The cover is intriguing, and the contents are interesting. It is easy to get lost in a story of this genre, as the content reels you in and keeps you hooked. I found it amusing, Would I read it again, not sure, but I would suggest it to others who are interested in this genre of novels.

Jocelyn Montana is a new-to-me author, and I'm so glad I was lucky enough to come across this book. This was such a great omegaverse romantasy! I loved the characters, the storyline, the world-building, and the emotions. It was a fairly quick read, but I enjoyed every minute!

This story is based loosely on Greek mythology, and I'll admit I'm not overly familiar with some of the myths, but I was still able to enjoy The Warlord without feeling like I was missing anything. I also really like that the enemies-to-lovers trope really felt like enemies to lovers. The MMC (Loden) is an alpha rebel king who kidnaps the FMC (Kassandra), an omega princess from the enemy side. These two characters really didn't like each other to begin with (for obvious reasons), but their chemistry was great.

Overall, this was an enjoyable story that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys omegaverse stories or wants to dip their toes into omegaverse romance and enjoys reading fantasy!

3.5 stars, I did really enjoy this book overall, I was not really expecting a slow burn and the tension between Lodan and Kassandra was angsty and they both fought it with everything in them. I loved Lodan overall and Kassandra was easy to connect with. . I wasn’t too fond of the side character Cian, MM is not for me and I wasn’t expecting that side plot to play a large part in the story. The writing was easy to follow and I wasn’t too fond immersed in the world. Little bit of found family was also pretty good!
Spice 1.5/5 chili pepper.

4/5

This book? A spicy, trope-filled fever dream—in the best way. The Warlord throws you into an omegaverse world of rebel kings, kidnapped princesses, knotting (yep 🥵), and enemies-to-lovers slow burn that simmers.

Lodan is a gruff Alpha warlord with a plan. Kassandra’s the fierce Omega princess he didn’t count on catching feelings for. Their dynamic? Electric. She falls first (which slaps), and the tension builds beautifully with every stolen glance and stubborn argument.

The plot is character-driven and fast, with a focus on trust, lust, and emotional unraveling. The tropes—forced proximity, forbidden love, found family—all feel organic and well-placed. And the spice? Teasing, drawn out, and totally worth the wait.

My only wish? A deeper dive into Kassandra’s mysterious twist. But for a standalone, it nails the hard-won HEA and leaves you wanting more.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!

I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was exactly the book i needed right now! the love story between Lodan and Kassandra was such a breath of fresh air. The story was fast paced but did not feel rushed. Kassandra was an unwanted princess who was kept hidden and ignorant of how her brother ruled their kingdom. Lodan is a warlord whose entire family was killed by Kassandra's people and is determined to use her for his revenge. Queue close proximity and enemies to lovers goodness! I would highly recommend this book and cannot wait to read more from Jocelyn.

Oh my my my. The swoon worthy banter, an Omegaverse where the FMC wasn't a mouse of a woman. A big giant warrior of a man who also loves to play chess and read poetry. Classic Enemies to Lovers done so well. The banter was top notch. I giggled, I swooned and the plot was amazing!! I love when we get a great fantasy novel with plot and spice. World building was interesting and the twists along they way I did not see coming. Must READ!

Support your indie authors and read this one! I promise its GOOOOOD!!!

Plot: 5 Stars
World Building: 5
Spice: 3
Character Development: 5

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Warlord to read and review!

I really enjoyed this. The Warlord was my first experience with omegaverse. All of the characters are great. Kassandra is a really strong character and Cian was so funny. I would definitely recommend this. And I will definitely be reading more for, Jocelyn Montana.

Thank you to Netgalley, Jocelyn Montana and H. Delaney Publishing for this ARC

I really enjoyed this. The Warlord was my first experience with omegaverse. All of the characters are great. Kassandra is a really strong character and Cian was so funny. I would definitely recommend this.

Thank you to Netgalley, Jocelyn Montana and H. Delaney Publishing for this ARC

The Warlord
An omega verse Romance
By Jocelyn Montana
I demolished this is a couple of days (in w work week!) it’s fast paced in a sense you keep finding new things out about the FMC and the MMC. it’s a classic case of enemies to lovers where they both think each other is wrong at what they are doing the right thing. It has a little omega verse twist in that she’s his prisoner and he wants to use her to make an example of to the ruling royal family proving their rules are wrong. Small twists and turns later and you get a HEA
Highly enjoyable and perfect little read that has got me out my reading slump. Would definitely recommend. I would also say it’s not super spicy for an omega verse but was perfect for the story line.

Wow did this bring the HEAT. This was FUN. I went in a little blind and I'm so glad I did, I could not pick this down!

I am obsessed with this. The tension is great, and the romance is so believable. I was immersed in this world from the beginning, and it gripped me for an entire day. Love. Thanks for the ARC.

I saw Omegaverse & Greek mythology and was sold.

The Sardi keep bloodlines "clean" by not allowing cross breeding between different territories but our MMC Lordan wants to change this and kidnaps the Sardi Princess with plans to impregnate her and break the blood laws. This plan goes a little off course when they realise their attraction to one another and makes way for a perfect amount of yearning and pulling away in attempt to remain enemies.

The storyline is interesting and the MMCs goals are admirable, he may be a big bad Alpha but you can tell he's a big softie, deep deep down. Our FMC is a fierce Omega and painted as a spoilt princess.
The pacing of the relationship development was great, not a slow burn by any means but a steady build up with a pinch of insta-lust.

I liked that you get thrown into the story from the first page, there's not a dump of world building it's more of a gradual revelation as you get further into the story. The backstory was well done and trauma/panic attack rep was respectful.

The only thing stopping this spicy omegaverse story from being a 5 star read was it was slightly repetitive at times and I felt like I was getting a plot recap every now and then that wasn't necessarily needed. Other than this small thing I did really enjoy it and will look out for more works by Jocelyn Montana.

An enemies-to-lovers tale I could not put down! The heat between Lodan and Kassandra was like stepping from a frying pan into a volcano – the sexual tension was off the scales and the plot was so addictive too! I had to know what happened next in the story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this omegaverse book and highly recommend it to all romance readers.

I DEVOURED this book in 24 hours. I have not done this in a long time. Although this is a battle-centered book, you don't seem to have much battle. This is more after the heavy battling and trying to finish the war. This is a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers style omegaverse book. I need to read more from Jocelyn!
Thank you, NetGalley, H. Delaney Publishing, and Jocelyn Montana, for the ARC!

❤️‍🔥👑The Warlord👑❤️‍🔥
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- 5 Star Review!!
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️- 4/5 Spice Level!!

I read The Warlord as an eARC from a new-to-me Author, Jocelyn Montana. I absolutely adore this book!! This is a Romantasy, 100% Enemies-to-lovers trope, MF, with kidnapping, forced proximity, dubious consent & KNOTTING 🥵. Lodan is an Alpha Myrdinian rebel king on a path set to destroy a tyrannical regime. He is really only morally gray when dealing with Kassandra, he is otherwise an upstanding & great leader. Kassandra is the shunned Omega Sardi princess of the enemy. She is a spitfire & fights her circumstances with Lodan every step of the way. Lodan takes Kassandra as a spoil of war and his plan to use her to help destroy lies told by the tyrant backfires. The war aspect of this story is more of a backstory, so actual writing about battles and fighting are sparse.

The story focuses on the main characters, which I love! It was a very enjoyable & rather quick read that would be great for a palate cleanser in between series or if you just need a spicy go-to for a HEA. That’s said not to take away anything from this book. The author did a great job of bringing the emotions out of me! I became completely immersed in the story & stayed awake to finish it! The spicy 🌶️ scenes were sooooo well written and I got butterflies in my tummy several times with anticipation & emotion. The ending is a hard-won & well-deserved HEA.

The Warlord is a standalone set in an omegaverse world of more books. You do not need to read any other of her books before this one. I look forward to reading more works by this author! Thank you Jocelyn Montana and NetGalley for allowing me this eARC! ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

This book is outstanding!! I couldn’t put it down. If I could have stayed up all night to read it, I would have. But, alas, I needed sleep.
There’s so much chemistry and tension between Lodan and Kassandra, you can practically taste it. I love her spirit and defiance in the face of an impossible situation. Lodan is arrogant at first but we get to love him a little later.
I’m super psyched to discover more from this author.
5 stars!!

I’m not usually one for mythology retellings but the omegaverse aspect piqued my interest. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was apprehensive about the war elements of the plot but it wasn’t a huge focus, i felt that there was enough detail to demonstrate the culture and environment of the setting, but without the pages long repetitive descriptions of battles. The enemies to lovers plot wasn’t rushed which I enjoyed and the bonds between the characters felt natural and well paced. Jocelyn Montana did a great job of writing Lodans plan to for Kassandra without it coming across as crude and balances intense power dynamics with slow-burn seduction, making every interaction between Lodan and Kassandra a charged mix of defiance and desire. Their initial prejudices of each other gave way to a slow and twisty love story with some very steamy moments.

I received an advance review copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

3.5⭐️ entertaining enough, but just missed the mark to truly being a favorite read for me.

Going into this I actually wasn’t aware that there was a Greek mythology inspired story line. I loved that about this book since I’ve always enjoyed learning about Greek mythology. Combine that with the AO universe and I was excited to read this.

Loden captures Kassandra and they start out as enemies. They learn more about each other and eventually grow to appreciate and care for each other. The enemies to lovers trope is alive and well and that’s all good and fine but then a betrayal occurs and the groveling hardly happens?!? So disappointed, I feel like that would have been a great opportunity to really show their relationship progressing. Another mark down for me was the occasional sprinkle of modern terminology where it doesn’t belong. Some examples include “oh gee” and “nope”…. I couldn’t get past that and it threw me off while reading.

This was a quick and easy read for me in between some heavier books so I appreciated the palette cleanser.

This book was so much better than I was expecting. Wartime stories are not really my thing but I love greek mythology, so I figured I'd give it a try. There are no chapters-long descriptions of battles or discussion of war strategy; war just happens to be the setting.

This was such a slow burn romance when it came to accepting that the MCs were bondmates, but I loved every second. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so i was thrilled that they actually stayed enemies for more than 2 chapters before giving in. The spicy was spicy, but not so over the top that it distracts from the story.

This is the first book I've read in a while that doesn't rely on female friendships to drive the FMC's development, but I did love Cian. The GBF can sometimes come across as a caricature, but Cian had depth and was an interesting character because of his personality, not because of his sexual orientation. I wasn't a fan of the Kassandra versus Briseis conflict because it felt forced and unnecessary. Once their conflict comes to a head, Briseis is not mentioned again for the rest of the story which was weird.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Jocelyn Montana for the free ARC.

Big thanks to Jocelyn Montana and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for a review.

Kassandra is a Princess, sent away to live in a convent, until Lodan comes for her. He has plans. But she will do everything in her power to prevent that from happening. She is more independent than he expects, and together they create a bond neither expected.

This is your typical enemies to lovers, mate, family secrets. It's well written, throwing you into their camp with ease. It's extra steamy.

5 stars