Review: Immortal Outlaw

Title: Immortal Outlaw
Author: Lisa Hendrix
Genre: Historical Paranormal Romance/1290
Series: Immortal Brotherhood/Book 2
Published: June 2009

*Mild Spoilers*

From the back cover ~

For centuries, he’s hidden in the woods. Now a maid has come to lead him out…

It’s been four centuries since Steinarr the Proud was cursed by a wicked sorceress-along with the rest of his Viking Crew-to live for eternity as half man half beast. By day Steinarr is like any other man-by night he is a lion. He has taken refuge in the woods of Nottinghamshire, England, and there he encounters two young travelers, Robin and Marian.

Painfully aware of the danger he presents when the moon rises, Steinarr initially refuses to help them search fro the key to Robin’s inheritance. Then a kiss from Marian awakens his desire. Driven to protect the maid he so desperately wants to possess, Steinarr joins the quest…while the sorceress Cwen gathers her dark magic to destroy them.

As the legend of an outlaw in the woods spreads, their band is joined by others. But it is Steinarr who has the most to gain and the most to lose-his chance to be free of the curse and to love as a man…

The second book in the Immortal Brotherhood series takes place during the time of the legend of Robin Hood. Hendrix puts her own spin on the legend, giving it a different twist than what is more commonly known. I liked the twist and it worked well with the romance of the hero and heroine while still providing a plausible explanation as to how the legend came about.

The series is interesting for a number of reasons and not just for the writing. There are nine warriors that were cursed to live out their immortal lives as a man and as an animal. Some of the warriors are men by day and animal at night while others are animals by day and men at night. One of the interesting things is that so far each book takes place during different time periods. I like that better than having the books take place all in the same time period and I look forward to reading the different periods. Maybe the last warrior's story will take place in present day.

Steinarr is the reluctant hero. He's very reclusive due to his animal nature. In my review for Immortal Warrior I mentioned that when the men are in their animal form only some of them maintain their human conscience. Some completely become the animal. Such is the case for Steinarr. In his animal form he truly becomes a lion in every sense of the word. He has injured his fellow warriors and has chosen to keep his distance from all, except for Torvald who travels with Steinarr. Torvald takes the form of a horse by day and keeps watch over Steinarr at night. He guards against any humans crossing Steinarr's path when he is in his lion form. It seems like such a lonely life for both of them.

Steinarr is basically a mercenary with a bit of a conscience. I liked him a lot. He has a dry sense of humor which I always find attractive. He's very practical about what he can expect from life. He doesn't expect any long term relationships with a woman. He prefers to pay for their company so no promises are expected. After coming across Marian and Robin while traveling he helps them out then heads off to complete his job and collect his fee. It's while collecting his fee that he's offered another job. Ironically the new job involves Robin and Marian. Steinarr thought he had left those two behind but now he finds himself right in the thick of it, along for the ride in the quest to find the clues and secure Robin’s inheritance .

Marian is a strong, likeable heroine. Her loyal to Robin comes not only from her strength of character but also the fact that she knows and understands what he has been put through by their father. She is determined to help him in his quest but she does at times come off as too over protective of Robin. Eventually she learns that she needs to let him take responsibility for himself.

Marian was determined to get Steinarr to help her and Rob and Steinarr was determined not to. Guess who got their way? LOL Yep, she's stubborn and attractive and gets under Steinarr's skin. He's not use to dealing with women except for the previously mentioned transactions so he's not exactly experienced when it comes to women like Marian. He even tries to scare her off but she knows what he's up to and she doesn't scare easily.

The road trip that Steinarr and Marian take is filled with danger, laughter and some very steamy sex scenes. I liked these two together. I liked reading how they slowly came to trust each other and take the relationship beyond the physical attraction. And searching for the clues to the riddles was fun and an education in history.

The secondary characters do an admirable job filling out the story. Cwen, the sorceress who cursed the nine warriors, is still hot on their trail and is determined to cause as much chaos for them as possible. As far as antagonists go I like her. She evil, cunning and I’m not always sure what she’s up to. That's always a plus. :) It’s not enough that she placed the curse on the Vikings, she wants to continue to make them suffer.

And Ari is back to help where he can. He was friends with Ivo, the hero from the first book Immortal Warrior. This time around he's tagging along with the Steinarr during the day, helping him with Robin and Marian. Ari is a raven at night and keeps in touch with the other warriors. He's also their scribe, keeping a journal of their lives. I'm looking forward to his story.

Overall, another enjoyable addition to this series. And the covers are just beautiful. Love these covers! For more information on this series and other books by Lisa Hendrix check out her website.

Rating: A-