Soul of a Warrior

Immortal Warriors #1

by Denna Holm

Hours before she is torn away from everything she knows, Kimi Wicker comes face to face with a tall blond-haired stranger who claims to be her mate. But he also claims to come from another world. Thinking the guy a crazy psychopath, Kimi tries to run with her two best friends and a feisty tabby-cat in tow. No one anticipates a second stranger showing up, one with a completely different agenda. Kimi and her friends don't know who to trust when they find themselves abandoned on the hostile alien world. They are given no reason for why they are being left behind and no weapons to defend themselves against the predators of this strange new world. One man will do anything to see Kimi brought back safely, even sacrifice his own life. The second wants them both to suffer, alive, but forever out of reach of each other.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, Paranormal

340 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2013

About the author

A retired FEI competitor in dressage, Denna has earned her United States Dressage Federation Bronze and Silver Medals.

When an injury forced her to retire from training and showing horses, she turned her attention to her second passion in life, writing. Soul of a Warrior, a cross-genre paranormal/sci-fi romance was first published in 2013. There have been many more added to the list since then, and what a journey it has been. It's true what they say about a new door opening when another closes.

Denna makes her home in the beautiful state of Oregon. When she's not writing or editing, she enjoys spending time fishing, hiking, and hunting for mushrooms, Summers are spent in the garden with her faithful German shepherd Abby always by her side.

Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, Kimberly Wicker had no reason to belive this wasn't going to be just like any other work night at McMillan's Tavern. She joked with her co-worker Keith, and her wild best friend and roomate, Amanda Cross, came in an hour late for her shift - everything felt normal. Until, that is, when Kimi notices a man in the crowd who stuck out like a sore thumb, and he's sitting in her section. Shortly after serving him, she notices his disappearance and the appearance of another stranger. That's not where the oddness of the night ends, however.

Kimi noticed strange details about these men, like an accent she can't place, just how sharp their canines are and an unexplainable attraction to one of them. While neither of them had done anything to imply they would harm anyone, she just can't shake the uneasy feelings and bad vibes she's getting. When she starts hearing a voice inside her head she thinks she's gone crazy, and when she all of a sudden falls ill she decides to go home - that's when things get really crazy. One of the darkly mysterious men from the bar is waiting to abduct her from inside her house, but that's not all, the other one apparently has her best friend, Mandy!

Neyvarre is a Laizahlian (vampire / blood drinker) and a very powerful hunter and Tallyn is a Lycaeonian (werewolf / shape shifter) and he's not only a great tracker but the prince of the Tialaeku people. Both are from from the planet Laizahila. When they are informed by their council that two of the criminals they put in Tahni asylum had recently escaped, they knew they would have to find them and fast. Considering the circumstances and results of their imprisonment, the hunters knew that Elias and Kejell would be out for blood. Driven mad by the loss of their eillelés (lifemates), what better way to extract revenge than by taking the mates of the ones who wronged them? With nothing left to lose, they intend to make them suffer a worse fate than they did. What's worse is the rogues have hidden the women on another planet and time is running out for all of them.

Will the hunters be able to save their unknowing mates from the revenge crazed rogues and figure out which planet their lifemates and their friends are on before one of them dies? How did Elias and Kjell escape the asylum, anyway?

The Soul of a Warrior by Denna Holm is a fast paced paranormal sci-fi romance story, and is the first installment of her Immortal Warriors series.

After reading Dark Warrior, a short story based in the same world(s) as this book about a year ago, I was very interested in seeing what this book was about. While the two books are about completely different characters and events, I enjoyed seeing Denna Holm's fantasy world from different eyes (although I do still hope to read a sequel to Dark Warrior). I love how different this author's vampires and werewolves are from the usual depictions of them and the fact that they come from different worlds makes them even more interesting. One small detail I noticed about these two stories is about the animals/pets - the MC'S love really their pets. I forget what it was in Dark Warrior (horses, maybe?) but in Soul of a Warrior the MC is very attached to her cat named Hexa. I think it's sweet that the pets of this fantasy world are loved and never get forgotten and I hope this is something that shows through out the rest of this series, too.

The world building was good, although I wish the rules and culture of the Laizahlian planet was built up a bit stronger in the beginging, but eventually I felt that I had a good understanding of it. I really enjoyed learning about some of the other planets involved in this universe, they weren't just mentioned in name, but described in detail. Even more than being described we get to see first hand what a few different planets are like through three groups. Kimi, Mandy, Keith and Hexa (the cat) fight to survive on foreign terrain, while Neyvarre, Tallyn and Ayani (Neyvarre's sister) search for them on one planet and Gabriel and Calem (another hunter and tracker) search for them on another. I really enjoyed seeing the three groups' POV's while they explore and overcome different obstacles.

All of the characters were fleshed out and none of them were ever really left out or forgotten about. I enjoyed all the bantering, drama and refrences to certain things (like Star Wars, The Looney Toons, movie monsters, etc), but the characters cursed a lot - especially the "human" group. I normally don't mind cursing, but it happens so often I feel it gave the characters a negative effect. I did get used to it after a while, but I certainly think some of it could have been edited out. I loved Keith's sense of humor, he made me laugh a lot. Kimberly and Amanda were very strong female MCs, which I also enjoyed. It was interesting to watch how the hunters and trackers grew and changed because of certain events. Overall, I liked all the characters - even Elias and Kejell because it was easy to understand why they became the villains they were.

From the first chapter to the last, this book is filled with action and suspense, adventures on different planets, mated couples and lots of plot twists. When I first read a book by Denna Holm I was impressed with how she managed to combine paranormal, scifi and fantasy all into one book - it seemed like a strange concept to me, I'll admit. But she pulls it off so well! I'm definitely interested in continuing her Immortal Warriors series.



**** Thank you to Booktasters for introducing me to this author and thank you to Denna Holm for gifting me a copy of her book. ****

[Maria Dimitrova · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like Soul of a Warrior. Because there is a solid story to it but in the end there were too many things that annoyed me and made me downright uncomfortable. I'll tell you more about what I liked and disliked in the next couple of paragraphs.

