Review: 4.5 stars - Four wonderful full length historic adventure romances novels, far off lands and a bit of magic too
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 2, 2010
I have really loved reading Zoe Archer's Blades of the Rose. Her series is a wonderful combination of adventure and romance, sprinkled with a touch of magic and a bit of sex, set in gorgeous locales in a time gone by.  The overarching theme involves the noble members of the Blades of the Rose finding love even as they fight to prevent the elitist Heirs of Albion who are intent on stealing magical artifacts and accumulating enough magical power to install England as the world's supreme power.InWarrior (Blades of the Rose #1), Thalia, a sturdy yet beautiful Englishwomen living in Mongolia, takes on her first mission as a Blade and ends up with an unwanted protector in the honorable, heroic, commanding, capable and virile Captain Gabriel Huntley - gotta love those manly men. I loved the initial conflict between the independent Thalia and the protective Gabriel and there were enough contests and battles, mixed in with the glimpses of far-off Mongolia and its people, to keep the story moving while still allowing time for a slowly building yet steamy relationship for Thalia and Gabriel.Scoundrel (The Blades of the Rose #2)stars the oh-so gorgeous Blade Bennett day. Bennett is a rake, but an appealing one because he truly loves the women who flock to his bed.  But Bennett's views on love undergo a change once he meets London Harcourt, daughter of the leader of his enemies.  London's joy at experiencing all that life has to offer, as she for the first time tastes freedom having lived an extremely restricted life, captures Bennett's interest.  I loved London's willingness to risk her life and her heart for the chance to finally experience passion and I enjoyed watching Bennett's frustration when his world view shifts and he can't get London to `hear' what he is really saying. Scoundrel is set in and around the beautiful isles of Greece and also offers a bonus side romance between supporting characters, witch Athena and salty sea captain Kallas.Rebel (The Blades of the Rose #3)takes place in the beautiful frozen Pacific Northwest and adds a touch of paranormal to the world of the Blades. When Native attorney Nathan Lesperance returns to the area inhabited by his ancestors, and even as something hidden within him begins to stir,  Nathan finds himself inexplicably drawn to frontier woman Astrid, a former Blade who has lived in self-imposed exile after the death of her husband at the hands of the Heirs. Rebel was my favorite of the Blades of Rose books, Archer really outdid herself in with this story. Nathan and Astrid are both well drawn characters and their slowly developing relationship brings a great deal of emotional depth to a story that also had a good amount of action and covers some very beautifully described territory.The final book,Stranger (The Blades of the Rose #4), stars genius inventor Catallus Graves, who has made appearances throughout the series. Catallus is quite reserved, so his romance is not as fiery as some of the other Blade's romances. Also the book has a different feel from the rest of the series, since the leads' quest to stop a magical takeover which threatens epic consequences takes them not to some exotic earthly locale but to the otherworldly land of Faerie. But I was charmed by Catallus and I loved Catallus ' heroine, Gemma Murphy, her determination, inquisitiveness and willingness to take the lead in moving their romance forward was quite appealing.I highly recommend the Blades of the Rose series if you are at all interested in historical-ish adventure romances with a touch of magic set in gorgeouslocales. Don't fret if you don't own an e-reader, all four books are available separately in paperback too.  If you are looking for more Blades of the Rose there is also prequel novella in the anthologyHalf Past Dead.