Warrior's Woman (Ly-San-Ter Family, 1) Mass Market Paperback – October 26, 2010

This is an exceptional read. I enjoyed when it was first published many years ago as well as today when I read it yet again. It has a male and female battle to find love, a war, a government to free, a computer that is almost alive, and a fantastically written new world to discover. Highly recommend. HEA, no cheating, no cliffhanger. Enjoy!

This is Johanna Lindsey at her best! The writing is witty, the hero is the ultimate archetype of the big, strong man with a hidden soft side and the heroine is the perfect combination of a strong and capable woman who has a brain and knows how to use it. I read this years ago when it first came out and I have to confess that I didn't want my own Challen, I wanted my own Martha! Some secondary characters bog a story down or have their own storylines that distract from the main plot so much that they muddle the book almost to the point where it can't be read. Then there are the secondary characters that don't have enough of a presence and you just want more of their antics with their blending of supporting the main characters and storyline with their personalities and interactions with the main characters. I really like the personalities of Challen and Tedra but I absolutely love Martha!This book came out when Windows was still in its infancy, most Macs were the one piece unit with a 9" monochrome screen and even video game systems had more clunky graphics than a mini Tamogachi and Lindsey created a free thinking computer that had none of the creepy psychosis of HAL from "2001: A Space Oddysey" and all of the capability of the Enterprise's main computer but with an actual personality. Plus, Martha was programmed to provide Tedra the perfect external catalyst to have a presence to vent frustrations and anger towards such that Tedra was able to maintain a healthy, positive psyche. I would have done anything back then (and still would today) to have my own personal therapist, verbal sparring partner, confidant, confederate, cheerleader and Machiavellian guarding angel rolled into a single entity designed to know how to motivate, comfort and manipulate me with no goal or agenda except my health and happiness. Martha has a slightly larger part in the sequel but I would read a book with her as the heroine, especially in a romance story with Challen's Mock II as the hero.The only thing I didn't like about this book or the two sequels is the way women on Sha-Ka'an are treated as chattel except for the heroines of the three books. In the first and third books the opposition to that attitude is because the women are from more technologically "advanced," ergo more "civilized" societies and the second is because of her exposure to such. I'm not hung up on the whole "politically incorrect" argument about gender equality; I'm bothered that it's the warriors who not only decide to "give their life to" a woman without asking her if she wants to have it (the Sha-Ka'an version of marriage) but because the only form of contraception is controlled by a warrior via a special wine that only warriors drink, the woman has no choice or control over her role in reproduction. Even when I first read this book that bothered me, mostly because in Tedra's society reproduction is a totally automated process so pregnancy isn't associated with sex and therefore isn't something she would consider in terms of her body. Even though Tedra is ultimately happy to be pregnant, the fact that it's a pregnancy she doesn't have a choice in, not because she's careless about contraception but because women simply don't give birth where she's from makes that element of the story dicey for me. But there are often elements in Lindsey's books that are very indicative of a period/trend in romance novels that don't necessarily play well as time goes on. Given how long her career has been it would be surprising if none of her writing wasn't dated and isn't a reflection on the quality of her storytelling!

"She was waiting for the man she wouldn't walk all over to come along. She'd been waiting a long time."FINAL DECISION: Over the top and literally out of this world, WARRIOR'S WOMAN was before its time with a woman who is willing to have sex and enjoy it without worrying about love, but ends up falling for the hero anyways. Guilty pleasure read.THE STORY: Tedra De Arr is strong and has not found a man to have sex with because she can beat most of the men of her planet. Part of the security forces, Tedra is forced to flee when a coup puts all the women on the planet at risk. Tedra ends up exploring space and on one of her explorations meets up with Challen Ly-San-Ter, a barbarian warrior who defeats her in a challenge battle. As a result, Tedra must serve Challen in the manner he chooses.OPINION: Over the top, this romance is big and bold and unapologetic. The story only has a gloss of sci-fi, but I love the larger than life storyline. Lindsey is well known for her historical romances but this book begins her short series where she experiments with sci-fi/fantasy romance.I first read this book years ago when it first came out and I remember being struck by how kick-ass the heroine is. Yes, she is looking for a man who can defeat her before she has sex with a man, but she is not an ignorant innocent. What is remarkable is that for a book written in this era, Tedra is perfectly willing to have sex as a physical activity and not require love before she is willing to engage in it. Tedra is perfectly willing to like engaging in sex without feeling guilty about it.Challen is definitely on the alpha male side -- almost caveman like (he does come from a planet of barbarians), but he is definitely sexy and he comes to love Tedra very much and is willing to ultimately respect her as being a warrior like himself.This book is a guilty pleasure and an enjoyable read.WORTH MENTIONING: I loved the comic relief given by Martha the computer.CONNECTED BOOKS: WARRIOR'S WOMAN is the first book in the Ly-San-Ter series.STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

I love this book as it has fighting, love, romance and finding someone that makes you feel whole. These books are some of my go to reads, I think I have read so many times that I finally bought it on kindle as my paperback is falling apart.

I feel like I read this book about 20 years ago. I was such a Lindsey book fan and I will say, after this reread, I still am. Just sucks that her books aren't Kindle Unlimited. I still love the relationship these two characters have and I love watching big bad Challen and big bad Tedra fall. Their love is just fun and funny. Highly recommend even though I will warn, it is not in the current style of 1st person between characters. Still was great regardless.

Love, love, love this series and this author. I have it in paperback, Kindle, and would like it in audible but they don’t have it yet. Try it!