This tale, first in Warriors of Ireland series, begins in 1172 when Killian MacDubh has to face drastic choices. This WARRIOR OF ICE is still young, but he was born outside the blanket and was poorly treated by his mother's new husband, who saw him as a servant. Killian quietly trained with the best warriors he could find so he could leave and make his own way. But while he's at the Carrickmeath hill fort, he's on guard duty.

Taryn Connolly is captured trying to enter the fort. She conceals the fact she is trying to enter to free her captive father. He'll probably be executed if she can't get him away; the fighters sent to free him failed. Can a lone girl succeed where men could not? Or will she end up a captive too?

In a reversal of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale, Taryn has a scarred face from an old injury. This makes her an unlikely candidate for marriage, and reduces her self- confidence. But there is nothing wrong with her intelligence or bravery. When she has to confess her mission to the grim warrior Killian, she tries to persuade him to change loyalty. But does a man like him know any loyalty?

I enjoyed reading about the travels through ancient Ireland, including the monastic settlement at Glendalough. The two main characters are just part of the clan wars between Queen Maeve and High King Rory, with little control over their own lives. All depends on Taryn pleading her father's case at Tara, the seat of the High King. But much can happen on the journey, and the King has no reason to like her father.

Michelle Willingham writes great historical drama, and danger is never far away through the account of Taryn and Killian's struggles. Romance could easily have been more casual in those times, but it seems fair that Killian knows what it is to be a man without a birthright and wants to find someone who will really be part of him. The second book in this series is to be called WARRIOR OF FIRE, which sounds equally exciting. Get started by reading WARRIOR OF ICE and you may be addicted to Willingham's Celtic Ireland romance stories.

Book Summary

Locked in a deadly game!

Physically and emotionally scarred, Lady Taryn of Ossoria knows no man would want her for a wife. Nonetheless, she's determined to free her father from his merciless overlord and enlists powerful warrior Killian MacDubh to help.

He has his own motives for confronting the High King... Born a bastard, Killian longs to carve out a place for himself. Unaware of her true beauty, Taryn is an alluring distraction to his plan, but as traitors are revealed and loyalties tested, their forbidden love becomes the only thing worth fighting for!