Elizabeth Vaughan (1) (1958–)

Seeking shelter from a storm, the heroine and her sword sister happen upon a desolate and barren plain where a small hut and a shabby barn stand. The man agrees to offer them the barn for the night though he has very little to offer otherwise, he feeds them and gets them out of the rain. But in the process her sees the heroine naked and while that shocks him to the core, the sight of the birthmark on her breast shocks him even more. He knows what the marker means, that she's the chosen one. show more But the heroine wants absolutely nothing to do with the silly prophecy of a shepherded even though he is hansom and she desires him sexually. When the storm clears, they move on. In town however they bare witness to the harsh war torn country they find themselves in and rescue a slave whose at deaths door. With nowhere else to think to bring him, they go to the lonely farmer. He calls a powerful priestess to save the slave and in the process the heroine is sucked in further to the prophecy and the troubles of this country. When the old king died without an heir it throw the country into civil war. The hero was once a rich and powerful baron but he lost everything in the battles. His farm and his people all died and he was stripped of his powers, cursed to be a Null, someone who voids all magic when he's around, something extremely dangerous. So he's been in hiding, living in the baron and bleak reminder of what he once had. The heroine agrees to be the chosen one because she relishes the adventure but also she demanding payment in the form of the hero's body. He's to agree to be her lover until the war is won or she's dies trying. They develop a passionate and extremely interesting love affair. The heroine wears red gloves, hence her name. No one is to speak of the gloves let alone see her without them else they feel the steel of her blade. So it speaks volume as to just how deeply the mercenary and once cold woman feels for the tortured farmer that his death and resurrection would make her crave touching him skin to skin. I loved the complete role reversal of the hero and heroine in this story. The heroine is the warrior and the hero is the civilian. She makes the rules, she goes to battle and she demands his body as payment for accepting the role as chosen. He has no ambition to be anything other than a farmer and the rock where the heroine can return to and feel safe and loved. It's him that's kidnapped and it's her that does the saving. I can't tell you how pleasing it is to read about a woman who really truly is the hero in a genre where woman are mainly portrayed to be weak whiny creatures in need of a good tubing. Not this heroine. She was the aggressor, taking what she wanted and settling her wanton ways once she develops feelings for the hero. I loved the calm but sad manner in which the hero prayed she didn't accept the sexual advances of the other Barons, and I adored that the reason she turned them down was that she couldn't stand the idea of taking the smile off the heros face. I liked this story very much though I felt it was well heavy on plotline and I found my mind wondering at times. But overall the story was grand and introduced upcoming characters well and made me interested in the next stories to come. show less

Interesting culture clash romance. Cityfolk against the nomads - with some seriously nasty folk on each side, and a good many seriously decent ones. Excellent worldbuilding. One thing I really liked was that the author didn't take any of various easy ways out - nomads come to the city and immediately settle in; city girl goes among the nomads and, again, immediately settles in (happy in her new life); all the good guys unite against the bad guys and happy ending...no, none of that. Good guys show more pulling in various directions, each with their own notion of what's right. Lots of culture clashes, on every level from food and clothes to honor and the value of oaths. Even when the bad guys' manipulations are uncovered, it doesn't end the clashes - in some ways it makes them worse, because she's no longer fighting an enemy but someone she'd like to know better - but she's still completely out of her milieu. If this were a pure romance, the author could have stopped with this one; but since it's a culture clash story, there's still quite a lot to tell. show less

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Introduction
White Star is the second installment in the Epic of Palins series. This was also a BUDDY READ with a friend from Instagram. And it was such a blast to buddy read this with her. I absolutely couldn't get enough of this one here. This was so much better than book one, and honestly, this was the perfect fantasy romance, everything all came together just right. And it was everything that I expected and more. show more It had some fabulous elements that really build depth into the story and Elizabeth Vaughan definitely wrote a work of art with this one here. White Star is part of a series, and I do recommend reading these in order.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero:Orrin Blackhard, Scourge of the Palins
-Barbarian
-Leader
-Warlord
-Warrior
-Alpha Mellow

