I thought the first half of A Warrior's Heart was entertaining and enjoyable. This could have been a 4 or 5 star read, but then the plot line got too silly and things fell apart. Bonus for the covers actually resembling the main characters though! 3/5 stars ( )

The Warrior’s Heart is the first in a series of 15 novels by Margaret Moore. This one started it all; and what a wonderful start it is. Unbeknownst to me I had already read a couple of her warrior series books. Now that I know what a treat Moore’s warriors are, I plan to collect all 15 and read them in order. You should do the same!

Eleven years ago, as a very young man, Emyrss DeLanya left home to join the fight in the noble cause of the Crusades. He returned home disillusioned in both mind and body. Emryss’ eye was lost; he sustained a leg injury and some other more life altering injuries as well. Love was the furthest thing from his mind.

Lady Roanna Westercott’s only remaining family is her uncle, a greedy fool who didn’t care a thing about her. He arranged for Roanna to marry Cynric Delayna, whom she felt honor bound to accept though she immediately disliked him. Roanna would have gone through with the wedding that is until she is kidnapped by a mysterious one-eyed Welshman.

Everyone thought that Emyrss was dead. And he very nearly was dead; going through hell and back to make it home after being injured and abandoned in the hot desert. Despite all of his injuries, Emyrss most regretted that his mother didn’t live to see his return. After hearing the circumstances her death, Emyrss felt justified in holding Cynric’s father responsible. Emyrss chose to make his presence known to the other half of the DeLayna family as Roanna was coincidently being escorted through the woods to Cynric’s estate. Cyrnic was certainly shocked to see his cousin on horseback. He gleefully rejoiced when he saw Emyss’s scared face. As children Cynric was always jealous of the more popular Emyrss. Roanna too was shocked to see the wild and powerful warrior blocking their path. From the moment their eyes met fate intervened. Using the Welch tradition of kidnapping brides, Emyrss impulsively whisked Roanna onto his horse and spirited her away.

At first Roanna is terrified and doesn’t know what to think. She quickly tamps down her fear and becames exhilarated in Emyrss’ company, studying and admiring her strong kidnapper. Soon Roanna was revealing her own strong nature as the two battled with words and fought a fast growing mutual attraction. Emyrss was just as fascinated with Roanna as he was with her. She even found his damaged face endearing. Though loath to do so, he promised Roanna he would return her the very next day and true to his word he did. After all, Emyrss reasoned that the crusades had destroyed his life leaving him nothing to offer Roanna or any woman. By kidnapping Cynric’s bethrothed, Emyrss knew the situation with Roanna’s presence could mean nothing but trouble, as his foster brother Gwilym told him immediately. His old nursemaid Manmeth however thought Roanna was just what her little boy needed!

Roanna returned to Cynric merely because she felt honor bound to do so. Her breath taking encounter with Emyrss left her empowered and much wiser. The first thing she did upon her return was to refuse to marry Cynric, who of course paled in comparison to the enigmatic Emyrss, whom she later learned was actually Cynric’s cousin. Cynric, his father and particularly Roanna’s uncle would not accept Roanna’s refusal. Her uncle locked her in a room in an attempt to starve her while Cynric tormented her periodically. Cynric really didn’t want Roanna but kept persisting due to his father’s wishes and in an effort to best Emyrss. Luckily Roanna’s chubby cook Jacques helped her escape one night in a wagon. The two runaways were headed out of the village but as luck would have it they are viciously attacked by thieves. The jovial Jacques is injured. Emyrss is fortunate enough to be in the neighborhood and comes to the rescue! Once again Roanna finds herself with Emyrss though this time she was overjoyed. Emyrss takes her back to his village where their romantic feelings towards one another get a chance to grow.

By the time, Cynric tries to get Roanna back, she and Emyrss are married. Their marriage would seem to be the beginning of a happily-ever-after story line. No such luck for the two because their marriage is immediately a disaster. From this point, Moore vividly brings the reader deeper into Emyrss’ heart revealing his insecurities, his dreams and his hopes. You really feel for Emyrss and all that he has been through. You ache for the loss of his once beloved religion and the terrible secret he tries to hide from everyone. Roanna through it all stands by her man as she waits; though not always patiently for him to work out his issues. Roanna and Emyrss are a good team. She compliments his weaknesses as he compliments hers. One of the themes of the book I enjoyed was the theme of the strong woman and the good but ridiculously stubborn man. There is lots of laughter and singing. The secondary characters are great, especially Mamaeth with her craggy but good natured personality, the loveable but exasperating Jacques and the wonderful Gwilym.

Cynric is not to be denied and puts everyone through the ringer. He stirs up all sorts of trouble using Roanna’s desires to repair the DeLayna family feud and Emyrss desire to protect his home and his people. The two must work together to defeat Cynric before all is lost. Notable is Cynric’s henchman with a conscious, Urien. Moore has up coming plans for him. Warrior’s Heart is a classic and Emyrss is a character and a name I will never forget. As Roanna says his name sounds like a caress… ( )