Scarred Warrior (Dark Warrior Alliance, Book 4)

Book four of the Dark Warrior Alliance follows Gerrick-sorcerer and Dark Warrior, an immortal sworn to protect both immortals and humans from the evils that lurk in and around Seattle.  Brooding, laconic Gerrick rescues Shae, a beautiful vampire, from a pair of powerful archdemons who had been torturing her and a group of female captives.  She and the other captives are brought to Zeum, the vampire king’s residence for rehabilitation.  The immediate attraction between Gerrick and Shae unnerves the warrior, who had lost his Fated Mate centuries before.  Shae, too, fights the attraction, feeling too damaged by her tormentors and fearing the venom they left in her may endanger Gerrick and the rest of the king’s household.  As Gerrick and Shae get closer, the archdemons try to use her to attack Zeum and recover an ancient and powerful talisman.  Though set in Seattle, the battles are epic and encompass the interests of many worlds.

“Scarred Warrior” is a fabulous romp, filled with a Russian novel’s worth of fascinating characters: sorcerers, witches, vampires, demons, shape-shifting alien dragons, even angels.  Gerrick and Shae are sympathetic characters whose struggles against a compulsive attraction they don’t understand or trust are poignant.  The surrounding characters are vividly drawn as well, making for a rich and layered world.  Magical battles abound, and sex is plentiful—perhaps too plentiful—and graphic, but full of emotion.  Though this book stands well on its own, the reader will definitely want to go back and read the previous installments of the Dark Warrior Alliance series.

Marc Jacobs