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Rogue Warriors #1
Defiant
He's a black-hearted knight on a mission for the king. She’s the only thing standing in his way. Jamie Lost is King John's most renowned commander, sent to kidnap a enemy troublemaker before rebel forces close in. It’s a simple mission—until he comes up against a beautiful waif who first threatens his mission, then his cold, black heart. Eva is determined to find the 'troublemaker' too, and protect the dangerous secrets he holds, even if it costs her life. Danger lies everywhere, especially in the blue-eyed knight showing far too much interest in her activities. Jamie has no intention of letting her succeed. Eva has no intention of letting him stop her. Soon they're locked in a mortal game of one-upmanship, with the fate of England on the line. But when a band of mercenaries abducts their quarry, Jamie & Eva must form a volatile alliance. They embark on an epic journey across England that will betray dangerous truths about who they are and what they want...and unleash a searing passion that will seal their fates—and the fate of England—forever. You'll love this sexy historical romance because it's got a big, bad alpha hero and grand adventure. GET IT NOW! Kris Kennedy is a USA Today bestselling, award-winning author writing scorching hot historical romance. When alpha heroes meet their match, adventure has never been so sexy. DEFIANT is a standalone book, part of the Rogue Warriors collection. Set in different medieval eras, each features a hero gone rogue. Other books in the Rogue Warriors collection KING'S WARRIOR DECEPTION CLAIMING HER
325 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 25, 2016
42 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Kris Kennedy
15 books163 followersUSA Today bestselling historical romance author writing super sexy, big adventure romances set in the ages when big bad knights in armor and questionable chivalry reigned supreme.
The heroes are hard, the heroines strong, and the passion burns.
http://kriskennedy.net
I also write sweet & dirty fun romantic comedies as Bella Love!
http://bellalovebooks.com
Open to conversations here on Goodreads or over on the blog! Happy to friend everyone who loves romance. I love talking heroes, heroines, tropes, and...everything romance.
Absolutely the best way to get book news is to sign up for the newsletter. Sign up at the website, or sign up direct here: http://www.kriskennedy.net/newslettergr
Stop by the website for news & excerpts: http://kriskennedy.net
Twitter: @KrisKennedy
http://kriskennedy.net
The heroes are hard, the heroines strong, and the passion burns.
http://kriskennedy.net
I also write sweet & dirty fun romantic comedies as Bella Love!
http://bellalovebooks.com
Open to conversations here on Goodreads or over on the blog! Happy to friend everyone who loves romance. I love talking heroes, heroines, tropes, and...everything romance.
Absolutely the best way to get book news is to sign up for the newsletter. Sign up at the website, or sign up direct here: http://www.kriskennedy.net/newslettergr
Stop by the website for news & excerpts: http://kriskennedy.net
Twitter: @KrisKennedy
http://kriskennedy.net
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 12, 2023
4.5/5. A well-connected priest wanted by king, rebels and unscrupulous human traders. A fierce young woman with a veritable arsenal of weapons on her. A youth willing to die for them both. Throw in a King’s man with a deadly reputation and you get a most entertaining story set during the politically unstable reign of King John. The human porcupine that is Eva is a suitable match for the ruthlessly efficient Jamie Lost. They butt heads and try to outwit one another while fighting the inevitable attraction. She has too many secrets to keep and he aims to extract every single one from her, but how to discern the truth from her well-practised lies while keeping his own past from her penetrating, all-seeing gaze?
Brilliantly written with wonderful dialogue and well-portrayed characters. Why did it take me so long to pick another book by this author when I also thoroughly enjoyed the first book that I read of hers Claiming Her? I must rectify this neglect soon by working my way through her catalogue.
Eva lived for revocability. Decisions were nothing but footprints in the sand; everything could be washed away. At need, Eva revoked opinions, plans, pennies, entire personal histories. But Jamie…Jamie was more the edge of the cliff than the shifting sand. No going back.
“These ropes, they are hardly necessary,” she announced.
“Consider me cautious.”
“Other words come to mind, not so greatly ‘cautious.’”
He tipped his head up. He had very long eyelashes. This was not right.
“Such as?”
She sighed. “You seek compliments at a time such as this? About your eyelashes, no doubt.”
