The Brazen Amazon

Alliance of the Amazons #3

by Sandy James

Zach Hanson is a tech wizard, capable of creating and improving gadgets—including remote nuclear warhead launchers. But he's always known that he's destined for something more, something greater, something...supernatural.

Powerful Air Amazon Gina Himmel is one of four sisters called to protect the world from those who would do it harm. Demigods in league with an Ancient have been taking over the bodies of leaders in the military and technological sectors, and Gina is sent to San Francisco to watch over Zach.

Under Gina's protection, Zach is introduced to a world of ancient deities, rogue gods and the bold, brazen Amazons who keep humanity safe. Amidst the whirlwind of battle, Zach and Gina discover a love that could give them the power to save the world—or destroy it.

The Reluctant Amazon and The Impetuous Amazon.

103,000 words

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Audiobook

377 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 6, 2013

About the author

Sandy lives in a quiet suburb of Indianapolis and is a high school psychology teacher. She is published through Grand Central Forever Yours and Carina Press as well as indie-published. An Amazon #1 Bestseller many times, she has won numerous awards, including two HOLT Medallions.

Please visit her website at http://sandyjames.com for more information or find her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/sandyjamesbooks)

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazon Air Warrior Gina Himmel has always been a bit of a tomboy. She and her four sisters are guardians of the earth. An Ancient Sekhment has broken free, and now she and her demigod army are threatening the world, by taking over strategic military and technology innovators. That’s why Gina has been watching Zach Hanson, a technology genius.

Zach Hanson creates gadgets, including ones capable of starting a nuclear war. He is surprised by a beautiful woman that shows up in his life demanding to be his guard. She knows more than she should about his military contracts, but she isn’t telling him everything. Completely taken by her beauty, he doesn’t know whether he should push her away or take her to bed...he’s voting bed, not guard.

After two almost fatal attacks by the SOG, demigods, Gina decides to bring Zach to Avalon (the home and sanctuary of the Amazons). In Avalon, Zach gets a crash course in the ancients, shifters, and magic. Can Zach a techno geek, find a place in the paranormal world? Can Gina finally accept being loved? The fate of the world might just depend on it.

This is the third installment of Alliance of the Amazons and I’m loving this series. I especially enjoy past characters playing vital roles in the storyline and The Brazen Amazon had the whole gang together interacting...I LOVED IT!

The story flowed seamlessly. The passion was swoon-worthy. The characters hold that realistic quality and they converse with witty banter I love. The Brazon Amazon is a fabulous, fun, paranormal adventure with a scorching romance to boot.

This ARC copy of The Brazen Amazon was given to me by Sandy James in exchange for an honest review. This book is set for publication May 6, 2013.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review cross-posted from Wit and Sin: http://witandsin.blogspot.com/2013/05...

Thwarting an Ancient with a thirst for destruction (and who has demigod helpers hell-bent on throwing the world into chaos) is all in a day’s work for Air Amazon Gina Himmel. But her latest assignment — protecting techno wiz Zach Hanson from demigods who would kill him and take his place — has an unexpected complication that throws Gina off balance. For all her experience in battle, Gina’s a novice when it comes to dealing with sexy brainiacs like Zach. The attraction is mutual, but Gina believes it’s a mistake to get involved with the man she’s supposed to be guarding. Luckily for her, Zach doesn’t agree…

The Alliance of the Amazons series just gets better and better! The Brazen Amazon features a tech geek with the desire to be something more and a tomboy Amazon who deserves a man who sees and appreciates her for who she truly is. Zach is brilliant, and his immersion in the tech world doesn’t keep him from accepting the magic-filled world Gina lives in. Gina, in turn, is confident in her position as an Amazon, but sexist ex-coworkers and preconceived notions of what it means to be a woman have made her vulnerable when it comes to her personal life. As a pair, Gina and Zach are dynamite and I adored them together (though I admit Megan and Johann from The Impetuous Amazon still have the number one spot in my heart). While Gina and Zach fell in love a bit too fast to feel completely organic, I was happy to follow these two wherever author Sandy James led them.

The Brazen Amazon is the third book in the Alliance of the Amazons series, and I definitely recommend reading The Reluctant Amazon and The Impetuous Amazon before diving into Gina and Zach’s story. Ms. James continues to build on the world she has created and the developments in The Brazen Amazon that have an impact on the series’ overarching storyline are fantastic. I can’t go into detail without spoiling the story, but I will say that there are some great twists and turns in this book that remind me why I fell in love with this series in the first place.

