs to a magic source, they also fall in love.
This book has lots of adventure and fight scenes, like the Indiana Jones movies that the cover reminds you of. And yet there is time for both main characters to reflect on their feelings for each other, so the reader gets to watch the relationship develop from both perspectives. There is humor, excitement, passion -- the adventure plot and the romance plot are integrated in a way that really works for me. It's clear that their shared adventure is bringing the couple closer together, and yet the demands and dangers of that adventure could also separate them forever. The success of their mission and the success of their relationship become intertwined, in the tradition of the best romantic suspense novels.
Another thing I love about this book is that Thalia and Gabriel are equals. Not that they don't have some gender bias to overcome, but it's clear to the reader that they need to be equal partners to succeed, and of course that eventually becomes clear to them, too. They have to learn to trust each other, and to work together, but she's no damsel in distress and she kicks ass equally with him.
The world of the book is evoked very well, I thought. The author creates a very complex and detailed setting, particularly in Mongolia, but I never felt that I got bogged down in description or explanation. There is some necessary background information, but it's introduced naturally and not as "info dump." I got lost in the place, the characters and the story and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
The Blades of the Rose are men and women who work to preserve the freedom of magic in a mid- to late-Victorian fantasy version of our own world. The Blades exist primarily to fight against the Heirs of Albion, a powerful society of men dedicated to finding and controlling the sources of magic in order to bring the entire world under British rule. Each book tells the story of one couple finding love while fighting against the Heirs.
In Warrior, most of the story takes place on the Mongolian steppes. The heroine, Thalia, is the daughter of a Blade, eager to experience her first mission. The hero, Gabriel, has recently left the British army and finds himself in the midst of her mission due to his sense of honor and desire for adventure. As they try to beat the Heirs to a magic source, they also fall in love.
This book has lots of adventure and fight scenes, like the Indiana Jones movies that the cover reminds you of. And yet there is time for both main characters to reflect on their feelings for each other, so the reader gets to watch the relationship develop from both perspectives. There is humor, excitement, passion -- the adventure plot and the romance plot are integrated in a way that really works for me. It's clear that their shared adventure is bringing the couple closer together, and yet the demands and dangers of that adventure could also separate them forever. The success of their mission and the success of their relationship become intertwined, in the tradition of the best romantic suspense novels.
Another thing I love about this book is that Thalia and Gabriel are equals. Not that they don't have some gender bias to overcome, but it's clear to the reader that they need to be equal partners to succeed, and of course that eventually becomes clear to them, too. They have to learn to trust each other, and to work together, but she's no damsel in distress and she kicks ass equally with him.
The world of the book is evoked very well, I thought. The author creates a very complex and detailed setting, particularly in Mongolia, but I never felt that I got bogged down in description or explanation. There is some necessary background information, but it's introduced naturally and not as "info dump." I got lost in the place, the characters and the story and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I came into Zoe Archer's Blades of the Rose series courtesy of the fine ladies at Smart Bitches Trashy Books, when they chose the second book of the series as a book club read. Pretty much right out of the gate I wanted these books, and I'm not ashamed to admit that a big part of that was because of the covers on Books 1 and 2. First and foremost, I want to thank whoever did the cover art! Gabriel on the cover of Book 1, I'm not ashamed to say, totally slew me for looking like he stole Indiana Jones' outfit, and even aside from that appealing to my fangirl sensibilities, I just found it such a refreshing change from a lot of the shirtless, overmuscled guys on the covers of romance and paranormal romance these days.
Happily, the book itself also proved to be quite enjoyable. Warrior, as the opening book of a series, has the task of setting up the world for us, and it does a nice strong job of doing so by giving us our hero, Gabriel, drawn into saving a man's life in a brutal attack. The man he tries to rescue dies, but not before begging Gabriel to take a message--and a mysterious compass--clear around the world to Mongolia.
Gabriel, you see, has stumbled into the ongoing conflict between two factions at war over magical Sources, artifacts all over the globe which are so named for being the repositories of great power. The Heirs of Albion are bent on securing these Sources for the greater glory of the British Empire, so that Britain might take over the world. Pitted against them are the Blades of the Rose, sworn to avoid using any magic save that which is theirs by gift or by right, and to keep all Sources safe in the hands of their rightful people.
And the man Gabriel has to take the dire message to? He is of course a Blade, living in Mongolia with his daughter Thalia, who is naturally afire with the ambition to follow in her father's footsteps. Neither want to embroil Gabriel in their affairs, but Gabriel won't be put off easily. He has after all come all the way from England at the behest of a dying man. Also, Thalia is awfully, awfully hot.
