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Gifts of the Ancients #1
Warrior's Heart
In love forever with her brother's best friend, Casey thinks she doesn't have a shot with the strong and silent Special Forces unit leader, Hal Halowell. But he's back from a mystical military escapade in the ancient city of Babylon that has left him gifted with strange abilities and things have changed drastically.
All bets are off when Casey's life is endangered by the people who are after Hal and he can no longer deny his need for the woman he's loved secretly since she was just a kid.
All bets are off when Casey's life is endangered by the people who are after Hal and he can no longer deny his need for the woman he's loved secretly since she was just a kid.
ebook
First published July 4, 2017
About the author
Bianca D'Arc
324 books1,366 followersBianca D'Arc is the USA Today bestselling author of over 100 romance titles. She has been published traditionally, by a few notable small presses, and indie. Before becoming a full-time writer, she ran a laboratory, a legal department, and jetted around the country on business while working for a Fortune 500 engineering firm.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
December 13, 2019
The set-up was interesting but you can tell this is her early work. *blinks*
Heavy on smut, light on character & plot development.
Plus a special forces team of archeologists, historians, & linguists … well apparently they haver zero need for sleep or a life outside work --so why not give them extra super powers?
Plus a sentient, assertive gendered bundle of 100 cells after a week? *roll eyes* Yes there's magic but the embryo doesn't even have a spine, let alone a brain yet.
Re-read this as another in the series was coming out … sadly pre-ordered already --- but hopefully it'll be more plot like her other recent work.
Heavy on smut, light on character & plot development.
Plus a special forces team of archeologists, historians, & linguists … well apparently they haver zero need for sleep or a life outside work --so why not give them extra super powers?
Plus a sentient, assertive gendered bundle of 100 cells after a week? *roll eyes* Yes there's magic but the embryo doesn't even have a spine, let alone a brain yet.
Re-read this as another in the series was coming out … sadly pre-ordered already --- but hopefully it'll be more plot like her other recent work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2017
I could say A Warrior’s Heart is your typical mundane little sister falls for big brother’s best friend story or even your typical every day military romance but if that were true I probably would not have finished the book the first time I ever read it. Thankfully this story is even better than the mundane and I would be hard pressed to find one this engrossing that I stick with it over and over again even with how many times I have read it.
Casey’s heart is so invested in Hal that I seriously doubt there would ever be a committed long-term relationship with anyone else, so why she seemed reluctant or nervous about it when that door opened was kind of surprising. Then again, one could argue that the male alpha vibe that he is sending out is over whelming and enough to make any woman nervous, but the things is, I don’t think Hal was coming on all that strong to make her take a step back but she almost did.
Because of the way A Warrior’s Heart is written I need to be really careful about how detail I share about what I enjoyed because saying to much will give a lot away and I really want you to read the story and judge for yourselves if it’s a good book or not. I do want the author to know that I not only loved the bedroom scenes I really loved the Dolphins, that was truly an amazingly cool scene. I do think more could have gone into one of the scenes with Casey’s brother and I really think Jeeves is my favorite side character. The story is well edited so there were no bumps in the road to throw off the flow and my only note was and I quote “I wish there was a book 2 in the series’.
This review posting contains the body of the review, which is only a portion of the original review which is posted here https://laurasbookbinge.wordpress.com...
Casey’s heart is so invested in Hal that I seriously doubt there would ever be a committed long-term relationship with anyone else, so why she seemed reluctant or nervous about it when that door opened was kind of surprising. Then again, one could argue that the male alpha vibe that he is sending out is over whelming and enough to make any woman nervous, but the things is, I don’t think Hal was coming on all that strong to make her take a step back but she almost did.
Because of the way A Warrior’s Heart is written I need to be really careful about how detail I share about what I enjoyed because saying to much will give a lot away and I really want you to read the story and judge for yourselves if it’s a good book or not. I do want the author to know that I not only loved the bedroom scenes I really loved the Dolphins, that was truly an amazingly cool scene. I do think more could have gone into one of the scenes with Casey’s brother and I really think Jeeves is my favorite side character. The story is well edited so there were no bumps in the road to throw off the flow and my only note was and I quote “I wish there was a book 2 in the series’.
