Conception (The Demons Captive Book 2)
THAT was this book for me. That special kind of joy when a book with high expectations deliver 4. That special kind of joy when a book with high expectations delivers Lei lives in a world dominated by a magical caste system. Those with demon blood, Moon those with human blood, Paper and those with both Steel.
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- Conception (The Demon's Captive).
This caste system quickly opens a dialogue about the nature of oppression. This extremely personal and varied activity was reflected in the large cast of girls, each with their own form of processing. The cast is predominantly female, and seeing this focus on female support and friendship was amazing.
Even more, this slow-burn, beautiful romance is delightfully sapphic. As a whole, this book offers so much representation for identities often excluded. My only complaints are that I found the caste system a bit gimmicky? I loved the discussion it opened, but the actual demon magic and animal appearance seemed almost irrelevant to the story? And that Lei is hard to connect with until she finds her drive in the second half. I received an Arc in exchange for my honest opinion, thanks to Jimmy Patterson Books!
View all 12 comments. Nov 07, Maggie rated it really liked it Shelves: An own-voices queer characters story about two sapphic girls who fall in love while experiencing violence and abuse as they are held as concubines to the Demon King? With that being said, I still loved every character in this book and every atmospheric description.
Girls of Paper and Fire is about Lei, a year-old made of fire and not paper who will not let herself be held by the Demon King. Lei was born to two Paper members of the caste, the lowest and most oppressed in her world of Ikhara. She helps her father and lives in a small village where she can't forget the traumatic events of her mother being snatched and taken from her.
The royals she saw, the royals she wants to forget, they're back, but this time, they're here for her, the Paper with golden eyes who have caught the attention of the Demon King. Lei knows the story of the Demon King, knows what he does and who he is. He sends his guards to take eight girls born under Paper castes and turns them to Paper Girls who serve him, become his concubines and wives of many wives. Some families and girls think of this as an advantage, a fortunate fate, but Lei holds nothing but hatred, and she can't possibly let herself be controlled by her worst nightmare.
During the weeks and months of training, Lei needs to meet requirements she has no plan on learning and during the process, she not only learns more about her mother, the Demon King, and herself, but she learns about what it is to let go, to let herself make her choices, to say no, and she learns about forbidden love. During the process, she also has to realize if it was worth going as far as she could for everything she sacrificed herself for. It is about self-love, acceptance, and what it means to set yourself free.
It is about power, control, violence, and what advantage one can hold. It is about rape, abuse, friendship, and love and how one choice can make a difference. In my village, the story of the Paper Girls is told in whispers behind closed doors. We lost too much in the raid seven years ago to want to share anything more with the court.
Natasha Ngan paints a beautiful world inspired by Asian elements from her own experience of being biracial, specifically Malaysian-Chinese, and she brings her vivid imagination into this world of Ikhara where you can imagine the world of it with the elements of it from drinks to food, buildings to clothes, houses to camps, its as if the whole world is in front of you.
Ngan gives us many different yet common fantasy elements we see in fantasy, including the beautiful atmosphere she has crafted for us to visualize with its Asian mythology playing big roles. Natasha also talks about her own story in the end and how she encourages women, especially young girls, into speaking about their experience and providing us their stories about their survival of sexual violence, because that is what this story is about. Sexual violence is a big issue and topic in this book and it makes you hate boys and love girls more than you already do, but Ngan also makes sure to provide us happiness, love, friendships, and hope in this.
There are survivors, like her and many others, in this and the provide more hope and faith. It is about rape culture and the trauma and grief it leaves you with. It is also about what it is like to overcome this fear, this control you don't want to hold, and what it means to say No to your oppressor, to the person taking advantage of you because of who you are. The message in this is descriptively beautiful and heavy, but it fills you in with light.
Not only is it about being held, but it is about not letting this fear consume you and make you feel worthless. Ngan gives us a character that can bring light into us while reading this because of what she overcame, what she achieved. Lei is a character who did not allow herself to be let down, held down by the Demon King who made her feel like she was not worth everything that she was made of.
