Warrior’s Bride has a promising set-up (even if it is of the dreaded secret-baby variety), but because of the many emotions that the main characters go through, there was a need for subtlety in the writing. Unfortunately, that subtlety was nowhere to be found.

Katarina (Rini) Herelius has ended a bad relationship and her self-esteem has been destroyed. At a powwow in Santa Susana Hills, California, she meets one of the dancers, Colton Lonetree. They’re both instantly smitten, and the result is a night of passion between two strangers who don’t know anything much about each other. The next morning, when Cole goes to participate in another dance, he has no idea that it’s the last he’s going to see of Rini, or Fire Eyes, as he’s taken to calling her, at least not for a few months. The next time Cole (who is also a successful lawyer) sees Rini, it’s in what’s called a Worst Case Scenario situation. Cole has been tormented over the woman who vanished from his life and now that he finally sees her again, she is visibly pregnant. Last but not least, she is at an adoption agency that specializes in Native American adoptions.

Neither Cole nor Rini seem willing to overcome their misconceptions and bad impressions of each other. Add to that the ton of emotional baggage Cole has because he was given away by his biological mother, and their first few conversations end badly, even though there looms the serious possibility of a custody battle. The only positive emotion is the strong sexual chemistry between Rini and Cole that makes them nearly fall onto each other every time they meet. As they try to make things work between them for the sake of the baby, Cole proposes marriage, and soon enough, Rini has moved in, although with some doubts about what their life together will be like. It’s not a spoiler to say that their life together is a merry-go-round of hot sexy moments interspersed with doubting and mistrusting moments with more of the latter. I kept wishing they’d talk to each other the way they seemed to talk to every other person.

Cole and Rini have a lot – and I mean a lot – of baggage to deal with (bad choices in love, bad mothers). They each want the other to trust and understand, but they refuse to do the same. I was puzzled by their reactions after their night together; they seemed to expect a lot of each other, even though they were complete strangers who had a one-night-stand at a touristy powwow.

Aside from Cole’s adoptive family, every other secondary and minor character seems rather judgmental. There are a couple of minor subplots, and neither added much to the story. The mysterious paternity sub-plot, especially, seemed to be added only to add to Rini’s suspicions. Rini and Cole’s poor baby deserves better than a pair of immature people as parents who are suspicious of each other until a few pages from the end.

The interaction among Cole’s family is probably the best thing in the book, the sense of community and sharing that they have is palpable, but unfortunately, the main characters behavior made Warrior’s Bride a difficult and unlikable read.