He stared at her, then the small, dented curves beside his mouth deepened ever so slightly. He bent back to his tying. “Ropes make it more difficult to escape.”
“Who is to say I wish to escape?”
“Fleeing and kicking me brought the notion to mind.”
He was like a wild creature. He was magnificent. This made Eva angry. She did not like magnificence. It was too often found in things such as castles and cathedrals, things of hard stone one could bash oneself against for years, to no avail.
For all that he’d never spoken above a rumble, he was the most lethal man she’d ever met. And she’d met quite a number of them. And he was capable. In all things. Capable, clever mind; capable, scarred hands; capable, smashed-up heart—even to one who did not care about his heart, such as her, this was clear. He’d been terribly hurt. Like knows like.
There were no straight lines with her; she was an ocean of currents of lies and half-truths, and while you might know you were not sailing south, you had no notion where you were actually being taken.
It was very trying some days, having a captor who was as observant as you.
“Oh, Jamie,” she said softly, “you have done poorly, to bind yourself to King John.”
“And you have done poorly to bind yourself to no one.”
She gave a sad smile. “We are a well-matched team then, you and I. The naught and the darkness, one of us bound to nothing, the other to the devil.”
Vulnerable creatures had faith. Fools believed in honor, and such people were masticated in the jaws of the world. God was hardly better than a romance, King John but a scrape on the battered knee of the world going down. Better to leave off hope and faith and other useless things. Stick to missions and money and hard, simple things, elsewise, people grew to need you, and should you one day be taken away, murdered on the streets so the cobbles underfoot were rimmed in red, the people you left behind might feel as though their hearts had been ripped out by nails and shredded beneath a plough. Jamie was not fertilizer. Not anymore. (
“You were going to frighten her straight into silence,” Eva replied calmly. “You may not have noticed this, Jamie Knight, but when you frighten people, they cease talking. Then you must part with coin to induce them to talk again. If you smiled more at people, the way you every now and again smile at me, you would be a much richer man.”
He laughed at that idea, and turned them down another street, but he should have known he was not out of the woods yet, for even though Eva was trotting obediently beside him, and he could have let go of her hand, he didn’t. Holding a woman’s hand should not presage the destruction of everything he knew. But it was Eva’s hand, and that changed everything.
“Ye should have seen what she did to my table,” Angus said darkly.
Jamie blinked. “Your table?”
Angus nodded grimly. “Aye. My mam.”
“She did…your mother?”
Angus flung his hands around as if he were scattering seed.
“Aye, my mam. On the table. Painted her likeness with fruits and the like. Fruit, Jamie. With her hands, and her”—he sputtered a bit—“her blessed mind, she drew the likeness of my dear mam right there, on the table.”
“She is surprising,” he said softly, smiling.
Angus stared at him. “Surprising? Surprising? That’s like to calling her charming.”
“Is she not?”
Angus fixed Jamie in a glare, then planted his palms on the table and bent down. “Ye’re no’ comprehending, Lost. She’s no’ charming, or pleasin’ or whatever pale words ye’re flinging about. She’s more’n all that. She’s, she’s…” He lifted a beefy palm to wave it about, as if pushing aside mists. Then he leaned close again and pinched his fingers an inch apart. “This close to being fucking magic.” He straightened with a sharp tug on the hem of his tunic. “You’d best take care, Lost.”
“We are far past that,” Jamie said, setting down his mug
She extended her hand, her pale arm moving through the firelit darkness, graceful as a dancer’s. On her palm fluttered the dusky red ribbons. “What are these?”
He stared at the evidence of his surrender. No one would see ribbons as surrender, no one but he. And Eva.
“Oh, dear God, no,” the priest said in alarm. “Jamie, she is a stubborn witch. Do not let her get away with anything.”
He looked down in surprise at the sudden strengthening of the priest’s voice. Father Peter shook his head firmly. “No, Jamie, you cannot give her any room, or she will take it, and then where will you be?”
“Doomed?” he suggested grimly.
“Precisely. Eva is maddening and clever and opinionated and willful and she conjugates on the level of an eel, and she will sketch on anything, so take care with your linens. She will make you pull your hair out and cause you untold nights of sleeplessness, when you awaken, wide-eyed, in the middle of the night, to realize you only now understand some cryptic remark she made three days ago….” Father Peter’s tirade faded off and he met Jamie’s eye. “She is, indeed, magic.”
