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-

Immortal Warrior Winner...

The winner of the copy of Immortal Warrior by Lisa Hendrix is...

Carolyn Jean (CJ)

CJ ~ Please send me your snail mail address. I'll send out the book and forward your address to Lisa so she can send your goodies. Enjoy!

Review: Immortal Warrior and a Giveaway

Title: Immortal Warrior
Author: Lisa Hendrix
Genre: Historical PNR/Year 1095
Series: Immortal Brotherhood/Book 1
Published: November 2008

From the back cover ~

He came to England in search of treasure. Two hundred years later, he’s found her…

Ivar Graycloak is a brave warrior, a man known for his strength and integrity. He is also a man with a terrible secret. Long ago he was part of a Viking crew cursed by an evil sorceress to live for eternity as were-creatures. An eagle by day and a man by night, Ivar has lived a solitary existence for over two centuries. Then the king orders him to marry.

Lady Alaida is everything a man could want in a bride—intelligent, spirited, and beautiful—and their wedding night is a balm to Ivar’s lonely spirit. Then a seer brings him word of a dark vision, one that makes Ivar vow to stay away from his lovely wife forever. But now that Ivar has sampled Alaida’s passion, her humor and warmth, he is enthralled. His traitorous body-his very heart-longs for that which hecan never possess.

Lady Alaida may surprise him yet, though, for she has a power of her own-a power that will either destroy everything they hold dear or ultimately set them free…

I've had this book for a while, two copies as it turns out, more on that later. I even blogged about it here. (Got the part about them being men only at night wrong.) Why did I waited so long to read it? I'll blame the TBR pile and my fellow bloggers who keep recommending such wonderful books that I can't keep up. :) But when I remembered that the second book was coming out I thought it was a good time to start the first. Boy am I glad I did! What first caught my attention about this series was that it was historical as well as paranormal. It's the magic that makes it PNR. A witch cursed the nine Vikings so some must take animal form during the day and some take that from at night. That twist makes things more interesting IMO.

It's the year 1095 and Sir Ivo de Vassy (Ivar Graycloak) has been alive for over 200 years. Years in which he has spent the days as an eagle and the nights as a man. It hasn't been easy for him to keep his secret, he's had to move often, never staying long in one place to make friends or have any kind of real home. Lately, he has been spying for William Rufus, England's current king. Being an eagle during the day allowed Ivo to listen to conversation he would not have had the chance to had he been in his human form. An eagle as a spy... cool. The King had no idea how Ivo was able to get all the information he did but he was very pleased with it. So pleased that he sent Ivo to the north, giving him land and a bride.

Lady Alaida ~ I liked her a lot. She was smart and confident. Even when she was shaking with fear on the inside she still held herself together on the outside. She was bold at times with her words and not afraid to use her intellect to keep her people and her home safe and out of harm's way. She realizes quickly that she is in no position to do battle with Ivo. Not that she wants to wed him but she can hardly tell him no since it's by William's order and her grandfather is currently his prisoner. So she makes the best of it but doesn't make it easy on Ivo. Of course when he has to leave each morning before sun-up that only adds to the tension in their relationship.

Ivo and Alaida together were even better. Their love story was bitter sweet since Ivo knew he wouldn't be able to stay for long. He figured it was only a matter of time before he must leave before people would start to question why he was never there during the day. Alaida and Ivo both came to care for each other but for Alaida it was difficult because she didn't know where Ivo went during the day. He told her he went hunting and that basically it was none of her concern. She knew he didn't hunt everyday - he rarely brought back any kills. She tried not to let it bother her that he left every morning but it bothered her deeply and kept her from trusting him.

Even though this is the first book in the series the world building and rules were woven into the story quite well. It's not as complex as some PNR series but there is the history of the men and how they have survived all these years that is covered. We learn through conversations and internal dialogue between Ivo, Brand and Ari how they came to be cursed and what they have been doing these past centuries. There is also a distinct feel for the time period. From the descriptions of the clothing to the workings of the keep and building of a castle. Everything gave the feel of that period. There were in fact a few things I needed to look up, it's been a while since I read anything set in this period. Overall, I certainly got the sense that the author did her homework on the time period.

Brand and Ari are two of the nine cursed and keep in close contact with Ivo. They both journey to Alnwick to see this land and bride that Ivo has been given. Spending time with Alaida and getting to know the people of the north. Sir Ari is the storyteller of the group and he keeps a journal of what happens to the men. Brand was the leader of the Vikings and the one that killed the son of the sorceress, bringing about the curse. He carries a heavy burden and spends his time searching for the sorceress. The relationship between these warriors was remarkable to read. The way they looked out for each other, had the others backs. They did this even with Ari human during the day and Brand and Ivo human at night. They still maintained that bond of brothers in arms.

