palvi00's review
4.0
A very interesting story with an MC who's curious and bound to his duty. I loved how there wasn't that much of a forced situation here, of course, Kael wasn't going willingly to be a consort, but he did it for his country. It was surprising to see how Taren acted towards his consort and I really liked the end.
There's BDSM and a Master/Slave situation that was handled very well, in my opinion.
There's BDSM and a Master/Slave situation that was handled very well, in my opinion.
michaeljpdx's review
4.0
A rather oddly sweet master/slave story about a prince given as 'war reparations' to an opposing general, who he is to serve as a sex slave. The bondage/discipline is very light. Like I said, this is more sweetness/seduction than dominance/submission. It kind of went off the rails for me at the very end. I won't spoil it by saying why, but for me it was sudden change of direction that I thought was way out of character for the protagonist.
shazov's review
4.0
This is one of those books that I struggle to rate and review. Why? Because on the one hand, I loved it. I loved the world-building. I loved the hot and sexy characters. And I loved the smexing that was just....wow.
The way Taren's dual nature was described was well done. And I loved the fact that Kael, forced to become a concubine, give himself over to his master and become submissive, still retains his spirit and his "self".
What made it a struggle was they way everything seemed to be so easy, so effortless, nearly. Not that I need a bucketful of angst, no please not! But a little more conflict, a little more effort might have captured my interest a little more. I found it hard at times to stay connected to the story and that does diminish the pleasure I get from reading a book.
The way Taren's dual nature was described was well done. And I loved the fact that Kael, forced to become a concubine, give himself over to his master and become submissive, still retains his spirit and his "self".
What made it a struggle was they way everything seemed to be so easy, so effortless, nearly. Not that I need a bucketful of angst, no please not! But a little more conflict, a little more effort might have captured my interest a little more. I found it hard at times to stay connected to the story and that does diminish the pleasure I get from reading a book.
jessreads137's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
zuzana990's review
I liked how Kael came to accept his nature and relationship despite the values the society he grew up in taught him.
a_bookish_adventure's review
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
xiaxia's review
2.0
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the biggest pretentious bitch of them all? Apparently I am. This book has opened my eyes to a new facet of my being.
I started this book because all my favorite goodreads reviewers had rated it with a 5*. Yeah…. Five stars… sighs. I almost dropped the book at page 3, 20, 50 and 99 and took me two full days to read the rest 50 pages.
What was this book about: two nations are at war. One wins, one loses the war. A young prince from the loser side, who is also a warrior, a captain of a fighting company is sacrificed as a blood offering to a warlord on the winner’s side to be his concubine a.k.a sex slave. Hot, am I right?
It was hot, it had plenty smexy smutty scenes (enough to keep me interested anyway), sprinkled with a touch of BDSM here and there. I liked Kael, the prince, and I liked Tarren the warlord. It was a nice change to see a Master trying to win his slave’s submission with kindness.
I liked the lore that introduced the demon worlds and half demon people.
But alas…. the writing... Man, the writing.
The first three pages had so much infodump that I got bored to death. I got so many clichés, especially during Kael’s stream of consciousness that I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes. The plot was so ridiculous at times and so superficial that I wondered if the book had been written over the span of a weekend.
And the cherry on top: the orgy.
There was an orgy - I love orgies - but in this one the mother of the King participated, and the apples of her eyes, her two boys (the king and our own warlord) participated as well. Each played with their own slaves, thank God, and they didn’t mix together, but it felt so weird to read about the mother, naked, being pleasured by a female slave in the close vicinity of the sons. Yeah, I get it, free spirits and all that jazz, but...
I really, really wanted to give this book five stars. But I can’t give more than 1.5.
I started this book because all my favorite goodreads reviewers had rated it with a 5*. Yeah…. Five stars… sighs. I almost dropped the book at page 3, 20, 50 and 99 and took me two full days to read the rest 50 pages.
What was this book about: two nations are at war. One wins, one loses the war. A young prince from the loser side, who is also a warrior, a captain of a fighting company is sacrificed as a blood offering to a warlord on the winner’s side to be his concubine a.k.a sex slave. Hot, am I right?
It was hot, it had plenty smexy smutty scenes (enough to keep me interested anyway), sprinkled with a touch of BDSM here and there. I liked Kael, the prince, and I liked Tarren the warlord. It was a nice change to see a Master trying to win his slave’s submission with kindness.
I liked the lore that introduced the demon worlds and half demon people.
But alas…. the writing... Man, the writing.
The first three pages had so much infodump that I got bored to death. I got so many clichés, especially during Kael’s stream of consciousness that I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes. The plot was so ridiculous at times and so superficial that I wondered if the book had been written over the span of a weekend.
And the cherry on top: the orgy.
There was an orgy - I love orgies - but in this one the mother of the King participated, and the apples of her eyes, her two boys (the king and our own warlord) participated as well. Each played with their own slaves, thank God, and they didn’t mix together, but it felt so weird to read about the mother, naked, being pleasured by a female slave in the close vicinity of the sons. Yeah, I get it, free spirits and all that jazz, but...
I really, really wanted to give this book five stars. But I can’t give more than 1.5.
hypnoticx's review
4.0
Why did I wait so long to read this book?! It's got everything I love from royalty, master, bdsm and a fascinating plot running alongside it. I enjoyed Kael from the start he was just great fun, truly feel for him as he is thrown into this situation and has to change his outlook completely. Taron is incredible though and I loved the demon/beast element, mating bonds! That I was not expecting but was a perfect addition to these twos relationship development.
Is it cliche and light hearted with a lot of adoration between master/Concubine of course! It's steamy and dirty and just so enjoyable to read, if your looking for something serious and dark this probably won't be for you but for me it hit that lovely spot in between where its the perfect amount.
Oh and I liked how come to realisation at end with Kael, that I didn't think about but was great closure. The ending is lovely and I liked how it reflected their relationship overall, a great HEA for these two.
Is it cliche and light hearted with a lot of adoration between master/Concubine of course! It's steamy and dirty and just so enjoyable to read, if your looking for something serious and dark this probably won't be for you but for me it hit that lovely spot in between where its the perfect amount.
Oh and I liked how come to realisation at end with Kael, that I didn't think about but was great closure. The ending is lovely and I liked how it reflected their relationship overall, a great HEA for these two.