My Thoughts: The Reluctant Amazon (Sandy James)

The last thing Rebecca Massee expects on her wedding day is to go from jilted kindergarten teacher to Amazonian Earth warrior. But when she causes an earthquake after her groom says I don’t, she discovers that not only does she possess incredible powers, she is one of four lost chosen sisters who must fight to keep humanity safe from rogue gods and demons. Luckily she has help: ruggedly handsome Scottish warrior Artair MacKay, her protector and teacher.

An immortal, Artair has trained countless warriors for more than four hundred years. He understands Rebecca’s confusion at the new world she’s been thrust into and worries she is too emotionally vulnerable, but that doesn’t stop his growing feelings for the beautiful and fearless woman.

When an evil force threatens to destroy the Amazons, Rebecca must claim her full powers--but they come at a cost. Can she sacrifice the man she loves if it means saving the world? (Goodreads blurb)


Cover: I really dig the cover of this book. The green and purple are very appealing to the eye with the woods and quiver of arrows in the back, and the kick-ass girl in the front.

My Thoughts:
While the cover may have worked, I unfortunately found a lot wrong with the story of The Reluctant Amazon.

I was interested in this book initially because of the main premise:  Amazons. I've always been fascinated with these strong female warrior characters. The story however did not take me on a deep enough journey.

When I look at the girl on the front cover it does not make me think of the main character Rebecca. When I first started reading, I felt she was real and likeable and I found myself laughing out loud. However, the romance aspect of this book ruined her character for me. She didn't become the strong character I was envisioning. She was stuck on a guy who she just met and was more worried about him then her job as an Amazon.

I felt the romance between Rebecca and Artair really took away from the story. Once again you have this insta-love. It would have been so much better and invoked much more tension if the romance had been a gradual build-up. The passages with the two of them became annoying.  For example, while her home was going down in flames and her sisters had scattered to safety, Rebecca and Artair found time for a sexual romp in the woods.  ugh.

I can definitely say that this story isn't predictable. I was kept guessing the entire time. Which was good.  The mythology that I did get was interesting, but I felt it wasn't taken far enough. I wanted much much more.  I also would have liked less unrealistic romance between Rebecca and Artair and more action, adventure, and story development. While I did like the aspect of the Amazons representing fire, earth, air or water, there was not enough explanation about them and their differences. The characters all needed to be flushed out more.

This book had a lot of potential, but it just didn't come together.  All of that said, I think the author had a solid idea here for a series.

Favorite Quotes:  none

Bottom Line: Overall, The Reluctant Amazon had a skeleton of what could have been an amazing read. However when it came down to the meat of the story I was left unsatisfied. 2.5/5