Wed to the Barbarian and The Barbarian’s Vow by Keira Andrews
LGBTQ Fantasy Romance
Self Published
Kindle Unlimited

Review by Angela

I first saw the covers for this series on Amazon while putting together the new release post for the week. And I would be lying if I said it wasn’t the word barbarian in the title that first caught my attention. Everyone should know by now that I’m a sucker for a sexy barbarian romance. When I discovered this would be a duology and feature the same main characters in both books, I decided to wait and read them back to back. No one likes to sit on a cliffhanger, especially me. This is my patting past me on the back because I AM SO GLAD I made that decision. Now after having devoured both books in about 24 hours I’m ready to put my thoughts down on page.

Fantasy and science fiction romance are my addiction of choice in these stressful times, so I dove right into this fantasy. And wasn’t really sure if I liked either main character at first. Jem came across as a pampered, spoiled, naive royal, and the husband chosen for him, Cador, was a jerk and a half. So okay, this is also an arranged marriage, enemies to lovers romance meant to strengthen alliances and royal families. I can deal. For the first 40 or so percent of the book I wanted Cador to somehow fall into a fire and suffer for treating Jem like crap, and I wanted Jem to stand up for himself. Barbarians indeed.

But then something happened… Jem and Cador grew on me. And each other. These two men got to know each other and like each other and their chemistry started to shine through. There were some scorching hot love scenes and a whole lot of character growth. Which means there was doom on the horizon and a big conflict coming.

Which of course, it did, and it’s pretty terrible and I wondered what this would mean for these lovers. So I couldn’t help but start book two immediately.

If Wed to the Barbarian is Jem coming into his own and finding his way, The Barbarin’s Vow is Cador realizing his mistakes, discovering what really matters to him, and trying desperately to get back into Jem’ good graces. As much as I disliked Cador at first in book one, I rooted for him here. I wanted this couple to figure it out. I wanted GROVELING. I wanted their hearts to lead the way back from betrayal to something stronger. I wanted declarations of love and hot make-up sex. To my delight, I got everything I asked for.

The backdrop of this duology is a complicated plot of political schemes, religious fervor, natural disasters, and a disease that is inflicting children. I wasn’t sure who to trust, so you can imagine how Jem and Cador had to be feeling. They are surrounded by a vibrant cast of characters, both friend and foe, and I honestly can’t decide who I enjoyed more. Maybe Santos, Jem’s non-binary sibling who gave him the most support? Or Jory, Cador’s friend who offered help time and time again?

I really enjoyed this adventure and love story and was so thankful for the epilogue where readers were able to look into the future and see how much Cador and Jem are enjoying their HEA.

Final grade- B+

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