Customer Reviews

Warrior (The Cat Star Chronicles, Book 2)

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

 

 

Warrior is Ms. Brooks' second installment after Slave (The Cat Star Chronicles), a hilarious and sexy futuristic book that is easily one of my top 10 books of 2008, if not one of my top 5. While Slave is a funny and witty romp through space and strange planets, Warrior feels more like a medieval fantasy novel. Warrior takes place in the same universe as Slave, but I wouldn't exactly consider it a sequel. There are brief mentions of space travel and other worlds, but most of the book takes place in the forest and small kingdoms of the planet Utopia.

The hero in Warrior is a Zetithian soldier named Leo. Tisana's former lover, Rafe, drops Leo off at Tisana's doorstep, beaten unconscious. Rafe gives the witch Tisana one month to heal Leo, and then he will once more belong to Rafe as his household slave. Leo heals much more quickly than expected. As he is Zetithian, he is irresistible to women (let's just say he has special sexual abilities). Tisana is no exception, and the suddenness and intensity of her attraction to Leo catches her by surprise.

Rafe comes back a few days later to tell Tisana that his sons have been kidnapped. He needs Leo's fighting skills and Tisana's magic to find the boys, and they set off on a long and dangerous journey. About 2/3 of the book consists of this journey through the woods. They meet several obstacles, including men that have been sent to kill them. Tisana learns some interesting things about Rafe's family along the way.

I don't care much for medievals, so I must admit I was slightly disappointed in Warrior, especially since I read it so soon after Slave. However, it does have its good points. Leo, while not as interesting and dynamic a hero as Cat from Slave, is very strong and well suited for Tisana. He also has a great sense of humor. Tisana is a good heroine. She's less stubborn than Jacinth was in Slave, and more feminine. I loved reading her internal thoughts. One of her powers is the ability to speak to animals, and her conversations with the horses and birds and the squirrel named Gerald are priceless. I know talking animals aren't for everyone, but those scenes really redeemed the book for me. They give the book more of a fantasy feel and keep it from being a bland medieval road romance.

Though Warrior is really nothing like Slave, Ms. Brooks' style still manages to shine through. Her writing style is light, fun, and easily keeps my interest. Elements that would be major turning points in other books are less significant in Ms. Brooks' work, and she chooses to make less important issues her central focus. It's actually a pretty cool technique, because it kept me guessing without being too vague or irritating.

Though the last chapter and epilogue have a couple of references to Slave, Warrior really stands alone. There is very little mention of space travel and other worlds, and though Leo is said to be from another planet, there's really no mystery surrounding his origin as there is in Slave. I wouldn't have been a bit lost if I'd read Warrior first. In fact, I might have enjoyed it more that way. The epilogue of Warrior could almost act as a teaser for Slave as a prequel.

If I hadn't read Slave first and measured Warrior by the high standards that Ms. Brooks set in that first fantastic book, I think I would have enjoyed it more. But even despite its flaws, Warrior is a fun book and a light, quick read. It was interesting to the end, and Ms. Brooks' writing kept me wanting to know what happened next. Readers looking for a funny space adventure might prefer to read Slave instead, but fans of medieval fantasy romance should be satisfied with this fun bit of fluff. Overall, a cute B- read.

Warrior: The Cat Star Chronicles by Cheryl Brooks has got to be one of the most sensually imaginative books that I've ever read and it gives us an entirely new meaning to the words, "Tongue tantalizing, lip smacking, finger licking good". Whew! You gals want a hot book, well go no further because this one will sizzle your panties right off.

Tisana is a witch of rare talents. Her main talent though is healing and as with all healers they are a gentle sort who take care of anyone who might land upon their doorstep. Even gentle as she is, Tisana can still flay the skin off your back with words as sharp as razors that roll off her wicked tongue when you tick her off. For the most part though she is smart, sensitive, intelligent and oh so lonely.

Leo is the name that Tisana has given him since his true name is much to hard to pronounce. He is an off worlder as they call anyone not of their planet but an off worlder with talents that would make even the most virile of men weep with envy. Extraordinarily beautiful almost to perfection, he purrs like a kitten when stroked and fights like a tiger when provoked. With eyes of a cat and curiosity to match, Leo is much more than what he seems to be.

