Exiled for betrayal. Trained for war. Loved against every law. When immortality is the prize, Sienna must fight for more than survival—she must fight for love.
Punished is the fifth book in the Raider Warlords of the Vandar series. While the previous books can be enjoyed individually, this one is best read after Pursued. Some of the last events in Pursued directly introduce Punished.
Overview
Corvak has been exiled to a small planet for his betrayal in Pursued. The locals, a mix of humans and Kimitherians, want to train their men in preparation for a possible invasion by Zagreth. Sienna sneaks in for a training session. Turns out she’s a natural fighter, the best, second only to Corvak.
Sienna has spent her entire life on Kimitheria and is likely to spend the rest of it there as well. The planet-life extends their life to practically immortal, something Zagrath will kill for. When they finally arrive, one gets a lucky shot at Corvak. Believing Corvak is dead, Sienna is devastated.
Positives
I’ll admit, I wasn’t looking forward to Corvak’s story. But I’m pleasantly surprised. Corvak’s redemption arc was pretty good. It was well earned and took time.
In Kimithian society, women aren’t allowed to fight, have sex before marriage, leave their parents till married, or dress in anything less than long sleeves and pants. Sienna refuses to live in those restrictions. Her fire is enough to melt Corvak’s heart.
Negatives
There’s a line in the blurb that mentions an age gap, but there isn’t any mention of it in the book. I’m not upset it’s not in the book, but I hate when descriptions are misleading.
There could have been more descriptions of the Kimithian world. All we get is the political structure and some vague plant life. There is a quick Zagrath history lesson, but it’s very brief.
Recommendations
There are so many places that we could have really dived into the emotions of betrayal, rejection, and grief. But it falls just short. If you have an appetite for alien romance, you will still get some enjoyment from it. Punished is three stars.
Narration Notes
Marcio Catalano and Addison Barnes narrate the audiobook. Both do a great job. They removed the feature where Marcio Catalano layers his voice to sound like a large group of men. So that made me a little sad.
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