This review posting contains the body of the review, which is only a portion of the original review which is posted here https://laurasbookbinge.wordpress.com...
May 4, 2020
2.5 *
May 15, 2018
Meant to be
What an amazing first book in the series. The author really kept me on the edge of my seat, I love the detail that she put into the history and backstory. I could practically see it in my head like a movie. Then she wowed with her character development and the danger of the chase and of course the HEA at the end. I am really looking forward to the next book and seeing where she takes us next.
What an amazing first book in the series. The author really kept me on the edge of my seat, I love the detail that she put into the history and backstory. I could practically see it in my head like a movie. Then she wowed with her character development and the danger of the chase and of course the HEA at the end. I am really looking forward to the next book and seeing where she takes us next.
April 24, 2020
Too short story but I enjoyed it!
July 3, 2020
The writing was rough - and the author used quite a few cliches ie. "From the heights of happiness to the depths of despair". I almost groaned at that point. (Btw, that is her response to him saying "I love you").
While Cas and Hal have had "years" of unrequited love, this book comes out heavy on the smut with zero real showing of how they might actually love each other for anything other than sweat glistened bodies and sexy mouths that can… yeah. You get the idea. It felt more like in lust than in love to me. I mean, the one "date" they had was zoomed out to say something like "they chatted about various topics". I wanted less tell and more show on their connection, because I just didn't believe it.
Added to that disconnect was that I literally knew nothing about Cas other than she liked daises and used to have a couch with yellow and white daises on it. Oh and she can cook chicken and rice and likes painting rooms. There was so little character development in this it was slightly painful. Admittedly, it is hard to get any development in over such a short book.... but I would have liked to have a better connection to my characters before they start tonguing each other.
OH OH AND by the way! *snap he can talk to dolphins. Cool idea, poor execution. Can they (members of his team) all talk to dolphins? How does this relate to his super strength? Why did this ability just randomly come out when it was kind of needed? Why weren't members of his team working on telepathy before? When he was coming clean about his freaky powers to Cas? It definitely felt like a deus ex machina, which I happen to have a heavy hate on about.
Lets not even get started on the one week old "female" "child" that was sprung on us in the last 3 pages. Jeez. Seriously. They had unprotected monkey sex and 7 days (or less) later is a "female" child. Even if I loved my partner (which, to me, is still up in the air about these two) I would still be freaking out about being pregnant less than 1 month into dating a guy. I don't care if he is the love of your life and you've been waiting for this moment. I would freak out.
In general I think this book suffered alot from telling me rather than showing me. I was told about their love (not shown, unless you count hot sex to be love? With no affection in there?). I was told about the brother having an issue with the relationship (he showed up and was like "I have an issue with this" then left)? I was told about the team's excursion to the middle east (opportunity for some nice flash back or something)? I was told about 'escaping' the ship (she wakes up and they're all dead already)? I was told about the dolphins? I was told about the child? Not shown, told. Its what, ultimately, broke this book for me.
Also posted: https://thelittlelynx.com/Books/revie...
While Cas and Hal have had "years" of unrequited love, this book comes out heavy on the smut with zero real showing of how they might actually love each other for anything other than sweat glistened bodies and sexy mouths that can… yeah. You get the idea. It felt more like in lust than in love to me. I mean, the one "date" they had was zoomed out to say something like "they chatted about various topics". I wanted less tell and more show on their connection, because I just didn't believe it.
Added to that disconnect was that I literally knew nothing about Cas other than she liked daises and used to have a couch with yellow and white daises on it. Oh and she can cook chicken and rice and likes painting rooms. There was so little character development in this it was slightly painful. Admittedly, it is hard to get any development in over such a short book.... but I would have liked to have a better connection to my characters before they start tonguing each other.
OH OH AND by the way! *snap he can talk to dolphins. Cool idea, poor execution. Can they (members of his team) all talk to dolphins? How does this relate to his super strength? Why did this ability just randomly come out when it was kind of needed? Why weren't members of his team working on telepathy before? When he was coming clean about his freaky powers to Cas? It definitely felt like a deus ex machina, which I happen to have a heavy hate on about.
