Keir of the Cat, Warlord of the Plains and his lady Xylara, Queen of Xy and Warprize of the Plains are headed back to the city of Xy so that Xylara can give birth to their heir within the stronghold. As Always, Heath is nearby. His friendship with Xylara has brought him far from the lands he grew up in and taught him more than he could have imagined about his people's ancient foes. More than that, it has brought him close to the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with, but how can he ask a free spirited warrior of the plains like Atira of the Bear to close herself within the walls of a city? Yet how can he live without her?

Atira of the Bear finds the foreign warrior Heath very pleasing to watch and even more pleasing when they share a bedroll, but more relationship than that is impossible. Two hearts can seldom bond and when they do, both suffer in her experience. To bond would be to lose the freedom which is at her core, that makes her who she is, yet it will not be as easy as she thought to leave Heath behind when he returns to live in the city.

As the Warlord and Warprize return to Xy, word comes that there is turmoil and danger where Xylara thought to find sanctuary. Her godfather is struck down by sudden illness and the faction against treaty with the barbarian Plains Warriors is strengthening, endangering both her life and the life of her unborn child.

In this sequel to Warprize, Elizabeth Vaughan plunges us even deeper into the intricacies of two vastly different peoples fighting to reach some level of equilibrium. In WARCRY as in Warprize she maintains the strong overarching love story as a sturdy framework against which it is easy to follow the maneuverings of the enemy and those who defend against them.

It is difficult to fit this series into a niche. It is fantasy in that it does not fit into known historical periods, but with very little of the magic which often characterizes that genre. It is most certainly romance, and has the level of technology found within a medieval or dark age time period, but the politics are those of another world. Bottom line though, the books are terrific. It is easy to become caught up in the loves and lives of the characters in the world Vaughan has created, and that is really all that matters to me as a reader.

Book Summary

All is not well in Xy. There is a faction of nobles who are plotting against the Queen and her barbarian warlord. As cultures clash and tempers flare, Heath and the fierce Plains warrior woman Atira of the Bear must come together to fight the conspiracy... and to search their hearts for something deeper than raw passion.