Brilliantly written with wonderful dialogue and well-portrayed characters. Why did it take me so long to pick another book by this author when I also thoroughly enjoyed the first book that I read of hers Claiming Her? I must rectify this neglect soon by working my way through her catalogue.
Eva lived for revocability. Decisions were nothing but footprints in the sand; everything could be washed away. At need, Eva revoked opinions, plans, pennies, entire personal histories. But Jamie…Jamie was more the edge of the cliff than the shifting sand. No going back.
“These ropes, they are hardly necessary,” she announced.
“Consider me cautious.”
“Other words come to mind, not so greatly ‘cautious.’”
He tipped his head up. He had very long eyelashes. This was not right.
“Such as?”
She sighed. “You seek compliments at a time such as this? About your eyelashes, no doubt.”
He stared at her, then the small, dented curves beside his mouth deepened ever so slightly. He bent back to his tying. “Ropes make it more difficult to escape.”
“Who is to say I wish to escape?”
“Fleeing and kicking me brought the notion to mind.”
He was like a wild creature. He was magnificent. This made Eva angry. She did not like magnificence. It was too often found in things such as castles and cathedrals, things of hard stone one could bash oneself against for years, to no avail.
For all that he’d never spoken above a rumble, he was the most lethal man she’d ever met. And she’d met quite a number of them. And he was capable. In all things. Capable, clever mind; capable, scarred hands; capable, smashed-up heart—even to one who did not care about his heart, such as her, this was clear. He’d been terribly hurt. Like knows like.
There were no straight lines with her; she was an ocean of currents of lies and half-truths, and while you might know you were not sailing south, you had no notion where you were actually being taken.
It was very trying some days, having a captor who was as observant as you.
“Oh, Jamie,” she said softly, “you have done poorly, to bind yourself to King John.”
“And you have done poorly to bind yourself to no one.”
She gave a sad smile. “We are a well-matched team then, you and I. The naught and the darkness, one of us bound to nothing, the other to the devil.”
Vulnerable creatures had faith. Fools believed in honor, and such people were masticated in the jaws of the world. God was hardly better than a romance, King John but a scrape on the battered knee of the world going down. Better to leave off hope and faith and other useless things. Stick to missions and money and hard, simple things, elsewise, people grew to need you, and should you one day be taken away, murdered on the streets so the cobbles underfoot were rimmed in red, the people you left behind might feel as though their hearts had been ripped out by nails and shredded beneath a plough. Jamie was not fertilizer. Not anymore. (
“You were going to frighten her straight into silence,” Eva replied calmly. “You may not have noticed this, Jamie Knight, but when you frighten people, they cease talking. Then you must part with coin to induce them to talk again. If you smiled more at people, the way you every now and again smile at me, you would be a much richer man.”
He laughed at that idea, and turned them down another street, but he should have known he was not out of the woods yet, for even though Eva was trotting obediently beside him, and he could have let go of her hand, he didn’t. Holding a woman’s hand should not presage the destruction of everything he knew. But it was Eva’s hand, and that changed everything.
“Ye should have seen what she did to my table,” Angus said darkly.
Jamie blinked. “Your table?”
Angus nodded grimly. “Aye. My mam.”
“She did…your mother?”
Angus flung his hands around as if he were scattering seed.
“Aye, my mam. On the table. Painted her likeness with fruits and the like. Fruit, Jamie. With her hands, and her”—he sputtered a bit—“her blessed mind, she drew the likeness of my dear mam right there, on the table.”
“She is surprising,” he said softly, smiling.
Angus stared at him. “Surprising? Surprising? That’s like to calling her charming.”
“Is she not?”
Angus fixed Jamie in a glare, then planted his palms on the table and bent down. “Ye’re no’ comprehending, Lost. She’s no’ charming, or pleasin’ or whatever pale words ye’re flinging about. She’s more’n all that. She’s, she’s…” He lifted a beefy palm to wave it about, as if pushing aside mists. Then he leaned close again and pinched his fingers an inch apart. “This close to being fucking magic.” He straightened with a sharp tug on the hem of his tunic. “You’d best take care, Lost.”