Lets not even get started on the one week old "female" "child" that was sprung on us in the last 3 pages. Jeez. Seriously. They had unprotected monkey sex and 7 days (or less) later is a "female" child. Even if I loved my partner (which, to me, is still up in the air about these two) I would still be freaking out about being pregnant less than 1 month into dating a guy. I don't care if he is the love of your life and you've been waiting for this moment. I would freak out.
In general I think this book suffered alot from telling me rather than showing me. I was told about their love (not shown, unless you count hot sex to be love? With no affection in there?). I was told about the brother having an issue with the relationship (he showed up and was like "I have an issue with this" then left)? I was told about the team's excursion to the middle east (opportunity for some nice flash back or something)? I was told about 'escaping' the ship (she wakes up and they're all dead already)? I was told about the dolphins? I was told about the child? Not shown, told. Its what, ultimately, broke this book for me.
Also posted: https://thelittlelynx.com/Books/revie...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2021
Wait whattt
Things moved so fast in this book I got whiplash and its hella short. Felt like a novella and not a full length book. The premise is great and I want to see what happens with the team. This was such a quick read I barely remember the characters names. One minute you meet the two main characters, then they are flirting, having sex and boom the ending. So many parts needed to be fleshed out a bit more. We didn't get to know them well enough before everything was over. I liked what was there a lot. I just wish there was more details and I rarely ever say that 🤣. I feel like I'm missing information. This was definitely more of a novella than a book though!
Things moved so fast in this book I got whiplash and its hella short. Felt like a novella and not a full length book. The premise is great and I want to see what happens with the team. This was such a quick read I barely remember the characters names. One minute you meet the two main characters, then they are flirting, having sex and boom the ending. So many parts needed to be fleshed out a bit more. We didn't get to know them well enough before everything was over. I liked what was there a lot. I just wish there was more details and I rarely ever say that 🤣. I feel like I'm missing information. This was definitely more of a novella than a book though!
April 30, 2022
I'm never disappointed with Bianca's books
Warrior's Heart is the first book in the series Gift of the Ancients. To say I'm curious who this old man was and what he did to Hal's team is an understatement. Loved this opening book and can't wait to see how all this plays out. I know Hal's team aren't shifters but for some reason I feel their gifts may have something to do with defeating the Triton back on Grizzly Cove. Maybe maybe not but one can hope. Oh and totally loved the surprise ending with the news Casey and Hal get.
Warrior's Heart is the first book in the series Gift of the Ancients. To say I'm curious who this old man was and what he did to Hal's team is an understatement. Loved this opening book and can't wait to see how all this plays out. I know Hal's team aren't shifters but for some reason I feel their gifts may have something to do with defeating the Triton back on Grizzly Cove. Maybe maybe not but one can hope. Oh and totally loved the surprise ending with the news Casey and Hal get.
December 8, 2019
Good Start
This is the beginning of a new series, so I am giving it some latitude. This book seems to end suddenly and felt unfinished. Hopefully this is just due to introducing her characters and an overview of the series storyline. I ordered the second book and hopefully it will be meatier!
This is the beginning of a new series, so I am giving it some latitude. This book seems to end suddenly and felt unfinished. Hopefully this is just due to introducing her characters and an overview of the series storyline. I ordered the second book and hopefully it will be meatier!
August 13, 2020
To cute
When you read as much as I do, you see elements of different yet same. But thats ok because good authors like Bianca take those elements and spin them into a great story.
This is the first of what I hope becomes a great series. I just loved the love story between to life long friends.
When you read as much as I do, you see elements of different yet same. But thats ok because good authors like Bianca take those elements and spin them into a great story.
This is the first of what I hope becomes a great series. I just loved the love story between to life long friends.
June 6, 2021
Amazing
Wow! Pulls you in from page One!! Filled with suspense, intrigue, great sexy scenes and fast paced. The characters have depth and the storyline is well written. Can’t wait for the next story.
