The Blades of the Rose are sworn to protect the sources of magic in the world. But the work is dangerous—and they can’t always protect their own…

READY FOR ACTION...
London Harcourt’s father is bent on subjugating the world’s magic to British rule. But since London is a mere female, he hasn’t bothered to tell her so. He’s said only that he’s leading a voyage to the Greek isles. No matter, after a smothering marriage and three years of straitlaced widowhood, London jumps at the opportunity—unfortunately, right into the arms of Bennett Day.

RISKING IT ALL...
Bennett is a ladies’ man, when he’s not dodging lethal attacks to protect the powers of the ancients from men like London’s father. Sometimes, he’s a ladies’ man even when he is dodging them. But the minute he sees London he knows she will require his full attention. The woman is lovely, brilliant, and the only known speaker of a dialect of ancient Greek that holds the key to calling down the wrath of the gods. Bennett will be risking his life again—but around London, what really worries him is the danger to his heart…

Title: SCOUNDREL
Author: Zoe Archer
Series: The Blades of the Rose, book 2
Genre: Action/Adventure Romance, Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Kensington/Zebra
Year of release: 2010, October 1
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Received a digital copy of the book from author for review

First line:
The bloody problem with magic was that he wasn't allowed to use it.

Memorable Scenes:
-Finding the mirror scene and sailing the narrow strait scene > thrilling and adventurous
-Temple scene > Can I say H.O.T? Yes I can!
- Bennett's declaration of love > sweet and touching

Bennett Day aka Ben Drayton is the Blades' cryptographer. He’s able to crack/decode any code presented to him. The term scoundrel is very fitting when it comes to this womanizing, silver-tongued charming rogue. But he’s also honorable and focused.

London Harcourt (full name: Victoria Regina Britannia London Edgeworth Harcourt – I love her full name!) is the widow of Lawrence Harcourt, sister of Jonas Edgeworth and daughter of Joseph Edgeworth. These men are all enemies of the Blades and London is ignorant of her father's, brother's and late husband's work as Heirs but she gets dragged into it because of her knowledge of ancient languages. She’s educated, sharp-witted and courageous. I really liked London.

Zoe Archer writes some awesome and very compatible couples and Bennett and London fit that bill perfectly. The romance in SCOUNDREL revolves around the enemies-to-lovers trope/ falling for enemy's daughter trope. This is one of the tropes I’ve loved ever since I started reading romance at a young age. I adored the Harlequin romances with these tropes as it gives room for so much angst and intense emotions. Needless to say the trope in SCOUNDREL was another thing I loved about it.

I really love how Zoe Archer describes scenery. After Mongolia in WARRIOR, she now takes the reader to Greece in SCOUNDREL and does a marvelous job of making the country come alive through her writing. And her talent for storytelling is very impressive too. I was completely engrossed in the journey she took me on in SCOUNDREL. I found this book a little less Indiana Jones-y than THE WARRIOR despite stuff like kidnapping, deciphering ancient writings, sailing across the Aegean in search of clues and the Source. However, it was no less entertaining in the least!

Myth, magic, action, adventure, romance and scorching love scenes, SCOUNDREL is a compilation of all of the above that kept me reading while cursing the villains and rooting for the main couple and their romance.

Having read two books in the series I can't but say that The Blades of the Rose series is unique, refreshing, witty and excellently written. There's plenty romance in them to satisfy my inner romance junkie and yet I have a feeling that even without the romance I'd recommend this series to readers who enjoy a thrilling, fast-paced and action-packed adventure.

Favorite Quotes:
She met his gaze, and sank into their cool aquatic depths as he stared back. This felt stronger than attraction. Something that resounded through the innermost recesses of herself, in deep, liquid notes, like a melody or song one might sing to bring the world into being.

London Harcourt burned with desire for the world, for visceral experience. As he did. But he had the good fortune to be born male, and so the world opened to him like a feast, while London Harcourt could only look on and starve. What a pleasure it would be to feed her.

Their last kiss was rushed, a bare glimpse of what could be. He would take his time. But he couldn't seem to make himself take a leisurely pace. Only the slightest urging, and her mouth met his in a kiss. Such a mouth she had, sweet and soft and meant for languid, thorough kisses. Slow, slow, he ordered himself.

""She glanced over at Athena, busy rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"If I was more conventional," Athena said, "I would say you must marry me now."
When London blinked in confusion, the witch explained, "While you slept, you attempted liberties with my person. You called me 'Bennett,' and commanded that I make love to you."
"Oh, dear God!" London gasped, mortified. "I'm so sorry!"
Then Athena laughed. "A joke."

To most people, the realm of magic is the stuff of nursery rhymes and dusty libraries. But for Capt. Gabriel Huntley, it’s become quite real and quite dangerous…

IN HOT PURSUIT…
The vicious attack Capt. Gabriel Huntley witnesses in a dark alley sparks a chain of events that will take him to the ends of the Earth and beyond—where what is real and what is imagined become terribly confused. And frankly, Huntley couldn’t be more pleased. Intrigue, danger, and a beautiful woman in distress—just what he needs.