A host of secondary characters help further bring The Brazen Amazon to life. I enjoyed revisiting Rebecca, Artair, Megan, and Johann, and the updates Ms. James wove in about their lives were delightful. The changelings Beagan and Dolan continue to be my favorite characters in the series and this time around I actually liked the goddesses, Ix Chel, Gina’s patron goddess, in particular. The most important supporting character was, however, Sarita, the Water Amazon. Like Megan and Rebecca in the first two books, Sarita and Gina are particularly close. It was such a pleasure to learn more about Sarita and Gina in The Brazen Amazon and with the way things are shaping up, Sarita might just be my favorite Amazon of them all. I finished The Brazen Amazon wanting to dive right into Sarita’s book, The Volatile Amazon, but sadly I have to wait until it’s released. I’m looking forward to the final confrontation against the “big bad” of the series and though Ms. James hasn’t said who Sarita’s hero is, after finishing The Brazen Amazon I have my fingers crossed for a certain someone.

The Brazen Amazon is unique, interesting, and wholly entertaining. I can’t wait to see where Ms. James takes the Amazons next!

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in the Alliance of the Amazons series. It is the story of Gina Himmel, otherwise known as the Air Amazon. We haven't really gotten to know Gina that well, since the first two books focused on Rebecca and Megan, Earth and Fire respectively. They were the two Amazons that we were first introduced to and went through training with. Gina is one of the pair whose initial introduction and training we missed. It made her and Water, aka Serita, harder to really connect with. This book takes care of that issue in a big way, for both Air and Water.

This story opens about a year after the close of the last book. So in essence about 3 years or so have passed since the beginning of the first book. We are introduced to Gina in the middle of a mission to protect a tech wizard, Zach Hanson. Her job, foil a plot to steal him and his technology and use it to cause chaos and war in a take over the of the world. But our after spending weeks following Zach, Gina has started to have feelings for him and what she should do, wars with what she wants to do.

Interestingly enough, we are introduced to a new secondary character, Richard. Richard is a Son of Gaia. (I have wondered what happened to Gaia's sons since the first book.) Richard was a former bad guy and managed at great personal risk to get to the Amazons and tell them about a plot to destroy the world. This time it is Sekhmet, the Ancient Egyptian Lioness Goddess otherwise known as the Destroyer. She is using some of the Sons of Gaia to help bring about her goal of destroying the world and remaking it with her as the ruler of everything - in other words, just another day at the office.

Everything that I loved about the last two books was continued on in this one - great dialogue, colorful characters, plenty of action and the flowing smexy scenes. I really loved the interaction between the Amazon sisters as well. They are definitely not cookie cutter cutouts of each other. Each one is distinct and manages to imbue the qualities of the element they represent. A different tone and mood has been evoked in each book, yet stayed similar enough to maintain a cohesion and work together for the series. Kinda like the women these stories are about. This has been an awesome series so far, and I just know that I am going to be both crushed and exhilarated when Sarita's story ends the series.... Or will it? Spin-offs for the Sons of Gaia? Future series featuring the Amazon's children? I don't know. But I do know that I will be keeping Sandy James on my Authors-To-Get list. Another Goodreads 5 star book.

[Vannessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this third book in the series and loved this story about Gina, the tomboy Amazon and her mission to protect Zach Hanson, self-proclaimed nerd and computer genius. The Egyptian Ancient, Sekhmet, has decided that as The Destructor, she is going to destroy the world and rebuild it to her own specifications and to achieve this goal, she has roped in the Sons of Gaia to help her out. In order to do this, she is sending out her SOGs to take over the bodies of various people, who can then cause panic and destruction where she wants it and this is where Zach comes in. He is an inventor of a gadget known as the Toy, which in the wrong hands can cause a great deal of worldwide damage and chaos, only he hasn't thought of that when he made the gadget - what else did he think the US government could do with it?

