Review: Bound to the Warrior King by Maisey Yates
Bound to the Warrior King
192 Pages
Release Date: 08/18/2015 (PB); 09/01/2015 (e-book)
Publisher: Harlequin | Imprint: Presents
Genre: Romance | Contemporary Romance | Series Romance
The warrior she tamed…
Wild and untamed, Tarek al-Khalij was never meant to rule Tahar. More familiar with a sword than a crown, this lethal warrior must now heal the suffering his brother’s rule inflicted. To do it, he needs his most precious—and dangerous—weapon yet…a royal bride!
The widow he conquered
Elegant and poised, Queen Olivia will educate Tarek in the civilized art of political warfare. But in exchange, Tarek unleashes an unrestrained, primal passion she could never have guessed at possessing. Soon Olivia realizes that she has become inescapably bound…to the warrior king!
* Arc provided by Publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review *
First Impression: Well-written, with two characters who command the page and a setting that draws you in and carries you forward.
This is a book rich in setting and filled with dynamic characters that spark to life and command your attention on every page. Maisey Yates paints so many beautiful pictures with her words and they never fail to culminate in a fantastic and mesmerizing story, and such is the case with this latest Harlequin Presents release.
Bound to the Warrior King is about a American woman who became Queen of a European country, only to lose her husband and become a burden to the country under her brother-in-law’s unexpected rule. At the new King’s request, Olivia travels to Tahar in hopes of making an ally of Tahar by securing a marriage to the new Sheikh, Tarek al-Khalij, a man who has lived his life in the desert as a warrior and knows nothing of ruling a country. But Olivia has thirty days to teach him, and to convince him she would make him a good wife and a good Queen for Tahar.
Tarek is tormented by the things he knows and the devastation his brother has brought to his beloved Tahar. The secrets he keeps to protect his country from further ruin weigh on him. He became a warrior, a man forged into a weapon, for his people, and he protected his brother, the late King, from his enemies out of love for his country, but his exile to the desert came at a high price and it is struggle for him to sit on the throne when he knows nothing of how to rule.
Olivia will do everything she can to help Tarek learn to be King, and to secure herself as the woman to rule beside him. Because she cannot go back to her country in failure, not when she knows her time there, under her brother-in-law’s rule, could be limited.
I loved this book. I highlighted so many beautiful lines and character insights while reading this story that I cannot even begin to address them all. So many amazing threads went into this book, and they’re woven so expertly that they are inexplicably bound to one another, and each more intricate than the last. It pleased my psychology loving heart something fierce. I loved Tarek, and I loved his journey from outcast to ruler, from rock to man. He is such a fascinating character, and so, so well-written I could picture him thoroughly throughout the story. And I loved the heroine, Olivia, just as much, because she challenged him and challenged herself by being with him, which is to me, the best kind of love story to read.
If you love your romance rich in setting, high in emotion, and built with truly amazing character depth, you need to read Bound to the Warrior King by Maisey Yates. It’s a beautiful, poignant, five-star must read that will pull you in and not let you go. Highly, highly recommend!
USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit.
In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book. Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard. She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.
