In Which Thoroughly Obsessed Thursday Reads Warrior by Zoe Archer, Becomes Obsessed

There was a very precise “ohholyshit, what have a stumbled on to here?” moment that came relatively early on in Warrior by Zoe Archer. This is that moment:

“Gabriel made a face. ‘Dried mutton and horse sweat? Even enlisted men were fed better. It’s grounds for mutiny.’

‘I hope not,’ Thalia answered. ‘Flogging is so time consuming.’”

It comes on page 97 of the adventure involving Gabriel Huntley, Thalia Burgess, and the Blades of the Rose, a secret society tasked with guarding the Sources of all of the world’s magic.

When Gabriel accidentally witnesses a murder near the docks in London, he feels honor-bound to deliver a message carried by the dead man and intended for Thalia Burgess’ father, who happens to reside in outer Mongolia. Gabriel has literally just retired from the army and has yet to establish himself back at home, and so has very little trouble jumping on a boat and journeying to the other side of the world.

What he discovers once there is that a) he has a serious thing for Burgess’ daughter (natch) and b) magic actually exists here on Earth. These are not simultaneous happenings, but they take place close enough to one another.

Because Burgess is injured, it’s Thalia who has to set out to protect the Source (of magic) located in Mongolia, and despite warnings that his work there is done, Gabriel decides to tag along for the ride.

I don’t think I can stress enough how much I LOVED this book. I loved Thalia; she’s headstrong and not at all proper, but doesn’t see the need to defend herself or the way she has been raised on the edge of the map. She’s had her heart broken, but survived, and doesn’t try to fight her attraction to Gabriel on principle. In addition, as the quote above demonstrates, she has a rather badass sense of humor.

As for Gabriel, he’s an alpha (oh boy, is he ever) but he’s not a raging butthole. And that is awesome. He’s super proud of Thalia and all of the things that make her less-than-normal (she’s not shocked by his language, can shoot a rifle like nobody’s business, etc.) and is protective of her in a reasonable and not at all psychotic way.

Here is what I really like though: this book represents the perfect, flawless combination of my two favorite genres, which are fantasy and romance. All I could think while I was reading this was “This is like The Enchanted Forest Chronicles! With hot sex!” There aren’t any moments of “Um... that’s awkward and makes no sense” in either direction-- in the fantasy or the romance. It’s books like this that make be feel like a seriously inferior writer of fiction, because I know I’m never going to write anything half as awesome. Or even have an idea that is half as awesome.

Warrior is the first book in the Blades of the Rose series, and before the end of the book we got to make the acquaintance of three more Blades... and look at that! There are three more books to order!

I. Cannot. Wait.