Our story starts out with Leo being almost dead and dropped at Tisana's cottage by his owner and master Rafe who just happens to be Tisana's ex. Rafe gives Tisana thirty days to heal Leo and not a day longer. Can she possibly bring this off worlder back from the brink of death without any working knowledge of Leo's species.

What starts out so innocently as a healer/patient scenario quickly turns into an inferno of lust with the most exotic description of Leo's attributes that I have had the pleasure of reading about in any male species. The old adage, "If it smells like a rose it must be a rose", well that's perfectly true here and let's just say, "Damn.........I need a bib"!

Our author has given us a sci-fi tale of true love, hot sex and even hotter orgasms. A magical story of hope, love and devotion so deep that to lose that which you love so much would mean the snuffing out of your own life like the wind blowing out a candle. Kudo's for the Snap, Snap, Sizzle, Sizzle that will leave you panting for more.

WARRIOR
CHERYL BROOKS
Sci-Fi Romance

Rating: 4 Enchantments

In WARRIOR, Ms. Brooks continues her unique style of mixing sci-fi with hot, sexy romance. Tisana, the local witch with a penchant for healing and the ability to communicate with animals, is in for a surprise when her ex-lover Rafe shows up unexpectedly with an injured slave to deposit in her care. Tisana feels there might honestly be little hope of saving the incredibly injured man. She promises Rafe to heal him in a month, and give word if he doesn't make it. Tisana gives the slave the name Leo and it fits, as he's reminiscent of a lion; that's not the only unusual part about dear Leo, a Zetithian, who becomes more unusual the closer she looks at him. And like a cat, it quickly becomes apparent Leo may just have nine lives. But Leo is a not a mere slave. In truth he's a soldier and soon he's called in to use his tracking capabilities to help find Rafe's kidnapped sons.

Torn between her newfound feelings for Leo, and the fact that there's no way for her to keep him, no matter what he is a slave and belongs not only to Rafe but to his wife as well. Tisana finds herself risking her heart for the handsome slave. But when Rafe comes back and asks Leo to help find his missing sons, Tisana goes along on the journey, not ready to give him up quite yet.

I have to say I liked Tisana right away, especially her unique abilities as a witch, with the ability to speak to animals and her sarcasm. I like how she dealt with things her way and didn't bend easily. Leo is yet another unique hero from Ms. Brooks. From his appearance to his behavior, he isn't quite the typical romance hero. Though I have to say, it did take me awhile to warm to him. Despite his `unique abilities' I thought he was a bit manipulative at times, especially where Tisana was concerned.

WARRIOR features what Ms. Brooks is quickly becoming known for--a sexy, steamy sci-fi read. Fans of SLAVE won't be disappointed with Ms. Brooks' second offering. You can visit her online at http://www.cherylbrooksonline.com/

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
October 2008

Tisana is a witch, who has healing skills and the ex-ordinary ability to communicate with animals telepathy. Tisana will always remember the night that Leo appeared in her life. It was a snowy night outside but inside it was sweltering hot. Leo comes from a far away planet made up of a race that has the feline gene as their DNA makeup. Tisana's friend, Rafe requires Tisana's help. His sons have been kidnapped. Join Tisana, Leo, Rafe and a whole slew of talking animals as they go on a journey to rescue Rafe's sons.

Warrior is the second book in the Cat Star Chronicles series. It can be read as a stand alone book. I don't know if having the feline gene helps or if Leo was born blessed but he has a mighty nice sword if you know what I mean. Ok, besides Leo being well-endowed he is also easy on the eyes. I was so pleased to see that Warrior had such a masculine, handsome character as the male lead. Tisana reminded me of Dr. Doolittle but modern times. Because she could talk to the animals and I thought she was really funny. I really liked when she would communicate with Sinjar, a horse. There were times I found myself laughing so hard. I have to say that the sexual tension that transpired between Leo and Tisana was out of this world. Warrior will make you purr with delight. Cheryl Brooks has a great talent as a storyteller. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

Like its predecessor, Warrior is not the book for every romance reader. And it is definitely not the book for most sci-fi/paranormal/fantasy readers. Warrior mixes some of the best elements of fantasy romance and sci-fi erotica. You've been warned.