Gina has to stop the SOGs from taking over Zach's body and vows to protect him. He, in spite of all his wealth and knowledge, has never really considered needing protection before and readily accepts Gina's offer, despite knowing nothing about her so-called security firm. After he gets shocked by a SOG twice, Gina takes him to Avalon, the Amazons' home, where she has to explain to him what is really going on. He readily accepts her magickal world and soon starts to develop feelings for this strong, powerful woman. She reciprocates the feelings, but believes that as soon as Sekhmet's threat is over, so will anything between her and Zach, so there seems little point in taking their relationship any further. How will Zach, a mortal, be able to stay with the immortal Amazon?

To complicate their relationship just a bit more, Richard, a SOG who has switched sides, also has feelings for Gina and doesn't seem to understand the word "no" at all. I did think the petty digs between Zach and Richard were quite immature, but maybe love makes them petty. Things come to a head when Richard does something unforgivable and he then betrays Gina in ways she didn't think he ever would.

It was good to see the other Amazons in this one as well and catch up on Rebecca and Artair and Megan and Johann from the previous two books. I loved Beagan and Dolan's transformation as well. Who knew they could do such a thing?!

I did like the romance between Gina and Zach; maybe it moved a bit too fast at times, but that what a PNR does in my book. I'm not sure I necessarily agreed with what Zach did in the end or how without speaking to Gina, but glad he did it as it meant he can now be with Gina.

Looking forward to reading the last book in the series about the last Amazon, Sarita as well.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

With THE BRAZEN AMAZON, Sandy James moves away from the two Amazons readers are more familiar with (Rebecca and Megan), focussing instead on Gina the Air Amazon. I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy Gina’s story, mostly because her love interest, Zach, is an unknown quantity. (I was really excited for Rebecca and Artair and Megan and Johann to get together, partially because I loved the female characters but also because I felt like Artair and Johann were such interesting dudes.) thankfully, my fears were unfounded and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know both Gina and Zach!)

Gina’s an interesting bird. She’s probably the roughest Amazon in terms of femininity and polish, but she still has a soft side. It makes her nervous but it’s there. She loves being an Amazon and fighting the good fight but she’s a lot more emotionally closed off than her sisters since she had a lonely childhood, constantly on the move. As a result, it’s a bit hardernor her to get close to people, especially someone like Zach who’s not a part of their world. In some ways, Rebecca and Megan had it easier because their partners were already involved in Amazon life. Zach, in contrast, is a total neophyte and he’s destined to go back to the real world when it’s safe for him to resume his regular life. Definitely not an ideal guy to fall for in some respects but practically perfect for Gina in all the ways that count (except for this one).

One of the things that sets Gina apart for me is the fact that she’s a virgin. James handles this well and doesn’t make a big deal out of it, which was great. I don’t like it when people make a huge deal out of virginity in a 25+-year-old character because it’s really not terrible to wait a while to have sex. In this case, Gina has waited for a variety of reasons, all valid, and it’s nice to see the decision treated with respect.

There is also some nice development on the overarching series story about the Amazons’ fight against Sekhmet and Helen. Explaining this would be mean since it would spoil the story but I will say that I’m pleased about how it all goes. There are some great battles and exciting fights — James certainly pulls out all the stops in THE BRAZEN AMAZON.

Fans of the series are sure enjoy this third book. If my thoughts have intrigued you, I’d urge you to try the series from the very beginning, with THE RELUCTANT AMAZON. You won’t be sorry!

http://ireadgood.wordpress.com

[Sandy S · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars



: THE BRAZEN AMAZON is the third storyline in Sandy James’s Alliance of the Amazon series focusing on four elemental Amazon warrior women. This is Gina Himmel’s storyline-the air Amazon.

Like the previous storyline, Gina is a strong-willed, independent and kick-a$$ heroine, but there is a softer side to Gina that has yet to emerge. Gina grew up less than feminine-a rough and tumble tomboy and believes herself unworthy of a man’s attention or love. But Gina will have two men vying for her heart: Richard (aka Dick) a former SOG (Son of Gaia): and the other, her most recent assignment-Zach Hanson. Zach is a computer genius and he is the next target of abduction in the struggle for world domination in the war between the gods and goddesses.

The battle for Zach’s invention will lead Gina and the Amazon warriors into a fight between good and evil, but who is fighting whom for domination? When friends present as enemies and enemies present as friends, Gina’s world will be thrown into chaos and Zach will be the unwitting pawn. But a ‘gift’ from the gods will have Zach deep in the heart of the conflict where the wrong move could prove disastrous for everyone.

