The Reluctant Amazon by Sandy James (Alliance of the Amazons #1) 
Paranormal Romance
Released: September 3, 2012
Carina Press

Reviewed by Mandi

We start with Rebecca being stood up on her wedding day. Her fiancé just couldn’t go through with the union. Pissed off and angered, she punches him in the face and the ground starts shaking. All of a sudden, a Scottish warrior appears before her, in a kilt with a huge sword and tells her that her time has come and she must go with him. Confused and shocked, she walks out of the church with him until reality hits her. Get into an old clunkered van with a stranger? Uh no. But he is persistent and when revenants show up (dead, zombie-like creatures) she figures he is a safe bet.

This man is Artair, an immortal sentinel whose job it is to find these Amazon warriors, and train them to, well act like Amazon warriors. Four gifted women are born into each generation, living as mortals unless called upon to use their gift. With several of the warriors either dead or missing, Rebecca was called upon to serve. Her powers are Earth, hence the earthquake, yet it is going to take lots of training to bring about her powers in an entirety. Traveling with Artair is Sparks, who has Fire power and a sarcastic mouth. They all head back to Avalon, for training and to go up against an unknown dangerous power.

I like the world in this book. I can’t help but enjoy a big Scottish hero that whisks the heroine away to a magical place and tells her that her mortal world is no longer valid. Artair comes across as a very gentle, somewhat brute of a man. Apparently he is a hard-core, bad ass with the other women he has trained. but he immediately has a soft spot for Rebecca. He even has insta-lust for her which I didn’t love. In the same regard, Rebecca loses her fiancé, a man she was ready to spend her entire life with, and within a few days, already has lusty thoughts toward Artair. I feel like she never mourned the loss of her marriage, nor the fact that she is never allowed to return to her previous life. I think her struggles with becoming this new warrior person are done well, but I wish the ramifications of what she left behind would have been examined more. It is even mentioned that the goddesses will use their magic to erase Rebecca from the people she used to know. This is tragic in a sense, but it is not really brought up. Instead there is this immediate lust between her and Artair which made me not believe in their romance quite so much.

Otherwise this is a cute story. There are evil revenants with a more powerful being that they are up against. I like that Rebecca has to work to not only become a warrior type person but to gain the acceptance and friendship of the other warriors. Artair is dealing with his immortality and craving what he can’t have – life. A mortal life with a wife and kids. This gnaws at him, as he is tired of his immortality.

The ease of their love and the exclusion of all Rebecca’s losses frustrated me some, but it does have a cute world and lots of action.

Rating: C+

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Tracy’s Place – 4.25/5
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