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Warders #3
Heart in Hand
Simon Kim is very much in love with Leith Haas, but Leith is a Warder. His job-hunting demons-is dangerous and important, and Simon doesn't want to distract the man he loves more than life with the small stuff. But he doesn't quite get that when a Warder takes a Hearth, the Warder gives his heart without reservation. When Leith claimed Simon, Leith bared his soul, leaving himself vulnerable before the only man he's certain he'll ever love.
When Simon is sucked further into Leith's perilous world-and into an alternate dimension-Simon realizes that the only strength he can give his Warder is the strength of his love. Can Simon sacrifice the control he has come to treasure for the man who already owns his soul?
When Simon is sucked further into Leith's perilous world-and into an alternate dimension-Simon realizes that the only strength he can give his Warder is the strength of his love. Can Simon sacrifice the control he has come to treasure for the man who already owns his soul?
106 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2011
80 people are currently reading
480 people want to read
About the author
Mary Calmes
122books4,953followersMary Calmes believes in romance, happily ever afters, and the faith it takes for her characters to get there. She bleeds coffee, thinks chocolate should be its own food group, and currently lives in Kentucky with a six-pound furry ninja that protects her from baby birds, spiders and the neighbor’s dogs. To stay up to date on her ponderings and pandemonium (as well as the adventures of the ninja) follow her on Twitter @MaryCalmes, connect with her on Facebook, and subscribe to her Mary’s Mob newsletter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
July 25, 2020
3.5 Stars
I will say this�
Calmes has an impressive imagination when it comes to her paranormal stories, and this was no slouch as it features demon dimensions and the horrible repercussions it can wreak on us fragile human beings.
Calmes also doesn't skimp on the love and feels no matter how absolutely unrealistic the connection and rapid fire culmination are for her two lovebirds.
All I know is that the woman can write this sort of thing like nobody’s business, and when it works as it does in this case, it’s very hard to find much fault in her alternate universe of monster killers and the men who love to love them!
I will say this�
Calmes has an impressive imagination when it comes to her paranormal stories, and this was no slouch as it features demon dimensions and the horrible repercussions it can wreak on us fragile human beings.
Calmes also doesn't skimp on the love and feels no matter how absolutely unrealistic the connection and rapid fire culmination are for her two lovebirds.
All I know is that the woman can write this sort of thing like nobody’s business, and when it works as it does in this case, it’s very hard to find much fault in her alternate universe of monster killers and the men who love to love them!
July 2, 2018
3.5 Stars
This one started off ridiculously OTT, but once the action started and all the hell dimension stuff began, I found myself unable to put the book down.
Surprisingly, too, I found myself enjoying the established couple element. Although I generally don’t like reading about couples that have fallen in love off page, it didn’t bother me so much here. I felt I knew enough about Leith and Simon, through the very brief flashback scenes portrayed at the beginning of the story, in order to fully embrace their romance as a Warder and his already beloved hearth.
I also loved the fact that after all was said and done it was the human MC that proved to be the most kick ass and brave of the bunch. Take that, demon spawn!!
This series is proving to be a lot of urban fantasy fun and I’m looking forward to reading on!
This one started off ridiculously OTT, but once the action started and all the hell dimension stuff began, I found myself unable to put the book down.
Surprisingly, too, I found myself enjoying the established couple element. Although I generally don’t like reading about couples that have fallen in love off page, it didn’t bother me so much here. I felt I knew enough about Leith and Simon, through the very brief flashback scenes portrayed at the beginning of the story, in order to fully embrace their romance as a Warder and his already beloved hearth.
I also loved the fact that after all was said and done it was the human MC that proved to be the most kick ass and brave of the bunch. Take that, demon spawn!!
This series is proving to be a lot of urban fantasy fun and I’m looking forward to reading on!
February 23, 2023
Nice, a twist! Here we've already got a couple, very new, and the meet is done as a memory.
This was way more scary then what we've gotten from the previous books, it is Hell of some sort after all.
Beauty and the Beast, Mary style.
Re-Read 2023
Nice new cover!
Doing a quick re-read of the series in anticipation of coming out on the 28th!
**
Mary, Mary, Mary oh how I love you.
This was cool. It had all the things I love about Mary's books but it took place in some sort of Hell and that was so freaking awesome! There were creatures and demons and weird dimensions and just pure Hellish nastiness and I loved it.
I don't know why I took a break when I started this series the first time. I don't think that is going to happen this time. I already started the next one.