Let's start with the cons. The structure of the narrative is that of a high fantasy novel which means long, detailed descriptions of freaking everything. I hate long, detailed descriptions. For me this can kill a book. That's why I generally stick to urban fantasy and paranormal as those genres generally don't employ this style of worldbuilding. I can stomach it if I switch to audio and space out for those parts but when reading there's so much skimming I can do before I get frustrated and I give up on a book. And while that alone wouldn't have made me give SoaW a 2 stars rating the "love" story chilled me inside.

I wasn't aware that this would skim so close to dark romance. And maybe for most readers it doesn't but the first few encounters between Kimi and Neyvarre left a bad taste in my mouth. There was no violence per se but some of the things he did are a violation on a level similar to rape. For example their first time together he mind controlled her and I'm pretty sure that that's how a date rape drug would affect someone. It was wrong and the fact that Nayvarre realized it was wrong made it even worse. So I couldn't warm up to this guy. Add to it the fact that everything that happened after that was more or less a consequence of his actions and he has managed to secure himself a place in my top 100 most hated male leads list.

And now onto why I wanted to like this book. First off it has a solid story. Sure the character arcs are a bit stunted but for a first book in a series it's amazing. And if the mind boggling details about the shape, size and colour of trees, animals, etc. weren't an issue (again this is a personal pet peeve, there are people who will think this is the book's best quality) I would have devoured it in a couple of days. Kimi's struggle, finding the inner strength to overcome her nature and the solid ties she has with her friends made her and endearing heroine - one I could root for. The side characters and the hints of their stories were fascinating and greatly enriched the narrative. I actually like the side characters a hell of a lot more than the leads and would love to read a prequel story about Calem and I'm dying to learn what his stake in Amanda is. Unfortunately the GR page of Ms. Holm is a bit of a mess and I'm having a hard time figuring out which of her books belong to this series and the proper order (thankfully Ghost Warrior is indicated as the second book at the end of SoaW so I can at least start there). And yes, I'm planning on giving Ghost Warrior a chance and deciding if this series is for me after that.

So to summarize Soul of a Warrior was not what I expected which probably played into why I didn't particularly like it. Combined with a couple of uncomfortable moments and unlikeable male lead and I'm surprised that I'm willing to give the second book a chance. However, the story is good and engaging, the side characters are fascinating and the series has great potential. So I'll give it one more chance.

A review copy of this book was provided through BookTasters in exchange for an honest review.

[D T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Denna Holm's 'Soul of a Warrior' offers a rich adventure for both the veteran and the newbie to the genre. A choice catch of fantasy icons strut their freaky stuff within a fascinating sci-fi landscape.

When I first saw that it had vampires AND werewolves I was worried about overkill - but it works due to the author's ability to give equal staging to the plot as well as the individuality of the characters. It comes across that she knows them ... adores them, bringing them to life in such a way that immersing yourself in it all is effortless. Although we are dealing with fantasy realms, I could feel the pain of transportation between worlds, the misery of it. The love, the pain, the fear - the erotica - it was all beautifully told and realistic.

There were one or two things I might have done differently myself. The narrative felt a little too relaxed and in particular, the use of slang words muddied the line a bit for me. I personally prefer a clearer definition, a more formal narrative to make the POV pop so that we instantly know when we are in someone's head. The only other thing that made me frown once or twice was the amount of cursing Kimi was doing. I realise that most modern adult writing contains strong language, and I can deliver plenty myself at times, but there were occasions in this book when I felt it didn't serve the character. Like so many things, less would have would have more impact for me.

Having said that, the plot is strong, sexy and exciting, the characters and their relationships are completely absorbing. I loved experiencing this new world and I never felt lost once.

This is a very worthy debut novel that left me wanting more. With so many novels to choose from these days it's hard to stand out from the crowd - this does, with addictive style.

Good luck to the author and thank you for this creative, highly enjoyable read.

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a lot. It's my primary hobby. As a result, I write a lot of reviews. As anyone who's read them regularly knows, it's almost never a good sign when I start taking notes on a book. Occasionally I'll jot down something I loved enough to want to ensure I remember to mention. But more often than not, I start a notes page when the irritants start to pile up. I'm afraid Soul of a Warrior had a fairly long list of notes by the time I finished. This is generally not a good sign.

Now, I want to say, before I get into what will likely be an extensive list of reasons I didn't like the book, that the writing and copy editing was pretty good. The idea for the book also seems to be an interesting one. Prior to sitting down to write this review I checked other readers' reviews on both Goodreads and Amazon and the book seems to have only 4 & 5 star reviews with a few lower ratings thrown in without explanation. So, maybe it's just me. I'd encourage people to pick it up and decide for themselves.

I'm going to throw a spoiler tag in here, in case anyone wants to skip the substantiation bits and jump straight to my final opinion, since my review is so freakin' long.

So, to start with my biggest issue, this isn't one book, it's two. And I don't mean one book that should have been broken into a first and second in a series. I mean two separate books, one sci-fi/action adventure and one Urban fantasy/Paranormal romance. If you combined the first 15% with the last 25 % of this book into one story and then renamed the characters of the remains of this book you would have two complete, better stories as a result.

The plot of Soul of a Warrior, as it stands, simply wanders all over the place, with very little to hold it into a nice tight story...ok, nothing to hold it together. It's just plain not a nice tight story at all. It starts out as urban fantasy/PNR (with cowboys, oddly enough), then drops the PNR completely for a while and falls into sci-fi/fantasy for the vast majority of the book, before throwing the paranormal and romantic elements back in at the end. (Additionally, I also felt it didn't know if those sci-fi/fantasy parts wanted to primarily sci-fi or fantasy. There were a lot of elements of both. The genre title makes this easy to combine and disguise the disquieting effect of a book that combines too many dragons and mystical creatures with stun guns and transporter beams.) It's jarring and very obviously different in tone and subject matter.

Further, the H/h (both sets, and there shouldn't be two sets because one gets very little attention and it's just a distraction from the already barely linked together plotline) are rarely in the story together. This means it doesn't feel like their story. It feels like Kimi, Amanda & Keith's Lost In Space (or on an alien world) adventure with the occasional discordant chapters dedicated to the strange guy Neyvarre thrown in on occasion.

Honestly, the sci-fi adventure would have been enough of a story without the PNR that's tacked onto the beginning and end of this book, especially since I felt it was given a lot more attention than the PNR element. The PNR bits felt like a whole string of vampire/werewolf tropes strung together, instead of an original story. I know it's hard to write anything new these days, but just about every aspect of that part of the book I've seen somewhere else (even the vampires from space). Again, as written this is essentially two stories. Trying to merge the two, as Holm has, only weakened both.

