Darthan Chul must die. Rina doesn't care if he's an infamous warlord. His beauty won't sway her She's got a job to do, and he's going to die by her hand just like all the others before him. But... why is he so damn difficult to kill?
Warlord & Huntress is a 26000 word fantasy romance novella. It's an old work of mine that was previously published under a different pseudonym.
Another 2.5 stars, this is probably just me, please judge for yourself
This had some great potential for a fantasy novella and it was slightly unrealized and underdeveloped in my opinion. Rina (h) is an assassin and Darthan (H) is the warlord target that's her current assignment. She fails in her initial attempt and also feels some unwelcome attraction to him as well. He returns the attraction and in their subsequent interactions, he prods her to encourage her to break out of the assassin mindset thinking. The romance isn't really the focus and felt more like lust and mutual admiration that was labeled as stronger emotions at the end. A couple of quick steamy scenes felt out of place to me and rushed unfortunately. Written in third person, dual POV. No ow/om drama, H didn't appear to be a virgin (no history given other than he'd never claimed a woman publicly) and h was a virgin.
Both Rina and Darthan have an enemy in a group of people who've previously invaded their lands but who Darthan has pushed out so the plot focuses on the shared enemy, their individual characters, and Rina's mission to kill Darthan. There's danger from the bad guys, which includes a plot involving Rina's sister. Darthan had a tragic backstory, which is mentioned a couple of times but not delved into. There's a magic system sort of involving a sixth sense, which seemed very cool, but was hard to form a clear picture of.
Side characters were Darthan's brother-like friend (also an assassin) and glimpses of Rina's people and Darthan's people, but this is mostly the h and H. Some fighting and violence detailed at the end and there was an attempt at introspection at that time too that read more awkward for me. I did enjoy Rina's attempts to fulfill her assignment and how Darthan thwarted her but held back. The descriptions of each of their cultures were also interesting, though I wanted more of Rina's assassin culture. The ending is HFN and there's no epilogue sadly. Both Rina and Darthan were fascinating and the world sounded intriguing. Overall I was just left wanting more from this but I finished because I was curious.
I cannot handle reading about yet another man touching a woman sexually without permission.
Yes, she was trying to kill him. So, I'll not completely go nuclear on this book.
Why do authors think it's romantic or sexy for a male main character to touch a woman in such personal places without even knowing her name!? They aren't even friends.
It just feels so icky to me!!
I'm tired of rape culture being so glorified in so many romance books. Consent is super important. Your response to someone killing you shouldn't be sexual assault. If it is, I question whether you're someone I want as a main character!!
—she is the badass assassin send to kill him. —he is the warlord turned conqueror. —short, steamy, well developed, characters with depth. —romantasy novella. —safe, KU and recommended.
This was a cute little fast paced novella for me. I really enjoyed Darthan, who was clearly immortal or something, challenging Rina's assassination skills and absolutely falling for her even though she tried to kill him at first. The banter between them was perfection for me. The steamy scenes however read a little weird and one scene in particular I had a bit of trouble imagining but overall this was a great almost slump breaker.
I was quite impressed with this book. It didn’t read like one, it read almost like a full length novel. All the key elements of a good story are here. Interesting characters, Darthian, a warlord on another world who is fighting to free the inhabitants of a small territory taken over by an evil empire, Rina, a young assassin who has been sent to kill him, setting, another world that comes across as nearly medieval in tone, excellent world building for its short length and a real good story that made this hard to put down once I picked it up again.
Anna Carvan is a new to me author but I will absolutely be reading more of her work. She says in the introduction this is one of her earliest books and she’s since polished it up and released it. If she’s this good this early in her writing career, I’m really excited about trying her books.
The Pros - Decent grammar, including the depressingly rare accurate use of the pluperfect. Unfortunately, that's literally all I've got.
The Cons - The "huntress" is a contradictory character - sometimes lethal and domineering, others blushing virgin. It doesn't work. - Huntress =/= assassin. Warlord and Assassin would be a perfectly acceptable title. Why not use it? - The two main characters are as easily turned on as a fourteen year old boy and I'm not into it. I wanted to shake them and be like "Hello! You are fighting for your life! Could you please focus?" - Also, instalove. Like, she abandons her entire life level of instalove. - Very easy conflict resolution = no tension = nothing to motivate me to keep reading. I skimmed through the last few chapters, which is saying something because this is a novella.
❥ 𝑹𝒊𝒏𝒂 She is an deadly assassin who does everything to protect her sister.
❥ 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 The dangerous warlord fell instantly for Rina and I was here for it.
✥ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 A good but very short read. There was so much potential for a long enemies to lovers storyline but sadly this is just a novel. In my opinion the plot was a little too complex for these amount of words and sometimes I didn‘t understand everything (because of the lack of worldbuilding). But I enjoyed Rina and Darthans love story so thumbs up.
Cute short standalone novella WITH an excerpt/teaser scene from the Dark Planet Mercenaries book 8! This story was great for a novella, it packed a lot into the short format and was entertaining.
I have read almost every book by this author and loved many of them, so when I saw that this book existed it was a given that I was going to buy it. Sure it was short, but it was definitely a fun read. I really liked both characters and absolutely loved them together. They were perfect for each other.
Rina comes from a hidden village that is famous for their assassins. She is one the best, and nothing makes that more clear than when she comes closer to killing her target than anyone ever has before. Her current target being the Warlord Darthan Chul. From the moment she first sees him in the dark of his bedroom, she can't help but admire everything about him. Even as they fight, she has an incredibly hard time trying to control her ever increasing desire for him. And when he lets her live, he's all she can think about.
