Warrior's Regret by November Dawn

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Getting back to my FaRoFeb prompts, I went looking for a low fantasy read. Since I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to pick up next, I checked out FaRoFeb's website to see what was on their TBR list for low fantasy. One of the options was Warrior's Regret by November Dawn. I had remembered this from their newsletter and had added it to my tbr. This is marked as the first book in her Demon Hybrid Warriors series. I also used this for the romance published in 2021 prompt for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss.

Aster has finally hit a point where she's over dating and wants to find her mate. For demon hybrids, there is a DNA test that will connect two mates, if they've both taken the test. When she arrives for her results, she has a match! While Aster waits to meet her match in an interview room, she hears a loud argument and is soon told that her mate has chosen to not meet her. Cole is one of the top warriors for demon hybrids and is currently and instructor. When his friends unknowingly test him for a mate and trick him into showing up, he reiterates his stance that he is not interested in having a mate or a relationship. A few weeks later he becomes curious and suggests Aster for a supplies manager position at his base. When she gets the job and decides to take it, he takes the chance to observe and learn more about her. When he can't seem to stay away, they both struggle with their budding relationship.

Guys, this was soooo good! Honestly, there was so much here that I was a little surprised it was less than 200 pages. I think that there was so much here, and while I wanted more, it didn't really feel lacking to me. From what I can see this is November Dawn's first book and what a great debut! I loved the small moments between Aster and Cole and just loved how they were so comfortable with each other when sitting in silence. I could really feel the fated mate connection. Since it is fated mates, it's definitely a little more on the quick side, but I give (a lot) of leeway for this trope. They still took it slow overall.

I loved Cole's POV and how he kept adjusting how much he wanted from Aster. At first he just wanted to get her a stable job and somewhere he could more easily protect her if needed. Then he just wanted to observe her and make sure she's doing okay. That quickly turned into just meeting her and giving her a tour of the base and then giving her self-defense lessons. The tension between them was built so well. I think the only reason I couldn't go all the way to 5-stars was I wanted a little more of the steamy scenes. It was also a little predictable, but at the same time it there were some mature responses from Cole or Aster.

I can't wait for more in this series and to see whatever November Dawn writes in the future. There weren't really too many hints on who the future books might be about, so I'm even more intrigued on what's to come. If you're looking for a new fantasy author, definitely check out Warrior's Regret. I really enjoyed it!

Have you read Warrior's Regret?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Warrior's Regret, November Dawn, 4.5-stars, 2 days, eBook, 147 pages, published in 2021, indie published