I very rarely say a book needs further editing. I think it's arrogant. Who am I to make such a declaration? And when I do, it's usually in reference to copy edits, which to be fair I found very few of. But here I'm going out on the limb. This book needs further content editing. It needs someone impartial to pull all the disparate parts into two readable books. If done well, Holm could have two eminently exciting stories on her hands.

Ok, that took a long time to explain and is the main issue I had with reading it. But it's not the only thing that bothered me. There were also some pet peeves that I alternatively rolled my eyes or ground my teeth at.

Here is one: In PNR, having women letting their sexual inhibitions go by virtue of being half asleep is a fairly common (and for my part, HATED) trope. Here it was used to neatly sidestep any sort of getting to know each-other between the main H & h (the secondary ones didn't even get this small courtesy). It was also used to allow Kimi to beg for 'it' without compromising her apparently all-important innocent virgin status. Because, of course, a 'good girl' wouldn't beg...or even accept 'it' and our H only deserves the best, i.e. a virgin, who isn't supposed to have any sexual desire of her own. And unless she's begging for 'it' our 'honorable' H would never give 'it' to her. So obviously, the only way for Kimi to be allowed sexual expression and for Neyvarre to take her is to completely remove her own volition from the equation. grrr Why? Why can't she be adult enough to have and express desires, both for Neyvarre and/or at any point in her twenty-something years on Earth?

Another is the way women/mates are handled in the text in general. Again, this isn't uncommon in PNR, but it still annoys me to encounter it (and, as I said, string of tropes). Mates, i.e. women, really seem like possessions. Men are driven to crazy revenge plots by loosing them or driven to crazy rescue attempts to save them or to crazy protective actions to, well, protect them. They are elements that drive men to action, but there doesn't seem to be much need to engage with them...or, you know, seek their consent for anything, not even moving across the galaxy to their 'new home.'

This idea is reinforced by their repeatedly being referred to as "the females"— impersonal almost inanimate individuals, instead of as Kimi and Amanda...you know, people. They'd been claimed as surely as if a caveman whacked them over the head with a club and dragged them back to the cave or a clan raiding party stole them away in the night. Their feelings on the matter were just expected to fall in line eventually. And they did.

Similarly, I was annoyed to discover that men finding their mates seemed to be the only dynamic that mattered, even though there are obviously female vampires. Again, this isn't a first. It's always been an irritant of mine that in PNRs in which supernatural beings search out their mates, it's almost always just the men. The whole mating process often doesn't even have a female equivalent. It's so common it's hardly worth commenting on. But here I got excited when I was momentarily thrilled to find that this book allowed a female to speak about the possibility of finding her mate. Then, two or so pages later this was said, "Slight though the odds may be, other of our males might have a chance to find unclaimed mates on Earth." Really? The female population was completely left out again, then?

Characters also display knowledge or assumptions they shouldn't be able to. Maybe the reader could, but the reader has access to information the characters don't. For example, at 94% Amanda says, "I know you think you love Neyvarre, and I'm happy for you, really I am." The problem is that there had been no discussion about Neyvarre between Amanda and Kimi and, had there been, Kimi would not have spoken of love, as she hadn't seen him in weeks and distrusted him at that time. So, what does Amanda base this sudden proclamation on?

Even worse, Amanda expresses hesitancy at being a werewolf's mate and possibly a werewolf herself, when as far as I can see she was never even told she was Tallyn's mate. (This is also an example of what I meant when I said having a second romantic pair cheated that second couple of needed or deserved screentime.)

Not only do the characters, as a group, come to decisions only a single one (or even just the reader) should be privy to, they also have mysterious changes in disposition. The characters meet BRIEFLY about 15% into the book, at which point Kimi doesn't trust Neyvarre at all, and then they are separated until about 90%. At which point they meet again and are instantly all lovey-dovey and trusting of one another.

Now, this holds a certain emotional resonance for the reader, as he/she has seen both parties' struggles (though mostly Kimi's), but if you think about it, the characters haven't seen or really communicated in that time, so there is no reason for there to have been such a drastic shift in attitude.

There were also a number of subtle ways Kimi was disempowered, even while doing things that should have made her a strong female lead. For example, allowing a man to take over her body in order to accomplish a task and thereby denying her, not only her own victory, but responsibility for it as well, as she was, "relieved not to be in control". This is a theme that was echoed two or pages later: "In fact, she rather liked being able to press up against his strong body, lean on him and let someone else control the reins for a while." 'Cause, of course, no woman would ever really want to be in real control.

Last of the fairly major irritants were the long rambling passages that broke up any action at inopportune times. For example: Kimi being talked through the mechanics of riding a dragon (very much like a horse apparently), which killed any anticipation of the actual dragon race. Or long descriptions of the Hunter's clothing, including the animal it comes from (even though this is a spacefaring/ transporter using species they still wear basic leathers), it's uses, protections, etc at 84% through the book. This despite the fact that they've been wearing the same clothes since the beginning. 84% through seems an odd time to decide to describe them.

Ok, so those are my biggies. Here are my minor ones (in no particular order), many of them are just basic 'but, huh?' type issues.

