“Dear Reader:
“Chandra first appeared in 1984. I’ve rewritten it extensively and changed the title to Warrior’s Song, as this book rightfully belongs in the Song series.
“Chandra de Avenell might look like a golden princess, but she fights like a warrior, dreams a warrior’s dreams and wears a warrior’s pride like a suit of armor. She wants to be strong, independent, and free. She has no use at all for a husband.
“Enter the man her father has selected for her. Jerval de Vernon takes one look at Chandra, and he wants her. After he saves her from a very bad situation, he sets himself to wooing her--not an easy task.
“How does a man convince a woman he coerces into marriage to become a wife? To give him her loyalty and her trust? Love is something he would like her to consider as well. But what if the wife has no intention of cooperating? Does he break her or finally give up on her?
“Warrior’s Song introduces Graelam de Moreton, a real bad boy, who has his mate thrust upon him in the second book of this series, Fire Song...”
As part of my rekindled determination to return to my prior reviewing practices, I’ve decided to begin RAIR (Reviewing as I read. I know...I’m a dork...). This will not only help me to write better reviews, but it will give you readers a better look at the books. When reading a 500 page book, it’s difficult to recall details that bothered me or things I found impressive because there are often very many. Thus begins my new reviewing method.
I have several copies of Catherine Coulter’s books in my personal library, but I’ve not yet read one. This is the first time I’ve picked up one of her writings and it’s nice to get back to my usual reading material. I had no idea that I missed it so much!
However, though this book is closer to my usual reading style, there is something missing. Either my memory of this genre is lacking, or there is something a little bit off about this book--not that it’s bad (which it isn’t at all) but it’s definitely an older one. I think the fact that the original copy of this book (before it was revised and reprinted into the one I am reading) came out even before my parents were married has something to do with this. I’ve made this comment about older books before (if you look at some of my reviews of Connie Mason’s older books or others that I’ve done, you’ll see what I mean). I don’t believe the author is to blame here--just my own youth. I have to remember that the author wrote this book years before I was born, so it was during a period that was different from the one I grew up in. Naturally, the style would differ from what I’m used to.
Now that I’ve said that, there are a lot of things that I like about this book. The characters are interesting and unique. Chandra is truly a standout character. She’s so vastly different from any other female lead that I’ve read that it was a really refreshing change. However, at times she is almost too strong. Personally, there were times when I actually almost disliked her for her harsh ways. It made it more palatable by the fact that Jerval and others consistently commented on how much she reminded them of a cocky boy rather than a woman. Jerval was a great male lead. I liked him right from the start. However, as his marriage to Chandra went on, I did seem to enjoy him ever so slightly less. I think this was because I loved his interactions with her before they were wed that I didn’t want things to change so early on in the story. He remained chivalrous and kind and caring--which made for a good character. (I will admit...the consistent comments of how similar Jerval and Chandra looked creeped me out a bit. I can understand comparing his skills to that of her father, but it was a little odd when the readers kept being reminded of a) how much he looked and acted like Chanrda’s father that he could have been her son, and b) how similar Jerval and Chandra looked that they could have been siblings. I think I can understand what the author was trying to say--that they would be the perfect foils for one another because the only one who could tame Chandra was her father, but it was a little strong and the fact that it kept being repeated prepared me for a very awkward plot twist that never came. On top of that, the strange relationship between Chandra and her father was awkward all on its own. That one, however, I’ll let you read for yourself.) Graelam de Moreton was played up to be this big bad boy, but--even at the beginning--I didn’t think him as evil as all that. I didn’t even see much cruelty in his interaction with Mary. I do think this was because Coulter didn’t want us to hate him overmuch since he has his own book later in the series. Though he piqued my interest at points, I do believe he could have been hardened a little more to make him seem like the powerful, evil man that the characters kept stating him to be. (This made me appreciate the turn of events in the book’s ending.)
As for the writing itself; the beginning of the book seemed a little wooden and stilted--almost like the author wanted to get through it as quickly as possible so she could write the fun bits. The dialogue was a little bit funky in the first few chapters as well (this is difficult to explain, so you’ll have to read it for yourself). The only way to describe it as is too formal. Luckily, this relaxed (or I became used to it) and the story smoothed out dramatically. So, if you can get through the first few chapters, you’re golden...right up until a little over a third of the way through the book. It gets a little awkward once more. The characters are again repeating conversations and comments that were made only a short while earlier. I can understand where the author is coming from here, but it could have helped to allow the characters some prior knowledge so things didn’t have to be explained more than once. (This sounds really harsh, but it’s not actually all that bad in the book. I merely found some things a little bit repetitive. Nothing major.)
Another comment I must make is on the similes and metaphors the author used. It wasn’t really that they were bad, but more so overused. She found a couple good ones and just reworded them to describe the same things (again, not something I can put into the review, you’ll have to read it for yourself and be the judge). This didn’t ruin the book by any means, but it was noticeable enough for me to comment on it in this review. In fact, the same thing goes for anecdotes that the characters have. They seem to be reused and recycled for various situations and characters. I didn’t think of mentioning this until the incident with the frozen lakes and skating was mentioned twice by two separate characters as if it hadn’t been said before. This may not seem like a big deal--and it really isn’t--but I thought it a bit off.
Though this book was rewritten, there were still typos, issues with the dialogue, and some tweaking still needed to be done to the writing. Overall, I liked this book even though I felt like it could have ended with the incident in Mary’s new home (I don’t want to say anything to give it away, so you’ll have to bear with me). The second part of the book was bordering on excessive, though I will admit that it wrapped things up pretty nicely. One thing I didn’t care for was how close Edward and Jerval were. Granted, this made for a more interesting story, but it definitely created a little less realistic plot. This book was good and a decent read. I liked the characters, though they became a little more generic as the book went on. I honestly missed seeing more of Jerval later in the book--it was like he was no longer as important before. This made me sad, but didn’t wreck the book for me. Overall, I would recommend this book as a light read. It wasn’t my favorite, but it’s definitely not worth missing.
