The Winged Warrior #2
by Griffin Brady
My rating: ★★★★★
💖🏰⚔ Again 5 full stars really well deserved !
This is book 2 in The Winged Warrior series and just like the first one, it has been a wonderful gripping reading !
____ THE PLOT IN SHORT ___ Kingdom of Poland, about 1614.
The story of book #2 begins with Jacek Dąbrowski, captain of winged hussars, guarding a fortress on the border of the Kingdom of Poland, in a place that seems forgotten by God.
The truth is that Lord Eryk, once his commander, mentor and friend, married, under coercion, the woman Jacek loves and exiled him to keep him away.
Lady Oliwia is now the lady of the castle and lives among luxury and privileges, but far from the only man she has always loved, she feels deeply unhappy.
Fate, with the work of some very evil people, shuffles the cards... Jacek and Oliwia seem to have another chance... but here mocking fate and the wickedness of the villains come back into play...
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While sequels sometimes prove disappointing, approaching this one, I had full faith in the author's abilities.
I was already completely invested in the story of the two main characters ( after "THE HEART OF A HUSSAR", read my REVIEW HERE) and I couldn't wait to see how it continued, as the first book ends on a huge cliffhanger.
This book could perhaps also be read as a standalone, it is fully enjoyable equally, BUT I ADVISE YOU, OR BETTER I BEG YOU TO READ BOOK 1 FIRST, not only because this will give you the opportunity to have a broader vision of the whole story and understand better every ongoing situation, but because you will be able to enjoy a thousand times more all the beautiful moments and all the wonderful love scenes that this sequel offers.
__THE ROMANTIC PART AND LOVEMAKING SCENES __
The first part of the book, in fact, is largely dedicated to the feeling of love, passion, devotion and making love.
The descriptions are extensive, but never vulgar and give the reader all the intensity that two lovers experience in their intimacy.
Everything is written so well that we can feel the heartbeat of Jacek and Oliwia, the thrill of their passion and the happiness that explodes inside their soul.
I admit that I never wanted to leave those chapters and I put many bookmarks, to reread those pages in the next few days!
Reading book 1 will also allow you to understand how strong Jacek's will is to overcome the thousand vicissitudes and adventures that will involve him in the second half of this book.
When I say that the story is "compelling", I am not exaggerating at all, the pace of the book is fast, at times almost frenetic and will drag you into a vortex of twists and turns that will keep you in suspense: bloody battles, ravenous plots on the part of greedy enemies, traitors and murderers and a psychopath killer, daring escapes and a long journey worthy of Ulysses' Odyssey.
With each chapter I longed for the solution to all the problems, I turned the pages reading avidly and just when I glimpsed the light at the end of the tunnel, the author managed to make me jump again.
___ ACTION, ADVENTURE and SCENES SO VIVID THEY APPEAR REAL ___
I don't know how, living in our times and not using images from a film, an author manages to describe fight scenes in such a vivid and detailed way, complete with all the thoughts and emotions that the characters are going through at that moment.
I believe that in addition to in-depth historical knowledge, it takes a great talent to be able to convey to the reader not only the scene, but all the sensations, positive and negative, that derive from it and I can say with certainty that the author, Mrs. Griffin Brady possesses both qualities (historical knowledge and talent in writing), because now I feel not as if I had seen a film at the cinema, but more: as if I myself had experienced every situation together with Jacek, savoring the fatigue, the fear , anguish, resilience, strength, anger, hope, jealousy, uncertainty and finally happiness.
Oliwia is no exception, she too will have to overcome unexpected and very difficult tests, which will bring out the strong woman within her and which, instead of sinking her, will make her increasingly combative and resolute.
Even the background where the scenes take place are described in an excellent manner with details that not only help us reconstruct the scene in our mind's eye, but we are able to perceive the smells, the sounds, the contact with the body, the lights, the shadows and all the sensations that come from them.
I have sometimes read books in which the overly long and detailed descriptions bored me or exasperated me, well, this is not the case.
---> The writer's style is fluent and engaging, to the point that now that I have finished the book, I already feel nostalgic for the characters and their adventures.
_____ CHARACTERS___
Book #1 begins with 22-year-old Jacek and 15-year-old Oliwia.
The story takes place over 4 years in which the protagonists grow not only in age but also through difficult experiences and sacrifices.
In this book we find them decidedly matured, more aware of their feelings and their goals.
Now both have the chance to take control of their destiny, but nothing will be easy and within reach, in fact evil people and traps continually hinder their happiness.
Only great willpower and the deep love that unites them will lead to a happy ending.
Of course there are also light moments, in which I love the exchanges halfway between jealousy and playfulness.
I love the 2 main characters and I love their friends too:
_ Henryk, Jacek's best friend, charming and a great lover of all women, but with a heart of gold.
I laughed every time he gets too close to Oliwia and Jacek wants to strangle him and yes, a couple of times I wanted to strangle him too, but in the end he always proves to be a deeply devoted and sincere friend.
_ Jacek's soldier-brothers, who make us breathe feelings of brotherhood, loyalty, camaraderie with funny teasing and laughter, but also sharing pain and mutual help in hard times.
_ I also really liked other supporting characters such as Oliwia's brother, who can't wait to grow up and become a soldier.
The faithful cook with a soft spot for Jacek, the good priest, Oliwia's personal maid... each of them contributes to creating a welcoming atmosphere in stark contrast to the villains always lurking and ready to strike treacherously.
__ A FICTION SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE? ___
Connecting to the villains just mentioned, it must be said that we are dealing with a disgusting slime-ball and a psychopathic serial killer.
There are not only deaths in battle, but a real premeditated murder and other perverse attitudes, which, although described without going into exaggeratedly gruesome details, could perhaps trouble the most sensitive souls.
So I would say readable for ages 16 and up.
_ The language is clean, the author manages to convey the idea of the contemptuous attitudes of rough and nasty big men, without actually using vulgar swear words.
I really appreciated it !!
___ The WINGED HUSSARS and the HISTORICAL PART ___
The main characters and their story are naturally the fruit of the author's imagination, but the wonderful heavy cavalry of the Winged Hussars really existed.
They were all nobles, trained in the use of many weapons since they were children. Many battles mentioned by the author and some character names were equally real.
----> THE LAYOUT OF BIASKA CASTLE is inspired by real castles (of which the ruins remain) Castle in the Eagles' Nest and Bobolice Castle ( look at the pictures below ).
---> At the end of the book you will find a small guide to real events and historical figures, castles and places.
---> You will also find a small dictionary for the weapons and type of clothing of the time and a small guide to the pronunciation of names and words in the original language.
---> ON THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE (www.griffin-brady.com) you will also find a blog with many interesting articles about the glorious history of the Kingdom of Poland in the 17th century, the historical events that made it powerful and about the Hussars.
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Thanks for reading my opinion. English is not my mother tongue so I hope I have still managed to express my thoughts effectively and have done justice to both the beautiful novel and the talented writer.
I will definitely also read book #3 of the series, even if I will take a short break of about ten days to enjoy the happy ending a little longer, before diving back into the obstacle-filled adventures of our two favorites.
THE PREQUEL :
BOOK #1 "THE HEART OF A HUSSAR", read my REVIEW HERE
Follow me if you also want to read the review of book #3.
And here is the beautiful Jacek of my mind ( the beauty of books is also being able to imagine the faces of the characters ;-), none other than the handsome Henry Cavill (here very young in The Tudors)
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