Ensaadi: Warlords of the Sandsea, Book 1

Warlords of the Sandsea #1

by Elisabeth Wheatley

Throne of Glass meets Conan the Barbarian .


Ensaadi Talitha of Ilios is the warlord’s heir who dreams of peace. Finally, she has the chance to broker a marriage between two feuding tribes, but her efforts are shattered when her besotted cousin claims the bridegroom.


The treachery forces Talitha and her warriors to flee back to Ilios. Only through an uneasy alliance with a band of mercenary Dunedrifters and their enigmatic leader can her people hope to make it home.


With the lives of her warriors and the safety of her city at stake, Talitha will be forced to make the hardest decisions of her life. As an ensaadi, no matter what Talitha may want, a heart is a luxury and a conscience is a curse.


Ensaadi is a 30,000-word novella and the first in the all-new Warlords of the Sandsea romance adventure series.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Historical, Fiction, Novella, Adult

Audible Audio

First published January 23, 2018

About the author

Elisabeth Wheatley is a fantasy author because warrior princess wasn’t an option. She loves tea and asking questions.

Reviews

[Sherry Fundin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elisabeth Wheatley never ceases to amaze me with her creative storytelling. I loved her Fanged series, and am eager to see what Ensaadi has to offer. A dash of Dunes, a pinch of Stars Wars…Voila, we have the Warlords of Sandsea romance adventure series.

Esreth is, well, a bit promiscuous. This time she has crossed a line and Talitha has to find a solution to the problem. Whoa…

Right or wrong, the decision is made and the action begins.

Talitha is ensaadi, their leader, and now she will show them why she deserves the title. She is strong, smart and knows to keep her eyes on her enemies, even when they are standing right beside her.

I was wondering what would happen next, but this wasn’t what I saw coming.

The chase, the fight, brutal and wicked. Love and war. The critters and world building. The more I read, the more I like.

The Dunedrifters…I knew, well, I thought, well, I…

Romance is in the air and ya can’t stop the heart from wanting who it wants.

An uneasy alliance, a warrior born to rule.

I love this suspenseful novella that has characters to die for and a world that stretches the imagination. I can hardly wait to get my hands on the next story, Dunedrifter.

See more at fundinmental

[Bryn Shutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm typically not a fan of stories that pitch you head-long into the drama and action, but the writing and storytelling here was so stellar, 5 stars is the least I can give.

[MasterSal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the shorts from the author's channel and saw her speak about this book. Seemed interesting so added to the TBR.

I didn’t realize this was a novella so my bad there. Overall the book was too short for its ambition and intent. It didn’t provide a convinced intro to the world or characters (except our MC). As a result pretty much everything felt rushed and artificial. It felt self conscious on tone with all the name drops and fantasy elements for effectively a very simple story.

However, the saving grace of the book and what left me smiling was our lead herself. Talitha is pretty in your face aggressive and “brutal”. I got glimpses of why so I went along with it and was rooting for her. The rest of the cast are basically names on a page (including our love interest l) but whatever.

Since I ended with a smile I am giving this 3 stars but not sure I will be continuing. The world and romance wasn’t intriguing for me. I may continue since the rest of novellas are on KU. Let’s see if the mood strikes.

[Randi Thayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seems early in the author’s career. There are a lot of interesting ideas and themes that the author is engaging with but the delivery felt shallow. If the book had been fleshed out more, spent more time with the characters and more time looking at the cultural implications of certain details it would have been much richer. Rife with potential, and definitely following the author tho.

[Eli Hinze · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blend between Conan the Barbarian and Throne of Glass is an excellent way to describe this book.

Wheatley has created a richly imagined world bursting with varied characters, a plot unlike any I've read before, and a heroine as brutal and calculating as the desert she roams. Because of its short length, it plays out like a movie in the reader's head, at lightning pace yet still giving the characters time to develop and breathe. Honestly, I could see this one book expanded to three or four times its length based off the level of intrigue and world-building alone, but I respect that Wheatley is just giving us a sliver of what's to come.
While the world itself is stunning, the characters are even more so. They bring the intrigue and the mystery and drama, and the dynamics between everyone leave you second-guessing yourself and the characters' motives.

Overall, I highly recommend ENSAADI to anyone looking for a thrilling fantasy adventure, and to fans of romance too. I won't give away spoilers here, but trust me on this. This book is a home-run.

[Neva Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book for a multitude of reasons!

1. It was short and sweet. I get that feeling of satisfaction whenever I finish a book, and having a novella type of book really boosted my reading ego ;)
2. The idea that the main character has made a ton of mistakes for the right reasons, is so fascinating!! I kept trying to figure out the “good-guy” and the “bad-guy” but there really wasn’t one. It made the story super interesting!
3. The writing was just fantastic. I love all the character description and the way the setting was described was insanely cool! Even though the book was short, I felt that I really got to know the characters!

