Tracy’s review of Warcry
All is not well in Xy. There is a faction of nobles who are plotting against the Queen and her barbarian warlord. As cultures clash and tempers flare, Heath and the fierce Plains warrior woman Atira of the Bear must come together to fight the conspiracy… and to search their hearts for something deeper than raw passion.
Lara, Queen of Xy and Warprize, along with her husband, Keir of the Cat, is returning to her homeland of Xy to give birth. But there are some people of Xy who don’t want Lara’s child to be born and they certainly don’t want Lara on the throne any longer.
Heath, who has been a friend of Lara’s since childhood, followed Lara to the Plains. He was infatuated with, and eventually fell in love with Atira of the Bear and wants to be her bonded so badly he can taste it. They’ve spent time together both fighting and sharing a more intimate relationship but Atira looks at bonding (the Plains people version of marriage) as something akin to being controlled. She also looks at it as something that happens to special people and since she looks at herself as especially un-special she can’t wrap her mind around the thought of bonding with Heath. But Heath doesn’t feel right about asking her to stay in Xy when she’s truly a Plains person. Where will that leave their relationship?
When Lara and Keir, Heath and Atira and all those from the Plains make it to Xy they find that some things are in an uproar. There are disputes that need to be settled immediately but also some scheming by a few Lords that are unhappy with the combining of the Xyian and the Plains people.
This is really a continuation of the previous books with a bit of a focus on the romance between Atira and Heath. The story was told more from their points of view unlike previous books where the focus was Lara and Keir. The book itself, however, is more of the telling of the meshing of the two worlds and it was done so well. I love Vaughan’s writing in general because she has a wonderful way of bringing all of the key elements into the story as well as the little bits of life that the Xy or Plains people might experience. It just makes for a very complete story and I love that. I must say that the last few pages of the book were a bit out of the blue and crazy but hopefully all of that will be cleared up in future books.
If you have been reading the entire series from book one Warcry is not to be missed. If you haven’t read the first three books I would not recommend that this be your first foray into the Warlands. It would be mighty confusing for you and not knowing all of the ins and outs of the story you would be pretty lost.
A great story in a series that I highly recommend.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
The Series:
You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place
This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here
I was determined to read this novel anyway, but the review just got me more in the mood. I loved the first three books so am looking forward to this addition to the stories of so many of the characters that populated these cultures in those first novels.
I really love the original trilogy, and so I have every intention of reading this book in due course! Sounds like I should make it sooner rather than later though!