But Lei found herself valuable, in herself and in others. Lei was able to make a difference in her life and in others, being a first of firsts. She was a character who was broken, wounded, and left with anguish she will never forget and want to experience again. But Lei was a different kind of character, and everything that she did was beyond beautiful as if she was the one painting her world for you to see it for what it really is. Aside from Lei, Wren was my favorite. I mean, a rebellious, young and sapphic assassin warrior who will do everything she can to protect her family but also her sapphic lover because she can't stand the fact that her girlfriend is being tortured by the Demon King, a bastard who has nothing but power and control over girls and treats them as toys and objects because that is his enjoyment?
Wren is also broken, but with the help of Lei, she heals from her, through her, and she shows Lei what love and friendship is, but healing through love is, and the slow-burn romance that Ngan gives us in this is truly one of the most beautiful in YA fantasy. Not only is Wren helping Lei, but she is helping herself. She has her story of anguish, of fear and loss, of abandonment, and it is heartbreaking to read about but it is also full of hope and strength. I really hope we get more beautiful moments of them together that actually have me living because there were not enough in this one.
Her kisses heal the parts of me that the King broke. The world of Ikhara is misery and a society of misogyny. Women are treated as slaves, toys, objects, as people they are not but are wanted for. These Paper Girls are taken from their family to serve the King, to serve him with his many other wives and Paper Girls he does not love but use for himself.
It is a society that is slavery and enforcement, attempted rape and abuse, wrecking and leaving torturous trauma into the minds and bodies placed into this. It is cultural and a tradition for Demons in this world to be objectifying women as if they are nothing because, for them, they are nothing. It's as if they were a treat for themselves, given to them when they are obedient. Not only is there prejudice and discrimination, but there is also classification. Girls are taken depending on what they have to offer, and then they are forced into improving their classification to offer it to the King because they need to win his heart.
One thing many of these girls who think they are fortunate enough don't realize is that the Moon King does not like them for who they are, he is simply materializing and using them as tools, for his comfort and amusement, and there is no self-discovery in these girls who are misplaced, obscured and assuming this is all a blessing, as if being married to a King who has multiples wives in his bed is a fortune.
Aside from everything I cherished, one thing that points to the 4 stars and not 5 is how Ngan decided to leave the plots ending until the end, even though we were given hints of what was to come. What I am trying to point out is that nothing blew me away because I knew what was gonna happen. One thing I hate about YA fantasy is that the author always gives everything away, not allowing and letting the reader experience it for themselves.
It really blows the whole story away for me when the author decides to spoil the ending for us in ways they probably thought they didn't. Although the ending does end with a cliffhanger, it didn't feel enough. Girls of Paper and Fire is about overcoming the shyness a girl can hold as she is experiencing one of her most traumatic experiences to date.
It is about making a difference for yourself and your own little world and how beautiful it is to find someone who will accept and love you for who you are and not for what you have. It is about learning, accepting, and loving. Demon men can take what they want.
Girls of Paper and Fire
View all 13 comments. Instagram Twitter Facebook Amazon Pinterest I am so cheesed off right now that I'm having trouble putting my fury to virtual paper. People were singing this book's praises for being diverse! How could this be bad? The advance reviews were great, and almost unanimously positive. It sounded so freaking good , and I could not wait for it. But it was not good. The heroine is a raging Mary Sue.
Per the synopsis, every year, the Demon King chooses eight human girls to be his teenage concubines gross. This year, they've decided to go with Nine: Special Specialton herself, Lei. Lei is cast in the vein of every Mary Sue ever, although for some reason, people are adoring and forgiving her for her utter self-aggrandizing blandness in this book where they condemned Bella Swan for it.
She has one character flaw: I think it's supposed to be endearing. Since when does having too many inner-ear infections as a child make you better than the rest of the human - I mean, "Paper" - race? She's also shooting her mouth off all the time, and people seem to love her for that too. And her particular brand of sarcasm is basically the teenage equivalent of a toddler stomping his foot and saying "NO!
This dumb papery-ass little shit wouldn't know Brave if she saw it at Disney. Her actual character flaw: She is constantly railing against the Demon King, and yes, he's an awful guy. But then right after he nearly sexually assaults her, she immediately turns around and says "Haven't we waited long enough? It's like, oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that consent was solely a heterosexual concept. This becomes a pattern, with love that is definitely insta and super possessive. Lei clearly considers Wren "hers" before their relationship is even consummated, and despite being a feisty, sarcastic, papery little shit, apparently this is her trademark and no one is allowed to do it, because she is mad AF when she finds out Wren is keeping secrets from her.
