Gerri Russell, The Warrior Trainer

The Warrior Trainer

Gerri Russell

Leisure, Jan 2007, $6.99

ISBN: 0843958251

In 1308 Scotland, Scotia is the latest in a long line of warrior women trained to protect the Stone of Destiny that the English claim the Scots stole from them. Four horsemen vow to kill every Highlander until they bring back the Stone to their English monarch.

Ian MacKinnon seeks Scotia the Trainer, considered the world's greatest fighter, to train him so he can protect his clan and avenge his brother who was killed by vicious English marauders dubbed the Four Horsemen. When he finds her, he is stunned by her beauty, but is unaware that she recognizes him as the man who is to be her soulmate. She also sees him as a tool to avenge the death of her mother at the hands of the same evil, soulless ones who killed her student's brother. Though both plan to use the other to further their personal agendas, neither can ignore their attraction for one another.

Using the real Scottish STONE OF DESTINY as the underlying base to the fine storyline, Gerri Russell provides a strong fictional twist to the authentic history in which instead of English knights taking this royal regal item to Westminster, they carted off a fake. The storyline is action-packed from the start when the Four Horsemen, like those of the Apocalypse, destroy anyone unfortunate enough to be in their path and never slows down until the final battlefield confrontation between them and the lead couple. Fans of medieval romance with a wee bit of a whimsical legend (anchored in history) will enjoy this fine tale of a daring skillful heroine and the laird who loves her.

Harriet Klausner