Tisana is a witch, practicing her healing on the backwater planet of Utopia. The peaceful image one would expect of a world called Utopia isn't quite what you get. This is a planet where lords run what is essentially a feudal system and slavery is an acceptable practice. Tisana has never approved of slavery and when Rafe, her former lover, drops his new slave off for her to heal she isn't adverse to letting him escape so long as he has somewhere to run to.

Unfortunately, Leccarian--or rather, Leo, as she calls him--is a Zetithian. If you've read the first book in the series, Slave, you'll know why this means he has no where to go. If you haven't read Slave you could probably enjoy this book as a stand-alone but I think they should be read in order or you're missing out on a great story. But back to Leo... With no where to run to Leo stays with Tisana, healing not just from her potions and remedies but also from the pleasures they share.

When Rafe returns to fetch his slave Tisana has her own reasons for wanting to keep Leo. But Rafe needs them both! His children have been kidnapped and only Leo and Tisana can track their captors. The adventure that ensues is humorous and action-packed. But how will their journey end? Will Tisana find a way to convince Rafe to sell Leo to her?

I must admit this one didn't work as well for me as Slave did. I enjoyed it as a fantasy story but all of the mind-to-mind dialog between Tisana and her animal friends got on my nerves about halfway through the book. At one point I began to think of Disney movies like Snow White or Enchanted where the princesses talk to their animal friends all the time. I especially found the times when she spoke to the animals while engaged in sexual situations to be a little off-putting.

Leo was cute but seemed almost a sweeter version of Cat from the previous book and Tisana was kind of an air-head in comparison to the fiery Jacinth. Even still where Slave was a little too sci-fi for some readers this one might be just the right amount of fantasy to win new ones over to the series. I usually don't read the previews of the next book in the back but I have enjoyed the unique flavor of this one so much I had to see if Rogue was going to be as good and it certainly looks tantalizing. If you're looking for romantica at its finest but with a sci-fi/fantasy twist you can't go wrong with this series!

This is the second book by Cheryl Brooks and it's a really enjoyable read. It's written in the first person which is a little unusual but works well for the heroine of our story, the witch Tisana, and her ability to speak with animals. Tisana's a great character with a somewhat wry outlook on life - when her former lover Rafe dumps a seriously ill man on her doorstep, expecting her to heal him, she imagines she'll be caring for the mystery man for a month. However once Tisana's cleaned him up he discovers he's rather unusual - he is clearly an alien from another planet, has many features which are rather cat-like and his equipment is second to none. He also recovers very quickly but, knowing he's a slave, tries to escape.

It doesn't take Tisana long to explain to the man whom she names Leo that although he's a slave she won't treat him like one. When Rafe comes back asking for Tisana's help to track a group of men who have kidnapped Rafe's two sons, Tisana and Leo agree to help - along with an ever-growing menagerie of animals. Some of the best moments in this book were where Tisana talks to horses, squirrels, vultures and dogs, and the author's ability to let you see how such animals might consider the odd behaviour of humans was great fun.

As Tisana, Leo and Rafe follow the trail of the kidnappers Tisana realises that Rafe knows more about why his children have been stolen than he will explain. Can Tisana bargain for Leo's freedom by helping Rafe? Is there more going on in Rafe's family than initially appears? Can Tisana and Leo make a new life for themselves?

