My rating: 5/5 stars
I’ve been reading Samantha Young for 6-7 years, if my memory is not failing me.. I am very familiar with her style, with her stories and I always loved the message she manages to pass on. Family is the most important element she uses and throughout her books she inspires us to do the same and love each and every member of our family. Friendship is also valuable for her and this warm feeling is growing deep inside every reader, because the message is loud and clear, you can’t miss it. 😊
“War of Hearts” was such a pleasant surprise, a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings I didn’t think I will feel while reading a Paranormal Romance story. It was intense and it made me read for hours without budging, because it was that good. As the plot progressed I began to feel a little obsessed with finding out what comes next and it felt like something very worrying, because I usually don’t act like that. Even if I was used to “Earthly” characters from Samantha, I got very attached to this supernatural ones and instantly loved them because they were intense and felt SO REAL. This is what I want you to take from this review: even if the story is a supernatural one, with magical creatures that exist only in movies or myths, the characters felt very real, with real feelings that inspire you to love, to be loyal and brave. As I was already aware, unity is important in every book she writes, because it is part of who she is and of course, she had to insert it in her stories.
Thea is a very powerful character, one of the bravest and kindest I’ve read about. It was a pleasure meeting her and getting to witness her story, because she is really a lesson to learn here. Having lost her parents at a young age, Thea is being taken in by a family which soon will discover that she is different. Yes, she has gifts and this makes her really special. Even if her talents are not used and explored in anyway, her “father” realizes what she can do, in this way a nightmare is upon to start. She will be tortured in every way possible in order for him to understand her origins. I cannot begin to tell you what she went through and I nearly cried when she recollected that awful period. Managing to escape, she will not let anyone find her and tore her walls down. She will kill if necessary in order to defend herself and if running is the only way, so be it. She will do things she doesn’t want to do, but in order to stay safe and away from the person who hurt her, nothing seems difficult.
Her destiny will interwine with Conall’s, a very brave warewolf who will do anything for his family. When Thea becomes his sister only salvation, he must track her and bring her to his home in Scotland, were his pack is. Yes, if you’ve been wondering, he is Scottish, with a delightful accent and a “lass” lover. Conall is the definition of alpha in every sense of the word, from stature to personality and actions. He is brave, loyal, extremely passionate and also stubborn as hell. He has to find Thea because her sister needs her. He will soon discover that he also needs Thea desperately, but for other reasons. 🙂
Their relationship is the epitome of intense, because every scene together is powerful. Even if he is the leader of a great pack, Thea is soon to follow, having also the same passionate personality, but also a vulnerable side which opened Conall’s curiosity. What he believes about her will soon crumble, leaving aside a victim of a cruel man who didn’t do anything else but run. I liked the fact that they are both supernatural creatures, because I don’t recollect reading recently a similar story. In the previous one, one of them was human, mainly the heroine, and the hero was the special characters of the couple. So, points for originality. Beside, I liked the mystery, the permanent question pending in the air: “Who is Thea?” or “What type of creature she is?”
As I was saying above, this couple was real because it inflicted real feelings to the story. They fought an inevitable attraction, they revealed to each other secrets that were carved deep inside and they began to feel trust as the plot progressed. Speaking of the plot, it was exciting, dramatic, full of action and “OMG” moments, leaving you without air. I also loved the secondary characters, especially Callie and James. Samantha also managed to drafts a very good antagonist in Jasper Ashforth, even if I wanted to kill him from second 1, I have to admit that she did a very good job building his story.
I think this is my time to finally finish writing, but I want to say again how special this book was and what an amazing story I’ve read within the last days. Powerful characters that teach you great things about survival, love and loyalty + a great story to follow with your heart pumping fast and brain going with various scenarios all at once. It has been an amazing ride and the only question that remains now is if we will have a new series to look forward to. Anyone? 😀
ARC received from author in exchange for an honest review.
Ramonisme 