ANCIENT WARRIOR (Ancients Rising 8) by Katie Reus-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 11, 2023

The last time she saw him…

Long before The Fall, before the world changed forever, tiger shifter Harlow worked in Black Ops for the safety of all shifters. She excelled at her job, loved everything about it, until the male she loved tried to kill her. So she was forced to kill him first.

She killed him.

Now Aodh is back. And this fierce, dominant dragon shifter won’t stop until he gets answers. But things aren’t what they seem and now he has more than a battle with Harlow on his hands. If they want a chance at a future, they’ll have to take down an ancient enemy who has targeted not only them, but their friends—and it’s going to take uniting all their skills to survive.

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REVIEW: ANCIENT WARRIOR is the eight instalment in Katie Reus’ contemporary, adult ANCIENTS RISING paranormal, fantasy romance series. This is dragon shifter Aodh, and Siberian Tiger shifter Harlow’s story line. ANCIENT WARRIOR can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

SOME BACKGROUND: Months earlier, several dragons rose from their sleep, and in the aftermath destroyed much of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, in an apocalyptic showdown known as The Fall, but in doing so revealed the existence of the supernatural world to humankind. Ancients Rising focuses on the recovery of the city, and the group of supernaturals and dragons who have come to call New Orleans their home.

Told from third person perspective ANCIENT WARRIOR in the wake of the rising of dragon shifter Aodh. Approximately fifteen years earlier, Aodh was betrayed by the woman he loved, left to suffer at the hands of an energy witch. Having been imprisoned underground in the world of the Fae, the magic around Aodh began to wane, and he found himself on the hunt for the woman he used to love. Enter tiger shifter Harlow, a woman whose heart was broken by the man she once loved, a dragon who is determined to destroy her life. What ensues is the rebuilding romance and relationship between Aodh and Harlow, as Aodh, Harlow, and her team go in search of a serial killer targeting entire Fae villages.

Harlow and Aodh never knew the real truth, only the truth they had been lead to believe. A witch of enormous power had entrapped our story line hero, leaving him in hibernation for close to fifteen years. Harlow struggled to move on from the loss of the man she once loved, a man who believes Harlow left him to die.

The relationship between Aodh and Harlow is one of second chances. Aodh believes he was targeted year before, target by the woman that had stolen his heart. Reconnecting with the past, Aodh and Harlow enter into a journey of redemption, in an effort to take down a serial killer. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

Once again, there is a large ensemble cast of supernatural secondary and supporting characters. We are introduced to Brielle and Harlow’s parents, as well as Brielle’s fated mate Vita.

ANCIENT WARRIOR is a story of betrayal and vengeance, power and control, murder, madness, determination and love. The fast paced and character driven premise is inviting and intriguing; the romance is fated and edgy; the characters are dynamic and determined.

Reading Order and Previous reviews
Ancient Protector
Ancient Enemy
Ancient Enforcer
Ancient Vendetta
Ancient Retribution
Ancient Vengeance
Ancient Sentinel

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Katie Reus is the New York Times, USA Today, and IndieReader bestselling author of the Red Stone Security series, the Moon Shifter series and the Deadly Ops series. She fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it.

However, she didn’t always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally graduated summa cum laude with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense. Her book Avenger’s Heat recently won the Georgia RWA Maggie Award for Excellence in the fantasy/paranormal category.

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