THE WARRIOR POET by Sharon Lynn Fisher – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Warrior Poet by Sharon Lynn Fisher
Series: The Faery Rehistory #3
Published by Blackstone Publishing on October 12 2021
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 288
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Time travel, danger and romance blend together seamlessly in Fisher’s lively finale to her Faery Rehistory series.

I’ve enjoyed the Faery Rehistory series so much! With The Warrior Poet, Sharon Lynn Fisher brings her carefully researched historical fantasy to a close, and she did a bang up job. I would personally recommend reading this series in order, although each book also works pretty well as a standalone. But the author references characters and events from previous books, so it’s nice to have that information under your belt as you’re reading.

The Warrior Poet revolves around Portland native Neve Kelly, an artist who has been having some very weird and very realistic dreams lately. Neve sometimes wakes up from these dreams and realizes that she’s written in her journal or drawn pictures of places and people she’s seen. Things get even stranger when one night, a man in old fashioned attire appears briefly in her apartment. Neve has no idea what’s going on, until one day a portal opens in her ceiling and she’s sucked up into it against her will.

Neve is shocked to find herself in the home of the stranger who visited her, and even more shocked when he tells her she’s in 1888 Connacht, Ireland. The man is Will Yeats—yes, you got it, the famous poet!—and he tells Neve that he’s also been having odd dreams. Neve and Will are connected through time and space, and it appears they’ve been thrown together in order to help defeat an old foe: the Morrigan, who is hatching a plan to take over Ireland.

In a world where magic is real and fairies exist, in a parallel world where history is completely different from the history she knows, Neve must work together with Will in order to save Ireland.

I happen to be a big fan of time travel stories, and I thought those elements were really well done. Neve’s journal is the catalyst for her jumps into another dimension and time, and I loved the way that journal plays a pivotal role in the story, always popping up whenever it’s needed. As with most time travel stories, there is a conundrum about visiting the past and changing the future, and this idea plays out in some interesting ways. I also enjoyed the “alternate history/parallel dimension” element, where in Will’s time, magic is real and a queen rules Ireland. It takes some time for Neve to wrap her head around these ideas, but in the end she embraces this new life she’s stumbled into.

Neve is the most modern of the series’ heroines, and I loved her character. Sharon really nails the juxtaposition between modern and historical, as Neve is forced to adjust her expectations when she time travels to 1888. Her dialog never strays from the style of her own time period, so it was fun to watch Neve and Will communicate, with the expected misunderstandings and embarrassing moments when you realize you may have just said something inappropriate. 

I especially loved the blooming romance between the two, which is subtly done and includes a few sex scenes, but doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the story. In a nice twist, the author has made Will a virgin, so it’s up to Neve to school him in the nuances of sex. I loved the way Sharon handled this interesting element, and she even throws in some awkward moments as Will realizes he may be in over his head! The romance itself has shades of Outlander, and I imagine Sharon took some inspiration from that story, but put her own twist on it.

Using Will Yeats as a main character was so clever, and there are some fun moments in the story, like when Neve realizes one of his most famous poems is about the faery realm. At one point in the story, Will and Neve travel back to modern day Portland on a mission for the queen, and Will is surprised to find out that in Neve’s time, he’s actually famous. I thought these humorous moments added a nice layer to the story.

The pace really picks up in the second half, as Will and Neve try to stop the Morrigan and her army of the dead from taking over Ireland. This isn’t a battle heavy story by any means, but there is a lot of tension, and I was constantly worried for the characters. 

I’ll bet you’re wondering if Will and Neve get their happily ever after, but that would be spoiling things if I told you! Let’s just say that I loved the way Sharon wrapped things up, and not at all the way I expected. I’ve had such a great time reading this series, and I recommend it to readers who love a nice mix of fantasy, history and romance. Now that the series is complete, I can’t wait to see what Sharon Lynn Fisher does next!

Huge thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy.