Red Fire by Deidre Knight

Eternity has become a prison for Ajax Petrakos. Centuries after he and his Spartan brothers made their bargain for immortality, Ajax struggles to maintain his warrior’s discipline. His only source of strength is his hope that he will soon meet the woman once foretold to him—the other half of his soul, Shay Angel.

Ajax searches for his destined mate on the haunted streets of modern-day Savannah, but he isn’t the first to find her. Shay, the youngest of a powerful demon-hunting clan, can see the monsters that stalk the steamy Southern night—an ability that draws the deadly attention of Ajax’s worst enemy.

As she and Ajax race to solve a chilling prophecy—one that could spell Ajax’s death if they don’t succeed—a fated passion arises, threatening to sweep away everything in its path.

REVIEW: I love Deidre Knight so when I saw that she had a new series out, and that is was about Spartan Warriors I was excited. One of my favorite movies is 300 so to have a series of books about based on those men made my mouth water. In my mind as I read this series, Leonides looks like Gerard Butler, and the men in the series look like the hotties in the movie.

From the first moment that I met Jax he intrigued me. He had seen and done it all. He was tired of living, and being at the beck and call of Ares, he has almost given up hope that he will ever fins his mate. To me there is nothing sexier that a hot Alpha male (I say hot because well in my mind all Spartans look like those in the movie), that knows that he isn’t complete with out his woman.

Shay is a woman after my own heart, she is strong, self-assured, independent and more importantly she is not stupid. As that is a huge pet peeve of mine stupid heroines that do what they want no matter the consequences.

Shay knows that she is special, however she has two very over protective brothers, and a dead mother that goes so far as to try and manipulate the family after her death in the hopes of protecting her.

When Jax’s mortal enemy appears in Savannah Georgia and tries to kidnap Shay he steps in and sets in motion a series of events that will change everyone’s life, including his own.

excerpt

He held a sword in his free hand, and for a moment, he adjusted it, propping it against her side. Then, he lifted it upward in a sort of charging gesture. “River Kassandros, well done!” he cheered, then, it was the most bizarre thing—he hurled the sword into the air—like he never planned to use it again. He just discarded it, like so much dead weight, or a heavy useless stone.

Shay followed the weapon’s crashing descent, amazed that he’d let something so detailed and intricate go—but watching was a first-class mistake. She got instant vertigo. That, and witnessed about the umpteenth weird thing of the day. The wings along the sword’s pommel lifted right off of it, growing into black, feathered ones just like her angel’s. The wings’ size increased and thickened until they flew right into the wind—into the wind without any living form attached to them whatsoever.

A roll of nausea had her instantly burying her face against the angel’s bulky shoulder. “Oh my God, God, God,” she murmured, refusing to look again.

“I’d stop using His name like that,” he said matter-of-factly. “Because my general impression is that He’s not so fond of it. That is if you mean the God Without a Name.”

“Shouldn’t you know who God is?” she screeched in alarm, half-climbing the creature’s body as he soared suddenly much higher.

“It all depends on which one you mean. The highest God, the one my people called Nameless… I assumed He’s the one you’re invoking. Then again, perhaps Apollo is more your style, or Zeus.” He chuckled strangely to himself, then added, “Although I’d leave Zeus out of it.” His voice grew gravelly rich, darker. “You know how that went for Leda.”

Leda and the Swan had been one of the first poems she’d memorized in AP English, years ago in high school. Yeats, wasn’t it? Then all the paintings and sculptures she’d studied while at art school. Dozens of versions of the very same myth, but always with Zeus taking the form of a swan, and….

Shay stiffened, lifting back her head to stare the angel in the eyes. What kind of angel used sexual innuendo, especially while rescuing his protected?

I have to say that I read this book in one sitting. From the moment that I began to read to read it I couldn’t put it down. Luckily I didn’t have to ignore the fam to read it as I read it while we were in the hosptial. When I was done reading it I picked up the second book in the series Red Kiss and read it (review to come). I then went to her website to find out when I could have me some more Spartan love and unfortunately there was no information.

I can honestly say that if you have never read a book involving Greek hero’s this is a series that will make you fall in love with all men Greek, I will even admit here that there are times when I wish that my husband had a little Greek in him, maybe even descended from the Spartans themselves.

I give this book 4.75 out of five.

You can purchase the book here and here.