PNR Review: Heart of War by Lisa Beth Darling

Heart of War

by Lisa Beth Darling

(Of War #1)
Moon Mistress Publishing (November 21, 2010)
Review copy provided by author  
★★★

Inside the heart of every warrior breathes the soul of a hero--even within The Heart of War.

Meet Ares God of War is the greatest Warrior the world has ever known, he's also moody, grumpy, dominant, ravenously sexual,and above all, built like a Greek God. Suspected of killing his Daughter in-Law, Psyche, and long in exile from Olympus, the solitude of Ares' island is interrupted when Magdalena MacLeod a brash and sometimes manipulative Fey washes up on Ares' island after believing she's been shipwrecked. There is no wreck and her memory of events is sketchy at best. Branded with a golden chastity belt bearing the mark of Cernunnos, Celtic God of the Forest and Death, Alena has been on the run from the Great Horned God for 200 years. As Ares and Alena grow closer discord erupts on the island as his head woman, Kat, plots to get rid of Alena and the Olympians plot to use her in their endeavor to discover who killed Artemis. Ares will have to choose between his Divinely Dysfunctional Family, his pride, and Alena before dueling to the death with the God of the Forest. Come along for an epic adventure of erotica, steamy romance, and drama in this Modern Day Greek Tragedy. Battle Ancient Gods and Fall in Love along side Ares God of War and Alena MacLeod. Theirs is a love that will rock the world from the heights of Olympus to the Celtic moors. (From Goodreads)

REVIEW:

I was excited when I received this book for review. I love mythology, especially Greek mythology, and have studied it in depth while working towards my degree in history.

The plot for this book was unlike anything I have read. This book has all the popular gods of Greek mythology and stars the god of war himself, Ares. Now, I must admit, in the beginning I was a little put off by his character - he was kind of a jerk. However, Magdalena's character was sweet and definitely likeable and her personal story really pulls at your heart strings. They were a wonderful couple. This novel has it all: romance, steamy scenes, betrayal, and action. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and the author really draws you in, entangling your emotions with the characters.

However, I gave this book a 3 star rating because of a few scenes I was not expecting. This book is not for those who are searching for a sweet romance or light love scenes. If I had known there would be rape and incest I would not have been thrown off. Now, with mythology, Greek in particular, there is incest, but I was not expecting to read it in action.

Overall, this was a good book and I enjoyed the story/plot itself. I will read the second in this series. The characters were wonderful together and the intrigue, jealousy, and infighting amongst the gods - I'm hooked on the drama! I need to know what happens next.