Wishes

by J.C. Owens

Sex slave to an alien culture...Lt. Auri finds his job aboard the diplomatic cruiser both frustrating and exhausting, but he's determined to prove himself to his new captain. Despite the diplomatic importance of their mission, Auri is wary of the catlike Felinians, who have a reputation for enjoying human company, willing or not. But when he's ordered to witness the signing of the trade papers with the Felininans, Auri never imagines that he's about to be betrayed.Sold into an alien culture, Auri finds himself the newest man in the Felinian leader's erotic harem. Kanar claims him as his "mate," but Auri longs for freedom. Though his feelings for Kanar begin to grow, Auri stubbornly refuses the Felininan and the other men of his harem, leading to loneliness and grief. But how can he open himself up to his captor, and to the love of more than one partner?Reader contains slave play, male male love, enemies to lovers and is intended for adults only

Genres: M M Romance, Science Fiction, Aliens, Menage, Shapeshifters, Fantasy, Military Fiction

180 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2012

About the author

Also known as J.C. McGuire.

J.C Owens lives in small town, rural Alberta and is a self confessed writing-a-holic. In the absence of help for this affliction…

I do indeed love to write and have now completed thirty published stories, along with over twenty books sitting idle in my computer, waiting… I love the genre of male/male stories and conflict in what a person thinks they want, versus what they truly need to become themselves. I think any writing that shows the beauty of men loving men is worthwhile.

I love to hear from my readers and always appreciate suggestions and comments for future books. Sharing a love of reading and good, hot sensuality between men is always a cause for celebration!

Reviews

[Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

First I'll start by saying J.C. Owens has been/and is till one of my favorite MM romance writers. The worlds and lives she has created in her other books were wonderful and felt very real and developed. In fact several of her books have brought tears to my eyes as I read about the emotional turmoil one of her characters was experiencing.

That being said, I found her latest effort less than satisfying. It felt very rushed and under developed. This new world of Felinians (a new species all together in J.C.'s repertoire) seemed hazy and unclear compared to the cultures and subjects she's brought to life in her other books. I also felt that the characters seemed very detached from the plot. If that makes any sense. By the end of the book I hadn't developed any real emotional attachment to any of them. And believe me I REALLY wanted to.
Auri, the main character, makes some vague references to his past in an attempt to explain his inability to trust the loving relationships being offered to him. And even after "watching" him struggle to escape his new mate (I still had a lot of hope for the book at this point) and then his subsequent recapture and angst filled transition into acceptance (don't get me wrong, I love some good angst), I still didn't understand his reasoning's or where any of his emotions seemed to stem from.

Not to mention I found the introduction of multiple "mates" and their quickly developed sexual relationship with Auri (who had been struggling for half the book to accept ONE love interest) very jarring and unromantic. I wouldn't have minded the whole mulit-romance angle if had been developed more naturally.

In addition the vague one paragraph/two line glimpses into Kanar's point of view seemed abrupt and in the end completely unhelpful in getting to know HIS character.

I also would have really like more background on "The Empire", I didn't even really understand the need for it at all, the book could have developed just fine without the disjointed attempts at explaining their greedy semi-sinister involvement in anything. Which remained completely unresolved.

In a way I felt like I was reading the initial OUTLINE to what could have been a really good book. J.C. hit all the bullet points but never seemed to get around to filling in around them with all the "good stuff" that I usually love so much about her writing.

Nevertheless when she publishes her next book, in this same world or a new one all together, I'm sure I'll snatch it up at the strike of midnight (a.k.a. the MINUTE it becomes available on Amazon) and have faith that Mrs. Owen's will take me somewhere special. I still love all of her other books, in fact I've re-read them many many times, but this one just left me feeling cold and a little sad.

If this book ends up being your first J.C. Owen's experience, I STRONGLY encourage that you read her other books before you form a solid opinion. Which is why I took the time to write the long (and hopefully not to confusing) review. I'm defiantly a fan that will wait FOREVER for an awesome literature installment from one of my favorite author's, rather than get a rushed incomplete one at an earlier date. It saddens me to have to give anything less than 5 stars to this book, but I really hope that who ever reads this will feel encouraged to read her other works and not judge just based on this one, said reader would really be missing out.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

How the fudge do I rate this?