The relationship between Zach and Gina is quick to build. The couple’s attraction to one another is instant but there is also someone else vying for Gina’s heart. When Richard becomes the odd-man out, sides will be chosen and betrayal will be the ultimate weapon against Gina in the battle for her heart.

THE BRAZEN AMAZON is another fast-paced well-written installment where the premise and storylines are female driven. There is always a fine line between strong –willed heroine and b*tch, but Sandy James treads carefully in this particular story. Alpha females are often subdued by the men in their lives, but Sandy’s Amazon warriors stay true to form-while not usurping the males- they become equals in their own right.

Copy supplied by the author.

see all of my reviews at : thereadingcafe.com

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5. This third book in the series features the "air" Amazon, a young woman who has seldom known stability in her life even though the pristess of Ix Chel, her patroness goddess and who she addressed as "aunt" during her growing up, was a woman who loved her and taught her to be open and "up front" about stuff, a woman who is independent and self-reliant and who is tall and stately in stature. She is not an easy woman to know and because of her size has taken her lumps when growing up. Being the "odd kid out" is never easy. However, the issues that caused hurt and insecurity in her youth are the very ones now that give her strength and purpose. Her attraction to a human has thrown her for a loop. The other Amazons who have married are in relationships with the Sentinels, immortals who are present to guide the Amazons in their training. This is a complicated story that is stand alone yet is strongly connected to the two previous stories in the series. The author does a very good job of filling in missing information for readers who have not read the previous novels and does so with an economy of words. Yet this story is much grittier, very edgy, featuring a woman who is in every sense of the word--more than just her Amazon status--a square peg in a round hole. That she is attracted to a man who has always felt out of sync with society is not unusual, yet their relationship certainly moves along with stops and starts, testifying to the difficulties they both face when relating to others. Yet Ms James writes a compelling novel--complicated, lots of layers, personalities that are truly weird, with bits and pieces of ancient mythology from So. America, Egypt, and Greece. The feuding goddesses are a kick and the appearance of Ra, the supposed father of all the gods according to Egyptian mythology, is another surprise. All in all, it will be a fun read for the fantasy fan and for those of us who just simply are delighted with having another Sandy James novel in our possession.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Brazen Amazon is book three in the Alliance of the Amazons series. This is probably my favorite book in the series yet, though I still have one more to go. I would suggest reading these in order, due to the books revolving around the four Amazons. Each book has one of the Amazons as the main character and you learn their story and how they met/end up with their love interest.

Gina Himmel, the Air Amazon is sent to San Francisco to protect a tech wizard. After shadowing him for a few days, she finally makes her move and we're introduced to Zach Hanson. A hunky, geek that makes groundbreaking technology that if it falls into the wrong hands could be catastrophic. He's a genius, and oblivious to almost everything else around him. After hiring Gina as his bodyguard, events start occurring that makes him realize he actually needs a bodyguard. The interaction between Gina and Zach kept my attention, I felt like they were drawn to each other and slowly realized they were meant to be together. Their characters really meshed well, without being a picture perfect Disney type of relationship.

The main character, Gina, is a strong character that I think a lot of people will connect with. She is more of a physically stronger type of woman but emotionally she still has hang ups from being teased/bullied as a child. It broke my heart when she was faced with that type of comments again in one of the scenes in the book. I'm just really glad that Zach was there to reassure her. She's still a tough lady though, don't get me wrong.

I'm not sure how, but Sandy James manages to mix in a bit of everything and make it work. I love the fight scenes and that the characters and world are fleshed out nicely. There's never a dull moment in the life of the Amazons and I can't wait to start reading book four, The Volatile Amazon. This series is amazing, and I highly recommend it.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Gina and Zach's love story. There were similarities with Rebecca and Artair's and Megan and Johann's relationships, but Gina and Zach's story unfolded in a completely new way. Zach is mortal, and Gina is sent to "bodyguard" him due to an Ancient's quest to rule the world by taking over technological and monetary industries.

Through their adventures, Zach accepts powers from Ra, to enable him to conquer Sahkmet and entomb her for eternity once again.

I'm looking forward to Serita's story.

[Jana Delli-Gatti]

I like the series, how are there 5 stars before I review?

