Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe (Royal House of Shadows #2)
Paranormal Romance
September 20, 2011
Paperback
HQN

Reviewed by Mandi

Breena is a magical princess of Elden who has a secret. She is able to call “her warrior” as she refers to him, in her dreams. The same man, over and over has come to visit her in her dream state, and often they end up ripping each other’s clothes off, but to Breena’s dismay, they never make it past that. He is savage and fierce, but in her dreams she is never afraid.

When her parent’s kingdom is attacked by a blood sorcerer, she races to escape. Her last memory is her parents, tied up but using the last of their magic together – and then Breena finds herself, alone in the woods. Starving and tired, the only thoughts that force her to continue are “survive” and “kill.” When she starts to see bear skulls on trees, she knows she has wandered into Ursa territory.

When Osborn was a teenager, he proved himself worthy to possess the heart of a bear, only to return to his village to see everyone but his two young brothers slaughtered. Determined to exact revenge, he bides his time, while raising his brothers. He thrives for violence, and has shied away from women. That is until he finds Breena inside his house sound asleep. His berserker rage accepts this female, He knows he has dreamed of her and she knows this is the man she has called for. But he is a violent man, and has no room for this woman in his house. He doesn’t want his brothers getting used to a gentle woman. He wants her gone – scared more for how is body is reacting to her than anything.

When blood demons follow Breena’s magic and attack her and Osborn at his home, he knows she must go. Breena knows she has called this warrior to her dreams because he is the one that will be able to defeat the sorcerer back at her castle. Now she just has to convince him he is hers, and she must convince herself he isn’t quite as scary in real life.

Lord of Rage is book two in the Royal House of Shadows series. A four book series, that is set in the same world, but has four different authors writing them. I had a lot of problems with book one, Lord of the Vampires and ended up not finishing it. I do think this book reads very well on its own, and enjoyed it much more than the previous one.

Jill Monroe gives us a twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, along with eaten oatmeal, a broken chair and Breena sound asleep in Osborn’s bed. Osborn also possess the spirit of the bear and is able to go into berserker rages, when violent tendencies are necessary. He is very alpha and growly. He becomes quite frustrated when Breena comes into his life – at least in her real form. His body wants her badly, but he is also wary of her. Is she bringing this evil blood magic to him on purpose?

He acts very brutish toward her. Sometimes off-putting and savage, sometimes sexy. I think in the first half of the book, their tension works really well. Breena is not dumb. She knows she has been bred for the role of a princess and can’t offer much to Osborn other than some sewing skills. But she uses what she knows to her advantage. I do think their tension becomes a little redundant through the second half of the book – I was ready for things to move forward with them.

I enjoyed Osborn’s gruffness and savage like nature. I think their relationship works because they have known each other from their dreams. I enjoy Berserkers though – they are violent, a little out of control and well – damn sexy. Breena teases him and doesn’t put up with his bad manners. It’s a nice match.

This book sets things up for future events that I look forward to. Jessica Andersen is up next with Lord of the Wolfyn, and Nalini Singh ends the series with Lord of the Abyss.

Rating: B

Recent Reviews:
The Book Pushers – C
Badass Book Reviews – C
Under The Covers – 4.5/5
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