If this book was written by anyone else I would've probably given it four stars....but from Ms. Owens I, perhaps unfairly, expected more. The world building is great. I was immediately taken with the idea of the Felinians...when I wasn't giggling my ass off trying not to picture their faces. Without giving too much away the beginning was enthralling, the middle was predictable in that it was quintessentially Owens, but the ending O_o??? It was too much (for the character to suffer) but at the same time not enough. Let's just say the resolution to Auri's trauma was....interesting! In many respects this was too similar to Owens' other works and reminicent of a dub con story I've read elsewhere.

I really enjoy J.C.'s writing and I'm hoping with a prequel of Aiden's story or just more about this world my rating will change. Good Read. 3.5 stars

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was having a great time until all the ménage crap started.

[Paisley]

I happen to like this author. She really pushes my comfort zone limits. I was not a fan of Taken (should have known that from the title right?) but I really loved the books in the Gaven series. They are some of my favorites. This one is similar but a lot more rapey - some serious alien non-con in this one.

It's a very interesting story - slave-fic non-con sort of vibe mixed with a whole mating alpha-feline polyamorous harem love story. There is some love there despite the orgies - and there is an HEA after you get through the abductions and raping and torture and the weirdness of it all.

So, it's super hard for me to rate. I mean how can I fairly rate a book that I loved parts of and hated parts of? I could not put it down because I had to see what was going to happen, but I really did not like all of the abuctiony stuff.

The other thing I didn't like (besides all the beatings and anal violations) was the way the author had a time skip without warning the reader. I was a third of the way into a chapter before I realized a couple of years had passed. I didn't write the book - so I can only assume that's how she wanted me to experience it. But I am better with things spelled out for me in advance so my tiny brain doesn't have to figure so much out while trying to process all the craziness.

The bottom line - I am okay with forced matings when it leads to hot alien sex that is enjoyable but I don't like abduction violence and torture. In other words: rape by your predestined mate who has a loving heart is acceptable, rape by a mean and evil stranger is not. Does this make me a hypocrite?

[Heller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of MM sci-fi but this one intrigued me. I enjoy a fish out of water story so I thought I'd give it a try. Full disclosure, I love the movie Avatar and the Na'vi. This book had some similar elements that once I started it those drew me in. The catlike aliens had some characteristics that reminded me both of the Na'vi and their situation but the Felinians were much more technologically savvy.

I just couldn't like it though. Maybe too much out of my comfort zone. Auri is betrayed and sold to the Felinian leader as a sex slave. He is force mated pretty brutally but is a smart, resourceful man and manages to get off planet.

He's found 2 years later by the Empire, the military force that betrayed him for access to the unique, coveted element that the alien race has in abundance. He's sent back to the planet to his master and is basically told to suck it up and deal.

This is where the story loses me. It depressed me. I felt so bad for Auri. He's the type of character that I really go for, he's tough but isolated, lonely but strong. I wanted this guy to be happy. He's basically on a prison planet with no hope of escape and told that he needs to get his act together and start enjoying being a part of the harem. That he should be thankful he's a part of it and why isn't he filled with joy at being a mate.

He's finally coming to terms with his situation and finding some happiness when he's kidnapped and raped by the rebel brother of his mate. Just when I thought it couldn't get more angsty. This guy just cannot cut a break.

I did feel compelled to finish the book even though it just wasn't working for me. The writing is very well done and the dialogue believable but the angst was just too much for me. The sexual situations really threw me out of my comfort zone but this could definitely appeal to readers that love that kind of emotional and physical turmoil.

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars Warning multiple-bondmates and non-con!

First of all I didn't feel the love and well Auri was sometimes shizophrenic hating his mate after being sold to him as a sex partner but then he learned to love him. After he Kanar, the Felininan doesn't let him leave his room/palace, influence him in a dream/tranceworld, where Auri doesn't have any memories,to like him, that does feel like Stockholm Syndrom.
There should be a non-con warning, even if some may not feel it's needed for Kanars treatment of his unwilling mate, it's needed for another scene!

Kanars excuses, that he didn't know Auri was not willing are truly surprising, after Auri told him at the beginning that he did not want to be his mate, that he didn't agree to be bargained away, that he didn't want to mate! Here I didn't understand Auri's change of opinion(but ok he was brainwashed before, so maybe that was it).

And really who would think his mate was willing after(he stabes you and runs away, telling you no way in hell!)?

[Steph ☀️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed more....

***2.75 stars***

Warnings: Noncon

I have to say this book should’ve been a lot longer than what it was. For as detailed in the beginning, it seem to get less so as the however as the story continued on. Then about the 80% mark it felt as if the story started to go into warp speed.

In addition, when it came to Auri finding his place on Kanar’s planet, I thought the author would’ve have taken a bit of time here besides him just being with his mates, but unfortunately that wasn’t so. Also, it would have been nice to see the relationship between Auri, Kanar and the other mates develop a bit more at a steady pace. Just my thoughts :)

[Simsala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Eliza for her perfect review of this book here

That was like someone else has tried to write an "Owens" - and failed.
Crammed and stuffed with too many characters intimately involved that I never got to know properly. Informations like delicate, small hands, talks much, serious eyes weren`t nearly enough to made me feel a connection to the characters. The "harem" was just staffage.
Same with the worldbuilding - a beautiful planet with huge trees and humanoid looking cats - (The idea of a society where males and females live seperate lives, never getting emotionally involved and just meeting for producing "kittens" was adapted from the authors Gaven-series.) - but just looking humanoid when they are not in rut then they are just cats...mated only to one or more human males who came to their planet by choice with the exception of Auri...a proud stiff-upper-lip-officer on an Empire space ship, betrayed by his people and sold to Kanar - a Felinian claiming Auri as his mate, thinking Auri came to them by choice like all the others ( Kanar was described as very intelligent but...hello?....blinkers size garage door...anywhere?)
Auri, first proud officer and warrior morphing into "my little tiger" in Karan`s harem of four mates after his first escape from Kanar and a sudden time leap of two years that felt like two days...falling in love with Kanar - the Stockholm syndrome - and with the other mates...implausible!
Kidnapped by Kanar`s rogue brother who claims to be king, rescued and happy ever after...end of the story. Enough stuff to fill a novel with the double word count.
Not a bad story but for an "Owens" it was disappointing.

[Silkeeeeeereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this book a star higher to hopefully eventually balance out it's current rating. I believe the lower ratings because of the non con contained within are unfair and a bit ridiculous. It's a FANTASY. If you are bothered by this regardless of the fantasy of the story, you shouldn't read this book. It was an entertaining read.

[Serena Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that made me think about my own cultural prejudice. I’m not sure it was ‘designed’ to do that, but I love it when a well-developed ‘alien’ culture with very different habits, behaviors, and values makes me reconsider my way of looking at the world. What the main character, Auri, goes through in this story is, in many ways, like a mirror that shows us what might be wrong with our own culture. Nothing made this clearer than reading the blurb – where the description of Auri becoming a ‘sex slave’ reflects what we want to see; reading this book and gradually watching my understanding of the real situation grow was not just entertaining – it was a learning experience.

Auri is a proud man, a tough warrior, and very career driven. He is not an emotional human being, in fact, he is unsure of himself in most social situations. Although he believes he is happy, anyone with half an empathic brain can see he is actually deeply repressed and very unhappy. Not that Auri would ever admit that. When he is thrown into a totally unexpected situation, unfairly betrayed by humans, he reacts with predictable stubbornness. Yes, he is hurt initially, but that is based on a misunderstanding and whether or not he can find a way to understand and forgive is part of the challenge he faces. It takes him a long time to even see the possibility of learning to deal with life in a different way; stubborn refusal to accept the Felin and their way of life as something positive stands in his way. More importantly, his culturally learned prejudice is a major obstacle.

Kanar, the Felin leader, and the other supportive characters show admirable patience. In our culture, this would be exceptional. In the Felin way of life, however, it is seen as normal. Kanar and the others may not know exactly what to do to make things right, but they keep trying. Their love and support was so clearly visible to me, yet, for the longest time, Auri cannot even see any of it, never mind react to it. It is as if this is a blind spot for him. And once he does see it? Good old-fashioned obstinacy comes to the fore and he doesn’t even want to admit what is going on.

But that is far from the end of the story. The worst is yet to come, and, interestingly, some of the Felin turn out to be more like humans than Kanar would probably like to admit. It is a powerful, final lesson for Auri – and the turning point to everything. Somewhat unexpected but all the more powerful to it, I was shocked at first, and yet, the way that Kanar reacted was made more believable and real because of it. Very clever!

If you are looking for a great world that is very different from ours culturally and psychologically, if a journey of self-discovery and learning new things interests you, and if intimate interactions with more than one loving partner and an alien does not bother you, you will probably love this book as much as I did.

I do need to leave a word of warning: there are some quite brutal scenes in this book; while I believe they are justified for the purposes of the story, they are quite disturbing and mean this book is not for everyone.

Merged review:

'Wishes' is one of those books that made me think about my own cultural prejudice. I’m not sure it was designed to do that, but I love it when a well-developed alien culture with very different habits, behaviors, and values makes me reconsider my way of looking at the world. What the main character, Auri, goes through in this story is, in many ways, like a mirror that showed me what might be wrong with my culture. Nothing made this clearer than reading the blurb – where the description of Auri becoming a ‘sex slave’ reflects what I expected to see; reading this book and gradually watching my understanding of the real situation grow was not just entertaining – it was a learning experience.

Auri is a proud man, a fierce warrior, and very career driven. He is not an emotional human being, in fact, he is unsure of himself in most social situations. Although he believes he is happy, anyone with half an empathic brain can see he is deeply repressed and miserable. Not that Auri would ever admit that. When he is thrown into an entirely unexpected situation and unfairly betrayed by humans, he reacts with predictable stubbornness. Yes, he is hurt initially, but that is based on a misunderstanding and whether or not he can find a way to understand and forgive is part of the challenge he faces. It takes him a long time to even see the possibility of learning to deal with life in a different way; stubborn refusal to accept the Felin and their way of life as something positive stands in his way. More importantly, his culturally learned prejudice is a major obstacle.

Kanar, the Felin leader, and the other supportive characters show admirable patience. In our culture, this would be exceptional. In the Felin way of life, however, it is seen as normal. Kanar and the others may not know exactly what to do to make things right for Auri, but they keep trying. Their love and support were so clearly visible to me, yet, for the longest time, Auri cannot even see any of it, never mind react to it. It is as if this is a blind spot for him. And once he does see it? Good old-fashioned obstinacy comes to the fore and he doesn’t even want to admit what is going on.

But that is far from the end of the story. The worst is yet to come, and, interestingly, some of the Felin turn out to be more like humans than Kanar would probably like to admit. It is a powerful, final lesson for Auri – and the turning point to everything. Somewhat unexpected but all the more remarkable for it, I was shocked at first, and yet, the way that Kanar reacted was made more believable and real because of it. Very clever!

I do need to leave a word of warning: there are some quite brutal scenes in this book; while I believe they are justified for the purposes of the story, they are quite disturbing and mean this book is not for everyone. If you are looking for a great world that is very different from ours culturally and psychologically, if a journey of self-discovery and learning new things interests you, and if intimate interactions with more than one loving partner and an alien does not bother you, you will probably love this novella as much as I did.

[FantasyLiving · Rating 3 out of 5]

Auri is a military leader who strives for perfection in his position. He has been promoted and transferred to a supply and diplomatic cruise ship. His first diplomatic mission is as support for talks with the Felinians, an alien race who can shift into large cats, and keep their Feline appearance in humanoid form.

Auri catches the eye of the Felinian leader, Kanar, and finds himself betrayed by his peopl and sold to the Felinian as part of diplomatic agreements.

This story is a non-con story with an eventual HEA. The relationship between Kanar and Auri is more than strained, as Auri is unable to accept his new life.

The sex could have been steamier, especially as this is a poly story with multiple pairings.

I felt the first claiming scene was softened for the benefit of the more sensitive reader. I would have preferred it be a little more true to the context, but then I am that depraved.

The story flowed well. It had a decent amount of world building for a shorter story. The 'romance' was obviously slow build, but gentle and comforting. For those who prefer their dark reads to be less dark and more grey, this may be a good story for you.

I will say that on my Kindle, the story finishes at 90% which is a little disheartening. I'm not a fan of misleading page counts.

All in all it was a well written MM sci-fi romance, with edgy content.

Taboo warning inside spoilers The claiming scene in the beginning is between a shifted Felinian and a human, so in essence this is bestiality as well as being a rape scene.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't look my cat in the eye for few days after reading this...

The story is an interesting mash-up of multiple m/m romance genres. It is part sci-fi and part slave fic with shifter-like elements. I say "shifter-like" because even though the anthropomorphic cat-men do not shift, they do have the classic shifter true mating drive.

I enjoyed the story enough and recommend it to fans of J.C. Owens (which I am one) and to those who like any of the genres listed above.

3.5 stars

[315 · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the book Acquainted with the Night which is close in story to this... I was on board with the lifestyle of multiple lovers/mates/pets. In fact, that one had me balling my eyes out!!!

In this one I didn't feel that connection between the different chars in the group. I was hoping to feel that type of book connect with a story that was similar... but was disappointed. Think I would have enjoyed the story if my expectations weren't so hopeful.

[Kristy Maitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

That book could really be perfect if author J.C.Owens would not make the biggest mistake ever. Almost to the middle I was enjoying my self with the story. But when he put inside multi pairing it went just down with the interests.

When as reader you get to the part where you see the king found his 4 mate you get just depressed. Is it so hart to write a romance between 2 partners?

[Elisa Rolle]

I have often said sci-fi or fantasy is not my strength, but now I’m also wondering if I haven’t missed some basic knowledge: is there some sci-fi tradition about feline-like aliens abducting men/women? That is cause Wishes is at least the fourth series I read with the same theme from different authors, and while two could have been a coincidence, 4 is really becoming a tradition.

Auri is the lieutenant of a terrain spaceshift who is basically sold into slavery without him being aware of that. Kanar, the king of Felinians, recognizes in Auri one of his mates (he has already three and was told by an oracle he will have a fourth) and agrees to a commercial agreement with Earth only if their ambassadors give him Auri. Yes, you have it right, not only Auri is not willing, he is also basically abducted, and the first mating with Kanar is not consensual. It was quite difficult for me to accept this development of the story, even if, indeed, it was more coherent with the mood of the story of, let’s say, a fake courtship with Auri arriving to understand how lucky he was.

The author was very true to her story and development, the Felinians have a polyamory society, Kanar has, with Auri, four mates and he basically divides his time among them, with nights where they have one-to-one meetings, and other where they have ménages a trois; when I arrive to this point of the story, I understood the comment of one of the mates that 4 was a good number, it basically meant no one feels excluded when it’s his night “off”.

I felt like the same issues I had in accepting this society were reflected in Auri: he had to adapt to it, overcoming his beliefs of what a “normal” relationship should be. At the end of the story, I cannot really say if Auri’s, and mine’s, ideas are right or wrong, it’s all a matter of perspective, in Kanar’s society, what they are doing is the common behavior, and the merit of the author is to make it plausible.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1939194237/?...

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am also at a loss as to how to rate this book. If this book were by a new author I may have even given it 4.5-5 stars but I have come to expect more from Owens. I thought this book did move rather fast and the 2 years in hiding were glossed over by both Auri and Kanar. The idea of the harem was made more palatable by the fact that it was more of a menage situation and not four separate relationships with Kanar being the center of each. My only other major gripe was that Kanar was trying to say he had no idea that Auri was not willing to mate with him despite Kanar'a presence while Auri was arguing with the diplomatic group and the fact that Auri stabbed him and then RAN AWAY from him. Sure I like a bit of force as much as the next person but that excuse just didn't fly with me. I will read Owens next book despite not really knowing how to feel about this one.

[Shaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book. Set in a alien world where the inhabitants are basically a big cat. J.C Owens managed to bring this world to life for me. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this as I usually like my MC's to be a lot more human. But this was just so well described and well written that there was no ick factor there.

The readers warning of 'dubious consent' though in reality was really not strong enough. There's a lot more than dubious consent. That could possibly apply to the first scene, but later in the book there's a very definite non con scene and the consequences of this is a big deal of the latter part of the book.

But even with this, it was a fabulous read. Not a comfortable one, but great none the less.

[Elithanathile]

It seems this author really likes to write with rapey undertones :-/! I have absolutely NO problem reading dark content (as long as there's a glorious HEA waiting at the end) and have read some of the darkest stories (and I adore rooting for a champion's survivor story, no matter the scope of that victory; big or small)! But I abhor it when such tragedies are being written just for the sake of having a a cookie-cutter plot-line [it seems it is this author's go-to literary move]. It's from my reading experience that this author's thing is throwing rape or rapey undertones into her stories and when something SO serious turns into "trope", that's where I draw my line! I am NOT interested in rape or rapey instances as a TROPE! NOPE, no way no how, not interested!!

