Warning: This book includes mature content such as: sexual content, and/or drug and/or alcohol use, and/or violence.
The Protector by Elin Peer Narrator: Noelle Bridges, John Masterson
Series: Men of the North #1
Published by Tantor Media on March 6, 2018
Genres: Adult, Dystopian, Romance, Science Fiction
Length: 9 hours, 1 minute
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
400 years in the future, men are few and women rule the world.
Except for the area formerly known as Canada and Alaska, which is inhabited by the Men of the Northlands, a group of strong men, who refuse to be ruled by women.Christina Sanders, an archeologist and professor in history, is fascinated with the past. As a modern woman of year 2437 she knows that women are better off without men, but longing for an adventure, she makes a spontaneous decision and volunteers for a job no one else wants. Now she’s going to lead an archeological excavation in the Northlands, the most secluded place on earth where the mythical males live who are rumored to be as brutal and dangerous as the men Christina has read about in her history books.
What will happen when Christina crosses into the men’s territory? Will they allow her to do her job and is there any way they’ll let her leave again – unharmed?
The synopsis for The Protector essentially reeled me in. I mean, a world ruled by women? You can understand my curiosity, right? And EPeer didn’t disappoint me.
Highlights:
- Premise/Plot
EPeer did an excellent job of creating this futuristic world where women rule, crime is virtually non-existent, men are docile, and peace abounds. She illustrated how the world came to be as it is with an inventive history and present. With the exception of the Northlands, the world lives by a “we” mentality rather than “us versus them.” When Christina goes to the Northlands, both she and Bolder learn a lot about each other’s cultures, their misconceptions and that not everything about the other’s world is bad. - Characters
Christina and Bolder are the main characters and I really enjoyed them both. There was a lot of room for character growth – an element I adore in my reads – seeing as they had to evolve their thinking where it came to each other and their respective cultures and societies. Christina is smart, adventurous, and more open-minded than your average woman of the Motherlands. I think her being an archeologist and being fascinated by history helped her in being more open to new experiences. Bolder – being a Northman, was intelligent, brutally strong, and loyal. I enjoyed the way he teased Christina at first, trying to shock her. But he grew fond of her quickly, being her protector, which made his loyalty “button” engage. And it was entertaining to watch as his feelings for her grew. I also liked that EPeer conveyed Bolder’s vulnerabilities where Christina was concerned.Besides Christina and Bolder, EPeer created a wonderful secondary cast. From Khan, the ruler of the Northlands, to Pearl, a member of the ruling council in the Motherlands, and everyone in between, the secondary characters added depth to the story. And they also gave me more reason to continue the series.
- World Building
I know I mentioned world building in the section under plot, but I wanted to expand upon it a little. The way that the Motherlands and Northlands are ruled, how that all came about, and the perceptions and misconceptions they have about each other play a big role in the story. In fact, I see this playing a pivotal role in the over-arching plot of the series. I’m speculating, of course, since I’ve only completed the first book but this particular element fascinates me! - Romance
This is a romance to be sure. There are many plot threads but the romance was a good one. Witnessing Christina and Bolder get acquainted, seeing their prejudices disintegrate as their misconceptions are rectified made for a slow-burn turned inferno of a romance. One I quite enjoyed. - Narrators
Noelle Bridges and John Masterson did a fine job of narrating this story. They kept the pacing even, conveyed all the emotions of the scenes, and kept the voices distinct.
Overall, I was more than satisfied with my introduction to Elin Peer, The Protector, and the Men of the North. I’ll be continuing the series is audio soon!
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
About Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Brandee is a mom of 3 and a soon-to-be empty nester. She is also an avid reader, a genre omnivore, and a compulsive one-clicker - but she's in recovery. Besides being a reader, she's also a writer and hopes to divide the vast quantities of spare time she'll soon have between reading and finally publishing her first book.
Twitter: Northwomn
Great review! This sounds really fascinating.
Thanks, Anne. It is really interesting. I love the world building and how the ruling bodies of both “worlds” are going to play a role in the over-arching plot. But it’s also a romance. 🙂
at first i thought it was like the Revenant, but the dystopia premise is cool
It is really neat, Ailyn. As I said, it’s definitely a romance but I love the world building and I do think the governing bodies of both “worlds” are going to play pivotal roles in the over-arching plot. 🙂
That is indeed quite neat
I like the sound of this futuristic world! You don’t see that often in romance. The characters sound pretty interesting too. Let me see if I can ask the library to get a copy.
I hope your library can get it for you, Nick. Like I said, this is a romance but it’s very interesting world building as well. 🙂
oh wow this sounds so unique and feminist and wow! I gotta read this one B has my name all over it 🙂
I do like the feminist angle, D, but it’s really interesting to take a look at what works in governing people and what doesn’t. If you pick it up, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 🙂
This sounds awesome, wifey! I need to pick it up ASAP. (Yeah, I know – I have SO many other books to read :p )
Great review 🙂
Haha! I have no idea what you’re talking about, wifey. So many books to read?!? 😉 I have more than enough to listen to myself and yet I still took the time to borrow this one from the library! LOL It was good and I *know* you’d enjoy it. 😉
This looks so awesome! And I can’t help but swoon a bit about the guy on the cover.
Haha! Yeah, I like the cover as well, Ashlea. 😉 The story is really good. 🙂
Twitter: kimbacaffeinate
This sounds great. Ideally I would want a utopian world where everyone is strong and equal. This is my first time hearing of this, and I admit your review has me wanted to grab it!
It really is interesting, Kimberly, and I’ll keep you posted on how things go as the series progresses. 😉
This is an interesting premise, glad to hear the story and characters didn’t let it down! I love when authors do a good job with the perceptions and misconceptions, as you put it, between unfamiliar groups, it adds a lot of realism. And yay for great characters!
I’m really eager to continue with the series, Kristen, so I’ll keep you posted on how things go with these two opposing “worlds”. 🙂
This sounds like fun! I love world building and dystopian. Glad you enjoyed it! Great review.
I’ve not tried either of the narrators. I’ll have to look into them 🙂 Glad you had a good time with it!
I think I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would, Anna. 🙂