Wow! Pulls you in from page One!! Filled with suspense, intrigue, great sexy scenes and fast paced. The characters have depth and the storyline is well written. Can’t wait for the next story.
March 29, 2022
I loved this story!
Bianca D’Arc always creates such wonderful characters. They are always so interesting but also completely relateable. The worlds she creates makes you want to stay and learn more about it and those that live in it. I can't wait to see where she takes us next.
Bianca D’Arc always creates such wonderful characters. They are always so interesting but also completely relateable. The worlds she creates makes you want to stay and learn more about it and those that live in it. I can't wait to see where she takes us next.
December 5, 2022
3.5 - 4 ⭐️ for Books 1-5
Did I read the whole series in a weekend? Yes. Was it cheesy ? Yes. Do I want more??? Yahhhhhhh
Might not be everyone’s cup of tea bc of the repetitive nature of Ms D’arc’s books but I love it so 🤷🏾♀️
Did I read the whole series in a weekend? Yes. Was it cheesy ? Yes. Do I want more??? Yahhhhhhh
Might not be everyone’s cup of tea bc of the repetitive nature of Ms D’arc’s books but I love it so 🤷🏾♀️
August 4, 2017
Interesting concept
A very interesting setup for the series . Definitely grabbed my attention and has me looking forward to the next book in the series.
A very interesting setup for the series . Definitely grabbed my attention and has me looking forward to the next book in the series.
October 4, 2018
love this book .. are there going to be more ?.
February 27, 2020
Loved it!
There is a lot of action. Some surprising and some not so much. I couldn't stop reading till I got to the end.
There is a lot of action. Some surprising and some not so much. I couldn't stop reading till I got to the end.
March 8, 2020
Good yess goooood
There’d better be about 6 more in this series or I’m gunna be super pouty! I mean it! Bravo Ms. D’arc!
There’d better be about 6 more in this series or I’m gunna be super pouty! I mean it! Bravo Ms. D’arc!
May 6, 2020
Short interesting story
May 7, 2020
I loved the story, but....
I loved the story, but it felt like the plot was going along then boom the end. I was left kind of dissatisfied, like there should have been more.
I loved the story, but it felt like the plot was going along then boom the end. I was left kind of dissatisfied, like there should have been more.
June 19, 2020
Definitely not my favorite Bianca story but I enjoyed the premise and look forward to later ones with updated and newer and hopefully longer storylines
July 5, 2020
Fast paced, quick read
Sexy and fast paced, this interesting story was a fun, quick read. I’m eager to learn more about Hal’s team
Sexy and fast paced, this interesting story was a fun, quick read. I’m eager to learn more about Hal’s team
July 10, 2021
Short read but with a lot of information and fun. I look forward to more from this series.
June 9, 2024
amazing story!
I have read this story before and I really enjoyed reading it again. This authors stories are AMAZING. These stories are just toooo short.
I have read this story before and I really enjoyed reading it again. This authors stories are AMAZING. These stories are just toooo short.
October 3, 2024
This is a steamy hot read! Hal isn't messing around. He knows what he wants and boy does he go after her. His circumstances send them into danger though. Loved the dolphins and the ending too.
June 23, 2025
It’s a light very sexy and Sweet read, things happen fast and it’s all new and interesting. Great read.
October 5, 2025
Un bel primo romanzo, mi sono affezionata molto a Hal e Casey e mi piacerebbe molto rivederli anche nei prossimi volume.
Questa serie promette molto bene, promosso.
Questa serie promette molto bene, promosso.
June 14, 2017
I have been a fan of Bianca D'Arc for a long time. She is very good at character development and story building. This is a short story that is the beginning of a new series for her. Childhood friends have finally grown up and gotten to the point in their lives that they're ready to admit how they feel about each other. Casey has been secretly in love with her brother's best friend since she was a teenager, but he joined the military and is never around. Plus, he's never looked at her as anything but a pseudo-little sister. Now, Hal is back in town and he's decided to change the nature of their relationship.
Hal is back from a mission gone crazy and after having to confront some crazy things while on tour he's not willing to pretend he's not crazy about Casey anymore. But can Casey deal with the consequences of his last mission? The results of which have changed him and his team forever.