“We are far past that,” Jamie said, setting down his mug
She extended her hand, her pale arm moving through the firelit darkness, graceful as a dancer’s. On her palm fluttered the dusky red ribbons. “What are these?”
He stared at the evidence of his surrender. No one would see ribbons as surrender, no one but he. And Eva.
“Oh, dear God, no,” the priest said in alarm. “Jamie, she is a stubborn witch. Do not let her get away with anything.”
He looked down in surprise at the sudden strengthening of the priest’s voice. Father Peter shook his head firmly. “No, Jamie, you cannot give her any room, or she will take it, and then where will you be?”
“Doomed?” he suggested grimly.
“Precisely. Eva is maddening and clever and opinionated and willful and she conjugates on the level of an eel, and she will sketch on anything, so take care with your linens. She will make you pull your hair out and cause you untold nights of sleeplessness, when you awaken, wide-eyed, in the middle of the night, to realize you only now understand some cryptic remark she made three days ago….” Father Peter’s tirade faded off and he met Jamie’s eye. “She is, indeed, magic.”
June 13, 2018
4.5 stars I'd been craving a good medieval romance, and this delivered in spades. This book is set during the reign of King John, just on the eve of Magna Carta. The author does a great job of showing readers how unsettled that time was without once engaging in a history lecture. Instead she paints a rich tapestry of nobles at odds, spies and intrigue, desperate folk caught in the middle as pawns in the dispute between king and people and of course, the wicked King John himself. It's compelling stuff.
If you like a road romance, this will definitely scratch that itch for you. Our hero, Jamie Lost, is the King's agent. He has been ordered to kidnap a troublemaking priest. However, Eva seeks the same priest for reasons of her own. She an Jamie start off at odds with one another as they compete with one another to see who will get to the priest first, but eventually they join forces as they see that the larger picture may not be what it at first appeared.
It's an epic journey across England and the urgency of the trip as well as that feeling of being on the cusp of something big in a historical sense comes right through in the writing. The witty dialogue between the leads lightens the tone a bit at times without turning the book into a complete wallpaper romp. I got a little frustrated with a few loose ends that could have been tied up better, but otherwise I vastly enjoyed myself. This one is definitely worth reading!
If you like a road romance, this will definitely scratch that itch for you. Our hero, Jamie Lost, is the King's agent. He has been ordered to kidnap a troublemaking priest. However, Eva seeks the same priest for reasons of her own. She an Jamie start off at odds with one another as they compete with one another to see who will get to the priest first, but eventually they join forces as they see that the larger picture may not be what it at first appeared.
It's an epic journey across England and the urgency of the trip as well as that feeling of being on the cusp of something big in a historical sense comes right through in the writing. The witty dialogue between the leads lightens the tone a bit at times without turning the book into a complete wallpaper romp. I got a little frustrated with a few loose ends that could have been tied up better, but otherwise I vastly enjoyed myself. This one is definitely worth reading!
May 10, 2011
Eva is forced back to England to chase after Father Peter, who was summoned by King John’s orders. With her comes the boy Roger who she has played mother to since they fled his home years ago. Eva knows that Father Peter is riding to his death. The King sends Jamie to find Father Peter, and bring him in. Instead of finding the Father, Jamie finds Eva.
This is a straight up historical romance. Even the narrative is stylized for a medieval setting. As much as I sometimes enjoy the flowery words, sometimes it can feel heavy. The first half of the book I spent getting used to it. It took a little while, and slowed my reading down considerably, but I got used to it.
I think that this book did a wonderful job of pulling Eva and Jamie together. The time period they grow from enemies, frustrated lusty looks, and finally to full blown lovers, is short, but oddly felt believable. The story itself is not a journey, but rather felt more based on the characters decisions. The story slowly unfolds, even when I thought it wasn’t. There is also a great deal of circumstance surrounding the characters. Although I enjoyed Eva and Jamie together, I sometimes felt as if there bantering slowed the story down.