Lest you say, "Nenia, wait, you read bodice-rippers, and this seems kind of like cherry-picking when compared to the bodice-ripping that goes on in what you read. The difference between bodice-rippers and this book is that bodice-rippers don't purport to be empowering, woman-loving feminist literary masterworks, and were not advertised to me as such.
If there's one thing I can't stand, it's hypocrisy. The writing is not good The phrase "I grit back a glower at this" literally appeared in this book, in case you need an example of why the writing was not good. This is the literary equivalent of a movie trailer where the movie is so bad, the trailer is basically a reel of the only salvageable moments from the film because otherwise nobody would want to see it. Also, there was so much "purring" and "shoulder-rolling" that if I didn't know better, I would have thought that Sarah J.
Maas had waltzed in and seized control of the narrative. Lord knows, Bellei Swan is just as annoying as Celery Saltine-thin. The two of them should start a bowling league. The world-building was not good "Lush fantasy" my sizeable rear-end! Despite a few made-up insults to show scorn at those beneath them, I did not feel like this caste system was really adequately displayed, especially since we didn't see much of the Steel caste at all.
While reading about these anthropomorphic animal-beastmans, I kept thinking longingly of Inuyasha , which I thought did a really great job of showing just how disposable humans were, and how annoyingly superior and classist demons were. Just look at how lesser demons like Inuyasha and Naraku were treated. Second, why is the Demon King still in charge if everyone hates him and he can't produce heirs? What was the dealio with the rebellion that led him taking the Paper castes to bed in the first place?
Why weren't the Xia mentioned earlier so they didn't seem like a Deus-ex-Mach xia later on? The magical powers and totalitarian regime were so badly done, and made me think longingly of Avatar: The Last Airbender , where there was cohesion in the Asian-world-building, as well as the magic and culture and oppression tactics of those who were in power. The hype was a lie for me I'm very angry at myself for falling for the hype of this book - it's like I never learn my lesson. I really want to support PoC authors and books with PoCs, but I will never do that with a book that I, personally, think is bad.
YMMV, and if this is the book to make you feel appreciated, validated, or acknowledged, then that is wonderful. But to me, it felt like just another watered-down YA fantasy. View all 85 comments. Megan I felt the same way when reading all of the repeated sudderings and glowerings. The only thing it was missing was a few teeth-barings and I would have I felt the same way when reading all of the repeated sudderings and glowerings.
Demon's Captive
The only thing it was missing was a few teeth-barings and I would have thought I accidentally tapped on a Maas book on my Kindle library. The only thing it was missing was a few teeth-barings an Megan wrote: The only thing it was missing was a few teeth-barings and I would have thought I accidentally tapped on a Maas book o Mar 15, Korrina OwlCrate rated it it was amazing. This book was so intense and amazing.
I absolutely loved it though. View all 9 comments. In this fantasy world, every year, the violent and oppressive Demon King—the strongest of a caste of people marked by their animal-like appearances—takes eight Paper Girls of the plain, human Paper caste to become his concubines. Lei never expected to become one of those girls, but even more shocking was the twist of fate she met upon her arrival at the palace—her unstoppable and desperate fall into a forbidden love with another Paper Girl.
When I first heard the synopsis for this book, I was In this fantasy world, every year, the violent and oppressive Demon King—the strongest of a caste of people marked by their animal-like appearances—takes eight Paper Girls of the plain, human Paper caste to become his concubines. When I first heard the synopsis for this book, I was sold in an instant.
Perhaps the gods have forgotten us, or grown bored with our small corner of the kingdom. The word itself— home —is a blade in my gut. I was also impressed by how in-depth much of the world-building is: Despite not being the main character, she was the star of the show for me; she felt the most complex and three-dimensional, and I consistently enjoyed every single scene she was present for. The memory of it hovers close, a constant presence at the edge of my consciousness, like moon-shimmer on the surface of a lake.
I found it very difficult to immerse myself in any of the scenes, and thought the descriptions of most characters and settings were too general. I also struggled with most of the characters, especially Lei. Wren is the only character who felt truly complex to me, but everyone else struck me as predictable, and all of the Paper Girls besides Wren and Aoki felt over-simplified and predictable. There are a handful of lesser characters in the story that I enjoyed fine, like Zelle and Kenzo, but the amount of time we get to spend with them is practically nothing at all.
