The Warrior Heir

The Warrior Heir

By Cinda Williams Chima

"Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great - until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.

Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind, part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At their helm sits the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game - a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir.

As if his bizarre heritage isn't enough, Jack finds out that he's not just another member of Weirlind - he's one of the last of the warriors - at a time when both houses are scouting for a player"

Courtesy of Goodreads

Rating: 4 of 5

I enjoyed this book. I have always had a soft spot for books with wizards, warriors, and dragons. This book has all of them though maybe not in the package you expected. The story developed perfectly and created a fantastic underdog story where it didn't seem exactly miraculous that the hero could possibly win. This was something that really caught my attention. Even though Jack went in to the bout less experienced and less trained in battle, he still had a fighting chance. I was really glad they did not make him seem completely hopeless. As you follow Jack through his journey, there are parts of this book that grab you and implore you to keep reading. I honestly loved the cat and mouse relationship between Jack and Ellen through the book, and where it ended up was both shocking and absolutely perfect. Honestly, it had me on the edge of my seat praying she didn't take the upper hand. 

However I found myself skimming parts of this book. I'm not sure if it was wanting to know the ending or if parts dragged on a bit much for me. I felt the romantic relationship between Jack and Ellen could have been spelled out a bit more at the end, but it might be waiting in the next book (which I have yet to read). The big thing for me was I was expecting a real dragon to set about the resolution. The way it was set about was fine, but all the talk of a dragon left me wanting one. Plus, I wanted those wizards to be scared a bit more.