★How come, if no one would believe Elias when he claimed to have found his mate in a human, does everyone unquestioningly believe Neyvarre? Without him ever saying so even?
★The classic, "Hi, I'm the villain. Let me introduce myself and my evil plans to you."
★Unknown side characters that are introduced, only to die. It clutters the narrative.
★Endearments: the Hs that always call their mates 'Little One,' 'Princess,' or worst of all 'Child.' (I don't care how much longer the vampire or werewolf has been alive than the human, if they're gonna have sex, 'Child' is not an appropriate pet name.) Plus, Amanda, Kimi and Keith are always calling each-other 'babe,' 'Sweety,' 'Baby.' I'm from The South and this still annoys me.
★Huge infodumps
★occasionally stiff dialogue, especially from the vampires and werewolves
★flat, underdeveloped characters & little world-building outside of the dangers of Lavina.
★an unexplained religious undercurrent
★Kimi was once able to telepathically contact Neyvarre. He tries to help her. So, why does she never try it again? Conversely, why can't he contact her?
★The odd language disparities, like riding a dragon and talking about 'powering up' one's ability. Again, is it sci-fi or fantasy?
★Decisions that make no sense at all, beyond convenience to the plot progression. Example: after fighting to survive for weeks on a hostile world Kimi follows a werewolf she just met and within minutes agrees to gamble his, her, Amanda and Keith's lives in a race she has no reasonable expectation to win for a man she hasn't yet met. And everyone just goes along with it.
★All the hugging at the end. I've come to the conclusion over the years that anytime a book and it's character degenerates into copious amounts of hugging then it's lost it's way somehow. I'm not just being snarky. I find it often accompanies a failed attempt to symbolise everyone's happy ending and just comes across as sappy and overused instead.
★Passages like this: "It shocked her to see teaSoul of a Warriorrs shining in her friend's eyes." (That's how it's written too, just like that, with the missing space and extra Rs. I left it that way because I don't know if it's supposed to be that way or if it was an editorial error). But as this is, what I assume to be, the title passage it's obviously important. But it shows up at 98% with no explanation. What the hell does it mean?

So, to wrap up, this book has great reviews. I remind potential readers of that. But I, personally, couldn't find that shining example of literary genius others did. It's mechanically fine, but basically just annoyed the hell out of me repeatedly for 200+ pages.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

OR. McMillan’s Tavern (country western). Kimberly “Kimi” Wicker (mgr.), Amanda “Mandy” Cross (Kimi’s sister/roommate) & Alice were working the Friday night shift.
Amanda had tried to take care of Kimi.
She was sent home not feeling well.
Later Prince Tallyn (Tialaeku PPL, Mathias/Isabeau son, shapeshifter, Werewolf) tried to explain to her what happened to her.
He had also taken her to Diamond Lake where she had grown up.
Bad news Elias (rogue) & Kjell had escaped from Tahni Asylum yesterday.

Would something happen to Amanda also?
The governing system of Laizahlia consisted of 12 Laizahlian/12 Lycaeonian.
Falkner was the chair. Mathias (Tallyn’s father) & Isabeau (Tallyn’s mother) are both board members.
Who were Gabriel (Hunter) & Calem (tracker) sent to find?
Did something happen at Diamond Lake between Amanda & Tallyn?

Warning: This book is for adults only & contains violent or graphic adult content or profanity &/or sexually explicit scenarios. It may be offensive to some readers.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A fairly well written paranormal book. It wasn’t always very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish, but never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great paranormal movie, or better yet a mini TV series. I’m not sure I grasped the whole story content so I will only rate it at 3/5 stars.

Thank you for the free Goodreads; Crimson Cloak Publishing; instafreebie; Amazon Digital Services LLC; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Aly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me on a great adventure! "A handsome blond stranger shows up at Kimi Wicker’s place of work claiming to be her mate" What an great start to a book. I was hooked right way and wanted to find out more. How doesn't dream of a fairy tale like this where a handsome guy comes to sweep you off your feet? But there are great twists and turns in this book. I enjoyed it very much! * I received a copy of this book for free and this is my honest review*

[Mishka Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

**I received this in exchange for an honest review**

I enjoyed this book, it was a bit different to what is out there at the moment.

It got right into the action from chapter one, which although I like, because I like when stories start out right from the beginning, I was a bit confused and overwhelmed by what was going on. But it was soon sorted out and explained in chapter 2, so that worked out well. From then on the story moved on well and was explained throughout.

I have to say I really liked the formatting (I had it on Kindle).

The characters were good, I liked Kimberley and Amanda, and was able to relate to them both. Neyvarre was rather steamy and had me a swoon at times (look out for chapter 5, wow, that was steamy!). Each character was very individual and had a good presence on the page.

I do have to say that I thought some of the scenes went on for a bit longer than needed, I did skip a to the end of a couple. But in general they were well written and flowed nicely.

I liked the take the author had on paranormal creatures that have been around so much, it was refreshing and fun!

Overall I enjoyed it, I liked the concept, the story and the characters. Definitely worth a read if your looking for an adventure, romance read.

[Fallingleave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book.

The dialogues between the characters are so good. A thing that's very important to me.

The planet Lavina is created beautifully with a lot of details and new animals. I really like it and I really can imagine being there.

My two favorite scenes are the one where Tallyn shows up in Kimi's bathroom at the beginning of the story and the scene where Kimi has to ride a dragon-like creature.

The scene I don't like a lot is the time Neyvarre kisses Kimi while she sleeps because they only met one time before that so this is a little bit weird, on the other hand, once I was past this, the book read like a train.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy and sci-fi books. I also recommend it to people who love cute animals.

[Gwessie Tee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naughtiness 2 *

Omg fantastic book, utterly love it and definitely want to read more of Denna's book so found a new addiction and will hopefully be able to collect more Denina is a new author to me and I'm definitely glad to have found her.

I won't give spoilers but this book has everything you can want am with many twists and turns along the way and brilliant characters I hope will be featured in other stories also this is a book I very much got into and escaped to their world as if part of the adventure.

Highly recommend this to all who love shifters romance adventure and a whole lot more.
Thank you Denna for writing this amazing book. ♥

[Bookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Review:

Warning, though I try my best to avoid this, all reviews can contain spoilers of some kind. If you would like to know just my overall opinion of the book, and otherwise go into reading it blind, please scroll down to my overall and would I recommend it section.

I Voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lions, and tigers, and..... good god what the hell is that? Ok kitty cat forget Kansas, we are so not even on Earth anymore. If you’re going to dive into this book, be prepared for so much freaky dangerous stuff, it’ll make that witch’s monkeys and old road look like a nice sunny vacation spot. I was beyond not prepared for this level of strange; in fact before we get any further into this review I need to make a very important mention about the labeling of this book. I was told by Booktasters that this was a romance. I have no idea how this information came about, but it is also listed as a kind of romance on Goodreads and Amazon. Not sure if the author added this into the lists or if Amazon, Goodreads, ect picked this up form the reviews and comments on the story itself mentioning the some light romance; however, it is not a romance. At best this book has what’s called a slow burn romance, so it’s not the forefront of the story at all. When you go into a book thinking it’s a romance when it’s not, that will for sure throw you and cause some serious problems. Now this really might not be a fault of anyone but automatic labeling, if that’s a thing with Goodreads and Amazon. The first page of the book in the publication copyright section does not list it as a romance at all, however I never had a need to check genres in the copyright to be sure I got the right kind of book before, and honestly I should not ever have to double check that.