All in all, Girls of Paper and Fire is a difficult book for me to rate and review. My enjoyment of the book puts it at a 3, but the important issues tackled and the depth of world-building make it a solid 4. Content warnings for rape, abuse, murder, oppression, slut-shaming, violence All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. View all 4 comments. Yes, I'm totally biased. But guys, this really is the book of my heart. As I say in my author note: The story within these pages is a work of fiction, but also a work of love.
The world I created in Ikhara has been heavily inspired by my experiences growing up in Malaysia, a country with a dense mix of cultures, and also as a person of mixed ethnicity. I feel extremely lucky to come from a multicultural home, and it has shaped-and will forever continue to Yes, I'm totally biased. I feel extremely lucky to come from a multicultural home, and it has shaped-and will forever continue to shape-my influences and perspectives.
The conception of this story also comes from a personal, deep yearning for more diverse novels, particularly in YA. To be inspired for their own stories, real and imagined. Even magical worlds have their roots in our own, and I would love to see more books reflecting the rich variety of our individual realities.
Set in an Asian-inspired fantasy world where a Demon King takes human girls for concubines, this is the story of the forbidden love between two of the girls and how far they are willing to fight for their freedom - and each other. It is a story about love and friendship, about trauma and despair.
It is a story about finding hope in the most hopeless of times. More than anything, it is a story about female oppression and empowerment. The girls in the book each discover their own forms of power and expression in a world that would give them none, and I am so proud of their strength. I cannot wait for you to meet them! View all 21 comments. Also, this happened … no big deal. To dream about things you have loved, and lost.
Girls of Paper and Fire is a book that gradually wound its way into my heart, and has since nestled itself snugly in a corner, radiating light and happiness, whenever I find myself reminiscing about it, even despite the heavy subject matters it incloses. And at the heart of it all, two girls who find themselves slowly falling in love with each other, as they navigate their way through a world wrought with distrust and suspicion, and faced with the impossible question—what are they willing to sacrifice for their love, and just how much are they willing to endure before they fight back?
The characters in this novel are so intricately crafted, and their layers, as well as their motives, are masterfully unveiled, bit by bit—and even though the plot unfolds at an at times tantalizingly slow pace, something special about it always managed to pull me back in. I found myself pausing after every few paragraphs just to savor the startlingly beautiful prose that tastes like warm honey, sweetly melting on your tongue.
Just a blink, a skip in time, leaving only the before and the after, and the inescapable ripples of change. View all 3 comments. Although, I think it's next month that the US and Canada are not getting sprayed edges. Only other countries and of course that made me mad because y'all know I'm addicted to sprayed edges!
I'm tired of getting the same books from both boxes. I love the Fairyloot book better with the pink edges. But here is a link to the goodies that were in October Fairyloot! But here is a link to the goodies that were in the Owlcrate box with it. View all 6 comments. Sep 14, Nick marked it as to-read. Dec 07, C. Drews rated it really liked it Shelves: Whoa this was perfectly magical and emotional and harrowing It's such a dark premise, but it's handled so well.
And can I just say the amount of Asian ownvoices fantasies coming out at the moment is incredible!! Complex and developed, with history and lore!! Also the author's note said she drew inspiration from her own Chinese and Malaysian background and I think that's incredibly special too.
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
Also the descriptions of the world, the palaces, the food!! We do need to note this. It's about the demon king taking girls as concubines, so yes there is rape and sexual abuse and violence. I also think it was very very good that the book had a content warning at the beginning.
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It's not graphic, but it is talked about thoroughly. At first I was like "this isn't YA Somewhat because of the author's note too where Ngan said: Books can be safe places to explore difficult topics. While we cannot shelter young people from being exposed to sexual violence, whether through lived experience or indirectly, we can give them a way to safely engage with and reflect upon these issues. I hope Girls provides such a space. Especially in this day and age where I think the stats are? We NEED to talk about it. And this is harrowing and awful, but the book really handles the topic so well.
