Angela Verdenius Reviews

Page One

Added November 20, 2003

Heart and Soul Book 2: Soul of a Mercenary

Author: Angela Verdenius
Publisher: Wings E-Press
Available At: www.wings-press.com
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Romance: Futuristic/Science Fiction
Format: Ebook download in PDF/HTML and Trade paperback
Price: $6.00 ebook, $15.95 Trade paperback
ISBN: (ebook) 1-59088-184-2 (print) 1-59088-813-3
Author Email/Website: www.angelaverdenius.freeservers.com/
Reviewer: Robin Taylor

With heart-stopping action and staggering emotionalism, Angela Verdenius brings us the next stunning installment in her Heart and Soul series, Soul of a Mercenary, with Reya's remarkable story.

Reya has a hard heart. She has seen and done things that she will never forget, and she's driven, to the point of obsession, to take on mercenary assignments that are wrought with danger. Reya, a Reeka Warrior Woman, and her sister warriors were once outlaws. They have been cleared and are free to lead normal, happy lives. Reya chose not to lead her people, leaving her sister Tenia to that duty.

Tenia, whose touching story is in Heart of an Outlaw, is very concerned for her sister, Reya. She's been gone a while, and Tenia worries that her sister will soon crack. Also, Tenia is due to have a babe soon, and wishes Reya could be there with her. Her loving husband, Daamen trader, Darvk, is also worried. Reya's constant companion is fellow warrior, and cousin to Tenia and Reya, Dana, and Darvk agrees to have his good friends and fellow traders, Maverk and Garret, go seek out the lasses.

Maverk and Garret are quite fond of Reya and Dana and have been rather upset that the warriors left Daamen for what appears to be a ride on a path of self-destruction. When his close friend Darvk asks him to go find Reya for Tenia, he is only too happy, as he has much unfinished business with her. It has been a year since Maverk has seen Reya, but when he spots her in a crowded tavern, he can sense how much she's changed - cold on the outside, apart from the rest of the world. That quickly, Maverk realizes that he needs to help Reya, not just to go back to Tenia, but to get back to the proper business of living - if that means a life with him, he'd only be too happy to make that happen.

Will Reya give up fighting, and go back to be with Tenia and be there for the birth of her babe? Marverk finds out he has a fight - many fights - on his hands while trying to get Reya to go to Daaman. A lot of danger lurks around the warrior woman, as well as deep secrets from her past, secrets that make her feel too unworthy to go back to her family.

One particularly poignant scene in Soul of a Mercenary is, while feverish, Reya relives the worst battle of her warrior career, three years ago when she was just seventeen. The horrors she witnessed were filled with such anguish. She doesn't know it yet, but this was the defining point in her impending relationship with Maverk. What Maverk realizes at this time is utterly profound. Maverk is determined, not just to bring Reya home, but to unravel the mystery of her dark secret, the one that made her so restless and unhappy. What forces Reya to stay so cold, so remote? Will Reya ever forget, find peace? Will Reya redeem herself? Will Maverk truly forgive her when he discovers her secrets?

As heart-wrenching as this book is, Ms. Verdenius gives us a measurable amount of humor, along with fantastic edge-of-your-seat action. When you read this book, one of the most notable things that Maverk and Reya have in common is their stubbornness. However, only one can win.

It is unbelievable to me that this is only the second book that Ms. Verdenius wrote! Her ability to pull the reader into the emotional pain, desperation and action is unrivaled. Whether you are attracted by action or strong characters, you get both with this winner. It was with great eagerness that I immediately picked up the third book to read in this series, Heart of the Betrayed. Be sure to visit Ms. Verdenius's website at: www.angelaverdenius.freeservers.com/ to find out what other books are in this series. Book 4 is available now, Love's Sweet Assassin. There are many more planned. This is rather exciting, because it is impossible not to become fond of the many characters, the Warrior Women, the Daamen traders, the sensual Argons, and more. Ms. Verdenius knows she has a fan in me, and I eagerly await each and every installment in this series, or any other book that she plans on writing.

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Added August 14, 2003

Heart and Soul Book 1: Heart of an Outlaw

Author: Angela Verdenius
Publisher: Wings ePress
Available At:www.wings-press.com
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Romance: Futuristic/Science Fiction
Format: ebook and trade paperback
Price: $7.50 ebook, $16.95 paperbac
ISBN: 1-59088-155-9
Author Email/Website: angelaverdenius.freeservers.com
Reviewer: Robin Taylor

Darvk has his work cut out for him. Darvk, from Daamen, and his fellow traders, run into a group of slavers. When Darvk sees this feisty slave, a Reeka warrior woman, he just can't let her be sold, possibly to a brothel, of all places. The Reeka women have been accused of killing all their males, and now they are outlaws. If they are captured, they are sold into slavery, or worse, tortured and killed.

When Darvk and his best friend Maverk see the woman, they are in awe of her beauty. Even though she is in chains and is said to be wild, Darvk purchases her. He wants her to be safe. When Darvk looks into the slave's eyes, he's concerned that her spirit could break under repeated rape, brutal labor or worse.

From the very beginning, Darvk is in for the fight of his life. The very spirit he admired in the lass will keep him and his fellow traders very busy.

Tenia doesn't know what's worse. She's been wrongly accused, has been running for her life- fighting for her life - for years. Now she's been sold as a slave, branded, and has no idea where her sister warriors are. She'll escape at the first available opportunity. She's a strong fighter, and these Daamen giants don't scare her at all.

Tenia is in for quite a surprise in more ways than one. She finds that no matter how strong a fighter she is, escaping Darvk is much harder than she could ever have imagined. She is also shocked to find out that Darvk believes her claims of innocence, and that he sets out to find out the real facts, even traveling to different planets to find clues.

While Tenia and Darvk and the other traders are searching for clues, Tenia and Darvk are getting closer and closer. While they are trying to fight their attraction, they eventually realize that the inevitability will occur.

Heart of an Outlaw is an amazing adventure story. Will Tenia escape and find her blood sister, Reya, and her other warrior sisters? Can Tenia prove she and the other Reekas did not kill all the males?

I almost don't know where to begin when talking about Heart of an Outlaw. This is an amazing book. If the rest of the series is anything like this one, I have just found myself a new favorite author. Angela Verdenius writes with such amazing wit and intensity that you are drawn in to every scene, every page.

The characters will capture you, draw you in, and never let you go. Tenia is a strong young woman. Life's adversities did not hold her back. She never lost her strength and courage for more than one second. She impressed the traders immeasurably and this helped her to regain her trust for men. Her sister, Reya, is another remarkable character. She has secrets that she can't even tell Tenia, and her pain is almost palpable. Darvk is a man who seeks justice, and with Tenia is in his life, he'll do anything to protect her now, and in the future. The rest of the traders and the other warrior women that we meet are all just as impressive.

I have Soul of a Mercenary (Book 2) and Heart of the Betrayed (Book 3) to read in my queue. I can hardly wait. I hear that Reya's story is an affecting one. Please check out Ms. Verdenius's website at http://angelaverdenius.freeservers.com. There are brief blurbs on the rest of the books in this remarkable Heart and Soul series.

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