Immortal Warrior Review

Immortal Warrior

by Lisa Hendrix

Back of book's blurb:

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 forever as were-creatures. An eagle by day and a man by night, Ivar's existence is a solitary one―until 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 Ivar word of a dark vision that causes him to vow to stay away from his lovely wife forever. But now that Ivar has experienced Alaida's passion, humor, and warmth, he is enthralled. His traitorous body―his very heart―longs for that which he can never possess.

Lady Alaida may surprise him, however, for she has a power of her own―a power that will either destroy everything they hold dear or set them free...

My Review

   I got this as a recommended read. As always, I am apprehensive about whether I will enjoy a recommended story or not, knowing as little as the front cover art and maybe the blurb (if I even take a chance to read it), but I will confess that I quite enjoy the cover..ahem, art. Thankfully, it's story was just as a good.

  Immortal Warrior is the first of the Immortal Brotherhood series. Each in the series follows a life of the 9 warriors that were cursed to be different were-beasts, by the powerful sorceress Cwen avenging her son murdered in battle, and finding their way to release the spell. This one tells the story of Ivar Graycloak, dubbed Sir Ivo de Vassy by the king, and his trials of once again becoming a man amongst natural men. The king offers his knight land but with the stipulations of having to wed the former lord's granddaughter, Lady Alaida of Alnwick, and building a castle there.

  The conditions prove to be a bit of a challenge, especially since Lady Alaida's grandfather is imprisoned by the very same king for treason. So Ivo faces having to woo Alaida, not wanting to put force or hurt her, as well as gain favor of all the people of Alnwick. Though most servants of the manor quickly find him to their liking, he struggles with Alaida who thinks him a dangerous man just as his king. But she marries, if only for the survival of her people.

  Just as quick as the marriage, Ivo's fantasy of again living a normal life is threatened by a horrible vision: of his newborn child turning into flight of an eagle at dawn from it's crib―which only means inheriting his curse. So then he is burdened with  having to keep himself from succumbing to the dangerous urges of  passion with his gradually accepting and desiring wife. I felt so sorry for him, poor Ivo.

  As well as that, there are several other threats to his livelihood and his other two companions that are cursed with their own creatures. This story kept my interest as turn of events kept endangering the trio and their desire to somewhat free themselves from the eternal loneliness they're cursed with. I really enjoyed the characters, especially the gallant Ivo that I just fell in love with. A real knight in shining armor. Ahh...

  His fiery wife Alaida brought a lot of humor to the story. There were some very steamy scenes to help my imagination of the hero, too. I love that Lisa Hendrix did so much research to spin this wonderful tale and really made the environment so believable. The scene is set in mid-1090's, under monarch William II of England. 

If you like curses, magic, romance and a tale of love conquering all obstacles, this is a wonderful medieval fantasy to read. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the next in the series, Immortal Outlaw and Immortal Champion.

Book Details:

ISBN: 9780425224540

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 352

Genre: Historical Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Point of View: Third Person

Stand Alone / Series: 1st of Immortal Brotherhood series

Purchase Information: Amazon

**This book is listed on my bookshelf on PaperbackSwap if you're interested in reading.**