Eva is a strong heroine, especially for her time. I have many doubts about how she would be seen on occasion surrounded by three hard looking men with swords. That can be overlooked by me because I want the girl to kick some butt. I just don’t understand why these women let men get away with some of the things they do. There is one scene where Jamie says something that arouses her, and my reaction would have been a nice slap. There are some steamy scenes between Jamie and Eva, and he is a nice hunky man, with danger in his eyes. By the way, thinking about Jamie’s hotness, he is a man who has been in some fights, would he have really been that pretty?
Towards the end of the story I zipped right through it. The plot, as I have mentioned before, unfolds nicely, but the romance between Jamie and Eva take center stage. I felt more tension could have been weaved into the story with Eva. In fact, there is a huge thing that happens that feels forgotten when the two start hooking up.
Defiant is a historical romance that has knights, swords, missing heirs, and people to save. It is heavy on the medieval speech and narrative. Between the narrative and plot, I felt stunted at the start of the story, but soon grew into it. I felt the tension could have been more, but the romance was steamy, frustrating and sweet.
-Beth (Guest Reviewer)
This is a straight up historical romance. Even the narrative is stylized for a medieval setting. As much as I sometimes enjoy the flowery words, sometimes it can feel heavy. The first half of the book I spent getting used to it. It took a little while, and slowed my reading down considerably, but I got used to it.
I think that this book did a wonderful job of pulling Eva and Jamie together. The time period they grow from enemies, frustrated lusty looks, and finally to full blown lovers, is short, but oddly felt believable. The story itself is not a journey, but rather felt more based on the characters decisions. The story slowly unfolds, even when I thought it wasn’t. There is also a great deal of circumstance surrounding the characters. Although I enjoyed Eva and Jamie together, I sometimes felt as if there bantering slowed the story down.
Eva is a strong heroine, especially for her time. I have many doubts about how she would be seen on occasion surrounded by three hard looking men with swords. That can be overlooked by me because I want the girl to kick some butt. I just don’t understand why these women let men get away with some of the things they do. There is one scene where Jamie says something that arouses her, and my reaction would have been a nice slap. There are some steamy scenes between Jamie and Eva, and he is a nice hunky man, with danger in his eyes. By the way, thinking about Jamie’s hotness, he is a man who has been in some fights, would he have really been that pretty?
Towards the end of the story I zipped right through it. The plot, as I have mentioned before, unfolds nicely, but the romance between Jamie and Eva take center stage. I felt more tension could have been weaved into the story with Eva. In fact, there is a huge thing that happens that feels forgotten when the two start hooking up.
Defiant is a historical romance that has knights, swords, missing heirs, and people to save. It is heavy on the medieval speech and narrative. Between the narrative and plot, I felt stunted at the start of the story, but soon grew into it. I felt the tension could have been more, but the romance was steamy, frustrating and sweet.
-Beth (Guest Reviewer)
May 21, 2016
Kris Kennedy is very good at writing complicated characters. Her stories are like stepping through a field of land mines and red herrings. Hidden in plain sight are the clues to unlocking the mystery, you just have to figure out where to look. The thrill of solving the puzzle is the attraction of her brand of storytelling. As I get better acquainted with this author I find there is no way of knowing where she will lead you on the quest for the truth and I have always been a sucker for puzzles that are hard to figure out. I received an ARC of Defiant in exchange for an honest review. On the surface there are set sides, the good and the bad but as you delve deeper there proves to be hidden agendas on both sides. Things are not as they seem. At the forefront are characters that are hard to read and a romance that seems out of place, yet I could not fault anything about this story except it ended too soon. 3.5 stars
January 3, 2019
For those keeping track of my current Kennedy binge-fest: Defiant is better than King's Warrior. (Rankings below). The cover is completely butt.
This time out the story is slightly more complicated; the principal pair are initially cast as adversaries and don't have crazy sex five minutes after they meet - even though it's immediately apparent they're destined for each other (like LEGIT destined); and the big reveals are well placed within the latter half of the novel. The pacing is good & the story engaging.
I liked Jamie, our hero quite a bit - silent, strong, deadly & clearly keeping a secret; I wanted to like the heroine more. Ms. Kennedy couldn't decide what kind of character she was writing - clever and secretive or clever and secretive and charming - and she doesn't quite pull off the trifecta. The character feels underdeveloped and sometimes veers into a silly caricature of a desperate frenchwoman. I know, I know, what does that even mean? I don't know how to explain it but it makes sense in my mind.
