Reviewer: Casee
Ancient Warrior by Katie Reus
Series: Ancients Rising #8
Also in this series: Ancient Vengeance, Ancient Sentinel
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: April 11, 2023
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 246
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Series Rating:

The last time she saw him…
Long before The Fall, before the world changed forever, tiger shifter Harlow worked in Black Ops for the safety of all shifters. She excelled at her job, loved everything about it, until the male she loved tried to kill her. So she was forced to kill him first.
She killed him.
Now Aodh is back. And this fierce, dominant dragon shifter won’t stop until he gets answers. But things aren’t what they seem and now he has more than a battle with Harlow on his hands. If they want a chance at a future, they’ll have to take down an ancient enemy who has targeted not only them, but their friends—and it’s going to take uniting all their skills to survive.
Author note: Each book in the series can be read as a stand-alone, complete with HEA and no cliffhanger.

Harlow has always been a character that I was curious about. She was such a badass from the moment she appeared. I was really looking forward to seeing who the hero would be that could deal with her dominant personality.

Long before The Fall, Harlow & Aodh worked on a Black Ops team. They were responsible for policing the supernatural. When Aodh turned against Harlow, she was forced to kill him. Or so she thinks. Even after all the years that have passed, Harlow still feels the loss of her would-be mate. Now Aodh is back and wants revenge on Harlow & the rest of the team for deserting him. The only problem with that is that he loves Harlow deeply & could never hurt her. He has no idea why she or the rest of his team abandoned him, but he does know that he won’t let her go so easily.

When Aodh returns, Harlow knows that something went terribly wrong. The man that she thought she killed was not Aodh. It was a witch that wanted Aodh for the dragon inside him. After draining him of his powers for decades, Aodh is finally free. Now Harlow & Aodh have to work together with the rest of their pack to find the witch that destroyed both their worlds.

I loved both Harlow & Aodh. While it was hard for both of them to forgive the other one, they realized that they would have to work together to bring down the witch responsible for so much pain & suffering in their lives. I enjoyed Harlow immensely. She was a great heroine. Aodh wasn’t bad himself, but it was really Harlow that shined on the pages. My only complaint was that the book was way too short.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5.

Ancients Rising

Reviewer: Casee
Ancient Sentinel by Katie Reus
Series: Ancients Rising #7
Also in this series: Ancient Vengeance, Ancient Warrior
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: January 24, 2023
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 137
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Series Rating:

He never expected her…
Jaguar shifter Ren never expected to fall for anyone again—not after the last woman he opened his heart to tried to cut it out. Literally. But the moment he met Grace, he fell fast and hard for the sweet human. Except she’s made it clear she’s only looking for friendship, and he wants it all.
But he’ll do anything to claim her heart.
Grace officially has a crush on her friend—a quiet jaguar shifter with kind eyes and deadly skills. However, he hasn’t given any indication he wants more than friendship. So she vows to move on—until they’re given an assignment by their Alpha. When they’re stuck together under the same roof, sharing one bed, it becomes impossible to hide her attraction. But then an unknown threat surfaces, putting Grace’s life in danger, and Ren will stop at nothing to protect the woman he knows is his mate.

Grace has had a crush on Ren for quite some time. At the beginning of the book, she decides that she’s going to lay it all out there. She’s going to go for it & tell Ren exactly how she feels about him. Her plans are derailed when she heads to his home & finds him hugging a woman. Her hopes & dreams of being with Ren are instantly dashed. It seems that all they will ever be is friends. Ren wants Grace with a fierceness that surprises even him, especially after what he’s gone through in the past.

This is a rather short review because it was a rather short book. I would say that it is more a novella than a full-length book. I didn’t really connect with either Ren or Grace. There was no backstory into Ren’s past. They got together fairly quickly, then the book just ended. It wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t my favorite in the series.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Ancients Rising

Reviewer: Casee
Ancient Vengeance by Katie Reus
Series: Ancients Rising #6
Also in this series: Ancient Sentinel, Ancient Warrior
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: December 27, 2022
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 300
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Series Rating:

She’s been sheltered her entire life…
Stella is from a fierce and ancient dragon line, but when her kingdom was invaded and half her family slaughtered, everything changed. She’s been taught to fight, to protect herself, but now that one of her sisters is back after being thought dead, she realizes it’s time to make some changes. After years of being smothered, she needs freedom, to spread her dragon wings and experience life. So when her grandmother tasks her with a job in New Orleans, she jumps at the chance to strike out on her own and prove herself.
He's never met anyone like her…
Dragon shifter Rhodes is a killer. An assassin. And he’s been ordered to kidnap the dragon princess Stella as vengeance against her clan. He’s always finished his contracts—until he meets her. Now he’ll do anything to keep her safe. To claim her forever as his mate. But first they’ll have to overcome the danger stalking her—and then he’ll have to figure out how to get her to forgive him for betraying her.

I love dragon shifter books. Other than reading Thea Harrison’s Elder Races series, I haven’t really read dragon books. Katie Reus is one of my favorite new-to-me authors & favorite authors in general. She writes such an amazing story & really brings the characters to life. As a reader than has gotten pickier as the years pass, I really appreciate her even more.

Rhodes has been hired by the fae to kidnap Princess Stella of the Nova realm. Except he knows she didn’t do the things that the fae are accusing her of doing. After following her around for weeks (i.e. stalking) her, he decides that he has to protect her. When she heads out of the realm on a mission to New Orleans, Rhodes barely stops her from being taken by the Fae.

Stella wants to prove to herself & her family that she is more than just an ornamental princess. After being sheltered her entire life, Stella is ready to spread her dragon wings. She wants to prove that she can be an asset to her clan & her people. When Rhodes arrives right when she is poisoned by the fae, she immediately (& incorrectly) assumes that he is a bodyguard sent by her family. Rhodes doesn’t correct her. To do so would mean she would be unprotected as she would certainly never forgive him for lying to her.

Stella is on a mission to find a crown that someone stole from her clan. Although she knows that the fae are a problem, she won’t stop looking for the crown. She feels it’s her only chance at proving herself. Both Stella & Rhodes are drawn into the new world in New Orleans where clubs are only open twice a week & payment goods are traded for services. It is quite a post-apocalyptic world that Reus has created here. I love it.

Rhodes knows that Stella is his mate, but her mating manifestation isn’t appearing which is pretty devastating to him. He doesn’t even consider the fact that the poison could have affected her in that way. Which is weird, because even I guessed that is why. Overall, I loved this book. I thought Stella & Rhodes were both amazing characters & a great team. I’m so excited that these books are being released almost back-to-back. Yay for dragons!

Rating: 4.25 out of 5.

Ancients Rising