Review - Warrior King by Eden Winters

Draylon may be the second son of the emperor, and thus a prince, but he is first and foremost the commander of the imperial army, honor-bound to carry out the emperor’s orders, even if he doesn’t always agree with them. His latest task is to attack one of the empire’s kingdoms whose ruler was plotting to kill the emperor. Draylon succeeds in taking the castle, killing the errant king and his crown prince. That leaves Yarif. Like Draylon, Yarif was the “spare” heir and not expected to amount to anything, although he probably knows more about the day-to-day running of the kingdom that his own father did. Yarif expects to be killed like his father and brother, but the emperor has another idea. To secure the kingdom, Draylon will marry Yarif, becoming the new king. It’s not what either man had in mind, but the emperor holds all the cards.

“Warrior King” is set in a medieval styled fantasy world where relations between men are accepted, even among the royalty. It’s a world full of courtly intrigue where neither of our two heroes can be completely sure who they can trust, especially each other. You could definitely classify this as an enemies-to-lovers romance.

The narration alternates between Draylon and Yarif’s points of view. We meet Draylon first, just as he has taken the castle where Yarif and his family live. Draylon didn’t get to be commander of the army just because his father was the emperor. He rose through the ranks, gaining the trust and loyalty of the men he served with. Draylon is painted as an honorable man. He may be a soldier, but he’s no cold-blooded killer.

Like Draylon, Yarif is the second son of a ruler, the “spare heir,” as they say. But Yarif’s slight frame wasn’t suited to the military life. Instead, he put his mind to learning how to manage the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom. That doesn’t mean Yarif doesn’t know how to protect himself and his younger siblings. “Small but fierce” would be a good way to describe Yarif. People underestimate him at their peril.

Medieval fantasies with a enemies-to-lovers theme seem to be a trend in MM romance. That said, the story is no more predictable than any other romance. There’s plenty of action and drama to keep you turning the page to find out what happens to our two heroes.

“Warrior King ” is available from Amazon (commissionable link).