It's a nifty worldbuilding concept, and Archer has great fun with it, setting up an engaging blend of period adventure and supernatural activity that hearkens indeed back to the aforementioned Indiana Jones as well as the Mummy movies with Brendan Fraser. As these are in fact paranormal romance novels, you do have the obligatory blazing chemistry between the lead characters and more than one sex scene in which they indulge it--but for once, my tastes in such things are actually pretty in line with what a romance novel has to offer with that. Archer's very good at giving her female leads strong sexual agency, and the sense of equality between her heroines and heros is awesome both within and outside of romantic contexts.
In this particular story, as she's been brought up in Mongolia, Thalia is very much afraid that a man from her native Britain will expect her to behave like a proper British lady--and she's delighted to discover that Gabriel, as a commoner and a foot soldier, is just as happy that she's anything but. The two of them must set out to find and protect the Source the Heirs are targeting, and along the way, have themselves quite the adventuresome ride. There's a bit too much obvious pointing at characters who are destined to have their own installments as the series progresses, and a bit too much simplistic motivation on the part of the bad guys. But all in all this was fun and it made me quite interested in continuing with the series. Three stars.
Happily, the book itself also proved to be quite enjoyable. Warrior, as the opening book of a series, has the task of setting up the world for us, and it does a nice strong job of doing so by giving us our hero, Gabriel, drawn into saving a man's life in a brutal attack. The man he tries to rescue dies, but not before begging Gabriel to take a message--and a mysterious compass--clear around the world to Mongolia.
Gabriel, you see, has stumbled into the ongoing conflict between two factions at war over magical Sources, artifacts all over the globe which are so named for being the repositories of great power. The Heirs of Albion are bent on securing these Sources for the greater glory of the British Empire, so that Britain might take over the world. Pitted against them are the Blades of the Rose, sworn to avoid using any magic save that which is theirs by gift or by right, and to keep all Sources safe in the hands of their rightful people.
And the man Gabriel has to take the dire message to? He is of course a Blade, living in Mongolia with his daughter Thalia, who is naturally afire with the ambition to follow in her father's footsteps. Neither want to embroil Gabriel in their affairs, but Gabriel won't be put off easily. He has after all come all the way from England at the behest of a dying man. Also, Thalia is awfully, awfully hot.
It's a nifty worldbuilding concept, and Archer has great fun with it, setting up an engaging blend of period adventure and supernatural activity that hearkens indeed back to the aforementioned Indiana Jones as well as the Mummy movies with Brendan Fraser. As these are in fact paranormal romance novels, you do have the obligatory blazing chemistry between the lead characters and more than one sex scene in which they indulge it--but for once, my tastes in such things are actually pretty in line with what a romance novel has to offer with that. Archer's very good at giving her female leads strong sexual agency, and the sense of equality between her heroines and heros is awesome both within and outside of romantic contexts.
In this particular story, as she's been brought up in Mongolia, Thalia is very much afraid that a man from her native Britain will expect her to behave like a proper British lady--and she's delighted to discover that Gabriel, as a commoner and a foot soldier, is just as happy that she's anything but. The two of them must set out to find and protect the Source the Heirs are targeting, and along the way, have themselves quite the adventuresome ride. There's a bit too much obvious pointing at characters who are destined to have their own installments as the series progresses, and a bit too much simplistic motivation on the part of the bad guys. But all in all this was fun and it made me quite interested in continuing with the series. Three stars.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I must have started and stopped this book at least twenty times or so in the past few months, always putting it aside for something more pressing. I chalked it up to being over-extended but when I finally had a day to lounge around and do nothing but read I still had a heck of a time getting through it. And because I can't pinpoint anything in particular that was wrong with the story, I am completely frustrated. The premise sounded good enough adventure, lust, and magic and all of my friends loved it to pieces (and shoved it upon me) but I just can't share their enthusiasm for it. It dragged on for chapters at a time, hooking me for a moment and then losing me again. I really had to struggle to stick with it so for that I can only give it three stars.
Gabriel is a newly retired soldier who stumbles upon a fight, jumps in to help and is asked to deliver a message from the dying man. Gabriel, having nothing much better to do than find a dull wife and start making babies, doesn't refuse and travels to Mongolia. This is how he meets Thalia and how he gets involved in a mysterious world of secret hidden magic after joining her on an action packed mission to find and protect a valuable "Source" (of magic). She is unlike any woman he has met but, as even he admits, he hasn't met many women other than the working kind while he's been in the military. Still, he deems her much more attractive than the delicate, boring ladies of England. She resists the temptation that is Gabriel for 100 or so pages which felt more like 1000 because she was burned in the past by some other guy. But he's physically gorgeous and perfection personified so you all know how this ends, right?
