Book Review: Warrior’s Cross by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

Title: Warrior’s Cross
Author: Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Romantic Suspense, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: August 2009 by Dreamspinner Press

Cameron Jacobs is an open book. He considers himself a common waiter with normal friends, boring hobbies, harmless dogs, and nothing even resembling a secret... except a crush on a tall, dark, devastatingly handsome man who dines alone at his restaurant on Tuesday nights. All it takes is one passionate night with Julian Cross to turn Cameron’s world on its head.

Julian's love and devotion are all Cameron could have hoped for and more. But when his ordinary life meets and clashes with Julian's extraordinary lifestyle, Cameron discovers that trust and fear can go hand in hand, and love is just a step away from danger.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: Decent romance though it has the naïve younger man with the experienced older man relationship that isn’t my favorite. Still, it’s a fairly nuanced romance but one I probably wouldn’t have read if it didn’t link books four and five of the authors’ delectable Cut & Run series.

The Set Up: Cameron is a server at an upscale Chicago restaurant who is entranced by the silent man who eats in his section each Tuesday. Julian’s life is one of extreme danger and he knows he shouldn’t include Cameron in his life but he can’t resist. Unfortunately, Julian’s past won’t allow him to live quietly with Cameron.

Why I Read this Book: Samantha, a fellow book reviewer, suggested I read this book between books four and five of the Cut & Run series since there is character crossover in book five. So I did.

What I Liked: I liked the characters of Julian and Cameron. They don’t play games with each other and they’re not emotionally manipulative. The men acknowledge their emotional connection to each other and they’re not ashamed to let each other know how vulnerable they are to each other. I like this straightforward romance, especially since the relationship tension involves Julian’s work and the danger it puts him and Cameron in. This part of the plot had so many ups and downs that the romance had to be drama free or this book would have had way too much going on.

The plot of Julian’s secretive job and danger was well structured and kept my attention. I think the big showdown at novel’s end was a good conclusion and satisfying for me as a reader. I do wish that Cameron had contributed a tiny bit to his own rescue but that’s just a little thing.

What I Didn’t Like: I am not a fan of MM romance where one is young and naïve and the other is older and life-experienced. Still I think the authors did as good of a job as possible with this dynamic since Julian says part of why he loves Cameron is his innocence, even though his life may steal that innocence from Cameron.

But the thing that drove me ABSOLUTELY BATSHIT CRAZY was Cameron has four little puppies—and he NEVER walks them! The book often shows him and Julian feeding and watering them but they never leave the apartment! I can’t imagine the built up doggie doo in that apartment! I know this is silly type A nutty reader thing to gripe about but given that these dogs were Cameron’s only family they were in the book constantly and to never have a dog walk just made me crazy!

IMO: It’s a decent romance but fans reading the Cut & Run series will absolutely have to read this for its crossover to that series’ book five.

J9’s Rating: