Warsworn [Mass Market Paperback]

Warsworn is the follow up tale to Warprize, a beautifully written saga about Xylara and her beloved Keir. In Warprize, Keir, famed Warlord of the Firelanders, lays siege to Xylara's kingdom. With her cooperation, Xylara is offered up as part of the terms of surrender. Xylara thinks she is to be Keir's slave, but what she discovers instead is that she has stepped into a role that rivals that of a Queen, for Keir's people honor and respect her. But what surprises her the most is Keir's intent on wooing her. They fall in love but circumstances threaten to tear them apart. Keir is willing to do what's best for Xylara's people, which is to give her up, but Xylara has other plans in mind. She appoints an overseer for the kingdom and joins Keir as he leads his army home.

Warsworn opens with a dilemma. Supposedly a town has shut its doors to Keir's army. Thinking this is a rebellion of some sort, Keir is prepared to raze the place to the ground, but Xylara stops him when the signs point to a plague. Because Xylara is a master healer, she's determined to do her duty, which is to enter the town and do what she can to help. She stubbornly forces Keir to acquiesce but also lies to him about the waiting period for the quarantine. Keir is livid but he lets her go.

The events that follow is a domino affect of Xylara's arrogance. The plague spreads to the camp and takes out a tenth of the army. Along with those who fell under the plague are several of the principal characters; some of my favorites. Xylara learns a hard lesson from this, and her and Keir have to rebuild the trust in their relationship that she so blithely destroyed. But what waits for them is a far greater challenge: Keir's enemies at his home have been regrouping to move against him. The delay with the plague has given them an advantage, allowing for time to present evidence of Keir's supposed ill-informed decisions and their consequences. Keir is summoned home before the warrior-priests to respond to the charges brought against him.

This was a hard book to get through, mainly because some of my favorite characters died in this installment. Xylara, whom I liked very much in Warprize, earns no sympathy points from me. Regardless, I continue to remain in awe of Elizabeth Vaughan's gift in weaving such a complex story with rich, enigmatic characters. She allows the characters to evolve, learn from their mistakes, and even struggle with beliefs they once held so dear. I can't wait for the next installment.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. Warprize was my favorite book of last year, and I was dying to see how the second one continued the story of Lara and Keir. I was, unfortunately, rather disappointed with this book. I gave it three stars because it was just ok to me. The romance between Keir and Lara was pretty bland, and maybe that's because their love for each other is never at all questioned and therefore without any conflict or suspense.

The book itself was hard to get into. I picked it up and put it down several times before I forced myself to read it. The problem was that the beginning of the book with Lara's doubts and complaints just wasn't interesting. It did pick up with the plague, but the fact that Keir let her go into a plague ridden town was totally unbeleiveable. He had all of his people to think about, including the woman he loved, and his willingness to risk her life and thousands of lives seemed totally out of character.

Overall, I was disappointed, but it is still a far better novel than most of what is out there. And yes, I will be buying the third one.

Our tale begins where the first book, "Warprize", left off. Lara, the Warprize, and Keir, the Warlord, are traveling to the Heart of the Plains so that Lara's status may be confirmed in a ceremony. The two have thousands of warriors accompanying them. However, they come to a city with its gates closed and the symbol for plague is upon the gates. Being a Master Healer, Lara goes inside to help the victims.

Soon the plague spreads throughout the warrior encampment. In the midst of the sick and dying, Iften, a rival warrior, gathers his followers and challenges Keir for the right to rule their tribe. Keir is still weak from his recent sickness. If Keir loses, he will not be the only one Iften will see dead quickly.

***** Mark my words: This trilogy will win massive awards! There is no doubt in my mind that this trilogy is one of the best I have ever read! You do not have to read the first novel to understand and enjoy this one; however, you will not enjoy this episode nearly as much unless you do. Each character, even the secondary ones, has their own strong personality. I could not help but get close to them. They are so well developed that I kept forgetting they are not real people. Author Elizabeth Vaughan has won me as a fan and I eagerly await the third book (WARLORD). An outstanding accomplishment from an author that is quickly making her name well known! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.