Sadly, as much as I tried, I never shared in the chemistry between Gabriel and Thalia. Sure I was told they exchanged lots of lusty thoughts and smoldering looks in between trying to save the world from evil-doers but I wasn't feeling it like I should have. I did enjoy the unique Mongolia setting and appreciated all of the research the author clearly put in to bring the place to vivid life. And though Warrior had a good solid story with non-annoying characters it didn't resonate with me in any way. There was a lot of action and adventure as well as plenty of one on one time with the characters so I can't say it was boring but I too often found it difficult to stay interested even during the spicier scenes (true story I'm afraid to admit). Right now I am annoyed at myself for buying the rest of the books in this series brand new before even reading this one and seeing if I liked the style of the author. Ah well, lesson learned.
Gabriel is a newly retired soldier who stumbles upon a fight, jumps in to help and is asked to deliver a message from the dying man. Gabriel, having nothing much better to do than find a dull wife and start making babies, doesn't refuse and travels to Mongolia. This is how he meets Thalia and how he gets involved in a mysterious world of secret hidden magic after joining her on an action packed mission to find and protect a valuable "Source" (of magic). She is unlike any woman he has met but, as even he admits, he hasn't met many women other than the working kind while he's been in the military. Still, he deems her much more attractive than the delicate, boring ladies of England. She resists the temptation that is Gabriel for 100 or so pages which felt more like 1000 because she was burned in the past by some other guy. But he's physically gorgeous and perfection personified so you all know how this ends, right?
Sadly, as much as I tried, I never shared in the chemistry between Gabriel and Thalia. Sure I was told they exchanged lots of lusty thoughts and smoldering looks in between trying to save the world from evil-doers but I wasn't feeling it like I should have. I did enjoy the unique Mongolia setting and appreciated all of the research the author clearly put in to bring the place to vivid life. And though Warrior had a good solid story with non-annoying characters it didn't resonate with me in any way. There was a lot of action and adventure as well as plenty of one on one time with the characters so I can't say it was boring but I too often found it difficult to stay interested even during the spicier scenes (true story I'm afraid to admit). Right now I am annoyed at myself for buying the rest of the books in this series brand new before even reading this one and seeing if I liked the style of the author. Ah well, lesson learned.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Warrior
Interesting premise with some nice action sequences and enough romance to keep those who look for that entertained. A little too much formula to get more then 3 stars.
Published 2 months ago by Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars
great
A good book and enjoyable. Good characters and plot. the later books in the series were not as good but still entertaining.
Published 3 months ago by rus
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just good reading.
Loved the story line. It holds your,attention thru the entire story. I would recommend this book to anyone with a sense of adventure.
Published 4 months ago by Kelly J Emerick
3.0 out of 5 stars
Thalia and Gabriel were both well developed, entertaining and...
I really, REALLY, liked these characters. Thalia and Gabriel were both well developed, entertaining and unconventional. Their love story was pitch perfect. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Nakeesha Seneb
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fast-paced, romantic and adventurous
** spoiler alert ** Well, this was a joyful ride. Where to begin? Sometimes I really don't know where/how to start a review *.*
So... Read more
So... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Carla Costa
3.0 out of 5 stars
I'll pick up Zoe Archer again
I picked this up from a used book store actually. And it had a very Indiana Jones feel. I guess the cover should have clued me in. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Michelle Granger
4.0 out of 5 stars
Warrior
I don't normally read historical romance. However, because I've recently become acquainted with Zoe, I wanted to give her a read. All I can say is WOW! Read more
Published 14 months ago by Wookies Girl
1.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't even finish it
It got 65 pages into this (Kindle edition) and just had to give up on it. Normally I like romantic fantasy but this is really drivel. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Annastasia Webster
1.0 out of 5 stars
Warrior
I got a sample of this story on my Kindle and was interested enough to purchase. Bit it quickly turned into a romance story of the type I don't care for. Didn't finish it. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Myra Fox
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Brilliant Adventure Begins.
In 1874 a league of Englishmen, calling themselves the Heirs of Albion, hunt down the world's Sources of powerful magic, with which they hope to bring the whole world under British... Read more
Published 20 months ago by S. Donovan
