Review: Edgy and violent tale that captivates and enthralls
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 26, 2013
SILENT WARRIOR is an edgy and violent tale that captivates and enthralls. It is set in a fantastical world with oddly-sympathetic characters that stand out in the paranormal genre.When the story opens, we see Hark of Sath battling another warrior in a tournament reminiscent of Ancient Egypt when gladiators fought in the arena. His opponent is Silence, a woman who didn't speak even when provoked. Hark finds himself intrigued and it becomes his goal to make the woman make a sound; even a grunt from her is a small victory. Later, when someone came looking for trouble, they team up despite their uneasiness with the other, and soon, both give in to the attraction sizzling between them. It turns out the woman is a Sath as well, so called "thieves" because they can borrow the powers of Dragon Kings (people who possess psychic powers.) But she is collared, meaning she serves some cartel as a Cage warrior.However, they face a lot of obstacles in their journey to be together, not  least of which is Silence's mission, which might require Hark to follow her unto captivity...The story started getting interesting a few pages in, when Hark lost control of his mouth. I love his mouthiness, his banter with Silence. I thought that was really his trademark, and kudos to the author for finding a way to make Hark stand out from other heroes that didn't detract one bit from his manliness and sexiness. I love his interaction with Silence, the way he teased her and how he would try to make her speak and smile.Silence is his total opposite, a woman who vowed not to speak but to concentrate only on winning her fights. Her strength and kick-ass modes intrigues rather than repels.The moments when their feelings surfaced and touched are all the sweeter for the violence of their meeting and union, in fact, the violence they encounter throughout their whole journey with the bad guys after them. There were times when something about the world confuses me, but just read on. The story is that good. It would be great if there's a crash course on the world and the different clans on the author's website to help readers understand better.Something Silence mentioned hinted at a series arc, and I truly hope we shall see Silence and Hark again in later books, as well as to know the unveiling of the prophecy. I shall be truly disappointed if I didn't. And I am truly serious about this, because rarely have I used "truly" four times in one paragraph.They did get their HEA, but the ending was poignant, truly attesting to how much Hark must love Silence, despite the short time they had together. As a short introduction to a new paranormal series, this novella did its job pretty well to intrigue and hook the reader. Looking forward to the next book in the series!Reviewed by Ashiafor TheRomanceReviews.com