The changing from man to animal doesn't affect each warrior the same. Some maintain more of what you could call their human perception. While others seem to become the animal completely and are dangerous because of it. Brand for one becomes the bear during the day and when he changes back to a man he doesn't remember what he did as a bear. Where as Ivo, while in his eagle form, is aware of his surroundings as they relate to his human side. He even spends time follow Alaida when she travels so that she refers to him as "her eagle."

The nine different animals that the men take the form of are: Eagle, Bear, Raven, Bull, Lion, Horse, Wolf, Stag and Dog. I like the fact that Hendrix went with some of the less traditional weres like the Stag, Bull and Horse. The Bull ~ LOL. I can't help but grin when I think of that one. Sorry. ;)

The progress of the love story, the search for the sorceress and a way to break the curse drove the story line. I was surprised at how fast I read this one. I seem to read historicals the slowest of the various genres but this had a quick pace that kept me eager to see what would happen next. Speaking of next, the next book in the series Immortal Outlaw was just released on Tuesday - I'm almost done with it. It's got a bit of a twist on the Robin and Marian fable. So far a very fun read. More info on Lisa Hendrix and her books can be found here.

Rating: A-

The Giveaway ~ I mention earlier in the post that I have two copies of this book. Not sure how that happened. I had one on my TBR bookcase then I found another one still in the Borders bag. I'll blame it on the fact that it was the holidays when this book was released and things were very hectic. I have a reputation in my family for buying Christmas gifts, hiding them and then not finding them until a few months after Christmas. :)

So leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a random commenter to win the Borders copy of Immortal Warrior. The contest will run until midnight, next Thursday, June 11. Contest is open to residents of US and Canada.

New Releases...

Today marks some wonderful goodness coming readers way in the form of new releases.

First up is the latest release, Demon Bound, in the Guardians series by Meljean Brook. From Meljean's website:

The seductive and dangerous world of the Guardians now yields a secret that threatens the soul of a woman and the fate of the universe, both Demon Bound…

Among the Guardians, Alice Grey is known as the Black Widow—a woman trapped in a web spun by the demon Teqon. To save her soul, she agreed to deliver to Teqon the heart of the oldest and most powerful Guardian of all, or else be damned for eternity. After more than a hundred years, Teqon is calling in his debt.

Jake Hawkins is a novice Guardian whose gift of teleportation could be invaluable to Alice in determining her next move. But in aligning himself with her he never expected to fall in love. Now, their passionate flight to escape Alice’s damnable bargain is threatening both their souls. For they’re about to discover a hellish secret about the Guardians—something that will change their universe forever.

So I think I'm the last one to read this series. What the heck I was waiting for? I don't know. I have read the short story Falling for Anthony in the Hot Spell anthology and I will definitely be reading more. If you'd like to read some reviews for Demon Bound, Meljean has posted some on her blog here. This is one series I'm looking forward to gloaming! You can find out more about the Guardians and their world at Meljean's site. Demon Bound is the seventh book, including the three anthologies, in the series.

Next up is Sherrilyn Kenyon's latest entry into her Dark Hunter series, Stryker's story One Silent Night.

Blurb from Amazon:

While the world carries on unawares, Stryker, who leads an army of demons and vampires, is plotting an all out onslaught against his enemies—which, unfortunately for us, includes the entire human race. To avenge his sister, Stryker prepares to annihilate the Dark-Hunters. But things go awry when his oldest enemy returns. Enter his ex-wife. Zephyra. Just when he thought nothing could stop him, he’s now embroiled in a centuries old war with a shrew who gives new meaning to pain.

Yep, I'm still reading the Dark Hunters and am curious to see how Stryker will be redeemed, or if he will.

The next new release is a new series by an author that is new to me. The first book in Lisa Hendrix's paranormal series about Vikings, Immortal Warrior, is released today. It sounds absolutely wonderful. The series is about nine Viking warriors who are cursed to turn into animals during the day and are men at night. Each warrior is a different animal and their story takes place during a different century. I will certainly be adding this to my TBR pile.

Synopsis:

He came to England in search of treasure. Two hundred years later, he’s found her…
Ivar Graycloak is a brave warrior, a man known for his strength and integrity. He is also a man with a terrible secret. Long ago he was part of a Viking crew cursed by an evil sorceress to live for eternity as were-creatures. An eagle by day and a man by night, Ivar has lived a solitary existence for over two centuries. Then the king orders him to marry.

Lady Alaida is everything a man could want in a bride—intelligent, spirited, and beautiful—and their wedding night is a balm to Ivar’s lonely spirit. Then a seer brings him word of a dark vision, one that makes Ivar vow to stay away from his lovely wife forever. But now that Ivar has sampled Alaida’s passion, her humor and warmth, he is enthralled. His traitorous body-his very heart-longs for that which hecan never possess.

Lady Alaida may surprise him yet, though, for she has a power of her own-a power that will either destroy everything they hold dear or ultimately set them free…

I'm sure I've missed quite a few new ones coming out but these were the ones that I could remember. So, what new releases are you looking forward to?