Kait
As a fantasy story, I think this sorely underdelivered. There are two countries, about which we get no background or cultural information at all. For a lot of the book, that's all we know. We don't even get any background information about our MCs. What was Damen's relationship with his brother like before? Was their mother ever around? Did he have any supporters in Akielos?
We do get a lot of information about the Veretian Court, and that's all. We are told what the slaves wear, how they should act, and their expectations. How did Vere come to this cultural norm? We don't know. We do learn about naked wrestling where the loser is forcibly penetrated, so… that's something.
This book was short, and I'm well aware that this whole setting and idea is window dressing for non-con and bondage. It could've been expanded into something more with just a little more effort. I'm going to use Kushiel's Dart as an example, even though I really didn't like that book either. But it was kind of the same idea but a little more powerful and thematic and without the pervasive humiliation kink.
I found Laurent to be uninteresting. He's hyped up as this bad dude, but he doesn't really do anything the whole time. Yeah he gets Damen flogged but he immediately gets his comeuppance for that. This dilemma that the book informs us about where Laurent needs to treat Damen well to ensure the continuation of the peace treaty is dumb. Why would one country give another country a slave only to expect them not to be treated like property?
I got sick of Damen because he acted really stupid. Did he do any schooling or foreign training as the future King? He's acting like he knows nothing about politics, foreign policy, or common sense throughout the book. I also didn't get a good sense of his personality aside from “violent”. I guess that's to be expected at a certain point when you're in his situation, but it came across as bad writing rather than intentional.
I did think some of the sex scenes were hot. The non-con BJ scene was pretty good. A lot of it was there for shock value, and I really don't get why the choice was made for Nicaise to be so young. This didn't really do it for me as a romance though. It's pretty explicitly not romantic. There's some sexual chemistry there between Laurent and Damen I guess but not enough to make up for the stuff I didn't like.
I'm definitely going to pass on continuing. These hyper-sexual books don't really do it for me, and this one doesn't have enough plot, theming, or technical writing skill to get me to keep going. I know that these books started as a webseries, and that at the time it was written it was different and groundbreaking. I have respect for CS Pascat and what they've made, I just don't think the story suits me, personally.
As a fantasy story, I think this sorely underdelivered. There are two countries, about which we get no background or cultural information at all. For a lot of the book, that's all we know. We don't even get any background information about our MCs. What was Damen's relationship with his brother like before? Was their mother ever around? Did he have any supporters in Akielos?
We do get a lot of information about the Veretian Court, and that's all. We are told what the slaves wear, how they should act, and their expectations. How did Vere come to this cultural norm? We don't know. We do learn about naked wrestling where the loser is forcibly penetrated, so… that's something.
This book was short, and I'm well aware that this whole setting and idea is window dressing for non-con and bondage. It could've been expanded into something more with just a little more effort. I'm going to use Kushiel's Dart as an example, even though I really didn't like that book either. But it was kind of the same idea but a little more powerful and thematic and without the pervasive humiliation kink.
I found Laurent to be uninteresting. He's hyped up as this bad dude, but he doesn't really do anything the whole time. Yeah he gets Damen flogged but he immediately gets his comeuppance for that. This dilemma that the book informs us about where Laurent needs to treat Damen well to ensure the continuation of the peace treaty is dumb. Why would one country give another country a slave only to expect them not to be treated like property?
I got sick of Damen because he acted really stupid. Did he do any schooling or foreign training as the future King? He's acting like he knows nothing about politics, foreign policy, or common sense throughout the book. I also didn't get a good sense of his personality aside from “violent”. I guess that's to be expected at a certain point when you're in his situation, but it came across as bad writing rather than intentional.
I did think some of the sex scenes were hot. The non-con BJ scene was pretty good. A lot of it was there for shock value, and I really don't get why the choice was made for Nicaise to be so young. This didn't really do it for me as a romance though. It's pretty explicitly not romantic. There's some sexual chemistry there between Laurent and Damen I guess but not enough to make up for the stuff I didn't like.
I'm definitely going to pass on continuing. These hyper-sexual books don't really do it for me, and this one doesn't have enough plot, theming, or technical writing skill to get me to keep going. I know that these books started as a webseries, and that at the time it was written it was different and groundbreaking. I have respect for CS Pascat and what they've made, I just don't think the story suits me, personally.