Three women. Three stories. One Sisterhood.With the war in Barony at an end, peace reigns. The lady knights have returned home, unchanged by new titles and lands. But with a rash of kidnappings spreading across the province, the warriors will find themselves torn apart by the machinations of a mad man.Book 1: The HellionAva Longley, captain of the lady knights, never expected to become the target … lady knights, never expected to become the target of a murderous madman. When a kidnapper is sent to abduct her, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to bring the mastermind to justice. To mercenary Julian Vincent, Lady Longley is no more than the means to an end. However, when sparks fly between them, Julian is faced with an impossible decision.
Book 2: Beloved
After being sold into slavery by her king and washing up onto the shore of Cardenas, the friendless African Amazon, Mudiwa Akua, was taken in by Barony’s female soldier’s regiment. When her tranquil existence is disturbed and she finds herself on a ship bound for the exotic island of Martinique, Mudiwa faces certain death and possible enslavement for the second time in her life, dredging up ghosts of a past she’d long thought forgotten. When planter Isaac Prideux comes upon her, beaten and half-dead, he takes it upon himself to care for her. He never imagines doing so will shake up his monotonous life so completely.
Book 3: The Accidental Groom
After the honored title of onna bugeisha begins to lose its power in Japan, Hanako Kiyomi sees no choice but to flee. But, when her deserted husband comes searching for her, she escapes him the only way she knows how: marriage to a stranger. Lord Garrick Overton has always admired the cool, stoic Hanako from afar. Marriage to the woman he’s desired for years seems like a good idea; until she proposes the marriage be in name only. As he sets out to win her heart, he faces not only a tough task but a begrudged man who will stop at nothing to win back what he has lost.
Their courage will be tried. Their hearts will be put to the test. Can three headstrong women maintain their independent natures while surrendering to love?
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A very good read about strong women and their challenges.
The world, the adventures, the characters were worth reading about. The storyline was very interesting too.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Lady Warriors of Barony: consists of three books the first book Is “The Hellion:” Ava Longley was the daughter of Magnus and Bella Longley and killed her first man in 1835 when the rebels attacked her village and managed to overcome her mother and her aunt and were writing them when her and her cousin Nell came out and kill them. Her mother was later killed by rebels when she was walking home alone and her father died of a broken heart. Ava and Nell along with other women of barony fought the rebels alongside the Queen Isabelle and later King Serge Rochester. In 1866 the King along with the Queen ended the evil and begins rebuilding the country. The people of Barony were living in peace and rebuilding their communities and homes. The king declared an end to the law against female knights in Barony, and he knighted five ladies: Ava, Nell, Hanako, Mudiwa, and of course Queen Isabelle. The four Lady Knights were given estates were the members of the nobility. Raiders had raided Trilor. Ava as Capt. the women’s regiment told the ones that were eating with her in the Queen to suit up and meet her at the market the Queen’s bodyguard was told by the Queen to suit up and meet her at the market and told Nell she would need a horse Nell being pregnant started to disagree with the Queen and the Queen told him that her husband had charged to protect her not to question her commands they Donald the wore costumes about their weapons jamming them into their posters she strapping a bow and quiver to her back to their backs and a dagger in their left boot ran for the horses which were saddled and ready and took off Trilor. Dorian Blake was the leader of the writers and was watching the community bar he had his men that the women did they had collected in a wagon and girls range from age 11 to about 40 and that it was time to move off the left half of his writers behind to find the approaching riders and told him to make sure they were not being trailed when they come to join them approximately 50 of his men rode off to fight they never joined him. Ava was kidnapped because Dorian Blake had seen her and wanted her. You have to read the rest of the book ‘The Hellion’ to find out what happens to Ava and the rest of the Lady Knights. All three books are very good books…
Book number two:” Beloved:” is the story of Mudiwa. She is kidnapped by Dorian Blake and taken to Martinique. She starts trying to figure out a way to escape when Blake gets angry and decides to have a little fun with her between the two of them they nearly beat each other to death. Mudiwa escapes and then nearly dies on the street is picked up by Fermi and taken back to the Prideux plantation where she was cared for. To find out what else happens and what happened before you have to read the book a very good book…
Book 3: The Accidental Groom this is the story of Hanako Kiyomi. Her father forced her to marry him man. Her mother gave her a sleeping potion and she ran away from her husband. Both she and her husband ex-husband because the marriage had been an old because they had not consummated it were at Martinique and saw each other. He Came to Barony where he sold his wares to the Queen she invited him to a ball celebrating the engagement of one of the Lady Knights. Lady Nell Tibbs and her fiancé were the couple being honored. Lord Garrick Overton was to go with the king into the study to discuss some things Queen said that Mr. Taka had arrived and wanted the king to meet him so he sent Mr. Overton into his study. Lady Hanako came into the study terrified showed forward grasp the lapels of his waistcoat and told him to kiss her. The king and queen along with Mr. Taka and ask her to dance with him told him he was she was married. To find out whom she married and what happens you have to read the rest of the book and it is a good book…
Three great stories of three strong women who where lady knights of Barony, they are Ava Longley, captain of the lady knights, African Amazon, Mudiwa Akua and Hanako Kiyomi all of them will have some hard times before they get their happy endings. I recommend this book. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Truthfully, I’m absolutely enthralled with the “Royals of Cardenas” series and this one, “The Lady Warriors of Barony” has brought that validation to light. Elise Marion has a way of bringing her characters to life, to make them personable and relatable. Her storylines are passionate, enchanting, thrilling, and emotional. Combine that with an underlying plot and I felt like I was part of the story, right there with them, rather than just a bystander waiting to find out what happens next. This was the best of the series so far, in my opinion. What else could represent that rather than a 5 star review. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book is a collection of three novellas about three very different female warriors who helped change the tides of history in Barony. Each novella shows the background of each woman as well as her present circumstance before their worlds go awry in very different ways. But each is also a romance, with heroes that are very appropriate for these strong women.
This is the first book that I have read of this series, so I don’t have the whole background, but I can say you don’t need to have read the previous books to appreciate this one. All three women who starred in these novellas have an incredible strength of character as well as of body. Their histories are complex, and the very first story about Ava pulled me right in with the horrific description of the rebels coming through her town when she was a child. The author did a brilliant job of showing this pivotal moment that changed this young girl in more ways than one. This very first scene pulled me into this set of books emotionally so I couldn’t help but want to continue. I appreciate the racial diversity of these women. The stories are so very different, which is a delight in the collection, as they often contain stories that are too similar. The heroes were the perfect matches and compliments to the heroines, and the HEAs were very satisfying and wholly appropriate for the circumstances of each story.
The author has the ability to describe with such depth that you feel like you can see what’s going on or the surroundings and feel the emotions of the characters, yet it doesn’t feel like too much narrative or description. Not an easy thing to do! She literally draws you into the story with an ease that I rarely see in fiction, and I read a lot! She has developed plots that play up the heroine’s strengths but also show their vulnerabilities. If you like well-written, engaging fantasy with strong female leads that feels moored in reality, you may very well enjoy this set of novellas.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review
Another Must Read by Elise Marion
You first experience the Lady Warriors of Barony in the Awakened Prince. They are very interesting characters. I really enjoyed getting to know more about them and the strength, dedication and love for their home and King Serge and Queen Isabelle. They would give their lives for the ones they love. This book is about the 3 main warriors: Ava, Hanako and Mudiwa. You get a look at what their lives were like prior to them becoming warriors and how they became the Lady Warriors of Barony. Then continues the current story of what their lives are like now. My Favorite story was The Hellion (Ava’s Story)
Elise did an excellent job intertwining the stories together in this one book. Each warrior has her own journey. Finding love and the men that will stand by them
I am now officially in love with Elise Marion and can’t wait to binge read everything else she has authored. All three of these stories were thrilling in their own way, well written, and full of delicious steam. And best of all are the strong, capable, fierce, wonderful, courageous women in these books, who are all allowed to be humans as well.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
4.5 Stars I’ve been eagerly anticipating this book since we first learned of the lady warriors in the last book of this series, The Awakened Prince. You absolutely do not need to read any of the other books in the series before this one, but the experience will be enriched due to the way the stories are written intertwined as the characters are with each other. Here is the story of the three warriors; Ava, Mudiwa, and Hanako. If you’re looking for character diversity, this book has it in spades. If you’re also looking for a really well researched account of actual real life women warriors, this is also the book for you. My favorite of the three stories was the last one, perhaps because I love a good marriage of convenience story and this one tugged on my heart strings. You’ll love each of the women stories and cheer for their HEAs. Can’t wait to read the next installment in the Cardenas world!
Wow…my reaction, days after reading this book is that I’ve just read a book about 3 strong, smart, and wonderful women.
In this book you will meet the Lady Warriors of Barony who have been secondary characters in the other books set in Cardenas by the author Elise Marion. All I can say is, if Elise Marion writes about women again, I’m going to be first in line to buy the book. In previous books, we heard a little about their history and how they came to be in Barony, but this book brings it all home and showcases three very strong, vibrant, and incredible women.
Character development is very, very important to me when I’m reading. If I can’t feel the character and if I can’t come to like them and consider them a friend while I’m reading, it gets old really fast and the book becomes not so enjoyable. No problem with this book. These women all become someone you know and love before you finish reading and that is all thanks to the talent of Elise Marion. Without boring the reader with page after page of narrative, Elise manages to wend her way through their history, bring them into this book and write their story with nary a problem. I love the way this author writes. Her words aren’t just written, they flow through the story. Occasionally, she sends me running to an online dictionary to find out what she already knew through her research and that endears her to me even more because I love learning new things about new places, even when those places are imaginary like Cardenas.
The second thing I love about this author is that when she creates a world where her characters can reside, she doesn’t go half-way. She manages to describe it well enough that her readers can imagine being there, living there, and loving there.