The author has an easy writing style which meant this book never dragged and the characters were all different and interesting. At the very end there is a brief scene with characters from her previous book, 'Slave', but there isn't any problem understanding this book without having read the first one. My only slight reservation was that it was hard to get into Leo's head and understanding his motivations a lot of the time, but this can be a problem with books written in the first person and it did lend him a rather otherworldly and mysterious air! I certainly enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to the next in the Cat Star Chronicles series.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

Warrior is by far the most disturbing and nauseating romance novel that I've ever read! The story itself is wonderful and imaginative with fantastic plot twists and great momentum and the characters are well written and compelling. The heroine is amusing and really likable, while the hero is sexy and captivating. The lovemaking/sex scenes however, are a mixture of smack-you-in-the-face vulgarity and indecent animal sex with a graphic detail that, quite frankly, turned my stomach. Believe me when I say I have a very high tolerance for the creepy, the imaginative and the "out-there", but honest to goodness, these sex scenes ruined almost all of the books potential, romantic worth. The heroine's insatiable desire for the "protein" from the horse-like appendage, that the hero gladly and frequently feeds her is...OMG GROSS!
I could barely finish this book...it gave me the creeps and destroyed any desire that I may have had, to read any other book in this series.
The author deserves a lot of credit for originality and uniqueness, but the sex scenes that are so frequent in this book (as they can often be in a romance novel) are just too far-off even my weird-o-meter scale!

(4 out of 10 Diamonds) - I sort-of liked it

© 2008-2009 Bobbie Crawford-McCoy (Book Reviews By Bobbie).
All rights reserved.

I really enjoyed "Slave" the first book in this series. Warrior was a big let down. The author used first person in Slave and uses it again in Warrior. In Warrior it does not work. The author fails to show us the other characters through the heroine's eyes. We never get to know Leo, the hero, other than he is a sweet orgasmatron that any woman would want. I was told way more about Rafe, her ex-lover, and the animals she talks to than I was told about Leo.

The hero and heroine rarely have a conversation that would tell us something about who Leo is and what makes him tick. In fact, the heroine spends more time talking to the animals than she does to Leo. And after a while, the animal conversations got tiring. I had trouble believing animals would talk like humans and use modern slang.

The setting for Utopia was a medieval type planet. Yet the inhabitants speak with modern English and slang. It's mentioned that they rarely ever see off-worlders and have few modern convenieces. Thus, I wouldn't expect them to speak this way. Hearing the characters say such things as "lighten up" was distracting. Also, why were the majority of the animals from earth? There were squirrels, mice, rabbits etc.

To conclude, this was a book without a hero. I never got to care about Leo because I was never shown anything about his inner self. He was a cookie cutter character who was superfluous to the story.

Warrior fails to capitialize on the over the top sense of humorous sensuality that made the first book in this series, Slave (The Cat Star Chronicles), work for me. And actually Warrior was so plodding that, as contradictory as it sounds, I kept reading long after I lost interest in heroine witch/animal whisperer Tisana and her 'deep' chats with horses, squirrels, dogs and birds which were occasionally interspersed with her thoughts of enjoying feline humanoid Leo's lovely 'endowments' and special 'sauce'. Unlike the previous heroine, Jacinth, Tisana really just wasn't an interesting enough character to pull off the first person narrative, and her relationship with Leo (another enslaved Zetithian Warrior), had very little in the way of chemistry, despite the hero's ability to throw the heroine into an orgasmic coma.

In fact, the only reason I kept with Warrior so long (I made it four fifth's of the way) is that this was a very easy book to put down, so it gave me something to read while waiting to pick up the kids without the normal frustration of actually having to stop reading when it was time to go.

Brooks has three more of these stand-alone sci-fi/fantasy books in the works, up next is Rogue: The Cat Star Chronicles #3. I hope that at least one of these will be written from the gorgeous cat-guy's point of view.

Wow! I thought Ms. Brooks' first story Slave was a goodie - well she has completely outdone herself with Warrior. Tisana is a witch dealing with the same angst as the rest of us - finding "the one." LEO IS IT! The strong silent type all the way!!!! Yippie! This couple goes on an adventure, but it's Tisana's 'gift' of being able to talk to animals that makes this story a complete blast! I loved the part with Gerald the squirrel (of COURSE I was reading in public when I came up on that part of the book...) This story will keep you hot and laughing at the same time! Wow! Now if I could find a man who could do both of this at the same time! We have to wait six months until the next story!!! HURRY UP!!!