Running Scared (Sentinel Wars, #3)

Nov 04, 2011 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, fated-mates, warriors, demons, kick-ass-heroines

Running Scared
4 Stars

Synopsis:
Lexi Johns has been raised to believe that the Sentinel Warriors are a dangerous threat and will do anything to rescue her best friend from them. Zach is a Sentinel with only one goal: to convince Lexi that her destiny is intertwined with his and that she is the only one with the ability to channel the power that can destroy him.

Review:
Intricate and detailed world building combined with an intense plot that contains one or two shocking revelations and some spine tin...more Running Scared
4 Stars

Synopsis:
Lexi Johns has been raised to believe that the Sentinel Warriors are a dangerous threat and will do anything to rescue her best friend from them. Zach is a Sentinel with only one goal: to convince Lexi that her destiny is intertwined with his and that she is the only one with the ability to channel the power that can destroy him.

Review:
Intricate and detailed world building combined with an intense plot that contains one or two shocking revelations and some spine tingling moments. One of the best aspects of this series is that the female characters play an important role in the battle against evil. They are not merely damsels in distress in need of rescue.

Zach and Lexi’s romance is fantastic and their relationship builds and grows on every page. Lexi’s intentions are pure but she is a little naïve regarding the consequences of her actions. Moreover, her trust issues make it difficult to let others in and she struggles not only with attraction to Zach but also with the growing awareness that her entire belief system has been based on lies. Zach is an admirable hero with infinite patience and acceptance of Lexi’s distrust.

The story is a complex amalgamation of several subplots including Lexi’s strategy for rescuing Helen, the Sanguinars’ secret plans to save their people, a spy within the Sentinel compound, and a race of princely beings who have been visiting earth, not to mention the monstrous Synestryn who have their own agenda for the planet. Some of these are resolved in this book and others will have to wait for subsequent installments.

There are numerous secondary characters but all are well-developed and interesting. The most compelling are Madoc and Nika whose intense connection is just spellbinding and I can’t wait to read their book next.

The Sentinel Wars is an engrossing series. It is, however, necessary to read the books in order otherwise it is virtually impossible to understand what is going on in the overall story arc. (less)

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Jun 26, 2012 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: PNR romance readers

Shelves: paranormal-romance, owned-copy, brotherhood, fugitive, possessive-and-or-jealous-hero, enemies-to-lovers, science-fiction-romance, warrior, tough-as-nails-heroine, psychic, fated-to-be-mated, dangerous-hero-2012-general-reading, 2012-sky-s-the-limit-club, yearly-reading-challenge, hot-and-steamy-romance, the-lost-heir, set-in-midwest-united-states, set-in-kansas, a-to-z-character-challenge-x, hero-i-loved, heroine-i-liked, favorites, good-secondary-characters, good-secondary-romance, hero-in-pursuit, all-things-summer-challenge, monster-hunters, vampire

I have gotten stingy with five star reviews. But I had to give this book one. It took me to this point where I couldn't stop reading this series if I wanted to.

There isn't one thing that made this a five star book. But a culmination of things.

Characterizations:

Zach--He is a real sweetie. A very worthy hero. His determination to do the right thing despite his own selfish needs. His complete commitment to following through. His tenderness and his fierce power together make him very drool-worthy....more I have gotten stingy with five star reviews. But I had to give this book one. It took me to this point where I couldn't stop reading this series if I wanted to.

There isn't one thing that made this a five star book. But a culmination of things.

Characterizations:

Zach--He is a real sweetie. A very worthy hero. His determination to do the right thing despite his own selfish needs. His complete commitment to following through. His tenderness and his fierce power together make him very drool-worthy. What a lovely combination. He is a hero after my own heart.

Lexi--Some aspects of her personality weren't my favorite. She's not trusting and she's hard about some things. Yet, her personality completely makes sense for someone who has led her life. I might be projecting a little. I know I am horrible at trusting people. When you have been let down, it's hard to open yourself up. And with a mother who always drummed into her head to run, to doubt, to reject, to project oneself from the ugliness and the evil in the world, it wouldn't make sense for her to be any other way. I can't expect anything less of her. What really shone through was that Lexi fought past this programming to do the right thing, to trust, to believe, and to sacrifice herself. I was so glad she came clean and she came clean when she needed to. That took some real integrity. I respect this girl. I really do.

Shannon K. Butcher has given us complex characters with so many angles to them. They feel realistic to me, their emotions. They aren't always pretty and pleasing to experience. But because I see the good and bad, that makes them come off the page to me. When a read a book, that's what I want. I don't want to be 'meh' or disconnected. I want to be engaged. Ms. Butcher has done a great job with this book.

The secondary characters in this series do so much to empower and endear this series to me. I am very intrigued by each and every one of them. I feel their pains and experience their suffering. I want to see their individual stories work out to their happiness and contentment. And there are several that I could name that I am eager to read more about, and none that I feel blah about. That's saying something.