[Bogusia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I really liked this book! I read in two sittings and the only reason I did not finish it in one was because I had to go to sleep and then go to work :)JC Owens has a big gift for writing and I love all her books.
JC please, please give us more books :)

[Clover · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a really good story, full of love and strength.
as always with JC Owens, half the book, the MC fights the attraction and then surrender to his mate.
the world and creatures created by the author are always unique. dragons, demons, cats... all are wonderful.

[Kallunnah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reasonably good writing and terrible terrible plot. The point of which seemed to be better the abuser you know & who needs a personality anyway. I wanted to like this book, but the "romance" made my skin crawl.

[Gwendolyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

He gave up way too easy. His actions, aside from the first escape, didn't make any sense with the person he was described as. The guy wouldnt have given up and would have fought or died trying.

Stupid

[Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one more than I expected ... I can be a bit of a sci-fi snob but this one hung together well ... Unfortunately I've read about a dozen books since and the review is vague ... have added it to my re-read and review shelf so that it can get the review it deserves at a later date.

[Taintedskyee (Books Books&More Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was okay I guess but after reading Gaven I was a bit dissapointed.I didnt get the feel of the Possesiveness which I really like in J.C.Owen's writing.I am in love with the concept of 'MINE'but when the person claiming mine have three more that he claims as mine nah not something I like.

[Gardavson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know that this world had a name, but I was right there in it. For a space of time, I was Auri. I completely identified with his emotions and thoughts. The world was great, the plot simple, and the characters ruled the story. Plot lite, character strong, well done.

[Ery · Rating 2 out of 5]

What Eliza said...

[❂ Endless · Rating 1 out of 5]

It stuns me sometimes to see how some folks can conceive such an immense pile of utter BS... or maybe ... this was just not for me.

[Green Book°•° · Rating 2 out of 5]

****2.7***
Honestly this book had a lot of potential to be amazing world renowned even ( high on coffee or just always been delulu) Wasn't what I was expecting love the feline concept it's my kind of read.

Personally sharing isn't my thing no matter what so I would have said" Find a number five Karna".

Yeah don't have much to say messed with me a little bit I will heal👍

[Ayanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehh...it's not bad, but it's not exactly stellar either. It doesn't quite flow very well all the time, and there are parts where it seems rather like poorly disguised info-dump. More bluntly put, the prose is stiff and sometimes the characterization doesn't seem quite right.

I also don't quite like the circumstances with which Auri ended up with the Felinians. I'd think that the General or the Captain or whoever would have at least indicated some sort of regret. Unless they truly believed that it was all right and good. But then, I find it hard to believe that if the General really did care for Auri as much as the narrator indicated, he would have at least hinted at something.

I also feel like I didn't quite get a read on Auri at all. Other than being stiff and overly disciplined to the point of being obsessive, I didn't really get any sense of personality. Because of that, it didn't really make sense when he fled after being told he was part of the trade agreement.

And throughout it all, I never really got a sense of urgency. I got that the author was trying to create one, but I was too busy trying to figure out why Auri would have reacted the way he had to really notice (I would have actually thought that he would have had a more passive resistance. I'd have thought he'd be more logical about it. After all, he's on a strange planet with a strange people and literally no assets. So what does he do? Flee blindly into a strange forest and hope that the forest on this planet functions like the forests he knows. Or maybe he doesn't and just flees in a blind panic. Either way, it seemed decidedly out of character for whatever little had been established by the author already.

Some other things that were weird - Kanar as a beast when he goes into rut grabs Auri's nape. With his teeth. I'm pretty sure humans don't have enough loose skin for that to be physiologically feasible.

"The purr deepened and the tongue began to thoroughly clean him, lovingly laving every inch, invading some very private bits indeed."
Why is that indeed there? It just makes the entire thing sound ridiculous and pretentious.
"He closed his eyes, a flush rising on his cheekbones. Okay, it had been a long time since he had had sex, but this was a cat, for gods’ sakes. He should not feel…"
Ah, but he's also more than a cat. This is quickly devolving into the territory of farce...

I actually kind of liked Auri more when he inexplicably became...I dunno... (I'm inclined to say "broken") regressive after the Empire people drugged him to ship him back.
(He acknowledges that the Felin are intelligent, beautiful, wonderous, amazing, miraculous, blah, blah, blah, then can't seem to bring himself to care after Kanar tells him he'd die without him and only thinks "oh, boo-hoo-me. I'm stuck, trapped, I have no freedom, le sadness." I was a little (rolls eyes) put off that he didn't have a bit more compassion. Not even a twinge of conscience (he surely has one; he had a twinge earlier, although it was a more self-absorbed one, something like "why am I such a loner? Why am I so bad at getting along with people? Am i Forever Alone?" [I wish *rolls eyes])

Actually, I can't even say the world fascinates me because it seems almost exactly like the one in Draconian Measures. But, again, more farcical.

The entire thing just for some reason screams farce to me and seems more like Excuse Plot than actual plot. Maybe it's the diction...

There's another thing I kind of want to say, but it comes off rather harshly, so I'm not altogether certain whether or not I want to say it... Eh, I'll be blunt. It actually kind of made me think that this was made of a composite of sexual fantasies woven together in an excuse of a plot that would somehow make all of them "work" in the same universe. Especially after the rather oddly placed menage.

And then, oh god, the brother. The brother. The damn brother. Oh. My. freaking. goodness. All that melodrama. I wonder that no one exploded from the cheesiness of it.

And it always amazes me how thick Auri is. I was probably (I was definitely) wrong in assuming that he'd be more logical and reasonable. Sheesh. I hate it when that happens.


It's again the same problems I always have with Owens' works. The worlds are pretty fascinating usually, but the characters are lacking or seemed contrived, although I think this one is probably one of my least favorites by far.

It's not a bad read, but not quite on par with what I was looking for. It was too much of a means to an end type of story, too plot based, and lacked the exploration of character depth that would have made it a truly compelling read.

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

First things first: this review is not meant to be offensive to the author or people who like this book/ people who like to read about or participate in menage. This is all pertaining to me personally, so feel fee to disagree with me. And I also want to acknowledge that writing a book that everyone will enjoy is impossible, so please don't be offended; this is me ranting and warning people who may feel as I do.

Also, this review is mostly just going to be me word-vomiting to get how I felt about this book off my chest.

Okay, so backstory for why I detested this.

I am kink friendly, BDSM friendly, and polyamorous friendly. I regularly read mm romance, ff romance, BDSM, and other kink. However, I NEVER read menage.

This is a personal thing. When I go to read a romance, I usually check in the tags to make sure that it does not contain menage. I recognize that some people are polyamorous, and that's cool, but I am SO NOT BUILT THAT WAY. It breaks my heart a little to read it; it feels like cheating. I know that this is just because I am totally monogamous to my core, but I just hate to read it. It's not me. If people are that way, cool, but I don't want to imagine myself in a relationship like that by reading about it because it is the complete opposite of what I want ( Someone who loves me unconditionally, more than anyone else in the world, and wants to be with my crazy ass forever. Cheesy, I know ; ) )

So you're probably wondering why I read this book. I was stuck at the doctors office, bored, running behind, long wait time, had my phone and no e-books to read. I wanted something light and dumb and carefree to read while I waited. Found this book, checked it out on goodreads, couldn't figure out how to find the tags on my phone. Okay, whatever, I'll risk it.

I imagined that it would be a funky book about an alien cat man who abducted a soldier and put him in his harem, only to realize that he loved him after an appropriate amount of time. Upon that realization, the king cat man would take him as his official mate, dispense of the rest of the harem, and happily ever after!

Not what happened. I quit reading the book when I realized that the lieutenant had zero feelings for the cat dude, and that cat man could not get rid of his harem, as they were all his mates. The lieutenant's personality really resonated with me, and I felt like he was the type of person where he could never share someone he loved, so it felt like he was unwillingly being forced to change his personality to be with a man that was already in love with other people.

I quit reading after that. I think if the character came across as cool with the idea that his husband, basically, loved three other men as much- if not more- than him, then I think I could have dealt with it. But it didn't feel like that. It felt like he was miserable and settling so that his kidnapper would be happy.
Okay, I just needed to get that out. Rant over.

Side note: I checked, the author warned of dubious consent (which I do read) but not menage. Perhaps I was being stupid, thinking that a harem book would lead to a monogamous relationship (eventually, not immediately) but I'm still kind of annoyed she(?) didn't warn of the menage stuff.