[As You Wish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this story grabbed me right from the first page. Imagine a world where the whole honour culture (ie, control of women's bodies) is flipped on its head. And then put it in the desert and add some interesting references to a pantheon that I definitely want to know more about, and then a hot mercenary that gets saved from certain death by our heroine. I am hooked and I'm glad to know the print version is done as two volumes instead of ten individual stories. I need to know more!

[Sierra Hensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fell in love with the world from the start. Fast paced action, slow burn romance, and left me craving more! Will be starting the next book immediately. Couldn’t ask much more from a series intro than what I got here.

[Melissa Sasina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, absolutely stunning cover aside, I loved this book. The story is fast paced and keeps you pulled in all the way through. Talitha is an incredibly strong character who can hold her own in many ways. I'm not a huge fan of "romance" stories, but this one offers so much more than that. There is this wonderful sense of danger through the entire book and even at the end you know that the threat is not completely gone. The characters were pretty well developed, even the secondary characters, such as Gilsazi.

My only complaint is that the story ended. Short stories do that to me; pulling me in and then leaving me craving so much more. This one was no exception in the least. I will eagerly be awaiting the next installment of the Warlords of the Sandsea series.

[Christina Morley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a pile of great books to read, but I put them aside to read Ensaadi in one day. It was so gripping that I didn't want to put it down! The heroine is formidable, but her back is against the wall and her loyal friends are few. She finds herself having to make difficult decisions with little time to consider or prepare for the outcomes, but she stands by her choices. The world building and characters are colorful without excessive details. The story moves quickly with a good plot, clear motives, some intrigue, and a small dose of romance. The fight scenes are well thought out and artfully described. This novella packs a punch! It's the first in a series with a good stopping point while leaving the story and romance unfinished.

[NM · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first romance-fantasy book, and I am HOOKED. I adored the main character, Talitha, and enjoyed the worldbuilding immensely. The details about desert life, coupled with those about the layout of the city of Ilios, were admirably thought out. Made me want to see it all- particularly sirrushes- visually depicted- hoping for a film/series sometime. The romance plotline was fantastic. Overall crisp, action-packed and an absolutely great first fantasy book. Looking forward to the next in the series!

[Richard James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this out of appreciation for the author’s entertaining Instagram content expecting that it was probably not my thing but I was very pleasantly surprised! Great, strong female protagonist, an interesting world and culture that was enticingly described- a good fantasy novel and I’ll likely read more.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this book. It’s relatively short and the main character has a lot of spunk and spine, which is a favorite characteristic of mine for well written female characters. Overall, a wonderful world and good, fairly/well developed plot. I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series!

[Faith Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really good with the simmer between the main couple. I felt like the main character could actually take care of herself (wasn't just a wilting flower) the only thing I'm not a fan of is that it's a part of a 8 book series and I believe that each book is around 100 pages. So I wish it was less books and more clumped together.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kept reading through the series as I wanted to know how it ended. The story is interesting, however none of the books have a real ending, and many could be combined in one as nothing much happens in each individually.
The style isn't great, and there are too many spelling and grammar mistakes. I would say it is a good draft, but not a finished book.

[Ana Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 4.75 Read

I don’t know why we can’t give fractions of stars to books but this would be a 4.75 for me. The world building is complex and believable, crafted is just 100 pages, but leaving a mark on the brain. Balanced mix of action and exposition. Looking forward to reading more of this series.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short novel immensely. It's impressive that a relationship could be built as strongly as it was between 2 characters in such a short amount of pages as we see with Talitha and Ashek. It goes to show how strongly integrity and honor can bind people together. I looked forward to reading the next book in the series.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantasy/romance with a twist

Really enjoyed this take on a woman as warlord and her efforts to protect her people and try to bring peace to her lands. I’ll buy more from this author

[Nancy Agnew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

This is a quick read and makes me look forward to the next book in the series. This book is definitely a low spice book, but still has some romance. I expect this to pick up in the next book.

[꧁ Brutally Honest ꧂ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holy crap authors should NEVER EVER narrate their own books. This book is completely a waste as there’s no way anyone can listen to it. She talks so fast and there are NO GAPS FOR BREATH. I kept checking the speed because it sounded like it was 2x the speed but wasn’t.

[Eddie D. Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the story could have used more world building, and I never really felt connected to any of the characters. I listened to the audiobook which had several errors in the form of repeated lines.

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars and that's with me only half paying attention.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that a was fun pulp read. Will likely read the rest.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning was a little rough but after a bit it picked up. I enjoyed the characters and the world and am looking forward to the next book.

[Mina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adding this for the first five books - the series is a chill fast read

[Shell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this world.

A fun, 'swords and sandals,' "Xena" (character,) meets "Dune" (world;) to use an old fashioned term, it was an enjoyable romp of a story!

[Kathryn Baron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick. Ok. May get better.

[Zombiejod · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character faces some difficult situations, kicks some butt, makes an enemy into a potential friend, and a would-be suitor into a possible ally.

[Jillian Knowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only wish it was longer!

[Ariana Copeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of intrigue!

I love the setting. I love Talitha. And I love the duty versus desire battle she has with Ashek. Full of tribal and war intrigue, I want to see what happens next!