The Irish Warrior

These were the first three things I typed about this book: Oh my god I love this book (had read 6 paragraphs), Finian is awesome, and the fight in Senna is glorious. These were pretty much my feelings throughout this whole story.
Right away the chemistry and word play between Finian and Senna scorches the pages and pulls the reader in. Because of the by play between these two characters I will now read any book Kris Kennedy writes.
This being a romance book there is of course the requisite "We can't be together!" but it is handled well here. Finian and Senna don't come up with dumb excuses for trying to stay away from each other, instead they accept their (holy hot) chemistry and just try to not inflame it (kind of fail here, but I'm not show more complaining yo!).
I loved how on Finian and Senna's journey to escape the baddie Lord Rardove and get to Finian's King, Senna is constantly feeling "reckless" and is always trying to push Finian to his breaking point. I love a strong man, but I love to see them fall even more. The scene where Finian and Senna are in a boat trying to avoid the English soldiers involves a little recklessness from Senna and let me tell you folks, it is quite toe curling. I almost felt bad for Finian 'cause you know this man is going down and going down hard ;)
The embarrassing truth is I honestly don't think I went more than 3 pages without smiling/giggling in a highly giddy manner for the first half of the book.
The pace and enjoyment did slow for me on the second half, this is why there is no after the A grade. However, this only lasted for around 5 or 6 chapters and then whoa doggy the story picks up with thrilling speed until the end. Trust me people there are some revelations in the end that will have you gasping. Up until these revelations were uncovered I would have called this a completely character driven story. The storyline involving Irish dyes and how they could be important in the fight against England's King Edward (always seems to be public enemy #1 in the books I read) is highly original and like nothing I have read before. Make no mistake though, you'll love this book because of Finian and Senna but the revelations definitely add some serious meat to the story.
Finian and Senna also are balanced elements. There is no dominating character overshadowing the other and leaving them in the dust. They almost feed off of one another becoming better and stronger because of the other. It's a great thing to read; female and male character strong in their own right. Their chemistry positively fires up this story. The secondary characters are well written and note worthy, but in the background where they belong. The baddie Lord Rardove is close to being over top but toes the line well. William, Senna's brother, doesn't show up until the end but with the little bit of backstory he is given has me crying for his own book.
All in all, the story wraps up a tad too quickly, but that is a small complaint. The adventure, crazy revelations, and amazing hero/herione are completely worth the price of admission. Like I said before not quite perfect so I couldn't put a after the A, but I can honestly say Finian and Senna are by far the best couple I have read all year. I loved it and if you like medievals and have been missing them (frankly who isn't?) you HAVE to read this book, you will not be disappointed. There really cannot be enough said about reading a good story.


*Personal note to the author Kris Kennedy: Please, please, please, please write William's story!!! Please!
Don't get high and mighty folks, after you read this book you'll be begging to for William's story.
**Oh and thank you to the publisher who actually had the cover model look like how Finian is described. It's the little things people. show less

Last year Kris Kennedy blew me away with her debut medieval, The Conqueror. I'm happy to report she's penned another winner with The Irish Warrior.

I adored the Irish setting and rich characterizations. Another stellar release.