After rereading it twice (which is what made it take so long to read) to get my brain on the right genre and feel comfortable enough to write a review about it, this book is a well done fantasy sci-fi adventure. The world that Denna Holm has spun on the old tale about vampires and werewolves is very interesting. I never would have pictured them as actually being from another world until now.

Our story starts with Kimi at her job as a bartender. Some very strange guy walks in with an overpowering danger vibe that she wants absolutely nothing to do with. When I say nothing, I mean nothing. There is no bad boy allure to him for Kimi, just a get the heck away from me now you freak vibe. When he sits in her section and suddenly pops off with her full name without ever asking for it, Kimi is more than a little freaked out and tries to get away from the situation as fast as she can, but when strange dangerous yet hot dang sexy guy number two walks in, things take a turn from the weird to the downright confusing and painful. Turns out monsters like vampires and werewolves exist, as well as life on distant planets. Best part, dangerous guy number two is a vampire named Neyvarre, and he is supposed to be her mate. When Kimi and her two friends Amanda and Keith find themselves taken by Neyvarre’s old enemy and left to die horrible deaths on a distant planet things might get a bit difficult. Yeah, just a typical weekend working, no biggie.

This was a whirlwind of a ride to be perfectly honest. We spend a lot more time with Kimi and her friends than we do with the vampire Neyvarre and his werewolf friend Tallyn. I found that I actually really liked this set up. We get to see how brave Kimi actually is, as well as see what happens when a person is turned into a vampire in this world. Kimi starts out as a shy more calm girl but shows that even the shy ones can be brave as heck and save the day in unexpected ways.

I have to admit, I also really liked Amanda, who turns out to also have an other worldly mate but that is much more a background plot kind of thing in this book. Amanda starts out as the tough and loud girl, and that theme does hold throughout the book; yet, there are moments when that mask slips and we get to see the other side of her that is just as scared as everyone else. The way human/started human characters are planned out in this book is amazing.

With that being said, I have to say that one of the major downsides to this story is the creature development. This is without a doubt a spoiler to me, however it must be mentioned. If you would like to skip this tidbit of information please stop reading this paragraph and continue on to the next one now. The werewolves in this book are a bit underdeveloped, which is ok, however the vampires feel as though they are taken from another very famous authors world and just tweaked a little bit then had the idea of them being from another world slapped on to distract from the undeniable similarities. I will not mention what author and book series these vampires seem like they are coming from, but I think anyone who reads her romance novels will know exactly who I am thinking of. The vampires in this book have their souls split into two at birth and one half is placed into one woman that is destined to be with that vampire. The males of this vampire species spend thousands of years with the one purpose of finding the woman with the other half of their soul and hunting down rogue vampires. If they do not find her, they have two choices. The males can either die or, due to so many years of loneliness without true emotions of love, become crazed rogue vampires that pose a threat to everyone around them. The male vampires hunt the rogue ones down while searching for their life mate, and yes the term life mate is actually used in the book for the name of the bond they have. There is also a shortage of female vampires being born, and they are just discovering that some humans with even just a small amount of the vampire blood in their family line can be successfully turned into a vampire. If they do not have that blood in their family the conversion will make them go insane. They can communicate telepathically with their life mate and see through their eyes. If the vampire has a blood exchange with another vampire they can then also see through their eyes and know where they are. While I understand a lot of vampire books go off this idea of only one woman, this is way, way to similar in too many ways to one author and her stories to not be off putting. That is where the similarities end, but that is still a lot. No matter how hard I tried this made me compare this book to the books written by this other author, and it actually made me very upset. I am not saying this was done on purpose, however it still felt wrong and took the overall creative value of the book down. That was way too many matches to be brushed off for me.

Other than that, the world building in this book was very imaginative and well thought out. I loved all the little creatures that Kimi and her friends run into along the way. The fact that not all are out to kill them on site just makes the world all the more amazing to me. The environment, while a little over explained at times, is just as fantastic as the animals and politics of these other worlds.

Overall:

This book was a well done sci-fi fantasy. I made the mistake thinking this is a romance novel due to its genre labels. While there is a slow burn romance happening in the background, this is not a romance.

The world building is a little over done at times but still very imaginative and good. I found myself invested in what was happening to the characters as well, however the extreme similarities between the vampire type creatures found in this book and the ones found in a popular romance series really put me off and played a big part in the reason for a lower star rating.

Would I Recommend It:

If you are a romance lover and was lead to this book under the impression it is a romance like I was, no. This is not a romance lovers book. If you are a sci-fi fantasy lover, I am leaving this one up to you. It is very well done, and I will fully admit that the connections of the vampires and the way they must survive long term with their sanity (or their culture) to another author might be something that just brothers me, but it is something that really got under my skin. To me if you are going to write about a paranormal creature that is used a lot in fiction, it should be generic or the big and little tweaks should be primarily your own and not line up almost exactly to another author.

[Píaras Cíonnaoíth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author, Denna Holm, is a retired competitor in dressage and has earned her US Dressage Federation Bronze and Silver medals. She decided to try her hand at writing novels in paranormal and science fiction romance. And, I for one am glad she did. She brings a unique perspective with this work by making several genres intersect at the same junction.

This novel has a lot of cross-over appeal for readers who enjoy a combination of genres. It’s a mixture of paranormal, sci-fi and fantasy. The synopsis of the novel would suggest that this story was geared toward the young adult audience. However, having read the book, I wouldn’t recommend it to teenage readers due to some of the content.

The author seems to be taking a gamble here, but this would only make me credit her more for being so daring and not complying with what sometimes can be the boring and predictable norm.

This story had every element a good story should have. An exciting plot, attention to detail, but best of all fleshed out, well-written and well-rounded character development. There’s an abundance of well illustrated scenes that really make you feel like you are right there in the story, and that's something I really look for in a good book.

This captivating and commendable work had me immersed from the beginning. The story flows from scene to scene with ease, and the author shows exceptional ability when it comes to storytelling. There are twists and turns in this page turner that will take the reader on a gripping journey!

It’s one of those stories that come along once in awhile that makes you want to read it non-stop until you get to the end. I’m giving nothing further away here. And this, I hope, will only add to the mystery and enjoyment for the reader!