Storyline:

The dire situation of the Sentinels is palpable in reading this book. It makes me want to keep reading to see the situation turn around. I love this concept of these men who are dying for women. Their whole civilization dependent upon it. Not that I derive a sadistic pleasure from the men suffering, but the idea of them needing a helpmate to channel their energy, to fight at their side, to heal and to keep them whole is what appeals to me. It takes the paranormal romance genre in a different direction. I know Christine Feehan's Carpathians have the idea of a male who needs his lifemate to keep him sane and whole, and I like it there. This is slightly different, and in an equally appealing manner, with its own distinct and organic feel. This series has a science fiction feel that I have to say works for me. I am curious about so much, and looking forward to seeing where Ms. Butcher takes things next.

Final Thoughts: I wasn't blown away with the first book, but I really liked the second book. It's safe to say I loved this book. This series is on fire for me now. I'm glad my sister gave me the push to read this one. She was right!(less)

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Jun 26, 2012 ~Megan~ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dangerous-dudes, pnr-uf

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Jun 28, 2010 Kevin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was really more of the same which is too bad since the world arc is intriguing. The sex scenes were good but the relationship progression was predictable since it followed the same format as the first two books. I'd really like the formula to be switched up a bit. I find the world and overarching story to be compelling and greatly enjoy Shannon's writing but the specifics are starting to be repetitive. I hope she throws a change up in the fourth book or I may have to stop reading the series...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Kathy Davie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, paranormal

Third in the Sentinel Wars paranormal romance series revolving around supernatural guardians tasked with protecting the gate between worlds, protecting humanity. The couple focus is on Lexi Johns and Zach.

My Take
Phew, we finally find out where Lexi's extreme paranoia about the Sentinels comes from.

Why does no one in this series ever listen?? Nika keeps telling people that she needs Madoc. Every time Madoc is around, she feels better. Hullo??

One thing that really bothers me about the relationship...more

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Feb 13, 2012 Dianne Socci-Tetro rated it 4 of 5 stars

Running Scared by Shannon K Butcher

You may want to try to read this first before you’ve tried any of the other books; and while there is enough information in it and details to make it possible to be read alone, I would not suggest it. It is much more satisfying to read them together, but perhaps putting a month or so between each book.

This is the third book in the Sentinel series and if you do as I have been doing and reading them back to back, you may find yourself less than thrilled with what...more Running Scared by Shannon K Butcher

You may want to try to read this first before you’ve tried any of the other books; and while there is enough information in it and details to make it possible to be read alone, I would not suggest it. It is much more satisfying to read them together, but perhaps putting a month or so between each book.

This is the third book in the Sentinel series and if you do as I have been doing and reading them back to back, you may find yourself less than thrilled with what is essentially a great series. Read back to back each book starts seeming like a copy of the last one. Running Scared did take the story in a bit of a different direction and introduce some surprising elements to the readers and that was quite pleasing. It was fun meeting up with the girls Helen and Lexi’s Father and Ms Butcher will be able to take the series in a different direction on that alone. Unfortunately, we did not get to read much about past secondary and tertiary characters, so I’m hoping that their stories will be huge ones.
The hero’s and heroines are the ones I have a problem with – the story for each set seems so similar in that the men meet the women vow no matter what the women will never leave them and the men even become willing to do nefarious things to make the women stay. The women don’t trust the men so they keep making deals with the men. As the reader you know it will all work out in the end, but at this point in time I would like to see things progress a little differently.

I have just started “Living Nightmare” and I am happy to see that so far things may not work out between Nika and Madoc the way these relationships have in the past books.
While there may not be tons of action filled into every page (and thank god for that) there still manages to be a lot going on and with each book in the series more and more secrets are being revealed with each book
There is hope that this series will not become stagnant and a one note wonder. And, since in this book Lexi is working for what appears to be the humans that work for the Synestryn. Not a fun thing to be involved with as you will soon see.. Moreover, Lexi is going to explain how Helen has been brainwashed and the Sentinels are really the horribly bad guys.
There are some very exciting moments in this book and I highly recommend it to anyone who has been following this series.
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Mar 20, 2011 MarsianMan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Lexi has been running from Zach ever since Helen was abducted by Drake. She has to find a way to find and rescue Helen, even if it means become bait.

I really enjoyed the chase in this book. How do you convince someone that thinks you are waiting for them to trust you and then betray them? How do you fight childhood propaganda? The challenge of pushing Lexi to believe in Zach (but not pushing her too hard) appeals to me. I also really like the tension between Madoc and Nika. It is a much longer...more

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May 07, 2010 RomanceNovelNews.com rated it 3 of 5 stars

Review by Catherine Garrabrant for RomanceNovelNews.com

Nomad Lexi Johns is on the run in the third book of Shannon K. Butcher's “The Sentinel Wars” series. “Running Scared” follows Lexi’s quest for revenge against the Sentinels – a misunderstood group of otherworldly beings – while being intensely pursued by a member named Zach.

Lexi despises the Sentinels because she believes they killed her mother and they intend to brainwash her like her friend Helen. Lexi plans to rescue Helen who is being he...more Review by Catherine Garrabrant for RomanceNovelNews.com

Nomad Lexi Johns is on the run in the third book of Shannon K. Butcher's “The Sentinel Wars” series. “Running Scared” follows Lexi’s quest for revenge against the Sentinels – a misunderstood group of otherworldly beings – while being intensely pursued by a member named Zach.

Lexi despises the Sentinels because she believes they killed her mother and they intend to brainwash her like her friend Helen. Lexi plans to rescue Helen who is being held in a secret Sentinel stronghold.

Zach wants to protect Lexi and show her that Sentinels were sent to Earth to protect humans from an evil race called the Synestryn and are not the killers she believes. What he doesn't know is that Lexi is working with Hector Morrow, the head of a militant group called The Defenders of Humanity, who wants to kill as many Sentinels as possible in retaliation for his daughter’s murder. He has devised a plan for Lexi to infiltrate the Sentinel fortress and detonate a car bomb.

Zach and Lexi have an undeniable compatibility that confuses her. Is it real or a Sentinel trick? After getting to know the Sentinels and seeing Helen so happy with her mate, she begins to question her beliefs.

Zach is a worthy hero who is at times too patient and understanding with Lexi. He pursues her in a titillating game of cat and mouse. But just when it appears that the pair will finally bond, Lexi refuses to let down her guard.

Butcher writes an intricate storyline that can be hard to follow without reading the previous books in the series. She introduces subplots that tease but offer no resolution. One such subplot involves a paralyzed Sentinel warrior named Torr who has lost his will to live. He attempts to starve himself to death, but Grace, the kind-hearted woman he once rescued, tempts him with an enticing offer to get him to eat.

The concept of the Sentinel mating is intriguing. Men cannot survive without their women and together, they not only form eternal bonds, but powerful duos as well.

Butcher’s fourth book in the series, “Living Nightmare,” will be released in November.
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Jan 17, 2012 Forgotten Realms Queen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-paranormal-romace, romance

Holy crow! Plot lines! Spoilers! Jeebus! SO much goes on in this one, its kinda hard to keep track of everything.

So Running Scared is the third in the Sentinels series. It's a little slow because there is so much happening, but it is still really good. I like how she weaves the characters and starting points of different books coming up in the series into the one you're reading currently. I mean, in book one she set up the plot for book 3. In book 2 she set up the plot for book 4, and now in boo...more

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May 19, 2010 Jean Tatro rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of the series

Shelves: paranormal-romance

What is it with the third book in romance series? It's getting harder to not believe in a romance formula when I've had such a consistent experience.

After the satisfying and wild rides that were the first two books, I was hungry for more and eagerly await the release of this one. To find that it was disappointment was a let down. It starts off alright, but just before the halfway mark I started to get mad at the characters - nobody was telling Lexi anything! I would have liked to see someone exp...more What is it with the third book in romance series? It's getting harder to not believe in a romance formula when I've had such a consistent experience.

After the satisfying and wild rides that were the first two books, I was hungry for more and eagerly await the release of this one. To find that it was disappointment was a let down. It starts off alright, but just before the halfway mark I started to get mad at the characters - nobody was telling Lexi anything! I would have liked to see someone explain to her at least an overview of the Sentinel's history, to straighten out her misconceptions(which would have been a good opportunity for us readers to learn more too), but it never happens. She has a perfect opportunity to learn more about her situation when Helen shows up, but instead they talk about sex! Am I being unreasonable, asking a romance novel to pass the Bechdel Test?

I'm also somewhat disappointed at the lack of Sanguinar plotting and scheming. (Crying 'so-and-so, you bastard!' was one of the best parts of the first two books!) And in retrospect, the whole thing with the Defenders is mostly just set up for future books. They appear, obviously drop hints to more mysteries, and then don't really do much. All their danger feels tacked on as an after thought.

The touching interludes with Grace and Torr were by far the best part. I sort of hope that they get their own book, though I know paralyzed heroes don't usually fly with fans of this genre. Perhaps a novella? I also liked the scenes with Nika and Madoc, though I question why we need them if they are getting their own entire book this fall. With the rest of the book so weak it just feels like filler.

There isn't much in the way of resolutions, and where there are some they are weak or don't seem to hold water at all, and the ending is just a muddle. The over arching plot doesn't show up until the final chapter, when a character shows up and drops a world-shaking bombshell that everyone just casually accepts. Still it was enough to keep me hopefully for book four.

Cover Commentary - the technical execution isn't bad, though the color choice seems to break for the series theme so far of having the cover color match the girl's color(I suspect it has something to do with the myth about green not selling). The man-titty though... I got mocked by my mom and my friends for reading this book. Its bad enough that I longed for the half-naked chicks of urban fantasy...(less)

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Jul 22, 2010 Dorri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, magic-ties, sexuality

This series has gone beyond my expectations and has made me crave more. Much to my dismay, I now have to WAIT for the fourth book. If only I could fast forward life to get to the release date.

Basic plot: Lexi Johns has one purpose: to free her best friend Helen from the hands of the Sentinels. And the Sentinel she has been running from for months, Zach, has one goal: to convince her that their destinies are entwined. For the magic that Zach has absorbed could destroy him if he doesn't find the...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Mirely rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-publication, mystical-pnr, demons, demon-hunter, adult-fantasy, adult-romance, us-texas, us-missouri, series-sentinel-wars-shannon-butche, 2011-reading-challenge

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Running Scared continues the search for more Theronai women and focuses on the much awaited Zach and Lexie story. Lexie was introduced to us in the first book as the feisty waitress friend of Helen's. Lexie has been running since the first book but has been running all her life. Lexie's mom kept a journal of all things she knew about the Sentinel and how to protect yourself from being found by them. Lexie has some pretty distorted ideas about the Sentinels and that just makes things harder for e...more Running Scared continues the search for more Theronai women and focuses on the much awaited Zach and Lexie story. Lexie was introduced to us in the first book as the feisty waitress friend of Helen's. Lexie has been running since the first book but has been running all her life. Lexie's mom kept a journal of all things she knew about the Sentinel and how to protect yourself from being found by them. Lexie has some pretty distorted ideas about the Sentinels and that just makes things harder for everyone. So, she finally decides she no longer wants to run away from Zach. She actually decides she will trick Zach into thinking she is giving in but actually wants to go back to the compound and blow it up. Apparently there are humans out there, the Defenders of Humanity, that know about the Sentinels and are not happy with them taking up battles on their once prosperous farms, rendering them useless after the battle. The Sentinels kill Synestryns and because everything about the Synestryns is evil and toxic any place they die at dies with them. The Defenders of Humanity have had enough and their radical leader wants to do anything possible to get rid of the Sentinels and at any cost.

I have to say I loved the beginning. I loved the end... Ummm the middle...not so much. The author stayed true to her M.O. and started the book with lots of action. The ending wrapped some loose ends and nicely too but also started some new loose ends. As I mentioned before, Lexie calls Zach to come and meet up with her in Texas. Now, she makes this phone call at the end of book 2 and makes it sound like the Synestryn are after her. She was scared and hung up mid through conversation. Tell me why Zach shows up in Texas a week later! What?! Ok... I let that slide because the rest of the beginning was better. Zach sits Lexie down and tells her everything about the Theronai men dying and needing the Theronai women to survive. He tells her that in time they can come to love one another through their bond but that she can actually choose to love another and still be bonded with him to fight the war. The interaction between Zach and Lexie in the beginning was a lot more real to me than the other books because he took the time to explain things to Lexie and pretty much said hey, I can't promise you love but the truth of this whole thing is I need you to survive because of a, b and c.

The middle of the book was slow... Really slow and man was I irritated by some of the writing. By the middle of the book Zach has already been told by Lexie some of the things her mother told her. For example, Lexie believes that the Sentinels keep the Synestryn as pets. Lexie also believes that Sentinels want to torture humans and enslave them. Again, this has been engraved into Lexie's brain since she could comprehend it by her mother. It also didn't help that she saw her mother her mother in pieces after a Synestryn attack. Zach tells her that the Sentinels kill Synestryn and they are definitely not kept as pets. Zach tells Lexie that they are bound to protect humans and the Earth and the gate to the other world. Zach tells Lexie they are the good guys. In fact Lexie starts to notice things on her own and states that Zach doesn't behave like the monster her mother spoke of. Zach even takes Lexie to the compound Dabyr to see for herself that they house humans and take care of them, that they are good people.
So here is where my frustration sets in BIG TIME. Here is I start to lose faith in the writer and in my desire to continue with this story... Lexie walks the ground at Dabyr and sees all the happy humans lounging and living a good life. Lexie speaks to Helen and the little old lady she met at the dinner in book one. They both tell her how happy they are and how much good is being done in Dabyr. A reluctant, pig headed, mighty stubborn, close minded Lexie starts to believe in the truth and decides she is going to tell Zach about the plan she and the Defenders of Humanity came up with to blow them all up to pieces. She tells Zach everything. He asks her how did she meet them, how long had she known them and some other questions. He finally tells her that this is huge and that although he believes that she is not going to kill them anymore he can't vouch for her because they haven't made much progress on their connection. Without the connection he can't see in her head to see that it's the truth she speaks. Zach has to bring in his leader and that it won't be pretty. So Joseph comes to talk to Lexie and here is where I LOSE IT! Joseph and Zach both start to interrogate Lexie and do you know that Zach asks Lexie the same question that he did before getting Joseph and asks them as if it's the first time he's asking and hearing the answer?! Oh and let's not forget that Lexie goes into her whole story about her mother telling her that Synestryns are the Sentinel's pets. When Joseph gives her the crazy look she says " What? They're not?"!! GOOD FREAKIN' GRIEF! She already knows they are not because Zach told her in the first third of the book not to mention she say him kill a few already. WTH man!

That is starting to really bug me because I expect the author to know the world she/he has created. I expect the author to want me to want to be a part of that world as much as she/he is and the characters are. I expect the author to be consistent and not have me read something like she wrote one part and then sat it down for about a year and picked it up back again and started typing the rest of the story up from where she thought she/he left off. I mean come on! I'm sorry I do expect the author to keep notes and to know what they heck they have covered in the previous books. I remember those details why can't they?

We come to the end where Lexie and Shannon K Butcher redeem themselves totally. Definitely liked it. I thought it was going one totally different way than it did and that was a great surprise!
I still don't like Andra. I really don't like her. I think it has to do with how the author chooses to express Andra. Andra just seems like a brute to me. A female brute. Still digging Nika and Madoc. Liking the whole Grace and Torr story. The author introduces a few new characters and I'm curious in seeing where she takes this, unless of course she ticks me off again and I have to reconsider finishing the series or at least giving it a break.

I give this book a 4 because of the beginning and the end. I give this book a 4 because of the world she has created and the potential it has to be great. I also gave it a 4 because of Zach and the sometimes annoying Lexie. That middle part was a straight up 1 only cause I can't give it a 0...

I'm done with my rant. On to the next one. :-) (less)

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Jan 13, 2013 Irishun77 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 22, 2011 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am loving this series!!! Gosh were do I start...so Lexi and Zach go together (YAY!!!) and I knew that protection would be her power kind of like Bella in Twilight and I had a feeling that Lexi and Helen would wind up to be sisters cause they were so close right away and they another sister (YAY again!!!)...I just hope that Joseph, Nichols, Morgan, and Neal will be able to find partners. And Iain I don't what to think about him, at first I thought he might be to traitor but maybe not I guess we...more

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Jun 09, 2010 Ally rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

They are Sentinels. Three races descended from ancient guardians of mankind, each possessing unique abilities in battle to protect humanity against their eternal foes: the Synestryn.
Lexi Johns has been running from the Sentinels all her life, she was taught at an early age to fear them but she’s determined to free her best friend from them. Zach, the Sentinel that Lexi has been running from is sure he can find her and convince her they’re meant to be together. For the power Zach has inside him w...more They are Sentinels. Three races descended from ancient guardians of mankind, each possessing unique abilities in battle to protect humanity against their eternal foes: the Synestryn.
Lexi Johns has been running from the Sentinels all her life, she was taught at an early age to fear them but she’s determined to free her best friend from them. Zach, the Sentinel that Lexi has been running from is sure he can find her and convince her they’re meant to be together. For the power Zach has inside him will destroy him if he doesn’t find the woman who can channel it for him. While on the run Lexi has teamed up with the Defenders, a group of men and women out to destroy the Sentinels and all they stand for. Lexi has tricked Zach into believing she needs rescuing and see's her chance to strike at the Sentinels but what she finds is more than she was expecting. The Sentinels aren’t the monsters she thought they were and Zach, Zach shows himself to be everything Lexi has been looking for.

Lexi and Zach are both characters from the first Sentinel Wars book Burning Alive. I found this story quite enjoyable and couldn’t put it down at all. Lexi did annoy me a lot during the start of Running Scared but after she got finally got over herself and settled down I really thought she was a good female lead but after reading Burning Alive I did fall a little for the whole Lexi and Zack relationship but Running Scared seemed to have cancelled out the previous action and attraction and put them back to square one.

I loved Zach in this story. I thought he was great. A brilliant male lead and an enjoyable alpha hero. He did everything right to try and win Lexi and to gain her trust.

I find it a shame that I don’t seem to like the heroines very much in this series because I think this series is really great and it’s really going somewhere. Each book flows well and can be read as a series or as a stand-alone because it’s so well written that you don’t really need to read the other books in order to totally understand what’s going on just yet.

Other mentionable from Running Scared are:

I still don’t like Gilda and now I can actually say that although you find out what the big dark secret is, I don’t feel sorry for her. She comes across, to me anyway, as selfish and always wanting to be in control.
There’s something more between Torr and Grace and I hope they get there own book or at least get together in the next book or just something nice!
There is more Nika and Madoc action, not really enough because Madoc is still away killing Synestryn to help Nika regain herself.
And the best bit, to me, is Nika and Madoc get the next book Living Nightmare which is due out this November and there’s an extract at the end of Running Scared and wow it looks good and I really can’t wait to buy it! (less)

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Mar 25, 2010 (Kelly)~Got Fiction?~ Oakes rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: pnr-slayer-warrior, pnr

First let me start with saying that this book doesn’t actually release until May, but Shannon K. Butcher was nice enough to send me a copy to review.

For those of you that have taken my advice and ran out to get the first 2 books in this series; Burning Alive and Finding the Lost, terrific. For those who haven’t yet, I’ll try not to reveal too much.
This 3rd book in the series is called Running Scared and in it we re-visit the character Lexi, the spunky waitress and Helen’s friend from the diner...more

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Dec 23, 2012 t'irla ~The BookSlayer~ rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People reading the series

Recommended to t'irla ~The BookSlayer~ by: Katya

Shelves: group-read, guardian-senintels, owned, paranormal-romance, shannon-k-butcher, 3-star-read

Nothing unexpected, just what I thought I would get from a Sentinel Wars novel, Shannon K Butcher is consistent.

Description:

hey are the Sentinels. Three races descended from ancient guardians of mankind, each possessing unique abilities in their battle to protect humanity against their eternal foes: the Synestryn. Now one Sentinel's survival determines the fate of them all.

Lexi Johns has one purpose: to free her best friend from the hands of the Sentinels. And Zach, the Sentinel she has been run...more Nothing unexpected, just what I thought I would get from a Sentinel Wars novel, Shannon K Butcher is consistent.

Description:

hey are the Sentinels. Three races descended from ancient guardians of mankind, each possessing unique abilities in their battle to protect humanity against their eternal foes: the Synestryn. Now one Sentinel's survival determines the fate of them all.

Lexi Johns has one purpose: to free her best friend from the hands of the Sentinels. And Zach, the Sentinel she has been running from for months, has one goal: to convince her that their destinies are entwined. For the magic that Zach has absorbed could destroy him if he doesn't find the woman who can channel it for him. And he knows Lexi is the one.

