Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Warrior King
SERIES: Warriors
AUTHOR: Eden Winters
PUBLISHER: Rocky Ridge Books
LENGTH: 336 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 25, 2023
BLURB:
One man is the son of a traitor. The other is the son of a tyrannical emperor. Together, they discover the fine line between duty and justice.
Commander Draylon Aravaid doesn’t hide his lineage as the emperor’s son but doesn’t advertise his origins either. Loyal to a fault, he relies on his hard-won reputation rather than his family name, which his duplicitous father uses to full advantage.
Prince Yarif DiRici trained his entire life to become a consort in a political marriage–all while secretly yearning for love. The death of his father and older brother suddenly thrusts an unwanted crown upon his head, and Yarif into a whirlwind of dangerous plans within plans as he and Draylon are forced into marriage.
The political game is set, and Yarif is kidnapped. It’s up to Draylon to mount a daring rescue to prevent all-out war.
The two men must get past each other’s mistrust, find common ground, and defeat an enemy neither knew they had…and may not survive!
REVIEW:
Draylon is the Commander of the Emperor’s army and also his son. He’s just found a battle and killed the kind of a rival kingdom. Then his father informs him that he will be marrying the dead king’s son and will rule this kingdom. Not what Dray was expecting.
Yarif has lost all in his family except for his young twin half-siblings. He must do what he can to ensure their survival. That means he has to marry. A virtual stranger. He will do anything for Emile and Andira that he can to ensure their safety. The emperor is cruel and isn’t above using children. So he married Draylon. But then he is kidnapped and tortured. He’s sure he won’t survive. But after one night with his husband, he can’t know that Draylon takes his vows seriously. And Draylon will not rest until he gets back what is his. Dray swore to protect Yarif, and by god he will.
Enemies appear from everywhere. Every time they think they are safe, someone else comes out of the woodwork to attack them. Will they find allies in time to save themselves and the kingdoms and the innocent people around them?
Well this was unexpected! Truthfully this is not my usual genre. I am however, a huge fan of this author. And I was not disappointed. This is a very well-written enemies to lovers, forced political alliance marriage and forced proximity story that kept me on the edge of my seat a good deal of the time. Draylon and Yarif are thrown into the deep end of the ocean and end up becoming each other’s life preservers, much to their own surprise. Draylon as son of the emperor is a warrior through and through. Yarif, the second son of a traitor king felled by the hand of his now husband, has never wanted to rule. Forcing them into a political marriage to shore up the emperor’s designs to control the kingdom is only part of the story. Dray knows not to trust what he sees, but he is loyal. And when he married Yarif, he took his vows seriously. He will not rest until he rescued his husband – or die trying. There is really no dearth of villains and scoundrels in this story. Plenty of political intrigue and traitors, greedy spies and unhinged power-hungry nobles. But the heart of the story is the growing loyalty, love and admiration between these two unlikely leaders. There is a HFN ending that is plenty satisfying, but there is more to come. I cannot wait to see what happens next and how Dray and Yarif figure into the next steps for the continent with plenty of kingdoms that could unite. Or not. Highly recommended. recommended.
RATING: 
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