Ancient Vendetta (Ancients Rising 4) by Katie Reus-Review Tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 28, 2021
His responsibility is to his pack, his people—the territory of New Orleans.
When the world devolved into chaos and fire, Alpha wolf King kept his territory from collapsing. Now, every day it seems there’s a new challenge—rogue witches, treacherous vampires, evil dragons. But his biggest threat is Aurora. Unique, magical, a female who sees him, the male, and not simply the Alpha in charge. But she’s thrown up so many walls that he’s afraid he’ll never be able to break through to the woman behind them. When the most dangerous threat they’ve ever faced ravages the city he’ll need her at his side—to defeat it, and then claim the woman who already owns him, body and soul.
But she makes him want more.
After being held captive for a year, Aurora has embraced her freedom. For the first time in her life she’s living away from her older sister in a new territory. A new world. She’s made friends and is helping New Orleans get back on its feet. Giving to others is helping her combat her PTSD, but she’s far from the woman she used to be. Even so, she can’t fight her ever present and growing attraction to King. Except she’s afraid she’s broken, that she’ll never be able to have a normal relationship again—that she can’t handle being an Alpha’s mate. When an evil linked to his past threatens to tear them apart and destroy the city, she must set her fears aside and find the courage to follow her heart—and the wolf who’s already won it.
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REVIEW: ANCIENT VENDETTA is the fourth instalment in Katie Reus’ contemporary, adult ANCIENTS RISING paranormal/fantasy romance series. This is New Orleans’ Alpha wolf shifter King, and phoenix aurora’s story line. ANCIENT VENDETTA can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion as there is a continuing theme throughout.
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 several third person perspectives including King and Aurora, following several paths, ANCIENT VENDETTA focuses on the building relationship and romance between New Orleans’ Alpha King and phoenix Aurora. An ancient enemy, long thought dead and buried, has arisen and King finds himself desperate to the claim the woman he loves but as the number of dead and dying human and supernatural creatures continues to grow, King finds himself not only reliving the horrors of the past, but facing a future without the woman he loves. Enter Aurora, a phoenix of immense powers but a woman who is willing to sacrifice herself for our story line hero. What ensues is the building friends to lovers relationship between Aurora and King, and the potential fall-out as King’s past returns to destroy them all.
Meanwhile, the Fae have come to New Orleans in an effort to form an alliance with King and his Pack but all is not well in the human realm. When an old enemy sets his sights on our story line hero, he will use any means necessary including the Fae, whose connections to King are about to be revealed.
The relationship between Aurora and King is a friends to lovers, immediate attraction between the New Orleans’ Alpha and the phoenix he loves but King has bided his time, time he no longer has in the face of an ancient vendetta. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate and seductive.
There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Aurora’s small pack of supernaturals-lion shifter Axel, tiger twins Harlow and Brielle, Lola,; half demon Cynara; Ingrid and Claudine;Rhys, Dallas; dragon healer Greer; dragon shifter Casimir, and his soon to be mate Jo, dragon shifter Prima; dragonlings Hunter and Willow: the Fae King Sorgin, and his daughter Cressida., and vampire Christian who may or may not have focused his attention on Axel. The requisite evil has many faces.
ANCIENT VENDETTA is a complex, detailed and exciting story that reveals more than one mating, several betrayals, and a connection and future alliance with the Fae of the Latore Kingdom. The fast paced premise is captivating and engaging; the slow building romance is impassioned; the characters are charismatic, powerful and determined.
Reading Order and Previous reviews
Ancient Protector
Ancient Enemy
Ancient Enforcer
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
And he stood there looking like deer in headlights. Good.
“Adeline,” he began.
“A text? Seriously? You blow me off with a freaking text,” she snapped out, her boots stomping forward of their own volition. That burning fire that had spent days kindling was licking up her spine now as she worked up a good head of anger.
He closed his eyes briefly as he moved toward her. “Look, it’s not what you think.”
“Really? It’s not what I think? You didn’t send me a dismissive, crappy text about an hour before our date? After spending all that time together and becoming…friends.” Or she’d thought they had. Obviously she was wrong. “So you didn’t blow me off after all that? And then ignore me right in front of people on Main Street?” It was quite literally possible there was actual steam coming out of her ears right now.
Guilt flickered across his expression for a moment but then his face went carefully neutral. “Look, I didn’t know how else to handle it. I just don’t think we should see each other. I shouldn’t have ignored you and I should have called, but—”
She’d took another step forward, hands on hips, when the front door behind her swung open with a bang.
She jumped and turned to find some guy stalking in. He had on heavy-looking boots, jeans, a short-sleeved T-shirt, and there was a chain hanging from his back pocket attached to his belt. And he had some ugly-looking tattoos on his arms. Prison tats.
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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