And speaking of love. That’s the other place where Elise hit a huge home run in this book. These were not ingenues looking for a husband, these women were warriors who had no interest in being married. They had their own property, they were strong and independent, and the men they fell in love with fit them perfectly. This book contains HEA’s that were absolutely perfect for the women who moved through these pages.
Did you get that I liked the book yet? Or should I keep going? lol I read a LOT. And I try to review everything I read, good or bad. I demand that indie authors step up to the plate, write their best, put 110% into each book, and then allow the readers to enjoy them. Elise Marion does this perfectly. I highly recommend you buy this book, enjoy the warriors within its pages, then come right here and tell the world that you agree with me. A well written book!
Three great stories. I loved learning how each of the lady warriors came to be in Barony. Intrigue, angst, romance, and, of course, female warriors in battle. Did not want the book to end. I received an ARC of this book.
Three women warriors and their stories when they come home from war. They hope for some peaceful it is broken when a mad man causes problems and they end up being split up. They will have their own adventures. Will they survive? Will they be reunited? See how they get on
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Lady Warriors of Barony consists of three spectacular stories about how several Lady Knights not only found their freedom from the life they were born into but found men who love them unconditionally.
In Book 1: The Hellion, we visit Ava’s memories of the life she witnessed as a child and how she became the caption of the lady knights. Through a kidnapping, Ava meets Julian (hired to kidnap and deliver her to a most hideous man). Sparks fly and soon they realize they cannot stay apart. Ava certainly keeps Julian on his toes!
In Book 2: Beloved, we journey with Mudiwa through the tragedy of the life she was born into. We read of her love, her experiences killing elephants, her distain for the king, and her ultimate betrayal that led her to being sold into slavery. Her escape from the slave ship and meeting Ava and Hanako, leads her to the Lady Knights and a life where she belongs. After being abducted as a bargaining chip to get to Ava, Mudiwa finds herself in a strange land, beaten and close to death and in the rose room of Prideux Plantation. She meets Isaac and although she desires him – she convinces herself that they can never be together. Thankfully Isaac helps her to see things differently and in the end shows her what one would do to be with the woman he loves. (FYI – this was my favorite story of the three).
In Book 3: The Accidental Groom, we read of the path Hanako took that led her to the Lady Knights. When her past catches up with her, she takes a huge leap and finds herself married to a wonderful man, Garrick. While it begins as a marriage in name only, it quickly becomes more. Even when Hanako’s past rears its ugly head again, their bond is not broken. The happily-ever-after in this story is so sweet and well-deserved!
Three women. Three stories. One Sisterhood.
With the war in Barony at an end, peace reigns. The lady knights have returned home, unchanged by new titles and lands
Book 1: The Hellion
Ava Longley, captain of the lady knights, never expected to become the target of a murderous madman. When a kidnapper is sent to abduct her, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to bring the mastermind to justice. To mercenary Julian Vincent, Lady Longley is no more than the means to an end. However, when sparks fly between them, Julian is faced with an impossible decision.
Book 2: Beloved
After being sold into slavery by her king and husband, washing up onto the shore of Cardenas, the friendless African Amazon, Mudiwa Akua, was taken in by Barony’s female soldier’s regiment. When her her captain is kidnapped she finds herself captured & on a ship bound for the exotic island of Martinique, Mudiwa faces certain death and possible enslavement for the second time in her life, dredging up ghosts of a past she’d long thought forgotten. When planter Isaac Prideux’s foreman Femi comes upon her, beaten and half-dead, he takes it upon himself to take her to the plantation where Isaac decides to care for her. He never imagines doing so will shake up his monotonous life so completely.
Book 3: The Accidental Groom
Hanako Kiyomi is forced to marry but drugs her husband on their wedding night & flees. But, when she travels to Martinique to find Mudiwa who should she spy but her deserted husband who then follows her back to Barony, She escapes him the only way she knows how: marriage to a stranger. Lord Garrick Overton has always admired the cool, stoic Hanako from afar. Marriage to the woman he’s desired for years seems like a good idea; until she proposes the marriage be in name only.
Three page turning novellas. This is the third book in the series & yes it could easily be read on its own but the series is very good & a different slant on nineteenth century romance. I’ve loved the first two books & loved this book too. We met the three female warriors in the previous book & I was intrigued to read their stories & they didn’t disappoint. Well written, well paced stories & I read each in a sitting. I love it that the author has created fictional countries so she can apply her own rules. The characters are well portrayed. There is an unresolved issue, which started in the first book & I eagerly await the rest of the series for it to be resolved
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
Wow, Elise Marion is an amazing author. I feel like I’m transported to the era in which this book takes place.
This book set is about the lady warriors of Barony: Ava, Mudiwa, & Hanako. There are travels to Cardenas, Martinique, and back to Barony.
There’s love, romance, and danger on multiple levels. I have read, and thoroughly enjoyed every book that has been published in this series. Good book, well written.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.