A King's Ransom in Queer Fantasy & Science Fiction

Jan 19, 2014 Bookwatcher rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, shifter, glbt-gay, romance, dubcon-noncon, dark, abuse, six-month-challenge

Life is not always one road, but most of the times, it's full of alternatives, secondary roads

The plot
What could be easier than kidnap a whore, take the money and go have (finally) a peaceful live? That's how this story begin. Kaidos Vailinn is a Wanderer, a thief from this infamous clan of nomads. He must decide which path he must take... have the money... or do what is right?
But... that's just one little part of the plot... the only part I can tell you, do don't ruin the amazing experience of ...more

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Feb 19, 2017 Trix rated it did not like it

Shelves: adventure, action, mm-novels, fantasy, sorcery, sword, angst, bi-sexual, abuse, mystery

It is done. At last. Oh dear, so many things to complain about this book. I'll keep this review short because... I read it about a month ago and it failed to impress me so much that I've forgotten half of it.

First of all, why so many plot lines? If trimmed down to its basics, this would probably have been about 200 pages tops. As it is, there were pointless fragments, additional romantic lines added, action scenes heaped on for gratuitous effect. I'll expand on this.

(view spoiler) It is done. At last. Oh dear, so many things to complain about this book. I'll keep this review short because... I read it about a month ago and it failed to impress me so much that I've forgotten half of it.

First of all, why so many plot lines? If trimmed down to its basics, this would probably have been about 200 pages tops. As it is, there were pointless fragments, additional romantic lines added, action scenes heaped on for gratuitous effect. I'll expand on this.

(view spoiler)[There was too much emphasis on Kai's dislike or aversion to same sex attraction, even taking account his abuse at the hands of his brother. In fact, I would consider his past experience to make him lean towards being gay, since that story line was laid out to make it seem Kai adored Lirin right until the end when his bother dumped him. Before I learnt of his past, I assumed Kai had been raped or endured some form of torture close to rape to explain his revulsion towards men. I expected him to treat Veyl condescendingly since he had feminine features and did mistake him for a woman initially. But after learning the truth, Kai spent a good portion of the book surprised Veyl would enjoy the company of men (despite obvious signs that Veyl did like men as well as being good as his job). It got to the point of being annoying to see Kai gravitate around Veyl, yearn for him but still keep aloof and at bay.

Usually, I like my story to have a strong character to take the lead and support the emotional weight, with occasional help from the other MC. Here, I was divided in choosing which character had the more troubled past and scarred history. Veyl had been raised by a brothel and raped at an early age then deluded himself into loving the guard that delivered him to the brothel, all the while hoping for a quiet life away. Kai barely knew his parents, got stuck with half-brothers, one of which eventually turned on him and kept him as a sexual toy for several years. Then he desperately turned to women, only his lover was nobility and saved her name, rather than his life. Though ending up shackled as a result of Lirin's betrayal, it was the same Lirin that ultimately saved Kai. The colour of his skin left him only one profession, that of a thief. So which one should I bemoan more?

Small note here on a thing that bugged me. The part where Lirin kidnaps Veyl. We aren't specifically told what transpired between them, only that Veyl was very hurt. When Kai stumbles upon his brother dying, despite guessing the horrors that Lirin inflicted on Veyl, despite the marked past they shared, Kai ends his suffering with a mercy kill. I would much rather he left Lirin there to slowly die and be eaten by wolves. It wouldn't have been that much out of character, with what we already knew of Kai.

But back to what I was saying earlier. Pointless fragments:
- the bit where Kai meets up with his old crush;
- Engel sympathetic and understanding when Kai's identity is revealed aboard the ship and his acceptance that the pair go at it until they reach the Dandre;
- the whole Dandre fiasco. The story was convoluted enough without adding half elves, heir to a throne and black magic.

Additional romantic lines? Crow and Barlan, of course. Why we had to have those two make goo goo eyes at each other escapes me. Wouldn't they have helped Kai and Engel's cause if there had not been the chemistry between them? I liked Barlan and Crow well enough without having to go into detail how Barlan was sweet, caring and gentle with Crow or how Crow was shy and fearful of male contact, how he suffered alone for years, outcast by his race for his attraction (only to later show he wasn't the only one interested in men, just the one that publicly admitted it).

And Aegeus and Finn. Not quite a romantic line as Finn was too young (though Aegeus did display a form of attraction for the boy). I can't even begin to understand that black magic mess. What was the point for all the magic, Aegeus' little idiosyncrasies increasing with each new powerful spell he cast, his determination and passion for magic giving way to compassion, never completing the ritual on Veyl, the mystery of Finn's survival (and the big reveal at the end that Finn was in fact the demon holding Aegeus' soul and bringing him back to life? Or did the demon bring back a hybrid between Aegeus and the late king?) Sadly, by that point, I was too distracted to even pretend to pay attention or try to understand.

Redundant action scenes:
- Veyl running away from Kai only to end up captured by Lirin;
- Kai breaking into the palace to f**k Veyl and naturally be caught by the guards;
- the Elf queen ordering Crow to kill the humans in order to be accepted back in the folds of the society;
- the whole strategy to enter the palace, distract the guards and mount the rescue.
- the new freed elves proclaiming Crow as their leader, with Barlan by his side. (hide spoiler)]

Flimsy plot lines that struggled to make sense and coagulate into a whole. Too many distractions and points of view. Weak characters that failed to engage me emotionally. ...more

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Feb 06, 2014 ~ Lei ~ Reading Is An Adventure ~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: a-stand-alone, sexcontent-frottage, z-read-in-2014-ereader, sexcontent-outdoor-or-public-sex, sexual-mix-m-m, b-recommended-by-friends-others, char-damaged-h-or-h, outcome-hea, char-out-for-you, a-ebook

★★★★☆
I'm not much of a fantasy reader so the fact that I stuck with this just shows that I was invested in Veyl and Kai's story.

All Kai had to do was abduct a prostitute and deliver her and he'd have enough money to get out of the thieving business and build a nice house somewhere. Instead he got the adventure of his life, resolution of past trauma and love of his life.

Veyl was a half-elf orphan who was brought up in a brothel and eventually became a highly-paid prostitute but he wanted out of ...more

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Sep 07, 2014 Seregil rated it really liked it

Shelves: slash-fantasy, mm

Long slash fantasy with a bit of everything: tragic pasts, love triangles, sexual confusion, thieves, elves, mages, a bear shifter, some funny circumstances (mostly "oops, wrong gender"), some political intrigue, lots of fighting and running off on quests, and lots more. I think if you like the genre it's impossible not to like at least some aspects of this story.
Must stay away if you're looking for something sweet and cute, because though it does have its lovey-dovey moments the book is about ...more

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