by Johanna Lindsey

William Morrow, April, 2001.
Hardcover, 368 pages.
ISBN: 0380978547
Subgenre: Fantasy

Brittany Callaghan is not your average California girl. Six feet tall with flaming red hair, she works two jobs in order to finance the building of her dream home -- which she intends on constructing herself. Brittany has never had much luck in the romance department; between her height and her job as a construction worker, somehow the men never seem to warm up to her, although she's gorgeous. But Britanny is in for a real surprise. Always drawn to tall men, she spies a handsome blond giant in the mall, who mysteriously disappears after she speaks to him. But he shows up at her apartment the next day, and introduces himself as Darden. He explains away his odd accent by saying he's from another country, and leads her to believe that he's some kind of policeman tracking down a dangerous criminal with advanced technology which could be devastating to the United States and its political structure. Brittany finds that easier to believe than the fact that Dalden and his smart-mouthed computer Martha may not be from Earth at all. The two team up to take down the criminal Jorran. But can a cynical American really believe in true love with a barbarian from a far-away galaxy?

Fans have had a long wait for the third book in Johanna Lindsey's popular Sha-Ka'ar series, after Warrior's Woman and Keeper of the Heart, which focused on Dalden's parents' romance and on his sister's, respectively. Johanna Lindsey deftly takes the backdrop of interstellar conflict, alien worlds and artificial intelligence, and uses it to explore themes such as the conflict between cultures and the women's movement (the backward Sha-Ka'ar has some particularly infuriating cultural rules for its women). Dalden and Brittany's romance is rife with cultural misunderstandings, but the bond between them is strong. With humor, wit and sensuality, Lindsey creates a story which is sure to captivate her legions of fans.

Heart of a Warrior is available for purchase on Amazon.com

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This review was published in the June, 2001 of The Internet Writing Journal.

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