I noticed that after Megan's story also. I know that I haven't read this Series before. So Amazon, what's up here?

[Fangs for the Fantasy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sekhmet, the Destroyer, has arisen again from her long imprisonment by her father, Ra. And she’s taking up her old task, what she was made to do, to end the world itself.

Which falls to the Amazons to stop her, as they would any Ancient running amok. Gina, the Air Amazon, is assigned to protect Zach, technological genius whose invention could hand Sekhmet the keys to the apocalypse.

Not that Zach knows it – or about magic, amazons, gods or the strange guys who can shock him to death with just a touch of their hands. After the second time he’s rendered unconscious, it’s going to be difficult for Gina to explain.

Especially since he may be the one for her – her soulmate just as her sisters have found. Which is going to be hard to pursue with the jealous and angry Richard, complete with his own agenda and his own ability to electrocute with a touch.

One thing I liked about the relationship in this book is that we got away from having a male love interest who was an authority figure over the Amazon – which meant we had less of the orders and instructions that didn’t work for me in Impetuous Amazon and made Reluctant Amazon so very dubious. Gina can talk to Zach as an equal, even a superior because of her greater knowledge and power.

Yet, the relationship was far more annoying to me. We have the extremely fast-forwarded falling in love from Gina and Zach which is accompanied by lots of excessively describing how distracting the other is though they never ever ever feel like this for anyone else, not even women Zach is sleeping with because her presence for the last few days is just so much more special than any woman ever. And, yes, she is a 26 year old virgin.


The primary source of conflict was brought by Richard, Son of Gaia and also crushing hard on Gina. So he and Zach hate each other. They hate each other form the very beginning, since Zach is established as Richard’s “competition” so quickly. They call each other childish names, they constantly bite at each other and they actually physically come to blows. Richard even tries to kill Zach in a moment of supremely ridiculous pettiness. Gina makes her choice clear over and over and is constantly ignored. This makes for endless interactions ruined by pettiness, jealousy, big strong he-man growling and other testosterone poisoned scenes. We even had a convoluted misunderstanding scene for extra jealous flounce.

The Amazon series does a good job about calling out a lot of sexism – like Gina referring to the misogyny in her old work place and objecting to being called “chick”; but then puts up with a whole lot of alpha male jealousy bullshit from the love interests.

Note that while these 2 men are locking antlers over Gina, there is a goddess of destruction trying to bring about the end of the world. This is what annoys me about a lot of paranormal romance with big dramatic background: your characters look petty if they pay each other’s humpable potential more attention than the actual end of the world.

Read More

[Romancing the Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by JoAnne
Book provided by the author
Originally posted at Romancing the Book

What a great follow-up to books 1 and 2 in the series, The Reluctant Amazon and The Impetuous Amazon, respectively. I am so looking forward to book 4, The Volatile Amazon where I get to read Sarita’s story.

This book is all about Gina and Zach – the Air Amazon and “The Inventor” or the mortal. This has a high tech storyline that had the aura of belief throughout. Watching Zach realize the damage his “toy” could do seemed very real. Zach fell hard for Gina but it felt so right. It was wonderful to be reunited with all four Amazons and their families, the Sentinels and the goddesses. This was another story of right vs. wrong, good vs. evil and how love heals us all. There was laughter, tears, disbelief, pain, fights, secrecy, love and a happily ever after that didn’t look like it would ever happen. Seeing how Gina and Zach’s love grew was wonderful to observe. It was heartwarming to see Zach wanting to fit into Gina’s world even with all the magicks, revenants and SOG’s in the picture. There was nice closure but I’m happy to know I’ll be reunited with the Amazons in Book 4 in the series.

James is a fairly new to me author and I find her books enjoyable. I’ve enjoyed this series which is a new to me genre as well as her contemporary romances and look forward to reading more of her books.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: Alliance of the Amazons

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the other two installments in the series, but I was glad to find that I could keep up with everything. Interesting storyline, even though a little long at times.

The amount of cussing did bother me a little. I have no problem with cussing, but sometimes it can be too much or a little forced. It definitely felt forced in this book. A little can go a long way.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good series - part romance novel, part fantasy. Fairly predictable but still enjoyable. Loved all the gods and goddesses showing up!

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review on Romancing-the-Book.com by clicking on the link below:

http://romancing-the-book.com/2014/02...

[Fiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*