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A review by cassberrie
Silk & Steel by Ariana Nash
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
And here we have my second foray into adult fantasy mlm, and boy, is it gritty. So gritty that at one point I actually clenched my own teeth shut with dread at one point.
TW: graphic violence, sexual violence, incest, non-con, substance abuse
Silk & Steel follows Eroan, an elven assassin sent to kill the queen of dragons, and Lysander, the dragon prince who thwarted Eroan's plans. Eroan is set to become a slave in the queen's harem, and Lysander maybe wants to murder his horribly abusive queen mother.
On one hand, I enjoyed the fact that both characters were so deeply flawed and broken, which kept the story interesting as they fumbled their way through life. On the other hand, I internally cringed as they just made bad choices all over the place. I understand that hypersexuality is definitely a possible byproduct of sexual trauma, as a way of wrestling control back in your own mind, but I cringed real hard wheneverEroan got frisky with someone else (who was clearly in love with him) and kept thinking of a certain dragon. Nevertheless, the fascinating push and pull of the Eroan/Lysander dynamic is really interesting and the tension of their scenes is palpable. Honestly, the cliffhanger ending is just BRUTAL.
The worldbuilding is cool, and I appreciate the side characters, especially Seraph. The general pacing of the story confused me as it moved from place to place almost haphazardly. And... I could've done without those incestuous undertones.Sure, it's framed as a bad thing, especially when it's the evil queen touching her son, but when said son starts thinking about screwing his own mom? Yikes. Wish that hadn't been there.
Anyways, both Eroan and Lysander just need a mug of hot chocolate and a warm blanket. Poor messy babies.
TW: graphic violence, sexual violence, incest, non-con, substance abuse
Silk & Steel follows Eroan, an elven assassin sent to kill the queen of dragons, and Lysander, the dragon prince who thwarted Eroan's plans. Eroan is set to become a slave in the queen's harem, and Lysander maybe wants to murder his horribly abusive queen mother.
On one hand, I enjoyed the fact that both characters were so deeply flawed and broken, which kept the story interesting as they fumbled their way through life. On the other hand, I internally cringed as they just made bad choices all over the place. I understand that hypersexuality is definitely a possible byproduct of sexual trauma, as a way of wrestling control back in your own mind, but I cringed real hard whenever
The worldbuilding is cool, and I appreciate the side characters, especially Seraph. The general pacing of the story confused me as it moved from place to place almost haphazardly. And... I could've done without those incestuous undertones.
Anyways, both Eroan and Lysander just need a mug of hot chocolate and a warm blanket. Poor messy babies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, and Incest