Dagger-Star (Epic of Palins #1)

After captivating readers with her Chronicles of the Warlands trilogy, Elizabeth Vaughan now returns to that world with a beguiling tale of daggers and destiny. . .

She is a mercenary trained in the ways of war and the blade--nothing more. A woman known only as Red Gloves has come to the land of Palins in search of work. What she finds, however, is the torched fields and razed farms of a land defiled.

If you see her without the gloves, run... This is all Josiah knows about the mysterious woman--until he catches a glimpse of the dagger-star birthmark, a sign that she is destined to free his people from a ruthless usurper's reign of terror.

But she is more dangerous when following her heart... Red doesn't belind in gods. Nevertheless, she finds herself drawn into the rebellion--not by the prophecy or the chance to win the throne, but by the pain of untold loss in Josiah's eyes... Rated '3/5 - Open door' for steam/spice/heat level.