From an early age, Lexi has been taught to fear the Sentinels. And now she is an agent of a group out to destroy them. So when Zach finds her, it is Lexi's chance to strike at the heart of the Sentinels. But, as Lexi sees Zach's courage, selflessness, and honor, she begins to doubt her beliefs — and is faced with an unbearable choice.

My Thoughts:

I admit to having a bit of a hard time reading this book, I think I was expecting so much more. I loved Zach's character from the moment I met him in book one and I thought Lexie was going to be a cool heroine. I have to be honest, I was kinda disappointed in both. Lexie because she didn't question she just gave in to what others told her, I thought she would have more strength of character and have a mind of her own. Once she confessed her misdeeds I expected her to exude a new found strength and she did in some ways but that power just didn't come through ..didn't make me feel her. Zach I expected to be this tough bad boy, rule defying, devil may care guy. He was "whipped" from the beginning..he needed to make her want him by playing a bit more hard to get. It seemed that he became a bit of a lap dog rather than the doberman I expected him to be. Over all the book was ok, I just expected *more* If you are following the series it is a must read because of the movement in the plot needs to be read. However, if you were expecting the Lexie and Zach of the first book..I think you too will be disappointed.

3 star read for me...and I will move on to read book 4 with the rest of Gotta Have Romance with a Kick group and their series read. (less)

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May 09, 2010 Damaris (GoodChoiceReading) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Damaris (GoodChoiceReading) by: goodchoicereadin@aol.com

Shelves: must-read, favorites

This would have to be my favorite book in the series so far. I loved the first two, but I waited for Shannon to write Zach and Lexi's story and it was worth the wait. This series is slowly climbing into my top three favorites.

Zach and Lexi's characters were introduced in the first book with Drake and Helen. I remember reading and loving Drake and Helen, but could not wait to read more on Zach and Lexi. I found their characters to be very funny and wild. In Running Scared it was the same thing....more

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Dec 05, 2012 Lisa - (Aussie Girl) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-urban-fantasy

3.5 stars

I love the Urban Fantasy and the imaginative world building elements of this series more than the actual couple pairings. In the first three books the desperation of the Theronai males and the unwillingness/snarkiness of the heroines is just a touch annoying.

Lots of good storylines coming up though. So much of the world has been hinted at and not explored - there is a lot more to be revealed about the blood drinking Sanguinars and the mysterious Slayers and lots of characters are hid...more

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May 05, 2012 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars

I like this series. I am surprised by that fact in that it is probably considered a romance and I generally do not like romance novels, but I really like the plot in these books. I do not like the aggressive nature of the main male characters and their possessiveness about the women they need and want. I do not like that these men feel like women are objects to satisfy their needs. And I really could do with a lot less of the swearing. But I do like the overall story and the the plot is really q...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have to say I did enjoy this book very much,but there were times I wanted to give Lexi a shake and tell her to smarten up. Then again,she was brainwashed her entire life, so she was having a hard time believing that Zach was as kind and caring as he appeared to be. I have to admit that the relationships between Grace and Torr, and Madoc and Nika are really pulling me in. They have so many seemingly insurmountable problems....
Then there is a blockbuster surprise revealed about the Gray Lady....more

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Feb 04, 2011 Melinda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: trashy-romance

I like that this series is more than just the romance between the hero and heroine. The Sentinels have so many internal issues and so many misunderstanding of the people they have to work with. Sworn to protect humans yet learning to distrust some. When is it okay to kill those you are sworn to protect? What if your allies are really the people plotting to betray you? Who can you truly trust? In this case you can only truly trust your mate. As the series continues there are so many players invol...more

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Mar 08, 2011 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: pnr

If you're struggling with this series like I was, hang on, by bk 4 it picks up and becomes an entertaining read. I enjoy the story line; it’s not the usual vamp/were/demons. The characters and the plot are good. The heroine's tended to get on my nerves a bit, but once they finally realize their fate is actually positive rather than negative they redeem themselves. The first 3 books just took too long to get to where the story was leading. This is a new author for me. Glad that I stayed with this...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Natalie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oh, this was really cool. These Sentinel warriors have these living tattoos of trees on their torso and as they get older the leaves start falling off. When the last leaf falls they go nuts and have to kill themselves or be killed UNLESS they meet... (wait for it) their soul-mate! I know it's an oft-used premise in the paranormal romance genre but these stories are really well written and I've enjoyed each of the 4 books of this series that I've read so far. If you like Sherrilyn Kenyon then you...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Mello ❣ Illium ✮Harry✮ ☀Myrnin☀ Torin Ichimaru rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, august-december-reading-challenge, demons, fantasy, paranormal-romance, magic, vamps, immortals, hawt-heroes, sentinel-wars, shannon-k-butcher

Another solid installment in the Sentinel Wars series.

Zach, a Theronai warrior has been chasing after Lexi Johns ever since he found her in the first book Burning Alive and realized that she was the female that would be able to save him from soul death and the constant pain he's had to live with for centuries. Lexi has been terrified him ever since that night and has used whatever method necessary to stay out of reach... Until now.

Too bad for Zach he doesn't find her because she wants to be-at l...more Another solid installment in the Sentinel Wars series.