I still felt gutted reading it though afjskdla I ached for these girls and omfg I hate the Demon king so freaking much. I loved Lei so so much! She's the narrator, and omg her little snark quips gave me life. But she's so real. She was emotional and unsure and made messy decisions and had messy feels a true teen!!
And she WAS brave and fiery, but like not in a totally stoic way?! Nothing against stoic women, I just don't often see girls who are both soft and determined in epic fantasy. I loved their romance so much! It wasn't rushed and it was sweet but also intense. Wren was mysterious and drop-dead gorgeous and badass and had a Secret Thing going on. I was really captivated the whole time beginning took a while to get going but eh and the pacing was goodness!
Ok it didn't give me all-the-feels-of-ever, but I am also a tree stump. It's not a light fluffy fantasy. It's heavy and unsettling but written very very well. Feb 17, Cesar rated it really liked it.
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This was one of my most anticipated reads of and it did not disappoint. I fulfilled all of my needs and paid off in the end. I cannot describe how much I enjoyed my time reading Girls of Paper and Fire. This may be a fantasy story, but the messages behind it are so prevalent in our time. A lot of my friends have said that the book is about rape culture, how rape is about power, and I agree with them. There are so many good message 4. There are so many good messages in the story about reclaiming your body and life after rape and the bonds people make who can help support each other.
Rape happens off-page but is still horrific , attempted rape, abuse, sexual assault, animal death. Girls of Paper and Fire is an Asian inspired fantasy story where there are three castes in which people are separated in. Steel - Half human half demon. They look almost human but have some sort of animal characteristic. Moon - Full fledged demons who are fully animal. Lei, our main protagonist, is a paper girl helping out her father at their herbal shop. One day, Lei is forcefully taken away from her home to be a Paper Girl. Each year, the demon king takes eight paper girls from around the country and make them his concubines.
Lei is actually the ninth paper girl because of her unusual golden demon eyes, which is what got her kidnapped. Her mother got taken years ago to be a paper girl and now it's her turn. From the moment I read the first sentence of the story, I knew I was going to fall in love with it.
Ngan wrote such a unique story set in an Asian world dealing with sex trafficking. The world is both beautiful yet horrific. When a fantasy world does that, it makes me all the more interested in the world building and the characters. Being that this is an Asian inspired novel, I was fascinated by how much work Ngan put into creating it. From the clothes to the architect of the buildings, it was done well. This is an ownvoices story and I absolutely loved it.
Though the story does take place in one setting for a good chunk of the book, there are hints that more of the world will be explored and I am eagerly waiting for it. The character of Lei is one I really liked. She is a character who is adamant about wanting to escape being the king's concubine.
She has a lot of self-worth in herself as a human and isn't afraid to say or do something if it means protecting herself, her family, and even a few of the paper girls. When she gets thrown to the ground, she gets back up. When it seems like the odds are not in her favor, she still fights on.
It is also a forbidden romance which is usually a hit or miss. A hit if it's done right, a miss if there is unnecessary drama. Thankfully this was a hit. The developing love between Lei and Wren was cute. The one major gripe I have would have to be the villain, the demon king. Villains are complex characters because they didn't start off as villains. What happened to them becoming a villain is what makes them a complex character. The demon king, while evil, wasn't fleshed out. He was sort of one-dimensional.
Verdict I very much enjoyed Girls of Paper and Fire. I had high hopes for it and it paid off well. I'm looking forward to reading the next book. Thanks for reading my review! November 6, Yeah, this is easily one of the best YA releases of Absolutely everything about this book was incredible. The story was SO easy to read and get invested in Sometimes I find an awesome story idea but the execution Release date: Sometimes I find an awesome story idea but the execution is so poor that I don't even care to finish the book, while other times I can make my way through a boring story if it's well executed.
This book is one of those rare gems where both the execution AND idea are phenomenal. The story is totally unique and so creative that part of me wants to spend a thousand words breaking it down here. Buuuut I decided not to say much about the plot because a lot of the fun in reading the book was discovering each new idea or element like The vivid, rich world was probably my favorite part of the story because it felt so real. The author's note mentions how it's heavily influenced by her experience growing up in a multicultural home in Malaysia.