This is definitely a recommended read. It’s an impressive sci-fi fantasy tale that gets off to a great start and lends itself to unlimited potential for future installments. I’ll certainly be looking forward to reading more from Denna Holm in the future!

[Bella Doerres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soul of a Warrior
By Denna Holm

Kim works in a country western bar with her friend Amanda. They have the usual cowboys, rowdies, and fun lovers but one night two strange men arrive and everything changes for Kim and Amanda. Kim can’t get over the straight up approach of the guy with the extra long k-nines and avoids him at all costs. When another guy shows up and tells her he has a gift for her and sparks fly she knows something is up and the sick feeling it gives her makes her dizzy. This is an action packed story where, there is vampire’s, shifters, and aliens all taking these two friends on an adventure which they wished they could skip. Sci-fi and love story combines to keep the reader reading wondering what will happen next. On a world of colorful trees and plants and life forms Kim tangles with a vampire bent on destroying her and her friends. Now she craves blood and Amanda is delicious but she can’t eat her best friend. This sci-fi thriller will keep you reading, and wondering what is going to happen next. This is wonderfully written and full of surprises.
Bella Doerres 05/02/14

[Lynne North · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished reading the excellent first book from author Denna Holm. Though ultimately a romance novel, this is so much more. Set between two worlds, this fast paced fantasy romance keeps the reader interested and eager for more. I don’t want to give anything away by saying too much, but what would you do if you found your destined mate was from a different world, and of a completely different race? Would they be worth the trials and tribulations? Neyvarre thinks so, and so does Kimi. Neither of them are in for an easy ride. Read their story and see for yourselves. Looking forward to Denna's next book already!

[Vanessa Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Soul of a Warrior" is the first book I have read by Denna Holm, and it went far beyond my expectations. I found this book very original, with so many genres creatively blended together to form an excellent read. From paranormal, sci-fi, romance and fantasy, this truly unique combination, works well for Denna Holm. With an abundance of exceptional characters and an imaginative and thrilling plot, "Soul of a Warrior" definitely is 5-star, and a MUST read.

Denna Holm's many characters depicted in "Soul of a Warrior" made for a wide array of cast members. Each character was expertly crafted with detail to personality, background and defining traits. I believe this is where the excellence for this book evolves. The lead, Kimi, has an easy to like vibe, with a loving, caring and happy nature, and abundance of internal strength that continues to develop and a resolve to never give up. Her best friends, Amanda and Keith, share a lot of the spotlight too, and all three together form a great group narrative. Another of the great elements in the "Soul of a Warrior" is the strong bond that develops between this group, which breaks up the kidnapping with humorous connotations, but also stand united, unrelenting against the face of evil. And I shouldn't forget, Kimi's feline tabby that takes on an honorable role in their quest for survival, making for a uncommon, yet here very essential addition to the kidnapped group. In addition, Denna Holm brings many other different characters into play, each creatively depicted and expertly weaved into the fantasy world.

"Soul of A Warrior" begins with a story of Kimi meeting her true love match, Neyvarre, which is anything but normal. Neyvarre, who appears to Kimi as an attractive blonde male, turns out to be a vampire from another realm. Unfortunately the sheer site of him makes her overwhelmingly ill, to the point of immense pain. From here the plot starts to get action packed, for Kimi, Amanda and Keith, when they are kidnapped by Neyvarre's nemesis, a vampire wronged by Neyvarre, only set on revenge. They are left for dead on a far distant planet outside the solar system. Here they will have to fight many forces if they are to survive, from Kimi's change to a vampire, and whether her body will take the change or if she can control the urge for blood, to finding food, water and shelter on a harshly different planet. Here also some the planets inhabitants seem very intent on making them slaves or their next meal. However, without any idea of what planet Kimi and her friends were kidnapped to, or whether they are still alive as every day passes, Neyvarre and his hunters never give up. But will it be in time for Neyvarre and Kimi, and will they ever experience and celebrate the love they were destined for? Truly a plot that left me enthralled to the very end.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like that Goodreads won't let us give half stars because this is really more of a 3.5 star for me.

I thought that this was a paranormal romance but it's more a book that can't quite decided what it is - paranormal romance, sci-fi with a side of paranormal, or dark fantasy/romance. There's a moment early on in the book that just hit me wrong and I had to put the book aside for awhile. I get that vampires can have that a weird compulsion thing and that's ok but it seemed to go beyond that and non consensual sexual activity is hard for a lot of people and that's probably should be said upfront - or this book should be labeled dark romance as a warning to readers.

I liked that vampires and werewolves were used as an alien species, that's a neat twist on the usual way they're used in fantasy. I can buy into an alien species that's humanoid but with a different evolutionary path. In fact, in some ways that's more believable because factors that effect evolution wouldn't be identical on a different planet. And there are other non-humanoid aliens, which is also realistic to me. Why do we assume aliens would be like us? This book doesn't and that's a plus.

Solid world building with lots of description, which you tend to get in fantasy. This may throw some readers off because this book has a little bit of everything going on. The description can be a bit much but that tends to happen in a first of a series. That said, the description helps to give a good feel for what the characters are up against. It's not an easy go and, again, what you'd expect on an alien world. I like that Holm didn't try to make a new world that didn't have something to watch out for. Our own planet has plenty of places that, if you don't know what you're doing, they're not safe. In fact, even if you do know what you're doing, they're not safe. Why would a planet not our own be perfectly safe? It likely wouldn't, and Holm made sure it wasn't.

Good character development such that main characters have flaws. There's a Mary Sueish vibe to Kimi when it comes time to fly a dragon but mostly characters get mad at each other, cry, etc. - just like you'd expect if you were kidnapped by a vampire and dumped on a strange world. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be calm! The "bad guy" even has a solid motivation for what he does and you can at least understand why, even if you don't relate to his decisions or agree.

The ending does set up a second book!