Zach, a Theronai warrior has been chasing after Lexi Johns ever since he found her in the first book Burning Alive and realized that she was the female that would be able to save him from soul death and the constant pain he's had to live with for centuries. Lexi has been terrified him ever since that night and has used whatever method necessary to stay out of reach... Until now.

Too bad for Zach he doesn't find her because she wants to be-at least not in the way he would like for her to want to be found. I completely love Zach. Aside from Madoc and my newfound interest in Iain, Zach is my favorite of the heroes so far. He is such a sweetie and I have to say, that he's handled the revelation of what he is and why he needs Lexi to bond with him much better than Drake and Paul did. He was 100% upfront from jump. And he was so damned sweet! I wanted to smack the hell out of Lexi for what she's been putting him through for all of these months. I loved him from start to finish in this book.

Lexi starts off as one of my least favorite types of heroines. The Prejudiced Heroine. I can't stand her type. The Prejudiced Heroine always has an extremely good reason for why they're prejudiced, but even though I understand, it never helps to soften me towards them and their attitudes. It irritates the hell out of me. The judgments that they make when they don't know fuck all about the race of people they hate. They always makes up for it in the end, but it still doesn't help. What Lexi does at the end of Running Scared (on both occasions) are truly great and amazing things. She helped save Dabyr from serious catastrophe. It still didn't help me to like her any. Maybe I'm too hard on her and heroines of her type, but it just bugs me that no matter how hard the hero tries to prove to the heroine that things aren't the way she's always believed, she's stubborn as a mule. The stubbornness makes sense. You can't just change beliefs like that. Especially not after a severe trauma and being raised to believe what you believe. It's just one of those things that I can't get past.

While I am happy for Zach that he got what he needed/wanted, their romance wasn't that important to me. I had hoped for a few more revelations that what we got from the other storylines, but there were some. We now know exactly what Gilda did that she feels so guilty over. It doesn't make me like her any. Especially after the way she treated sweet Angus. He so deserves better. One of the biggest revelations was the person that was behind the attack on Dabyr in Finding the Lost. I hope that asshole gets what he deserves. I know why he did it. No excuse for it, though. There was also that (view spoiler). I love Nika. She's definitely my favorite of the heroines. Grace, too. The story for her and Torr is steady building and I hope things work out for those two. And then we have to really big thing (view spoiler). I suspected the bit about Helen and Lexi, so that wasn't a huge surprise for me. The confirmation was nice, though.

We also learn more about how the Sanguinar have been getting humans involved in their Project Lullaby. I know why they do it, but I can't make up my mind as to how I feel about their methods. I still think that they and the Theronai need to have a serious discussion about how to help both of their races. Perhaps the Slayers, too. I'm not sure about that group, yet as we haven't seen not a one of them, yet.

There's also what the Synestryn are doing to human women. That's just nasty. That whole scene with Zillah and the traitor was gross. Ew!

I'm dying to read the next book (Nika and Madoc's book), but I shall refrain and wait along with the rest of my group members. Really looking forward to that one, though.(less)

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Dec 07, 2012 Angie ~aka Reading Machine~ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lexi Johns has been running from the Sentinels all of her life and doesn't plan on changing that any time soon. Lexi knows that Zach will stop at nothing to get her back into his life. Lexi plans with the help of The Defenders of Humanity to trick Zach into coming after Lexi with a faked attack by Synestryn. Zach is so grateful that Lexi is safe and sound he forgets how to breathe for a moment. Zach wants to tie Lexi to him forever but first he must gain her trust completely. He will not let hal...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Katya rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-rom

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 4.2 Stars!
Read originally 4/10/11 & re-read 12/3/12

This was the best in the series so far. I thought that this book gave us alot more background and introduced some interesting new characters who's stories played behind the main story which was Zach, a Theronai Warrior of the Sentinel Races, and his bonded female to be: Lexi who was under the impression that Sentinels were evil and used Syestryn (evil demon thingys) as pets.

Lexi has been on the run most of her life. Her mother knew she had...more 4.2 Stars!
Read originally 4/10/11 & re-read 12/3/12

This was the best in the series so far. I thought that this book gave us alot more background and introduced some interesting new characters who's stories played behind the main story which was Zach, a Theronai Warrior of the Sentinel Races, and his bonded female to be: Lexi who was under the impression that Sentinels were evil and used Syestryn (evil demon thingys) as pets.

Lexi has been on the run most of her life. Her mother knew she had to save her and keep her alive and told her that the Sentinel's would kill her if they found her. Lexi has been indoctrinated with this fear and hatred. Her mother was destroyed and torn to bits by the Synestryn.

Zach has recognized her as a potential mate and has been chasing her for weeks. He is desperate to find a woman with whom he can bond and so he can survive. His power is building up inside him and it will kill him if he does not find his mate soon. Bonded mates share the energy and fight as a unit. His female will be able to absorb his energy and use it with magic to fight the war against the Synestryn who are bent on conquering humankind and turning them into food.

