Books4Tomorrow: REVIEW: "WARRIORS OF THE CROSS" (WARRIORS, #1)

Title: “Warriors of the Cross”

Series: (Warrior, #1)

Author: T.R. Graves

Publisher: CreateSpace

Publication Date: April 16, 2011

Genre: YA, Romance, Fantasy

Reviewed by: Ellen Fritz

Source: Free download

Ellen’s star rating: 5/5

SUMMARY

Allison La Crosse, beginning a challenging family medicine residency, leaves the protection of her family. With the transfer, her worst nightmares come true. Her closely guarded mystical talents – those which seldom appeared before the move – unleash themselves from her confinement and reveal their presence with very little provocation.

Allison’s most terrifying power is her compulsion to cure the dying with her touch. Given her career, this gift would be valuable if she were not drawn like a magnet to the ailing person's every symptom. Some of which are fatal.

At the hospital and surrounded by life-and-death emergencies, Allison’s inability to manage her impulse turns deadly. When it does, her mentor, Brody, rescues her from her own demise. His resuscitation ignites an exciting and tempestuous bond between them.

Desperate for a cure, they join forces and embark upon a journey to uncover the origins of Allison’s lethal curse. In the midst of their adventure, Allison exposes a secret pursued by many…known by few.

REVIEW

Warriors of the Cross proved to be everything the very promising blurb said and much more! Allison LaCrosse has a gift of healing that can bring patients in critical condition back from the brink of death. At the same time she is discovering that she might have other psychic abilities stemming from this healing power. Where there is light and healing however, there will always be darkness and evil to counter it.

This book had my attention from the word go and kept me turning the pages up to the almost cliff-hanger ending. Although there are moments of unbearable suspense, the story is comfortably paced and gives the reader ample time to get acquainted with all the key characters and their world. The characters are well-described and uniquely crafted; the kind of characters a reader gets to like as though they were real people. As the story contains very accurate detailed descriptions of medical procedures and hospital protocol, I was extremely impressed with the amount of research the author must have put into this book.

The romance in Warriors of the Cross is extensive but tastefully written. The clichéd old love triangle, of which there are at least two in this book, is so uniquely and maturely handled that I actually thoroughly enjoyed it and found myself choosing sides. Deeply spiritual and full of the love that emanates from most of the key characters, this story touched me profoundly.

For a read filled with excitement and a little suspense balanced by a gentle depth and a wry touch of humor, I highly recommend Warriors of the Cross and happily give it and the gifted author five stars.