But every part of this book is so well done Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC. Nov 05, Lex Kent rated it really liked it Shelves: This was a good YA fantasy book. While the pace was a tiny bit up and down at times, enough went on to keep me on my toes and to keep reading. The world is split up in a three caste system with humans being the lowest and demons on top. Lei, is a human whose beauty gets her noticed and stuck in the position of being the demon kings concubine. While supposedly an honor This was a good YA fantasy book. While supposedly an honor it is not the life Lei wants.
Will she do what is expected of her or find a way to rebel? First I do have to give a trigger warning. With what the main premise is about it should not be a surprise. There are attempted rape scenes and one actually rape scene. Meaning everything always happens to them. While that does happen some in this book, Lei and the other main character Wren are both really strong of heart. I would not classify them as passive which I was really grateful for.
I thought the romance was really sweet. It is a PG romance but you feel the bond between them. In such a horrible world something so lovely and sweet shines through. The friendship and possibility of more were some of my favorite parts of the book. My one complaint was the epilogue. I did not care for it. Then he gets mad at her for wanting to go back to her people and whips her.
Then, big mean killer that he is, he is immediately sorry and is ashamed that she saw his stash of torture implements. Then there proceeded to be page after page of them playing happy families, ruling Earth. Umm, what happened to the killer alien? This guy put the populace of Earth to the sword but he luvs his little alien wife who is basically a nonentity.
There was a hint that he was having problems pushing down his mean side and that the man he was now was not the man he really was inside. I think, some meat to the story, some conflict. But no, dropped that line of the story when he finds out that, holy miracle Batman! She pops out the baby and they all live happily ever after. So the author dropped the ball on world building or making your aliens seem to be, oh, I don't know, alien? Like different from humans? I don't necessarily need a book to be full of graphic violence against the heroine. I love me some sweet gentle love stories when that's what I'm expecting.
Apr 12, Heather rated it liked it Shelves: Overall a good read. We have a race of alien beings that take over the world. One alien, or "Demon", takes an interest in a human and takes her as his war slave. She becomes his to do with as he wishes. The only problem, he is from a highly aggressive race. He is not sure if he wants to have sex with her He becomes very confused when he starts to actually care about what she feels.
This was by no means an award worthy book, but overall not bad. The author does a god job Overall a good read. The author does a god job with dialogue and the plot line is good. Nothing stellar but good. View all 4 comments. Nov 08, Sue Lyndon rated it it was amazing Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It was an enjoyable read, and I wish it had been longer! I loved the tension between Charity and Melmanon. Melmanon the demon is one of the alien invaders who have conquered Earth, causing Charity to lose all her friends and family.
Outraged that she has evaded him for several days, Melmanon decides to keep her as a torture slave after he finally captures her. Charity's will to live is strong, so she does her best to please her new master, but she is tormented by the knowledge that she is betraying her people by finding pleasure with her demon. Melmanon loves her submissiveness because it is unlike anything he's experienced before. Charity is surprised by how gentle he treats her initially, because aside from some very rough sex, he hasn't really hurt her - yet.
When she catches a glimpse of humans working in a farm field, her master reads her thoughts and becomes outraged that she would think about the possibility of having a human husband and child one day. He punishes her severely, but he later comes to regret his actions and nurses her back to health. Melmanon slowly realizes his love for Charity and decides to retire and make her his wife.
Charity has no say in anything that happens to her in this story, so if BDSM without consent and safe words bothers you, you might want to avoid this story. I've seen a few reviews comparing Demon's Captive to a bodice ripper, and I think that's a pretty accurate description. And don't worry, no bodice ripper even one that involves aliens and takes place in the future would be complete without an HEA. If you're a trekkie, then you know what I mean. This was a smut read that was good. I am very picky about my dubious consent books. If it is full blown rape, I can never get over it to enjoy the book.
I do not like to see rape romanticized in any way. However, I get the dubious consent thrill so if it is done well I enjoy it. This book was borderline, it took me right to the edge but reigned itself in. View all 6 comments. When you start reading the story it gets to the point. Even though Melmanon's is suppose to be this ruthless man he still had a heart of gold mostly towards the end.
Charity even if she seem weak she was still a lovable character. If you love story's about captives with erotica then this is for you. The sex is good as well as the storyline even though there isn't much to http: The sex is good as well as the storyline even though there isn't much to the storyline other than the two characters.