IN HOTTER WATER…
Raised thousands of miles from England, Thalia Burgess is no typical Victorian lady. A good thing, because a proper lady would have no hope of recovering the priceless magical artifact Thalia is after. Huntley’s assistance might come in handy, though she has to keep him in the dark. But this distractingly handsome soldier isn’t easy to deceive…

Title: Warrior
Author: Zoe Archer
Series: The Blades of the Rose, book 1
Genre: Action/Adventure Romance, Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Zebra Books
Year of release: 2010, September 7
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: received a digital copy from author for review
First line: Gabriel Huntley hated an unfair fight.
Memorable Scenes:
All the scenes where Gabriel and Thalia got it on:
- Their first time...on a rock! > original and hot!
- The scene at the pond in the oasis in the Gobi Desert > If I still smoked I would've lighted a post-coital cigarette

Gabriel Huntley is a former captain in the British army. He has been all over the world serving Queen and country and is on his way back to England to leave the dangerous and adventurous life behind and find himself a nice, ordinary wife to settle down with. However, fate has something else in mind for him and soon he finds himself in Outer Mongolia, captivated by a woman who is anything but quiet or ordinary. Gabriel abhors unfairness or injustice. He is gruff commanding, intelligent, confident and persistent.

Thalia Burgess is an anthropologist who was raised by her father in Outer Mongolia after her mother died. When her father is unable to perform his duties as a Blade of the Rose after Gabriel’s news demands urgent action from the Blades, she offers to take his place. Her mission puts her together with this captain she is very attracted to but hesitant to pursue those feelings as she has been burned by her attraction for a man before. However, she soon learns that love is not to be dictated by fear or reasonable thinking. Thalia is independent, sharp, smart, courageous, tenacious and protective (of her father).

Both Gabriel and Thalia stole my heart in this first installment of the Blades of the Rose series. There is subtle humor in both of them and their banter that made me smile throughout the book and even in the sometimes-hazardous situations they never lost the humor.

WARRIOR starts the way I love action-adventure to start: with a fistfight! When I read the first page, I just knew I was going to love it and boy, did I love this book! I hope to give you all a fairly coherent review of WARRIOR but can’t guarantee anything because all that’s in my head is: Loved, loved, loved, loved it and I want more and ooooh hot sex scenes. But let’s give it a try shall we.

First off WARRIOR is every bit as Indiana Jones-y as I expected it to be and an extra point goes to Zoe Archer for not including snakes…my biggest fear in the universe! Instead of icky snakes there were mysterious clues and puzzles, mythical objects and magical artifacts, secret societies and the battle between good and evil and she gave me a bit of paranormal, a chunk of historical, a tad of adventure and a pinch of lovely romance all rolled into one in an unusual setting that was as enchanting and captivating as the plot was.

Zoe Archer has a way of describing scenery, whether in England or Mongolia, that --all by itself-- just pulls you in and keeps you immersed into the story. And next to that she also pens down a great adventure and a beautiful romance. I loved how gradually the world she created, unfolded. In the beginning you know very little about the how and why of the Blades, their adversaries: the Heirs of Albion and the battle that rages between them. And instead of overwhelming the reader with extensive world building she weaves the information little by little into the rest of the story, next to the romance and the actual action.

As you may have noticed I haven’t told anything about the actual plot and adventure. That’s more on purpose than I normally do in my reviews because I don’t want to tell anything that would spoil the fun for other readers of going on this adventure together with the characters. It was so much fun to discover stuff and see the plot unfold that I wouldn’t want to do anything to spoil that.

Zoe Archer’s writing fascinates, captivates and holds the attention just as much as the intriguing story does. Her wonderful writing style worked for me on all levels and the fact that this was a slow read for me had nothing to do with the writing or the story but more with external factors, because it was fast-paced, action-packed and moving full-speed ahead thanks to some excellent writing skills. I was holding my breath through the action scenes with the villains and the adventure, had a big smile on my face at the humor and banter and funny tidbits that showed the characters' playful sides and was fanning myself at the love scenes.

WARRIOR is a delicious and adventurous read that combined myth with history, magic, adventure, suspense and romance and I am so ready to start SCOUNDREL and find out if Bennett (definitely a candidate for my favorite heroes list!) and London are as awesome as Gabriel and Thalia were.

Favorite Quotes:
Thalia heard a mewl as it arabesqued from her throat. She'd never made that sound before. A deep rumbling from low in his chest responded, like a feral creature calling from another nighttime mountain

The words that came out of the captain's mouth were words Batu had never heard before in all the years he had served Franklin Burgess and his daughter. They involved something that had to do with the offspring of unchaste female dogs, and some actions that Batu was quite sure were physically impossible, even for a circus contortionist.

There was no point denying it. The wild creature of her soul had finally yielded to the calloused hand of one man. .

Note from reviewer: Stay tuned for a Quotes-Post of WARRIOR soon! I have so many quotes marked that I had a heck of a time choosing the three you see above and wouldn’t want to withhold some lovely examples of Zoe Archer’s style and humor.