"Two stories in one with this first book in the Night Warriors series"

In the first book of the Night Warriors series, readers find two stories in one, taking place approximately 25 years apart.

In Swordbearer Reborn, Corwyn Hunter is his family's new House Lord, having just lost his father at the hands of the beast, mad elder Veriel. His job is just beginning, though. Anna Jameson, the woman his father was protecting, has no idea of the role she will play in the fate of Corwyn's people. All she knows is someone... or something... is haunting her. It has her so tense she is ready to explode. She is in grave danger, for Veriel is convinced she is his destiny reborn - his long lost object of desire in a previous life. She holds the fate of the balance between beasts and warriors in her hands, and he will stop at nothing to have her. Corwyn assumes responsibility for her and when he meets her, finds a passion unlike any she has ever known. She is his soul mate... but what of the legends that their child will be fated to change the world forever?

This story sets the stage for other books to come in the series, anywhere in the timeline of this world. There is quite a mystery surrounding what drives some of the characters here that will make readers long to read more. Corwyn is a powerful man, driven in his duty to his family, and to Anna. The love between them is immediate and all encompassing, which adds fuel to Veriel's rage. The legends foretold in this story are incredibly intriguing and well developed. There is also an ending that is so incredibly shocking it will leave readers gasping in amazement, desperate to find out what will happen next.

In Hunter Born, riders meet Jayde Albright. Abandoned almost at birth by parents who presumably did not want her, she was found and adopted by the couple she now calls mother and father. She never knew her destiny was greater then she could imagine and she lives peacefully... until the day she is attacked by a monster and he rescues her. Talon Cross finds and aids her before it is too late and gets the shock of his life. She is the one foretold, the female warrior who could tip the balance between good and evil, and has the blood of the most powerful in her veins. Now Veriel has discovered her existence and desires to possess her, as he tried once before with another. Jayde must learn the warrior skills in record time if she hopes to live long enough to fulfill her destiny, entwined as it is with Talon's, bringing to them a love so powerful it will change the world.

This story brings a new force in the Warrior world into play. Jayde is the first of her kind, a female night warrior so powerful that she holds the key to the warrior and beasts' ways of life in her hand. How she deals with this knowledge is extremely well done, from her shock at discovering who she really is, to the way she learns to use it. The love between Talon and Jayde is powerful. One will feel the strength they provide one another, the courage they need to face their enemies, and the love they feel for each other and their families.

This duet of stories is the first this reviewer has read by this author but it has made her an instant fan. The characters are amazingly dimensional and realistic, even the beasts. Ms. Lyons has put a huge effort of time and work into creating the world she writes about, drawing up the rules, legends and beliefs of her characters. The realities her characters face become the realities of the readers as they are pulled into the stories to experience everything with the players. These stories are gritty and raw, full of emotion and adventure. Untraditional as these stories are, they will more then satisfy readers.

The only drawback was in some of the dialogue. The warriors have a strong German background and therefore speak German in some key scenes. Not knowing any German words, this reviewer was at a loss to understand what was going on sometimes. It would greatly benefit the story if translations were given so it could be understood what was being said. A few expressions are explained in the glossary of terms in the beginning, but most of what is spoken in the story is not translated anywhere, which can cause a problem for readers.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, April 2005. All rights reserved.

Reviewed by Kelley Hartsell
Courtesy Love Romances
Posted August 24, 2005

Unknown to humans, Night Warriors protect them from vampire-like creatures called beasts. When Corwyn Hunter saves Anna from the mad elder Veriel, he is irresistibly drawn to her as mate, but there is more to Anna than there seems. Veriel has fixated on her, claiming Anna is his wife, a situation she is at a loss to explain. Is Veriel truly mad or does he have a claim on Anna and her unborn child? The warriors have avoided training a female for 1500 years, but the stone will not be denied. It is time for a change in the Warrior ranks.