Now I must say if you are breezing through books to buy and you happen to come across this book then let me say this if your not into the captive,slave whip and hardcore Thing then this isn't you. If you love this sort of thing then give it a try you might like it and if you get to the section of how he treats her while she is a slave and you feel like you don't want to read anymore keep reading it gets better for both characters.
Nov 23, Kelly rated it really liked it Shelves: Sometimes you just get in the mood for a book with some good, dirty sex in it. This one fit the bill for me. Although I did feel that the ending tied up almost too nicely Melmanon's revelation that he loved Charity, her acceptance of her place in the new world the aliens have forged , I enjoyed the overall story.
If you're looking for hot, dominant, sometimes non-consensual but mostly consensual Hmm, bad phrasing there, but you get the point sex, this book will fit the bill. Oh, yeah, and there's a spaceship. Oct 17, JennyG rated it it was ok. It is pretty obvious that this is the first time writer, but a writer who shows promise. Unfortunately the writing is too choppy and sometimes there is not enough build up, the heroine just jumps right into things. Sex scenes are not memorable and there is no sexual tension.
I didn't like him whipping her but I guess that was part of the dom-sub theme. I would have been more tolerant had he just spanked her. I did like the premise of an anti-hero falling crazy in love with the heroine. Loved his It is pretty obvious that this is the first time writer, but a writer who shows promise. May 31, Carisa rated it liked it Shelves: This was an average, short read, and the hero changed from dominant to aloof without explanation.
HERO is a Warrior, top of military ladder in his planet. While leading the invasion to Earth, he captures a woman to keep her as slave, but he starts softening more and more towards her. Jun 28, Holly rated it really liked it Shelves: Sexy scary badass who is really just a big, mushy softy.
Well, maybe not a complete softy. But he definitely doesn't treat her like a "torture slave. I was utterly in the mood for an alpha who forces himself on the heroine and I admit I got it! This was a short and lovable read. It was a book that lets the reader predict what will happen before it does.
However don't let this deter you, you are in for a wild read ;. I picked up this book because the premise was intriguing. I did not realize it was a novella, which on the whole I tend to dislike as I find the stories move too quickly making them even more implausible than their full length fiction counterparts: That said the book read quickly, I finished it in a couple of hours; and at no point was I so bored that I thought about putting it down and not finishing it. Actually I was cur I picked up this book because the premise was intriguing. Actually I was curious to see what happened because I never expected a book about alien domination to turn into a 70's style bodice ripper with a happy ending.
The second half of the book left me shaking my head allot and muttering, "Seriously"? Unless of course you have an aversion to rape and a wee bit of sexual torture, then perhaps you had best give it a pass. Sep 12, Vivian rated it liked it Shelves: The story revolves around a dystopian future where Earth has fallen to invaders.
In the last of the clean up battles, Commander Melmanon finally captures Charity after several months of evading him. The alluded to torture is not of pain, and the story surrounds Charity submission not just physical, but mentally to this demon conqueror. The violence expected is realized only briefly, so readers who were thrown off by that should give it a try. The story is actually quite sweet with a definite HEA. Jun 15, Ladymcbeth rated it really liked it Shelves: Good story, just enought sex and violence in it, and the "hero" Nov 16, Leyla rated it liked it Shelves: Very nasty dirty read!!!
I admit it hit the right buttons. Fierce warriors from space have come to conquer Earth. Aliens who look like huge red demons easily wipe out any resistance and take what they wish. In the midst of this horror, Charity is all alone and trying to avoid being captured. She's been lucky till now and has eluded the demons so far Commander Melmanon Very nasty dirty read!!! Commander Melmanon is a vicious bloodthirsty warrior. He's feared and he's exceptional in torturing his captives and killing of course.
He's furious that the human woman has escaped his clutches and invading Earth has hurt his pride. Too easy to be considered a victory. His eyes are set on capturing his enemy and quenching his thirst. To take revenge for facing such unworthy foes. He does not know love or compassion. And when he finally captures her his world shifts into unknown territory Charity is scared of the demon called Melmanon.
She knows she will be tortured and played with to death. She has no wish or strength to defy him. She submits to his every whim In this steamy torture, Melmanon is surprised to find her submission brings him great pleasure. Both of them find themselves conflicted in this master-slave relationship.