Enjoyed the secondary characters this time out - especially Jamie's fiercest friend and champion Ry - and that there are multiple compelling villains.
I like a good slow burn but this one took just a wee bit too long to spark - ironic since the previous book was a bit of a sexfest. I could have used a bit more of Ms. Kennedy's sexytimes - she's usually a bit more imaginative and descriptive...I think the feisty french virgin thing threw her off her game.
Good story, good couple, not enough heat: Solid 4 stars.
Current ranking:
1. Claiming Her - LIKED THE COVER BETTER AFTER I READ THE STORY AND UNDERSTOOD THE TATTOO SITUATION
2. The Irish Warrior - BEST COVER; the dude is hot
3. Defiant - UGLY COVER
4. King's Warrior - SUPER UGLY COVER
This time out the story is slightly more complicated; the principal pair are initially cast as adversaries and don't have crazy sex five minutes after they meet - even though it's immediately apparent they're destined for each other (like LEGIT destined); and the big reveals are well placed within the latter half of the novel. The pacing is good & the story engaging.
I liked Jamie, our hero quite a bit - silent, strong, deadly & clearly keeping a secret; I wanted to like the heroine more. Ms. Kennedy couldn't decide what kind of character she was writing - clever and secretive or clever and secretive and charming - and she doesn't quite pull off the trifecta. The character feels underdeveloped and sometimes veers into a silly caricature of a desperate frenchwoman. I know, I know, what does that even mean? I don't know how to explain it but it makes sense in my mind.
Enjoyed the secondary characters this time out - especially Jamie's fiercest friend and champion Ry - and that there are multiple compelling villains.
I like a good slow burn but this one took just a wee bit too long to spark - ironic since the previous book was a bit of a sexfest. I could have used a bit more of Ms. Kennedy's sexytimes - she's usually a bit more imaginative and descriptive...I think the feisty french virgin thing threw her off her game.
Good story, good couple, not enough heat: Solid 4 stars.
Current ranking:
1. Claiming Her - LIKED THE COVER BETTER AFTER I READ THE STORY AND UNDERSTOOD THE TATTOO SITUATION
2. The Irish Warrior - BEST COVER; the dude is hot
3. Defiant - UGLY COVER
4. King's Warrior - SUPER UGLY COVER
January 5, 2018
A very good book
5 stars because I liked book very much. The book drew me in immediately. I was in suspense what was happening and where was it going to go. It was full of adventure, suspense, intrigue, romance, with steamy love scenes in about third of story. Both H and h were strong and very intelligent, but were a little broken at start. I felt a little like on a roller coaster ride. I didn’t know who could good and bad, until very end. There so many secrets to figure out till very end. It was very hard to put down. The steamy love scenes were in last third of book, but they were worth waiting. In the end everything was explained, but kept me guessing till end. As with all of the authors books, I highly recommend. They are all stand alone. I can’t wait for next story, which I already have.
5 stars because I liked book very much. The book drew me in immediately. I was in suspense what was happening and where was it going to go. It was full of adventure, suspense, intrigue, romance, with steamy love scenes in about third of story. Both H and h were strong and very intelligent, but were a little broken at start. I felt a little like on a roller coaster ride. I didn’t know who could good and bad, until very end. There so many secrets to figure out till very end. It was very hard to put down. The steamy love scenes were in last third of book, but they were worth waiting. In the end everything was explained, but kept me guessing till end. As with all of the authors books, I highly recommend. They are all stand alone. I can’t wait for next story, which I already have.
May 6, 2018
Defiant
Your books are so amazing I could hardly put the book down read it in two an half days. This was so exciting and full of drama,mystery,and lots of love.You are a great writer.
Your books are so amazing I could hardly put the book down read it in two an half days. This was so exciting and full of drama,mystery,and lots of love.You are a great writer.
June 20, 2011
Read my review here http://goodbadandunread.com/2011/06/0...
September 7, 2022
I absolutely love this author. Long beautiful love stories
March 1, 2024
Why all these terrible book covers? You’d have no idea by looking at it just how cute and witty and entertaining this book really was.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews