#BookReview: “The Warrior King” by Abigail Owen

Blurb

Meira Amon is the most reserved of the phoenixes, finding computers easier to deal with than people and their messy emotions. But she wants revenge against the Rotting King Pytheios for the murder of her parents just as much as her sisters. Offering herself as a queen for their ally, dragon shifter King Gorgon of the Black Clan, only makes sense.

Just one problem…

Samael Veles worked his lowborn ass off to become the fiercest warrior of the Black Clan. He has pledged his life to protect his king at all costs. Yet somehow, in the middle of war, he took one look at a woman in a reflection and gave up his heart. When that woman turns out to be the phoenix promised to mate his king and help bring peace to their kind, he has no choice but to accept it.

Until her fire unexpectedly destroys the king after they’ve wed. Now Samael must choose between his loyalty to his clan and protecting the queen who might be his mate from his people’s wrath, one of which will unlock a destiny no one could have ever imagined…

Review

In the book three of the Inferno Rising series, Meira Amon is one of four phoenix shifters who are destined to marry dragon kings in an attempt to save the dragon race from a cruel tyrant, the Rotting Red High King of the six dragon clans. She has pledged to marry Gorgon, the king of the Black Clan, but she can’t stop longing for Gorgon’s captain of the guards, Samael Veles. She knows deep in her heart that Samael is the one for her, but she refuses to back out of her commitment to Gorgon.

Samael, likewise, is honor-bound to serve his king, who is like a father to him, and to protect his king’s new queen. His feelings for her are nearly uncontrollable, but when Gorgon disappears and Meira’s life is in danger, he and Meira have no choice but to go on the run together.

What a fun story! It’s been a while since I read the previous books, but I remembered much of the world building. I’ve been looking forward to this story for a while. There were a few twists and turns, and I kept making guesses about what was going on and what was going to happen next. Some things I was right on, some I wasn’t, but I really enjoyed watching Meira and Samael find their way to their happily ever after. Some wonderful secondary characters died, but sorry, no spoilers. Warning, though, have some tissues handy. One of the deaths in particular was definitely hard to read.

The previous couples return—Brand/Kasia, and Ladon/Skylar—which was great. Even some characters from the Fire’s Edge series, which the Inferno Rising series is a spin-off of, showed up. The rebel dragon Rune is one of my fav characters from all the books.

There are some unanswered questions, most that involve Rune’s subplot, like what is he and his followers going to do now and what’s happening with the new unmated women who are at the Blue Clan stronghold? I don’t know which of the two series will address these questions and continue the plot line, so it’s a little frustrating. There were also a few typos, which had me stumbling over some words. The pacing slowed down at times but then quickly picked back up and drew me in again.

Angelika and Airk’s story is set up next, and beyond all the couples, they’re the ones I’ve been most looking forward to reading about.

For readers who like to become immersed in a shifter world that has complex characters and several plot lines and arcs reaching across multiple books, you should check out this series.

4 Stars

— I’d love to know what you think of the book or my review. Please comment below.

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