Making Charity question her loyalties and feelings. Melmanon has to face difficult decisions as well Satisfying enough, with one dimensional characters. Hot steamy bdsm sex! Great relationship build up and enternaining. Not mind blowing writing, but good. Disturbing of course for the sensitive crowd. Please check genres before reading.
On my account, no complains what so ever. Got exactly what I was looking for. I bid you farewell, may your next reads be fabulous! Sep 02, dumbells rated it did not like it. Because I would not have been able to go through this much longer. This is not a romance. At worst, this is a guide into how to break down a human being. Yeah, definitely not a romance. And Stockholm syndrome is never to be confused with love.
Those who do, boy have they had some messed up relationships not to be able to tell what a healthy relationship between two consenting people is supposed to look like. This is a perverse distortion of that and is more in fact an attempt of one individual to break down the other person completely. Physically, emotionally, physically all for the purpose of creating a puppet that will think, feel and act the way they want and answer all the needs they want.
The girl I see as the embodiment of the flight reflex being slowly converted to a slave and nothing more, and her inability to muster even a bit of resistance feels like a dig against every romance heroine ever written which is in a sense what most of them do act like. All in all a completely ridiculous story with equally ridiculous ending. Apr 26, Chani rated it liked it Shelves: There were parts of it that I really liked. The details for one where great. It was very easy to picture the war torn earth, the ships, and of course, erm, the scenes I believe we all know which ones I'm referring to.
Both of the main characters were, for the most part, likable. Even though Charity could be considered "weak", it's still hard to dislike her for it. In many instances, I'm sure most people would react the exact same way. Survival instinct kicks in when it's needed, and she wanted to stay alive. I don't see anything wrong with that. Melmanon starts off as kind of a brute, then you like him, and then he has this one moment where I sort of hated him, then back to liking him. That moment I'm talking about is one where he clearly takes things a little too far and ends up hurting Charity on purpose.
I think the issue that I had with this one is that at times it moved way too quickly for my liking. It felt rushed in the emotions department, so hard for me to buy into. I was glad that he ended up falling for her and turned it into more then just her being his torture slave, but I also would have liked to see more communication between them to help spur this along. Though, I guess when the mind reading abilities it wasn't overly necessary like it would be in a typical relationship.
There were many things that could have afforded to be fleshed out with this one, but if you're just in it for the sex scenes then this is for you! Mar 05, Megan rated it it was ok. This book was recommended to me forever ago. I can't even remember by who but it actually came up on my kindle so I got it and I couldn't put it down.
Not necessarily because it was a fantastic book but because I wanted to figure it out. I am not a huge BDSM fan. The thought of pain does absolutely nothing for me. So I go back and forth on this book. He rapes her repeatedly. In ways that make her bleed and she gets off on it.. I think that would be the worst thing to have your body betray you.
A This book was recommended to me forever ago. Anyways, he starts to some how get feelings and I guess she does too? I'm still a little confused. I don't remember them actually ever talking. We heard all of their inner thoughts but I don't remember them ever having a conversation. Usually in darker romance books, the captor will talk to his captive and learn a little bit about them and vise versa and they slowly like each other. Or something like that but this one..
He gets really jealous at one point and beats the shit out of her and then a few days later bonds with her.. So I just don't get it. And toward the end, all his inner thoughts were about how he wanted to dominate her after the bonding he tried to be less aggressive during sex and that was never resolved. I feel like I wanted to like the book but I just didn't understand how the relationship progressed.
I know insta love and all that crap but this wasn't like that. He fully intended to kill her after he raped her so it wasn't insta love. I mean I read the book in one sitting so it wasn't terrible, I just don't see how the relationship turned into love or anything more than master and slave. Feb 20, D rated it it was ok Shelves: Smith's Olivia , which i've been painstakingly slogging through for the past year and WILL eventually finish.
Jul 17, Kelsey rated it liked it. Humans are totally screwed! A mixed alien race of brutal conquerors take us down within months. They assimilate the new planet and its people into their culture. Charity runs for her life and is chased down by Melmanon, a very massive, very red, demon. Because Charity gave him so much trouble while trying to capture her Melmanon takes her as his torture slave. Knowing she will never get away she strives to appease Humans are totally screwed!