Then one day Lexi calls him and asks for his help....he rushes to find her but what he doesn't know is that Lexi has a secret. Things are not as they seem. Lexi has some very mixed up ideas about life and the Theronai. She is fearful of them and yet she is drawn to Zach...she is amazed at how kind he is when they meet up again, and she is confused by his actions. He takes care of her, he is concerned about her welfare and he protects her. When she comes back to his home with him, the compound (Dabyr) she is surprised to see children and other humans living among them and starts to open her eyes to the truth. She is torn by years of living with her mom and hearing the stories and what she is seeing and experiencing.

I love how their relationship develops and how slowly trust starts to form. It is not all Zach putting in the effort, you see little by little through the book as Lexi lets go of her fears and prejudice that she comes to accept, trust and eventually love Zach.

We also get to see Nika and her connection with Madoc. He is the only man who can touch her without bubbling blisters from the demons inside her burning and hurting her. She fights with him when he is out in the field killing the Synestryn by going into the sgath's heads and keeping them still until he kills them...she escapes just before they die. They need to be near each other, and feel at ease when touching. They appear to be meant for each other and yet his luceria does not move when she is near. I am glad their book is next.

The other thing we learn in this book is how desperate everyone is...how unhappy some of these Theronai are...they have suffered greatly in their vocation but a promise is a promise and they took a vow. A vow means quite a bit in this world and the ever more tangled relationship between the Theronai and Sanguinair becomes a very interesting situation.

I love this series. I love the action, the story lines, the complexity of the plot and how well thought out it is. I understand that the women sometimes put up a big fight and with good reason. Sometimes you want to bop them on the head but I ask myself, would I behave any differently? And the answer is no.

Can't wait to read the next book: Novella-The Collector & then Living Nightmare.(less)

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Feb 05, 2011 Inga rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, 2011-reads, sentinel-wars, shannon-k-butcher, have-the-book

What I loved about Zach was honesty – pure and unwavering; which was completely opposite to Paul. So, this was one of most significant aspects of Zach’s character and even the whole story which led me to giving this book 5 stars without any hesitancy. I so liked the way Zach approached Lexi with Theronai story and meaning of bonding. And the way he reasoned all the stuff? He grew on me so quickly so that Paul’s character seemed less and less likable. Or I’d better say more and more dislikeable....more

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May 19, 2010 Melindeeloo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: immortal_warriors, paranormal-romance

In the lead are Zach and Lexi whose story we've been waiting on since they met in the first book - in an encounter that left Zach bleeding and Lexi on the run. Zach's finally caught up with Lexi, but it's only because Lexi has a plan to use Zach's apparent obsession for her in order to gain entry to the Sentinel's hidden compound, to save her 'brainwashed' friend Helen and then to take out the 'evil' Sentinels once and for all.

There's a lot going on in this third installment of Butcher's Sentin...more In the lead are Zach and Lexi whose story we've been waiting on since they met in the first book - in an encounter that left Zach bleeding and Lexi on the run. Zach's finally caught up with Lexi, but it's only because Lexi has a plan to use Zach's apparent obsession for her in order to gain entry to the Sentinel's hidden compound, to save her 'brainwashed' friend Helen and then to take out the 'evil' Sentinels once and for all.

There's a lot going on in this third installment of Butcher's Sentinel Wars. In addition to Lexi and Zach, there are also side threads for future pairs Nika and the almost turned Madoc, as well as Grace and the crippled Torr. Not to mention a prince from another dimension, the secret planes of the Sanguinar( the Sentinel's vampire-like allies), a traitor, and a couple more minor continuing plot lines.

With all of that, Running Scared is probably just a little too much of a good thing. Though I must say I that there was more than enough of the cynical Lexi questioning her attraction to Zach, an attraction which she blames on some kind of magical poisoning and her firm belief that she's being brainwashed. Lexi's distrust it serves to make the pair work for their happily-ever-after but it didn't allow for the tension to build as effectively it did with the pairs in previous books.

Still over all I did like Running Scared and there is plenty of promise for the future - Nika/Madoc and Grace/Tohr have a great deal of appeal and the cards are not stacked in their favor so they will really have to work for their HEA's - so I am definitely still on board for book 4 Living Nightmare: The Sentinel Wars, out in November of 2010 and maybe if we are lucky Butcher's short in Dark and Stormy Knights(July) will be connected to the Sentinels too.

---------------------------------------
If you are new to the series, I really enjoyed the first two books(Burning Alive: The Sentinel Wars, Finding the Lost: The Sentinel Wars). The Sentinels are warriors from another world protecting humans and a gate from monsters. The warriors are immortal and in constant pain because they draw energy from the earth but can't release it unless paired with a female of their species who can channel the energy as magic. Without a compatible female to bleed off the energy build up, the anguished warriors are slowly losing leaves from a magical `tree of life' tattoo which indicate how much time the warriors have left before losing their souls and becoming monsters themselves. Unfortunately, there aren't many females and no more children are being born either, so the hope of salvation is slim.
(less)

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Nov 02, 2010 Anja rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.29 stars.

While I still love this series, this book was the worst of the lot. The second book had a very strong self-contained plot while still moving the series arc forward. This book felt more like filler.

I never connected to either of the leads. I got frustrated with Lexi’s introspection. Zach had the right attributes but he came across a bit dull.

Some insight was given on the Sentinel’s infertility and the Sanguinar’s Project Lullaby. Logan is the hero of the fifth book so I am hoping his w...more

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Running Scared (Sentinel Wars #3)

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