I received this book from Booktasters in exchange for an honest review.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing and editing was clean in the ARC version of the manuscript, with no typos that I found and pretty sentences. The world building was excellent, with the world Lavina coming to vivid life. The characterization was competent, if a little flat. The heroine was sympathetic, though the romantic hero was a bit of a cipher. The development of the romantic relationship was terrible, with the hero and heroine spending at least 60% - 70% of this novel separated. There was no watching these two fall in love, because they were literally on separate worlds for the majority of this novel. The plot and pacing was okay, but as a romance reader, I was mostly impatiently reading it to get to the parts where the hero and heroine were on the page together interacting. There was medium-high angst on the heroine's part, with her being suicidal and feeling very sorry for herself after she is forcibly converted into a vampire. That part was a bit of a trial for me to get through, even though her feelings were understandable. The stakes were very high throughout this novel, which helped the pacing somewhat even though the hero and heroine spend almost the whole novel apart. This novel also had no on page sexy times between the romantic couple, which I felt vaguely cheated by as a romance reader. This novel was a good long length, so at least that was a plus? Many self published sci-fi romances are far too short, in my opinion. This novel used the Fated Mates trope common to paranormal and speculative fiction romance. It also had a whiff of Enemies to Lovers. The world building was four stars. The plot was three stars. The pacing was three stars. The characterization was two stars and the development of the romantic relationship was one star. As a science fantasy novel this book would be three to four stars. As a science fantasy romance novel this book is one star, due to the egregious error of the romantic protagonists being separated for the majority of the novel. I split the difference and gave this book a combined score of two stars. This novel ends on a Happy Ever After ending instead of a cliffhanger, so that is a plus. I recommend this novel to readers of science fantasy, but I do not recommend it to readers of speculative fiction romance. I do not particularly want to read the next book in this series, even though I have loved this author's Raiden Warriors sci-fi romance series. I will not buy myself a keeper copy of this novel.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Pallabi Sarkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have just finished reading the fantastic book “Soul of a Warrior” by author Denna Holm. And I found this novel very ingenious with so many genres including paranormal, sci-fi, romance and fantasy creatively medleyed together to form a unprecedented novel. The characters are well written and quite well defined.

The novel tells the story of Kimberley wicker, a young woman who works as a bar waitress at McMillan’s Tavern, a bar in Oregon. Feeling ill one friday night, she leaves her bar waitressing job early. From her apartment she got abducted soon by Tallyn, who is from a different planet called Laizahlia, which has two different species of sentient creatures. He describes himself as being a akin to shape shifters or werewolves. And he also talks about a man at her workplace, Neyvarre who is a member of the other species i.e. vampires. Each of these creatures can have only one soul mate in their lifetime. Kimi is Neyvarre’s mate and it emerges that Kimi’s good friend and roommate, Amanda is Tallyn’s soulmate. However neither of the women desires to have a relationship with a man from another planet ; in fact they want to get as far as they can from these seemingly insane men.

Sci-fi and love story combines to keep me reading this book and wondering what will happen next. This book is wonderfully written and full of surprises. I’m afraid “Soul of a Warrior” has a fairly long pages of chapters. It took a little bit time for me to reach into the epilogue.

Warning: This book is for grownup readers only and contains graphic adult content or sexually explicit scenarios with offensive languages. It may be invective to some readers.

I enjoyed reading it very much. I will rate it with 4/5 stars.

Thank you for the free good reads, Crimson Cloak Publishing and specially Denna Holm.

[Kathy Rouchelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read! I loved every minute that I spent inside of this story and hated when it ended. The storyline is a bit different that other vamp/shifter books that I've read considering that these species actually live on another planet. Great premise there and quite unique to anything I've read. The story is well written and the storyline grabs you quickly and doesn't let you go until you reach the unfortunate end (only because it...well...ends!).

The characters are well written and quite well defined. The lead characters (and there are a few of them in my opinion) are exceptional to read, strong, courageous, witty, and sometimes down right funny, and even a little frustrating at times. The tie between the to most prominent lead males Neyvarre and Tallyn, and the two prominent lead females; Kimi and Amanda is taxing in that it takes a while for them to actually get together, but the journey to their HEA is amazing and will not disappoint. We will have to wait a bit for Amanda and Tallyn's story I believe, but that just makes this all the better, and of course the jury is still out on what exactly will happen to poor Keith. Will he actually return home or does the author have something else in store for him.

Wonderful read for anyone into paranormal reads and I highly recommend this book!

[Debbie Loader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received a copy from Readers House in exchange for an honest review.

So this is where I got totally turned around. What I thought was book 1 (Dark Warrior) turned out to be book 3. This I think is book 1 but it could be book 2. See my problem??.

Kimberley is the mate of a vampire (Neyvarre) who is happy to admire her from afar. But his sister has other ideas! Turns out her ancestry is a little more his line than hers. Her best friend (the exceedingly stroppy Amanda) is also the mate of the lycan hunter (Prince Tallyn) who is his companion.

Basically they are all force together to acknowledge each other at the worst possible point as two rogues are on the loose who have axes to grind against Tallyn and Neyvarre. Enter two rogues who promptly kidnap Kimi, Amanda, their friend Keith from the bar and a rescued cat.

Waking on a strange planet they have to survive together, Kimi is turning into a vampire and keeps trying to drain her friends but makes it worse when she tries to abstain. Amanda seems to have turned into a spineless idiot who does nothing but whimper and whinge. Keith and the cat seem to be the only ones with any brain cells between them.

I confess I then skimmed the pages right to the end.

[M.T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the cover, I imagined a different type of story than it was, but I’m glad I picked it up, as this was a very intriguing read!
A vampire and werewolf arrive to fetch Kimberly, as she is the unexpected mate of a powerful vampire, Neyvarre. To avoid spoilers, I won’t say how she ended up not knowing she has this special quality, but the reason ties her fate to that of Neyvarre and also Elias, a friend that Neyvarre wronged—and the woman whom Elias loved. This is the heart of the premise.
A challenging, dark adventure ensues, tying up past and present, offering plot twists and scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
On one critical note, I want to say it might be best to mention the dark themes, for the more sensitive readers. At first, some of this baffled me, before the story offered context for it all.
To sum up, there were some scenes that I wasn’t entirely comfortable with, but it was awesomely written, flowed along fabulously, and showcased elaborate, original, and well-thought-out world-building. For that, I’m giving four stars; recommended to readers looking for a dark adventure that blends science fiction and a fresh, inventive take on brutal vampires and werewolves!

