Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
Maen is a Gold Warrior, a defender of Aza City, a world controlled by the Queen and her womankind where the best of men are maintained for the military and the women's pleasure. A favorite of his imperious Mistress and a leader among his men, Maen is too cautious to seek casual sexual satisfaction and so stays alone, taking his comfort in ensuring a stable and controlled world. That world is thrown into disarray by Dax, a bold and challenging new Bronze soldier who excites Maen with his fierce hero worship and leads them to a forbidden affair. They find themselves thrown together in a dangerous and hostile environment without the support of the City and far away from their loyalties, and Maen finds himself risking everything for Dax – his position; his loyalties; and eventually, his life.

BOOK REVIEW:
I've heard before that it's difficult to write something fresh and original because everything falls into 7 basic plots:

1. man vs. nature
2. man vs. man
3. man vs. the environment
4. man vs. machines/technology
5. man vs. the supernatural
6. man vs. self
7. man vs. god/religion

The Gold Warrior is certainly packed! It covers at least 2, 3, 4, and 6, maybe 7. I haven't read anything as dense in action and world building as The Gold Warrior in a while, and I appreciated the book for giving me that.

Maen lives in a matriarchal society where all men are considered beneath women and given more menial jobs while important jobs and positions of decision making are held by women.

Maen is considered one of the more privileged men because he is a Gold Warrior, the highest honor given to men. Soldiers defend Aza City and also give pleasure to Ladies of important households. Men are either picked to serve as soldiers or they're cast aside as Remainders. Maen takes his status and his duties very seriously and has never questioned the way things are. He practically worships his mistress and takes his daily Devotions (pills to make men stronger, among other things).

The arrival of Dax throws his perception of his world off balance. Dax was the son of a Remainder before being selected to be a Bronzemen and doesn't see things through rose-colored glasses. Dax is not like the other Bronzemen and more outspoken. Maen likes that about Dax even though he doesn't like everything Dax has to tell him.

The beginning nearly scared me off, but I'm glad it didn't because I enjoyed the The Gold Warrior and can't remember a time in the past few months where I've had this much fun with a book. Chapter 1 is a lengthy info dump, not just with narration but also with dialogue between Maen and his Mistress Luana in the form of reminiscing and reminders. But after that first chapter, I couldn't tear myself away from the book.

Clare London fleshes out all her characters, not just the main ones. Maen is an intelligent man but being a soldier is all he knows and he lacks experience in anything else. Dax is younger, but in a lot of ways, he's wiser than Maen.

The Gold Warrior is part of a series; The Twisted Brand is the follow up. The story is just as much about Maen's disillusionment as it is about romance. Maen is understandably resistant to anything that threatens his view of the perfect society of Aza City, even while he acknowledges that what Dax is telling him is true. Dax complicates a lot of things for him, including his emotions. Maen's never fallen in love before and he doesn't know what to do with the conflicted feelings. On the one hand, he would never commit a treasonous act such as developing a relationship with another person, but on the other, he can hardly control himself around Dax.

The Gold Warrior juggles a lot of issues, but I think London handled it beautifully. She paints wonderful flawed characters and a vivid image of their world. Another aspect I loved about the book was that it wasn't just driven by personal conflicts alone. There was plenty of action of the teeth-gritting, seat-gripping variety. (Although there is enough of the bedroom variety too.) I could barely check myself for wanting to skip whole pages ahead just to see what happened next.

If you have plenty of time set aside (because this story sucks you in and holds you fast), The Gold Warrior makes an excellent read! I'm hoping the second book comes soon.

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. However, some books were purchased by the reviewer and not provided for free. For information on how a particular title was obtained, please contact us at reviews@rainbow-reviews.com.