Love Comes Twice

by Adonis Devereux

Found sleeping beneath the ice by a dying king, Riane has always known she was different. She draws men to her, her every movement a call to sex, but no man has ever stirred her blood until Kiltarin, the son of the God-King, comes to her. He brings color to her life, and she brings unspeakable sexual delight to his.Her beauty gives him courage to overcome his fear of his own immortality. But her true identity is still unknown, and when the secret of her birth is revealed, Kiltarin fears he cannot compete with the new rivals for her affection. And Riane cannot soothe his fears, because for her, love comes twice.

221 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 4, 2012

About the author

Adonis Devereux is two people made one. He grew up in Michigan and in rural Indiana, a Midwestern boy with a passion for story. She was rootless, a Virginia native who lived in London, Paris, and Rome before her parents settled just outside Tokyo. Like him, stories burned in her.

They met in university at a poetry reading, and their love story continued into marriage, graduate school, and half a dozen children. Now he teaches at a Japanese national university, and she teaches children to invert fractions and decline Latin nouns, all while researching ancient Roman and medieval recipes for their novels.

Together, they are Adonis Devereux. They have six books under contract, Worth His Freedom, Bride for the God-King, Chasing Earth and Flame, The Twelve Naughty Princesses, Love Comes Twice, and The Soldier's Lotus.

Reviews

[Ollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review by Ollie for bittenbyparanormalromance

Each time I read Adonis Deverueux's books, which are set in the wondrous world of Gilalion, I always find myself lost in the beautiful details, sights, sounds and powerful emotions. I always feel that I am reading a Greek tragedy mixed with the complexities of Lord of the Rings and the various clans and lands as Game of Thrones.

I have to honestly say that when I finished reading this book I was very moved and full of conflicting emotions ranging from joy, contentment and satisfied to pain, sorrow and dismay. Let this sway you in a positive way as the book stirred me with many strong emotions and left me feeling conflicted with how it ended. The ending was tied up, but not in a neat bow because I wanted a more in-depth explanation as to why one character in particular decided on their course of action.

Riane and Kiltarin's story is a highly erotic one full of great passion, devotion, and loyalty, however, their relationship is put to the test several times in the story which brings with it instances of sorrow, despair and a future in question.

I loved Riane and Kiltarin as a couple. When they explored together who Riane truly was and their discoveries lead them on a path that could tear them apart I was overwhelmed by Kiltarin's love for her. There were moments in the story when Kiltarin's rivals for Riane tried to pry her away from Kiltarin and I personally found it difficult to accept some of her reactions. Again this is just a testament of how well written the book is that it is able to draw such strong emotions from me.

I highly recommend this book which could be read as a stand alone, but characters who have appeared in previous books are mentioned, which if you read first will provide you with a greater appreciation and understanding of the world and the characters.

Be warned this a very hot, erotic book with M/F/M menage, anal sex/play, sex toys, and multiple partners which will result in the need for the reader to take multiple cold showers.

5 Stars

[Katherine Wyvern · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, the bad news. I must confess that this is not my favourite of Adonis Devereux’s books I read so far. It’s not for any specific fault of the book; I just feel that the scope and intensity of the story needed more length to come into full bloom. The majesty of the plot deserved a more measured pace; the intricacy of the sex scene a more nuanced description; the dazzling richness of the world building could fill volumes on its own; and the conflicts and development of the characters (both considerable) could have been explored even more fully. My calculation is that the book is too short by at least a half.

But, for all that, I could not be convinced to cut off a star from my rating. Just perhaps a little tip from a corner of the fifth star.
The book still stands head, shoulders, nipples and navel above the crowd. It’ almost sacrilegious to list this under Romance. Romance happens (very much) but this is first and foremost a wonderful fantasy story, set in a world of flabbergasting complexity.

Gilalion is so vast, so rich and so unique that really there is no point in trying to describe it. There is a handful of novels set in this universe already, and more to come, I am sure, so it’s not a place that can be summed up in a paragraph or so. There are human kingdoms and Ausir kingdoms (Ausir look like humans, except they are longer lived, and have horns, and are all in all hotter and smarter). There are wrathful, quarrelsome gods, trolls and giants. But not boring and bald like it sounds here. Grand, and majestic and surprising. Look, you got to go and read the books instead of sitting there reading my review.

The hero of the story here is Kiltarin, the Prince of the Larenai Ausirs, son of the God-king Kelvirith who appeared briefly in Bride for the God-king. Being the prince of a kingdom with an immortal king has its drawbacks: knowing he is not likely to ever inherit the throne, Kiltarin leaves his place at court to hunt Nohrs (let’s say trolls, but scarier) in the wilderness.

In the wilderness he makes friends, here and there, like the Tamari Ausirs, an estranged Ausir population far in a barren icy country. Discovering the capital of this country, Icedeep, and its local customs and traditions is already enough to justify the price of the book.

The heroine is an amazing, complex, mysterious, loving, lusty, dangerous, deeply dark woman named Riane. When the Tamari king, on his death-quest, finds her asleep under the ice of a frozen lake, and wakes her up, she has no memory of her identity, except that in her sleep ‘she heard the whispers of the world’. And if that is not awesome, I don’t know what is.

Much of what happens in the book has to do with the mystery of who and what Riane is, and it is quite a ride to discover the truth.
There are moments towards the end of the book when I thought, ‘Is this the same book I started the other day?’, such is the deep change that comes upon all the characters involved. It might easily have been a trilogy!

Highly recommended.

[Romancing the Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by: Patti
Book provided by: Publisher
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

: Love Comes Twice was one of those stories that sucked me in right away. I quickly became attached to the main characters and wanted to know more about them and their world. I could not wait to find out more about their future and I was concerned about their encounters with their enemies. Overall this was a wonderful book but I must be honest and tell you that there is a point about three quarters of the way in where I stalled out in my reading and had to push through to continue. I don’t know if I just got overwhelmed or just needed a break but once I pushed through for a little while I enjoyed it again for the remainder of the book. It may have just been me but I thought I would mention it.

In my opinion the beginning of the book was great. I was captivated by the wonderful descriptions and tumultuous emotions. The characters and their deities are beautifully depicted and diverse; the world is marvelously treacherous and complex. I was very impressed by the wonderful pictures that were painted in my mind’s eye. I definitely want to read more about the different races and lands on this world. The people, cultures and lands seem to have many fantastic layers to explore.

Every character within the story has many things to consider both culturally, physically, emotionally and interpersonally. Friendships, alliances and families are altered with the decisions they are making. Not only their existence is affected but many other lives as well. That is quite a burden for a person when the heart is involved.

Riane struggles throughout the book to find out who she really is. This is both mysterious and exciting to witness because you have no idea where exactly it is leading you. Kiltarin loves her so much; he wants to love her, help her and protect her. They have no idea why they are attracting such enemies. Faloth comes at a time when he is most needed and gives the only support he knows how. He tries to give all that he can to help his companions succeed in their quest. Riane, Kiltarin and Faloth have a very unique relationship. I don’t think there are many things about this book that are ordinary. Unique seems to be a word that describes many things about this book.

The reason for my rating is that although the beginning had me loving it by the end I was not in such a loving mood. I did enjoy the book however I felt that I was just being led along a very long path to get where I was going. If we could give half stars I would have given this 3 and a half stars.