I really loved the concept of this series. What could be mythological gods make an appearance in the modern world and decide to mess with Hal's team. I love mythology so this was super intriguing to me. Plus, Casey and Hal's long time friendship makes the step into a romantic relationship fun and believable. I was sad at how short this novel was and am looking forward to more of this series!
Hal is back from a mission gone crazy and after having to confront some crazy things while on tour he's not willing to pretend he's not crazy about Casey anymore. But can Casey deal with the consequences of his last mission? The results of which have changed him and his team forever.
I really loved the concept of this series. What could be mythological gods make an appearance in the modern world and decide to mess with Hal's team. I love mythology so this was super intriguing to me. Plus, Casey and Hal's long time friendship makes the step into a romantic relationship fun and believable. I was sad at how short this novel was and am looking forward to more of this series!
June 26, 2020
Warrior’s Heart
Interesting premise with interesting characters. The storyline intrigues me. I’m eager to read the next in the series.
I’m not so enthusiastic about the erotica. I really like the author’s storytelling but have gotten really tired of having to skip over pages and pages of erotica to get to the next good part of the story.
Interesting premise with interesting characters. The storyline intrigues me. I’m eager to read the next in the series.
I’m not so enthusiastic about the erotica. I really like the author’s storytelling but have gotten really tired of having to skip over pages and pages of erotica to get to the next good part of the story.
Read
March 23, 2011I've read one of D'arc's more mainstream PNR romances before, so when I saw both 'friends taking it to the next level' and special ops guys who get paranormal powers, I was excited to give Warrior's Heart a try.
I loved the first chapters when the hero initiates a romance with the woman he's loved for years and who has secretly loved him in return, but once they start hooking up the 'story to sex balance' in this short story is heavily on the sex side. Don't get me wrong, I do like some steam to my story but I have some language issues and D'Arc pretty much hit all of my unfavorite words and I just didn't enjoy the hero talking crudely to the heroine. The surrounding story of the hero's fellow special ops team mates, and their new powers was promising but there just wasn't enough of it for me. I am such a series nut, that even not having been thrilled with this story, I really wish that I could find out about some of the others on the hero's team - especially 'Jeeves'.
I am not giving this one a star rating, because since this drove home for me that I just am not an erotic romance fan, I don't want to skew the ratings - since I am not the target audience for this story.
I loved the first chapters when the hero initiates a romance with the woman he's loved for years and who has secretly loved him in return, but once they start hooking up the 'story to sex balance' in this short story is heavily on the sex side. Don't get me wrong, I do like some steam to my story but I have some language issues and D'Arc pretty much hit all of my unfavorite words and I just didn't enjoy the hero talking crudely to the heroine. The surrounding story of the hero's fellow special ops team mates, and their new powers was promising but there just wasn't enough of it for me. I am such a series nut, that even not having been thrilled with this story, I really wish that I could find out about some of the others on the hero's team - especially 'Jeeves'.
I am not giving this one a star rating, because since this drove home for me that I just am not an erotic romance fan, I don't want to skew the ratings - since I am not the target audience for this story.
November 23, 2009
Elite special forces unit somehow ends up in the Tower of Babel and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, in the middle of the present day conflict. There they meet a mysterious man who bestows special powers on each of them.
The first H in this series is Hal, Captain of the unit, who has been in love with his best friends's sister Cassie, for years. Following the raid they are sent back to the US and Hal finally makes a move on Cassie, who has been dreaming of him for years too.
Of course, rumours have begun flying around the middle east and various foreign govts want these men back.
An interesting premise for a series. So we've now had the info dump and hopefully the rest of the series is more character/action focused.
The first H in this series is Hal, Captain of the unit, who has been in love with his best friends's sister Cassie, for years. Following the raid they are sent back to the US and Hal finally makes a move on Cassie, who has been dreaming of him for years too.
Of course, rumours have begun flying around the middle east and various foreign govts want these men back.
An interesting premise for a series. So we've now had the info dump and hopefully the rest of the series is more character/action focused.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews