Warrior of Fire (Warriors of Ireland, 2) Mass Market Paperback – November 17, 2015

Michelle Willingham's tale Warrior of Fire is a real disappointment to me. Willingham is one of the few authors who writes brilliant fast paced tales about Ireland so I have been anticipating the release of this book. Unfortunately, the story felt like it was written by somebody else.The heroine (Carace) was suffering from celiac disease, which is a gluten intolerance. She had been betrothed to the High King, who was an abusive man so she did not want to marry him, thus the book opens with her on the run. Carace is ultimately rescued by a Norman soldier ( Raine De Garron) who is up to his neck in his own sorry difficulties. The entire story then is these two miserable people traveling from one night to another, with a few encounters along the way, only to end up right back where they did not want to be. Then there was a quick wrap up and finale and this dark gloomy tale was over. Apart from the angry relationship Raine had with his commanding officer, there was no character development in this story, in my opinion.Usually an author describes the surroundings a bit, tells of the various colors, or the intimidating fortresses, describes the people, or something-but there was nothing. Twas sick girl meets grim warrior, travel while girl gets sick, girl begs grim warrior for sex then takes him! Grim warrior betrays and delivers girl to angry king blah blah blah blah the end. I do not understand the high rankings for this book. Have we given up on holding the reader to some standard? Or is it just the name that gets the stars? I have just spent a solid six weeks reading LeVeque's books for free. They are rich, detailed, varied, textured with emotion, plot, and full of twists and turns. Real down to earth stories! Yet, lately it seems that many of the popular authors continue to churn out substandard ( in my opinion) work and receive high accolades from the audience. I am absolutely certain that I am not the only reader that notices this egregious trend and I am will not rate a book higher than it deserves, no matter who the author is.Warrior of Fire was dark, dismal, boring, predictable, shallow, and miserable over all, including the characters. I find nothing to recommend it, even if had it been a free book. Willingham, is this the best you have to offer? If this is going to be a trend with you, I won't be reading any more of your books, in fact I returned this one. Where has your creativity gone? Do you think you can find it? You will have to dig deep, it would be such a disappointment if you do not!

l usually enjoy how this author weaves a story and I couldn't read fast enough to finish book 1 of this series and start on this one. I knew that the story of the sister would pull me in. That being said, I enjoyed book 1 more. This is more dark, not hopeful until the very end, and this was a secret he kept from our h that had me yelling at my e-reader, for her the open her eyes and read between the lines.The romance builds slowly and I understood why the H acted the way he did and what was at stake. Even with that knowledge, it was hard to see that their HEA was going to be a long winding road.There is some suspense, twists, loved the ending and epilogue alot. We get mild lovemaking, that did feel passionate because by now I cared for our H/h.Yes, I do recommend this story, and think it would benefit you in reading book 1 first, so you get a true glimpse what our h was dealing with in that story. (ljb)

The 6-7mos preorder wait was worth it. This book is incredible. I finished it today, the day the kindle edition was released. Didn't get much done at work but I had a great read. Intrigue, love, action, complex relationships--you name it, this book has it. I do hope there is a Warrior of water or air or some other element that is to follow. Grab a copy and judge for yourself. You'll love it.

Her stories are always a good read. She writes in a way that makes one feel for her characters. She she spreads heart and lust around.

I follow Michelle Willingham's books and love how she brings her characters to life. This series so far is exciting and well thought out.

She's done it again! Great story! Good ending! I've enjoyed everything that Michelle has written! Looking forward to her next book to come out!

I've read some of Ms. Willingham's works and enjoyed them but quite frankly, I skimmed this because it bored me.

Excellent book. This is the second book in the series, but takes place at the same time as the first book. Carice has been promised in marriage to the High King of Ireland, a marriage that she does not want. On top of the stress of her impending marriage, she has been suffering from a debilitating illness for several years, one that is getting worse. Convinced that she is dying, she wants to live out her last days in peace, so she finds a way to escape. Cold and weak, she stumbles across a deserted abbey where she takes refuge. She awakens from a pain filled sleep to find a strange man in the room with her.Raine is a Norman soldier who came to the abbey to bury the monks who died in a fire there. He felt responsible for their deaths, the guilt added to that which he already carries. He is a nobleman's son who has been forced into the English king's service. His father died at the king's hand, trying to protect his wife from the king's unwanted attentions. His mother killed herself, and his sisters were taken hostage by the king to force Raine to follow his orders. Raine is required to find a way to assassinate the Irish High King. When Raine discovers Carice hiding in the abbey, he knows the smart thing to do would be to return her to her father. Carice begs for his help, and something has him wanting to protect her the way he hasn't been able to protect his sisters.Raine is conflicted because she brings out a part of him that he thought was lost forever. With her he is kind, protective, and feels that he is doing something good. But he also knows that he could use her to get close enough to the High King to do what is necessary to save his sisters. Never far away is his commander, who takes every opportunity to remind Raine of just what is at stake if he should fail. The more time they spend together, the more Raine wants to be the man she believes he is. He is falling hard for her, but knows that she will hate him when she realizes what he has done.Carice knows she is falling for this hardened warrior who takes such good care of her. Though she is often weak and sick, she has an amazing amount of inner strength, and calls on that when she feels most like giving up. She believes that she will not live much longer and wants to experience as much of life as she can in the meantime. The things that Raine makes her feel spark more life in her than she has felt in a long time. Though he tries to resist, Carice eventually breaks through his control. But just as she is beginning to feel hopeful about the future, the extent of his deception becomes apparent.There were so many ways for things to go wrong that I wondered how Carice and Raine were ever going to get their happy ending. Both Carice and Raine were determined to protect the other, even at the risk of their own lives. From poison to trial by combat, it looked like fate would succeed at keeping them apart. Help came as a repayment of a good deed done, and the redemption of a previously unlikeable character. There was a lovely twist to the ending as Carice tried to find the perfect wedding present for Raine. The epilogue was a sweet wrapup to the story.

Loved it!The hero was suitable tortured and yet fell in love reluctantly. The heroine though fragile was strong and the writing was wonderful given the short word count.

book arrived in good order

Enjoyed reading this

My second favourite author.

Well written, exciting story line.