Stolen Warriors: A Dance With the King

Gypsy Notes, Book 1

By: S. Dalambakis

Narrated by: Alex Kydd, Lauren Sweet

Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

What's a spelled, violin-wielding thief-for-hire to do when parts of a poem that lead to pieces of a map to unknown treasure falls into her lap?

Follow it, of course.

After being shot while retrieving the first piece of the map, Finley knows she's going to need some help with the next piece. On the road to figuring out where the second piece of the map is, a tip points her in the direction of three men. Obsidian, the hamrammr, Stolas, the hellhound, and Verkor, the unseelie fae.

Finley gets a little more than she bargained for when they meet. It turns out, they're her mates, completing everything prophesied in the first part of the poem. After agreeing to help, they find themselves in the winter court of the faerie realm.

Trouble ensues from the beginning of their journey. Things don't get better when Finley learns Verkor is related to the king. Verkor's past comes back to haunt him, but the plan must be enacted to get what they came for. The question is, will they succeed, or will the king stop them?

Contains mature themes.

©2019 S. Dalambakis (P)2019 Tantor

I truly hate love at first sight.

No one meets someone and is immediately ready to lay down their life for them, even if they are attracted to them, even if there is a Mate-Bond. I find it ridiculous and sickening. How the men are immediately willing to follow her anywhere is beyond me, and how she is immediately willing to take them all to bed and accept them all as mates is also ridiculous. Especially when her first thought after hearing that she is their mate is that she's not going to make it easy for them, and then she immediately caves? She tells her best friend she doesn't think she's good enough for them yet she's all over them, always what is that? She tells them her life sob story by chapter 5. Super weird. And she's ashamed of her life choices? Like seriously if you're ashamed of your life choices why do you keep making the same choices? And her issue isn't with them wanting to take care of her which it should be for a woman like her it's that she can't trust them yet. She also basically promises to change who she is and how she acts once she knows them better. What kind of man wants to fall at the feet of a woman who he doesn't like the way she acts and doesn't like her job? it seems like they don't respect who she currently is. What man wants a woman they don't respect? Don't get me wrong, I personally think she's badass other than the fact she wears her heart on her sleeve. But I would never ask my partner to change how they act. if I don't like how they act why am I with them?
There's also too much "explanation" going around. Like seriously leave some things to your reader's imagination, there is no need to go into explicit detail for every tiny scenario, and explaining something that happened a chapter previously is frustrating. By chapter 5 I had probably rolled my eyes and considered quitting at least 50 times.
The female narrator's voice in breathy and dreamy constantly, even in tense situations, it feels weird to me. I would understand this kind of voice for a character who lives up in the clouds but this one seems to be grounded for the voice that's being given to her. I don't think the male narrator should be allowed to do female voices, they make me cringe.

Spicy, witty, with laughs all around

I loved the characters and how they played off of each other. With most books that have multiple character views I usually find myself chomping at the bit to get back to the 'favored' character. However, I didn't feel that way with this book. Each perspective was masterfully crafted, each personality and interaction a treat for the mind. I can't wait to start the next adventure and see what these 4 wonderful characters get up to. Well done! I hold high hopes for what the rest of this series has in store.

Just Okay

An okay Treasure Hunt story. A mates at first sight RH paranormal romance. Honestly I like the guys, they are mostly easy breezy but all different enough to stay interesting. The sex scenes are bad, they might as well not be in it because the steamy factor sucks it's just quick sex. I laughed a few times,
did not love or hate this story. Not bad but not memorable! Meh.

the voices are horrible

the voices are horrible, the story is mildly entertaining, and the sexual tension is meh.