Heart of a Warrior

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Heart of a Warrior is the long-awaited sequel to Warrior’s Woman and Keeper of the Heart. Considering that KOTH was published nearly a decade ago, it is amazing how seamlessly this book picks up the narrative, and while it stands alone, it was also a delight to catch up with some favorite characters.

The hero from Heart of a Warrior is Dalden, whose parent’s story was told in WW and whose sister’s story was told in KOTH. The storyline picks up one year after the ending of KOTH when a carton of altering rods are stolen by Jorran, the High King of Centura. Because altering rods can turn men into slaves, there are obviously nefarious plans afoot, so Dalden gives chase to a small and unknown planet in a far away galaxy. That small and unknown planet is Earth.

Author Lindsey’s penchant for sly humor is well at work here; after Dalden lands on Earth, he enters a mall, where he encounters the six-foot-tall lady carpenter Brittany Callaghan. Brittany has suffered a lot of rejection from men because of her height, so when she spots a confused looking Dalden and rescues him from impending claustrophobia and sees that her height is not a turn-off to the seven-foot-tall gorgeous man, her response is quite sweet. Dalden enlists Brittany’s help in capturing Jorran – he leaves her with the impression that he and Jorran are foreigners from some obscure country.

After Jorran is captured, Brittany is transferred to the space ship and Martha the Mock II computer and Dalden inform her that not only are they space travelers, but that she is now on a ship going to the planet Sha-Ka-Ra. It is quite amusing to read this section of the book as Brittany doesn’t believe what she’s been told and attempts to reason it all out. Being the life mate of a guy like Dalden would certainly help me accept such a thing!

Dalden is a very interesting hero, he has long been conflicted with the dual heritage of his parents, who came from different worlds themselves. As a youth, he had solved this dilemma by denying his mother’s heritage and following his father’s warrior ways completely. In spite of his declarations, the tenderness, understanding and tolerance he shows Brittany definitely are not those of his father. But, one thing he shares with his father is a dry sense of humor and many of his conversations with Brittany simply sparkle.

Brittany is a wonderful lifemate for Dalden. She is brave, intelligent, strong, and stubborn – more then a match for any Warrior. She has pursued careers that were not considered “woman’s work” and her stubborness served her well in surviving the problems inherent for a woman pursuing those careers. Still a virgin at age 28, she just never met the right man before. Lucky for her the wait is definitely worth it; Dalden is every bit the tender and delicious lover Lindsey’s two other Warriors were. Martha (once his mother’s computer) refers to their lovemaking skills as great compensation for their attitude towards women and Brittany decides she may be right. But it is clear that Brittany and the rules for women on Sha-Ka-Ra are going to be an issue. Dalden tries to make Brittany understand that the rules are for her protection, but she pays no heed – with dire results.

Heart of a Warrior never lags and the action never stops, although not at the expense of Dalden and Brittany (or Martha the computer for that matter). The reader won’t always know how Dalden feels, but neither does he, which lends a nice air of mystery to this warrior. The nicest part of this “beauty and the beast” story is that our “beauty” realizes her home is wherever her “beast” is. And loving Brittany frees Dalden to accept his dual nature and become a complete man, not just a warrior “beast.” This sequel was worth waiting for, but please, Ms. Lindsey, don’t make us wait years for the story of Shanelle’s half-breed nephew from KOTH!

Reviewed by Linda Hurst

Grade: B+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date: 19/05/01

Publication Date: 2002

Review Tags: alien royalty

Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

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