The Heroine: Lady High Priestess, Evelyn
-Priestess
-Powerful
-Spiritual Leader
-Noble
-Virtuous

Summary
Orrin Blackheart, is a warlord and leader of his people, but has had no choice in obeying the commands of the one he answers to. When he and Evelyn first meet, she was his prisoner and there was a instant connection made between them. But when his sorceress is killed, he is captured and about to be executed for this crimes, when one of the Goddesses whispers to Evelyn, that he must be saved and that there is good in him. So she uses her boon with the queen to save his life and give him a chance to redeem his past crimes to save his people and drive the undead scourge out of their lands. But when Evelyn is in danger, Orrin rescued her and with her aid, they work together to destroy the scourge and they find a love that is worth fighting for..

My Outlook
This book *sigh* was so precious and delightful to read! There is something about reading a Elizabeth Vaughan that just works so well for me. If you love a good epic fantasy romance, and you haven't had a chance to read this author, then you definitely need to. Book one was pretty slow in comparison to this one. There might be some drawbacks of this one to some readers, such as the instant love theme, but I actually loved seeing this being implemented. And we have a pining HEROINE!!! And it was just so good. I know everyone is obsessed with a pining hero, but I feel like we get that a lot in romance lately, so it was so REFRESHING to have a heroine that was the pining focus.

Now I first want to mention the redemption arc of this story. This is where we see the hero go on a journey of his own in working on atoning for his past mistakes, endeavoring to save his people and improve the lands for the better. I actually really loved the hero though. He wasn't uber alpha male, but definitely had alpha tendacies but had a sweet soft side at times. I enjoyed the bantering between Orrin and Evelyn. Evelyn sees the good in Orrin. I love how in tune she is with her spiritual side and yes I love a spiritual theme in a romance, and it worked so well within these books. If you have read Elizabeth Vaughan, it just works so well. But seeing the way she is willing to fight and stand by Orrin was so wonderful. I was cheering her on all the way. Orrin is SO stubborn haha he knows that Evelyn has made a vow of chastity in her order as a priestess and he doesn't want to threaten what she has worked so hard for. But Evelyn loves Orrin, and is willing to do what it takes to prove to him she is in it for real and the long haul. But honestly the ending was so epic, beautiful and just swept me away!

Overall View
White Star is a thrilling tale of unforgettable love, sacrifice and healing that will inspire its readers! KICKS A PUNCH TO THE HEART!

Rating Evaluation:
Plot: 5
World Building: 5
Cover: 4
Hero: 5
Heroine: 5
Steam: 5
Heart & Feels: 5
Ending: 5
Overall View: 5 show less

On the surface, Warprize is your typical, sometimes over-dramatic fantasy romance. But underneath that...it's a deep undertaking in the clashing of cultures, of the power and pain of listening, thinking, and evolving when two peoples collide.

On one hand you have the Xyians, equivalent to medieval Europe, and heart of modern medicine (at least, modern in their world). On the other, you have the people of the Plains - fierce, open, nomadic tribal folk who worship the elements. I loved getting show more to know the customs and expectations of these people. I loved bemoaning their reluctance to try more modern medical remedies on religious grounds. I loved their acceptance of certain rituals and ideas, their free-flowing nature. But I loved too the presentation of problems that arose from those old customs and expectations - that the people of the Plains might be different from Lara's seemingly conservative world, but that does not necessarily mean better. It just means that they are conservative about...different things.

Lara's journey as she learns to know these people and brings to them the idea of healing with plants and medicines is gripping. You feel with her when she becomes a tribute to the Warlord of the Plains. You grin at the fact that even terrified she can't ignore her true professional calling. You sympathize with her and Keir when progress is achingly slow or outright rejected. You laugh with her when she learns to adopt or let go of new and old ways of thinking herself.

And her relationship with Keir is...wonderful. Their push and pull on each other is sweet and exciting, though sometimes over-dramatic in the way that romances get. But they treat each other as equals. They laugh and fight and work together as a team in the face of the bigger picture - bringing change when the one thing human beings are afraid of the most is change. show less