[Petula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kimi is working her normal shift at the bar when someone appears and scares her silly. The reaction she has, is enough for the boss to send her home sick. That will be the start of a very scary adventure that she is sure she will never live through.
Nayvarre is a vampire alien . He never intended to try and claim a human as his mate, but just one look is enough to start the connection.
Wow!! What a scary world our heroine gets thrust into. The planet she and her friends find themselves stranded on is just about as weird as you can imagine. Lots of predators not least our heroine herself. Can they possibly all survive??. Can the connection between best friends be strong enough to save their sanity ? . Our hero is not a lot of help at all. He doesn't know where she is.
Once you start this story you will have a terrible time putting it down for any reason. There is so much happening all the time. Our authors alien creatures are mind blowing. So much excitement . I loved every page.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather interesting universe. I loved the different worlds that we get to experience, as well as the different species you encounter in these worlds. I have to admit the fact that I am not entirely excited of the whole vampire/werewolf thing, even if they were aliens. It is a little overdone...

My favorite characters were, of course, the humans. They show so well how they can adapt, survive and work together. The interaction and growth between Kimberly, Amanda and Keith was brilliant. I loved how they faced the challenges and became stronger because of it. Everyone else seem very rude and rushed for some reason. It seems like they never had time to properly explain something, and be nice to one another. Like they were too good for them.

The book certainly hooks you in from the beginning, starting the bonding between Kimberly and Neyvarre, and gets very interesting from there as we slowly start to realize the ramifications of said bonding. If you like science fiction with touch of fantasy, this is a book for you.

[PepperP0t · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the surface it was a usual weekend night for bar waitress Kimberly ‘Kimi’ Wicker but it wasn’t. It was odd! Two hot guys one projecting a seductive persona, the other predatory… both eerie. Kimi knew eye contact with them changed her somehow. Predatory hottie’s appearance in her locked apartment and touch confirmed Kimi wasn’t hallucinating!

According to predatory, seemingly lucid Tallyn, he is a werewolf and seductive Neyvarre, a vampire, they’re from the planet Laizahlia. Tallyn also insists, Kimi’s partially vampire and Neyvarre’s lifemate and his delay in claiming her is driving Neyvarre insane. Tallyn insists he’s merely trying to ensure that doesn’t happen. Kimi’s believing none of it!

Making matters worse Neyvarre uses one of his powers on Kimi and she discovers her friend and roommate, Amanda, is destined for Tallyn. Recent jailbreakers, Elias and Kjell, mirrors, opposites to Neyvarre and Tallyn arrive on earth, intent on vengeance against the do-gooders specifically through their destined lifemates!
Rating: 4stars

[Marlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I will say right up front that I did love this book. I had a really hard time even putting it down. I read a lot of books and this one was is a hidden gem. Soul of a Warrior is a full on adventure for the mind. It is the story of Kimberly(Kimi) Human from Earth and Neyvarre Lazahlian or Vampire from another planet. Kimi's journey/abduction along with her friends is a harsh one. So much went wrong you feel really bad for them. I enjoyed thoroughly from start to finish. The only thing missing for me was more romance. Kimi spends most of the book separated from Neyvarre. And when they finally come together it's at the end of the book. So although you are told about the romance between them you don't get to experience it with them. That is my one negative. As I said earlier I did enjoy the book. It was well written.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I applaud the author for her creative take on an old time favorite of supernatural creatures. It was very unique and interesting - however there were many elements of the book that I didn't personally enjoy, but could see someone else loving. I liked the new take on the soulmate concept, but the emphasis on violence (especially to the protagonist) and the more adult romance was a bit off-putting and not what I was initially expecting. There was also some other themes through the book that I wasn't fond of but I appreciated the complexity of the writing and character interactions and development. That saved the book in my opinion and though I wasn't a huge fan, the book was still written well and followed an interesting and new plot line with a lot of surprises. Overall I'd rate this book a 2.5/5.

[Hitashri Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fiction and Vampire books go hand in hand and no brainers.
I love reading a good vampire book.
This book by Denna starts with a different take on vampires and werewolves and is pretty refreshing.
Ever wondered how life on other planets would seem like.. well you have it here.
I like the take on characters and species.
The book gets a little too lost in the middle while on planet Lavina but revives itself once the characters survive and show their strong side, who ever said friends and loyalty don't go hand in hand?
I just wished the main characters Kim and Nevyarre had more time together in the book. That chemistry and its glimpses were everything.
I wish there was more to explore with the main characters and their chemistry and story. I keep wondering what would they do next once they are together.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today it is more demonstrated that you do not need to have a Bestseller to make your book brilliant. Three days ago I came to this as a gift this book (which I honestly would have liked to read it when I was sixteen because it was the literary genre that had me hype) from the sticky synopsis (By God, I can not resist a blond and pale character, is my weakness) to the genres that develop, I could not have a favorite character but I liked them enough, I liked the scenario in which everything is built. The antagonist does not bother me but I wanted something more perverse, God had years that I did not feel so fan girl when talking about vampires. Soul of a Warrior kept me hooked and I would definitely re-read it because it rips you from the outside world.

[Andie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free ebook copy in exchange of an honest review. And I'm glad I requested for it.

I loved this book, it has everything: action, love, villains and heroes and the idea that vampires and werewolves are from another planet was well written, Denna created creatures that you could imagine and learn to love.

I made a bond with all the characters, Kimi, Amanda, Keith, Neyvarre, Hexa, Tasha, etc. Reading every word and feel every sensation from them was very gratifying.

When I first saw the cover I thought it was going to be a sweet book but it has more power that it seems, deep scenes but not gross, I think it was a perfect mix.

I definetely want to read the next book.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a handsome stranger shows up at Kimi Wicker's workplace and claims not only to be her mate but also from another planet she does what any sane person will do she runs with her friends trying to get away. But then when another stranger kidnaps her and strands her and her friends on another planet to get revenge on her mate she can only pray that her mate will find her and her friends before either the planet kills them or she kills her friends. This is a great new take on Vampires and shifters. I really enjoyed reading this story and look forward to more from this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a different take on werewolves and vampires (with them being from a different planet). The genre of the novel is fantasy/science fiction, rather than a paranormal romance which is what the synopsis indicates. The premise of this novel was intriguing, but it wasn't quite what I expected. The story-line seems to be a bit confused and too much was incorporated. Without giving anything away the details of the alien planet were interesting.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of the book, in exchange for an honest review.