Darhan was nothing like rumors made him out to be, or even what one might think of as a typical warlord. In fact, he has almost grown weary of it all. But his people are literally unable to go without violence without losing their minds. And he's also determined to take back all that was stolen from them. Much like Rina, that first night they meet he is immediately taken with her. And he lets her go because he knows she'll be back.
Like I said, these two were perfect for each other. Every time they meet, they end up fighting but it always turns the both of them on. Rina is the only one who even attempts to fight the attraction because there is a reason she must kill him. Thankfully Darhan is harder to kill than people realize and she fails every time. Now challenged to think about her actions and not be a mindless killer, Rina learns she can have what (or who in this case) she wants and still protect those she must. I love seeing couples being sweet with each other one moment and vicious fighters the next, and that's how we end with these two. They're both killers, but now they'll fight together for what they believe in and for each other.
I also loved Darhan's right hand man Kei. I totally wouldn't mind getting a novella of him as well as he goes to complete the mission he was sent on here because it's obvious what would happen between him and his target if we got it.
Romance novellas generally depend upon second chances or insta feelings. There is just not enough time to develop a relationship slowly. This one started strong, with interesting cultures at the forefront and well controlled flow of info, especially on the main characters' histories/motives. But I felt that the resolution of the romantic storyline happened too quickly. I would have preferred it to happen at the same time as external conflict was resolved, or rather the coming together happened in the aftermath of it. Tension dropped by half after that.
Some readers are not fond of the breakup type scene that is common in a romance story's third act. I find foregoing that structure only works for me if something still keeps the mains apart till the end.
For that reason, this is a 3 star, not a 4 star review.
The writing style was ok although it was often repetitive.
I liked the dual POVs and the world building was ok, but I wanted to know even more about Darthan, "The Taint" and the Akuna.
I liked the characters. Rina was fierce, stubborn and a very good assassin. I wasn't too keen on how quickly she gave into her lust for Darthan but that's just my personal preference. Darthan was a good match for her and nobody stood a chance against them.
I was curious about Kietesh. I wish there was more information about him and it was never explained if he managed to rescue Rina's sister or not.
The ending was good and it made me want to read more books set in this world with these characters.
A-f'n -MAZING !!!!!!! This story was spectacular from beginning to end !! I was absolutely captivated !!
Rina is an assassin. A very good one. She has been hired to do her job, and eradicate the Akun warlord. But she soon finds out that that is easier said then done !!
Darthan is the warlord of the Akun, and is very good at his job. He and his warriors now occupy the fortress, and have taken back what the Erateans had taken . Little does he know that his life is about to change !! I truly enjoyed this story and hope that there is More !!!
It's fast paced and the light read that I need amongst all the angsty books I've read recently. I love this author's writing style so I will read all her books. One question entered my mind once I've read this: I want more. I think there's so much more to the Akuna (who reminds me of the Kordolian Lost Tribe) and the Inue (like the Silent Ones). I love Keitesh and I think if there will ever be a sequel book, then it will be his (and possibly Mira). I love that Rina's a warrior and can aid him in fights if needed. That's the type of dynamic that I'm looking for in books. The ending was a bit rushed, but it's okay.
The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because it's too short. However I really liked it you can tell that it's a precursor to the Dark Star Mercenaries storyline. It's not space travel but you can tell that some of the ideas translated into that series. Still it was really good I liked it. I hope she writes another one even though this book is old I would like to know what happens to the sister.
How can you not love a man who is bound to do the right things to keep you safe and sound? And the love between these two vicious killers is not lost as they seek justice in their own bloody way. I wish I'd known that they lived happily ever after but from what was left, it's assuredly bloody but beautiful. I enjoyed this story and it gratifies my HEA monster every time I read a book like this. Hats off to ms Carven for a story well done!
The assassin and the warlord! What great book, beautiful world building and characters. Others will tell you about the plot, but if you want to read a great book, this is it! There Was quite a few events I didn’t see coming. I want a warlord! Can’t wait until next book.
I enjoyed the characters. For such a short story amazing character development and world building.
My only real negative was some of the sex scenes felt awkwardly and unnecessary. graphic. I feel like they were added to the love scenes as a selling point. Totally unnecessary. (But still quite tame).
Glad the author republished this "old" work. I really enjoyed the world building which has tons of potential and the ending is suitable for continuing into a series. How Darthan and Rina grow as a couple and their mission. How Kietesh might fall in love with Mina while rescuing her.... would be awesome...
An amazingly well written quick story. The FMC and MMC compliment each other so well and it sets up the plot for the main book (vengeance) in a way that makes you want to binge read all night long.
This book is like the appetizer you order that you think you’ll like, and once you get into it you think “holy shizballs I need more of this x5 ASAP”
It’s exciting and different, and I imagine it would have made an amazing series or epic novel. Here is so much squeezed into a short space and that’s what makes it exciting. I hope we get more one day.
You can certainly see the beginnings of what Anna was destined to write. I enjoyed the story though it did leave me with questions about where the characters would end up becoming. I hope that Anna continues this storyline. But don't stop the Kordolian tales, I'm addicted
Rina is sent to kill Darthan the Warlord, she makes to his bedroom but he wakes and stops her. Shockingly he lets her go but her code has her trying again, again she fails but Darthan knows on thing, she is meant to be his in this entertaining tale.
This was so good! Much better than I expected to be truthful. Beautifully written and I do not feel like I missed anything or will be left hanging because of how short it is.
Anna writes these characters like no other !!! I cannot recommend this author highly enough, having only discovered her recently I’m devouring her back catalogue!
I really liked it. And yes, we have instalove here, but it's a short story, so there wasn't room for the relationship to develop over a long period of time. I would love to read more about the characters' lives.
I liked the whole essence of the story. It was an enjoyable and interesting story. I do so hope there is a following book about the rescue of the sister.