This was way more scary then what we've gotten from the previous books, it is Hell of some sort after all.
Beauty and the Beast, Mary style.
Re-Read 2023
Nice new cover!
Doing a quick re-read of the series in anticipation of coming out on the 28th!
**
Mary, Mary, Mary oh how I love you.
This was cool. It had all the things I love about Mary's books but it took place in some sort of Hell and that was so freaking awesome! There were creatures and demons and weird dimensions and just pure Hellish nastiness and I loved it.
I don't know why I took a break when I started this series the first time. I don't think that is going to happen this time. I already started the next one.
January 20, 2025
I have to be honest and say this wasn’t my favourite read.
For a start Simon and Leith are an established couple when the book opens. The flashbacks did help to fill in some of the gaps. And I do appreciate the irony trust me. I complained after reading the previous book that it was too similar to the first. So in this book when Mary shakes it up a little by having them together to start with. I’m also complaining.
It was a short entertaining read and I liked that Simon is such a good character.
August 26, 2012
Not my cup of tea.
1) I like my m/m romance to be about boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy wins boy. This story is about an established couple about whom there is never any doubt.
2)The storyverse of the Warders is pushed to its absolute limit, with . It's like an episode of a bad TV show.
3) What was the point of the opening scene with the batshit crazy ex-boyfriend wanting Simon back?
4) Too much telling not showing. Weeks pass in a sentence.
Totally disappointing.
1) I like my m/m romance to be about boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy wins boy. This story is about an established couple about whom there is never any doubt.
2)The storyverse of the Warders is pushed to its absolute limit, with . It's like an episode of a bad TV show.
3) What was the point of the opening scene with the batshit crazy ex-boyfriend wanting Simon back?
4) Too much telling not showing. Weeks pass in a sentence.
Totally disappointing.
July 28, 2021
I don’t know why I do this to myself 😫 but this is the worst one.
It makes 0 sense.
May 19, 2011
Oh, this couple was SO hot! I loved Leith and Simon Kim-- they were the perfect example of a couple that could be ANYTHING together and that suffered when separated--even by doubt. I loved the urban fantasy component, the world building, and Simon Kim's one gift, and I ADORED the big-hearted, vulnerable warrior that Kim saw in Leith. This series really does get better and better--it is fun, sexy, and exciting, and I can't wait for the next one!
May 6, 2020
Out of three books in this series I liked this one more than others. I liked both Leith and Simon, their dynamics and how they changed due to the debacle they were in. Even when Leith's sort of deep nature was revealed, Simon never wavered in his love and devotion because he saw into the heart of the man and not the outward appearance. The story was definitely steamier and more fast paced, and I loved that kyrie Raphael was there again. I can't wait to read his story. This was attention grabbing story for sure.
December 15, 2014
This is one of my favorite installments of the Warders but I wasn't a fan of the narrator for this installment. It wasn't how I pictured their voices.
Next up Sinnerman, I adore Jackson adore him!
Next up Sinnerman, I adore Jackson adore him!
January 21, 2024
This is the story in which the author finally abandoned the italicized memories thing. So much better. There's still explaining feelings and this could've used a more thorough line-edit. But I enjoyed this one. It's weirder. LOL
October 30, 2020
3.75 Stars - Audio
My favourite of the series so far.
It's nice to see a kind of established couple even if they are they are only 6 months old and still really getting to know each others kirks. The events of this book cemented their bond and was at the same time entertaining.
The narrator is still not a favorite, but it is not annoying me as much in these later books
My favourite of the series so far.
It's nice to see a kind of established couple even if they are they are only 6 months old and still really getting to know each others kirks. The events of this book cemented their bond and was at the same time entertaining.
The narrator is still not a favorite, but it is not annoying me as much in these later books
March 6, 2016
REVIEWED FOR PRISM BOOK ALLIANCE
Story 4 Stars
Narration 3 Stars
Each new book in this series builds on the world and the relationships of the previous books. Although each story is about a different couple, a warder and his hearth, it’s also about their self-made family and group as a whole.
Simon and Leith’s story has a much darker feel to it with more paranormal and fantasy elements. Both men know in theory what they are and mean to each other but neither of them are truly settled within their relationship.
When a work trip takes Simon away from home their bond as a couple is well and truly tested when they are both propelled into a different dimension. Leith is not easily recognisable in a different form and Simon has to trust his heart and instincts to save both himself and his partner.
I think this was the first book in the series where the couples flaws were a danger to their relationship and it brought home the fact that even when two people are meant to be together, are in fact soul mates that they still have to put the effort in to make it work. Warders may be powerful beings but they can still make mistakes and have insecurities.
Narration Review:
Andrew Shwartz � what can I say that I haven’t already said in my reviews for the previous book in the series � really not a lot. 3 Stars is probably quite a generous rating but I still can’t fault him for his enthusiasm as he races towards the final sentence!
Story 4 Stars
Narration 3 Stars
Each new book in this series builds on the world and the relationships of the previous books. Although each story is about a different couple, a warder and his hearth, it’s also about their self-made family and group as a whole.
Simon and Leith’s story has a much darker feel to it with more paranormal and fantasy elements. Both men know in theory what they are and mean to each other but neither of them are truly settled within their relationship.
When a work trip takes Simon away from home their bond as a couple is well and truly tested when they are both propelled into a different dimension. Leith is not easily recognisable in a different form and Simon has to trust his heart and instincts to save both himself and his partner.
I think this was the first book in the series where the couples flaws were a danger to their relationship and it brought home the fact that even when two people are meant to be together, are in fact soul mates that they still have to put the effort in to make it work. Warders may be powerful beings but they can still make mistakes and have insecurities.
Narration Review:
Andrew Shwartz � what can I say that I haven’t already said in my reviews for the previous book in the series � really not a lot. 3 Stars is probably quite a generous rating but I still can’t fault him for his enthusiasm as he races towards the final sentence!
December 18, 2016
We come in to the story with Simon and Leith as an established couple, which is a huge departure from the meet and insta-love of the first two stories. Also different, instead of the single POV being from the Warder, this time it's Simon who narrates the story.
May 31, 2011
It would have been a three but in quite a few places I had to reread dialogue to figure out who was talking or what in the heck was going on.
May 8, 2017
re-read
June 11, 2017
Re-read 6/10/17: Not my favorite of the series but like the characters.
May 15, 2017
This was definitely different from the previous two books. It was still enjoyable but in a different way.
January 14, 2012
This third story in the ‘Warder universe� started a little differently, since the two lovers were already together and the human partner tells us about how they met in a flashback. It was interesting to see all the tension come from a different source, but the story worked just as well. In fact, in many ways I thought it was more fascinating this way. It is fairly rare to see a romance story between existing partners, and I must say that I really liked it, especially since this is really well plotted and written.
Simon is the hearth of this story, and he definitely has a mind of his own. He loves Leith, his warden, and craves him � but mainly physically. When this story really takes off and the threat manifests, this love is severely tested. Interestingly, the physical side ends up sustaining him so that he can get around to working on the emotional and mental side of his relationship. Interestingly, it is up to him to save the day, and I totally loved this slight role reversal.
Not that Leith doesn’t have a role to play, but he is much more of a backup, a safety net if you want, than the two previous warders were. It’s very lucky he is there, and things would have ended badly without him, but it was great to see him share the power with Simon, support his lover through his presence as well as his special abilities. I thought that was very fitting, since Leith, as a warder is much more of a cerebral guy and more into sharing than the other two warders we have met in the first two books.
If you like hot men being tested, if a seemingly hopeless fight of good against evil is what you’re looking for and if you think you can stand the tension of almost non-stop action and surprises once the story really kicks off, you may like this book as much as I did. It definitely makes me look forward to the next volume!
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on .
Simon is the hearth of this story, and he definitely has a mind of his own. He loves Leith, his warden, and craves him � but mainly physically. When this story really takes off and the threat manifests, this love is severely tested. Interestingly, the physical side ends up sustaining him so that he can get around to working on the emotional and mental side of his relationship. Interestingly, it is up to him to save the day, and I totally loved this slight role reversal.
Not that Leith doesn’t have a role to play, but he is much more of a backup, a safety net if you want, than the two previous warders were. It’s very lucky he is there, and things would have ended badly without him, but it was great to see him share the power with Simon, support his lover through his presence as well as his special abilities. I thought that was very fitting, since Leith, as a warder is much more of a cerebral guy and more into sharing than the other two warders we have met in the first two books.
If you like hot men being tested, if a seemingly hopeless fight of good against evil is what you’re looking for and if you think you can stand the tension of almost non-stop action and surprises once the story really kicks off, you may like this book as much as I did. It definitely makes me look forward to the next volume!
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on .
September 3, 2012
Love conqueres all. Leith caught my attention in Tooth & Nail, the second installment of the Warder series, and I was thrilled to read more of his story in Heart in Hand. For a big, tough guy, he's very vulnerable, especially where his hearth, Simon, is concerned.
You'd think that a human bonded to a demon hunter would be the weaker of the pair, but Simon is anything but. He's the heart of a singular entity, formed by the joining of two separate men. Alone they fumble, together they're unstoppable.
While the main characters were very well drawn, Ms. Calmes painstakeningly created vivid secondary chararacters as well. None were invincible, but they all pulled together for the greater good. Jess showed the strength of a mother, single-minded to return to her children.
Raphael the kyrie is wonderfully intriguiing, and I'm thrilled to see that his story is told in Sinnerman (Warder#4).
In the battle of good versus evil, love truly does conquer all.
You'd think that a human bonded to a demon hunter would be the weaker of the pair, but Simon is anything but. He's the heart of a singular entity, formed by the joining of two separate men. Alone they fumble, together they're unstoppable.
While the main characters were very well drawn, Ms. Calmes painstakeningly created vivid secondary chararacters as well. None were invincible, but they all pulled together for the greater good. Jess showed the strength of a mother, single-minded to return to her children.
Raphael the kyrie is wonderfully intriguiing, and I'm thrilled to see that his story is told in Sinnerman (Warder#4).
In the battle of good versus evil, love truly does conquer all.
October 2, 2011
Mary Calmes will always be one of my favorite writers. That being said, I have mixed feelings about this one. It has an interesting plot (they're in hell; how cool is that?!), but there wasn't very much romance or any romantic progression. I feel like seeing Leith the way he was in hell should have deepened, changed, something, their relationship. And it did-- but the author tells and doesn't show. It's more like Simon suddenly realizes without any build up or the reader understanding how he got there. I wish that we had seen that-- it would have been more satisfying as a romance novel and more satisfying as a whole; rather than a "to hell and back again" type of story, it would have been a "to hell and back again, with depth" type of story. And that would have been awesome. Unfortunately, that's not really what I got out of it.
June 17, 2015
Each book in this series builds on those before it. I didn't think they would get better, but delightfully, they have. Characters I can fall in love with, plots as intriguing on the fifth reading as they were on the first, and well honed word-crafting...Heart in Hand is another triumph for this series and the author. I originally read this story back when it first came out, but somehow neglected to write a review. Mary Calmes has a deft touch with depicting the finer nuances of emotion...I wouldn't say her writing is flawless, no...instead it is perfectly imperfect. The flaws placed just so, leaving the entirety of the story accessible to the least of us. It's done brilliantly here. It's why I adore her writing so.
October 26, 2013
I enjoyed this installment of the Warder series. It was a very different storyline from the usual and even different from the first two in the series. Entering the demon world was quirky. Mary Calmes certainly has quite the imagination. Simon was a strong hearth and so is one of my favorite hearths and Leith, in both his forms - both in this world and in the demon world - was really pretty amazing.
I can't wait to get to so that I can see if Raphael finally gets his man.
I can't wait to get to so that I can see if Raphael finally gets his man.
December 16, 2017
2.5 stars. Leith is supposed to be bad ass but he's a wimp. We are told he's scarry but except for the Shining portion of the book he's a huge lap dog. And the drama with Simons ex, pulling a gun on him and saying 'I want to marry a girl but expect you to break up with you BF and be my piece on the side'. What the heck was that nonsense? And not to nitpick but I gate the descriptor 'dirty blonde' hair. This book was not great....
May 8, 2014
So this was kinda the same as the last book, enjoyment wise. I liked it a lot, but it just didn't have the same impact as the first book did. Saying that, I really liked Simon and Leith and I can't wait to read more of this series.
November 15, 2020
Nice re-read.
Original review...
Nice continuation of the Warder series. I like both of the protags and the other-dimension plot was interesting.
Original review...
Nice continuation of the Warder series. I like both of the protags and the other-dimension plot was interesting.
August 19, 2014
3.5 stars
I liked it, a lot, but not enough to bump to 4 stars.
I liked it, a lot, but not enough to bump to 4 stars.
August 1, 2023
RR August 2023
August 20, 2014
usually I don't like established couple stories. but this just worked. with the plot it shouldnt....but it so does. even at its most ridiculous .... I was enthralled.
May 1, 2018
Excellent story told from the hearths point of view. My favorite in this series so far.
Second read 4/302018
Still my favorite.
Second read 4/302018
Still my favorite.
April 23, 2017
Love conquers all including a hell dimension!
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