Chains of Revenge

by Keziah Hill

A dark, violent, and devastatingly sensual erotic fantasy about the binding force of love.

Lissa, Princess of Horvald, loved and lost her slave in chains ten long years ago. Then she was spoiled and selfish, thinking she could bend a warrior of Catiscal to her will. But time and adversity have changed her into a leader, prepared to give herself to the Warlord Death in order to save her people.

Will he accept her sacrifice? Or will his need for revenge blind him to the insidious chains of love wrapping around him - chains even a powerful Warlord can't resist…or can he?

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Erotic Romance, Adult, Erotica

111 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 2, 2012

About the author

After quite a few years working in the criminal justice system, I decided a tree change was needed so decamped to the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney Australia. Amid a garden full of flowering blossoms, roses and the odd marauding possum, I write steamy love stories where my characters get their happily ever after or at least their happy for now. You can follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KeziahHillAu... and on Twitter https://twitter.com/KeziahHill

I’m a voracious reader as well as writer so you can also see what I read at Goodreads. Several of my short stories can be read at the Erotica Readers and Writers Association.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devadas is a warrior and the younger prince of Catiscal, but when he is captured by neighbouring Horvald, he is put in The Pit, there to fight Horvald's warriors-in-training until he dies. No one knows he's a prince, and as far as Devada is concerned, he is dead to his country and his parents as soon as he was captured. He maintains his own code of honour in a warring country that he sees as wanton: they keep slaves, the women walk around practically naked, and the people have an open attitude towards sex and sharing partners.

When Lissa, the young princess of Horvald and the king's only child, takes an interest in Devadas, he took the opportunity hoping to find a way to escape or somehow exploit the situation. But Lissa wants only a fit man to train her in the arts of love making, and Devadas has a month, at first, before she's married off. Those plans don't eventuate, and instead the two explore each other in depth, Devadas learning as much about how to pleasure a woman as Lissa learns from him.

When her father, the king of Horvald, takes Devadas along with the other warrior slaves to join his army in his latest venture, Lissa is distraught. From long exposure to Devadas, her attitude towards her people's cavalier slave keeping has changed, and when a storm comes through with her father absent, she ditches forever her luxury and her frivolous clothes and joins the people in rebuilding the town and planting new crops, negotiating with neighbouring Catiscal which also suffered in the storm. When her father returns and tells her he killed Devedas along with a number of other slaves who attempted to escape, she grieves deeply then locks her heart away, planning to stay chaste forever.

Ten years later, the growing empire has decimated her father's army and killed him; its leader, a general who calls himself Lord Death, comes for Lissa. In shock, she recognises Devadas, but he has changed - and worse, he plans on exacting revenge on Lissa for the long months she took advantage of him, rather than finding a way to free him and the other slaves. His demands of her are terrible, and she is humiliated by the finely made gold chains he makes her wear - and especially by the leash - but bargains the safety of her people and their fields in exchange.

When the new king of Catiscal, Devadas' older brother Anton, arrives in Horvald, thinking to take it for his own and Lissa for his bride, Devadas decides to marry her himself. But Anton plays dirty, and it takes seeing how he treats Lissa for Devadas to realise just what she means to him, and how abominable his behaviour towards her was.

Between the new Harlequin/Mills & Boon romance e-book imprint, Escape Publishing, and Penguin Australia's new romance e-book imprint, Destiny Romance, my Kindle is suddenly chokkas with great new romance fiction. I picked this one from Escape because it combines erotic romance with fantasy, two of my favourite genres, though I didn't realise until I started reading it that it's actually a fairly short novella. I like novellas, but I think in this case, as well written as it was, it would have been a more satisfying novel if it had been, well, novel length.

Everything that needed to be there was there, from some general world-building (put together in your head from minor details and bits of info scattered throughout), to character motivations and some good plot developments. But it's the characters that you want to read romance for, in whatever form it comes in, and in the case of Chains of Revenge it skimmed along a bit too lightly, without really delving deeply into their psyches. Individually, I felt like I understood and could sympathise with the characters, no problem, but together, I wanted a bit more chemistry, especially in the beginning. It rushed through those months and then told us they were falling in love with each other, without really showing it (or showing them holding back, since their positions - mistress/princess and slave - is a perfect relationship obstacle).

Things heated up considerably when they meet again ten years later, and the story became more interesting too, but the problem of developing things between the characters remained a bit stunted. They just never quite built up momentum, and that was disappointing. I don't mind the lightly sketched in world-building, for a novella, and I don't mind a fairly uneventful plot - but the most important thing in a romance story is the romance, right? and building up chemistry between the characters. Developing that more deeply at the beginning would have given the rest of the story a really solid footing, and strong past history that would have added mouth-watering tension and gut-clenching sexual chemistry.

Otherwise, I enjoyed it and found parts of it particularly fun and juicy to read. The chain harness was a nice erotic touch, but one of the things that stood out for me was how much I liked Lissa. She grew and matured and changed quite a bit, rising to a new challenge and coming to realise that, much like in a democratic system, a leader is nothing without healthy, happy people to lead, and so she puts them first, over her own wants and needs. Devadas has a lot to learn, too, and is not a straight-forward character. So while I didn't find that their chemistry sizzled as much as it could have, the potential for it was there, and I could believe in them as people and lovers.

[Rhyll Biest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore the beginning of this book and the scene where the tables get turned (can't say too much without giving things away!)
I gave it five spankings (oops, I mean stars...)

[fay · Rating 2 out of 5]

to be fair… it was my bad for not reading that it was erotica.

quite dehumanising, i must say lmao

[Liz F · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. I loved the description of this book! It sounded super hot - a princess, a sex slave, warlords? Oh, you had me at sex slave! LOL!

First off, I'm not too sure how I would classify this book. Romance, Erotica? Fantasy? I wasn't sure if this was set in a mythical land or way back in history. What I AM sure of is that you won't care either way once you get into this book!

Second, I keep calling it a book but its actually a novella, I believe. And if you've read some of my other reviews, you know that I don't particularly care for novellas. This one is a good example of why.

Now, I know I said that I liked the book and that it was pretty good and those are both true statements. But the reason that I didn't LOVE this book and the reason why I don't like novellas are the same, in this case: there's just never quite enough character development. But less me give you some more details...

We first meet Devadas, Prince of Castigal. He's essentially dying on the battlefield. But his enemy (warriors from the neighboring town of Horvald) captures him and he's forced to live out the rest of his days as a slave in The Pit. It seemed like The Pit was the place where Horvaldian warriors are trained to fight. It's a brutal, awful existence but Devadas won't reveal his identity to his captors because he refuses to be used as some kind of bargaining chip. But Devadas' life is about to be changed.

That's where Lissa, Princess of Horvald, comes in. Lissa has just come of age, and in Horvald women are encouraged to gain sexual experience at this time so that later, when they marry, they are better able to please their husbands. Lissa, of course, chooses Devadas, the fighting slave, to instruct her in the carnal arts. But Lissa, the beautiful and spoiled princess, has maybe bitten off more than she thinks.

I enjoyed Lissa and Devadas. When we first meet her, she's a snooty, confident princess who cares little for other people. She intends to use Devadas to learn all she can about pleasing a man and then send him back to The Pit. She never intended on getting to know him. But the more time she spends with him, the more she finds herself caring about him and trying to ease the sadness she sees in his eyes. Devadas changes as well. He's a hard, bitter, angry man but the more he's with Lissa, he starts to care for her as well. But war is coming and Devadas is called (forced) to join the ranks and he and Lissa must part when neither of them want it to end.

That's the general, overall glimpse of the story. The rest is about what happens after Devadas returns from war and I don't want to give it away. There's no a LOT that helps you get to know the characters. You get a bit more insight into Lissa since the story stays with her when Devadas leaves Horvald. But there still isn't much. She's an entitled brat and then she's not, essentially. That's my one big complaint about this novella and its not much of a complaint since that reason is the cause of my bias againt ALL novellas.

There was one other tiny thing that bugged me but maybe I'm reading in to too much... The loose and ribald town called Horvald. Horvald? As in Whore-vald, maybe? And then more uptight and sexually repressed town on Castigal? Like castrated?? Or is it like "casting" judgment? I don't know if that's actually true or if I have too much time on my hands!! LOL

So I didn't love this novella but I think someone who enjoys novellas would enjoy this one. Oh! One thing I forgot! The Sexy Time was SUPER hot!! If it isn't already, it should be classified as Erotica! And for me, I think that's what kept this book from getting 4 stars. It is for sure worth your time!!

[Bree T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devadas, Prince of Catiscal is captured and treated as a slave by Horvald. Instead of the sweet death he craves, he is sent to The Pit where he must put his body on the line day after day to train the future warriors of Horvald. In order to survive, he must be better than all of the warriors his very captivity is helping to train.

Then he is given a new duty. The people of Horvald are a more open people than those of Catiscal and Devadas is given to the Princess Lissa. It will be his job to take her virginity and teacher her about the ways of love so that she may please her husband when they wed. Devadas is stunned by this arrangement. In Catiscal, sexual intercourse is mostly for recreational purposes but in Horvald it is very much a pleasure pursuit.

Devadas is surprised by the explosive passion that springs up between them. It becomes much more than just a job, pleasuring the Princess of Horvald. They talk to each other, they connect, mentally as well as in earth-shatteringly physical ways. When her father, the King, takes her with him on a campaign to conquer some other land, Devadas and Lissa are torn apart.

Lissa has always believed her warrior in chains died 10 years ago after her father took him away. When her father is killed and Horvald falls at the hands of the feared Warlord Death, Lissa prepares for death. Instead she finds herself looking into the eyes of Devadas and he makes it quite clear that he intends to humiliate her and use her, the way he believes she used him all of those years ago.

Chains Of Love is one of the very first books being offered by Harlequin’s new digital-first imprint, Escape. There were five titles released in November and this one was offered free on Amazon as a promotion and I grabbed it for my Kindle when I saw it posted on twitter. I plan on reading the rest of the titles soon.

Devadas is a proud warrior, the Prince of Catiscal who would prefer a noble death to being kept as a slave by the nation of Horvald. Catiscal are not a slave-keeping nation so it doesn’t sit well with him to be ordered about or used. When he is chosen to be the one to instruct the Princess Lissa in the ways of the marital bed, he is resentful but also unable to prevent the way in which he responds to her. To his surprise, he comes to enjoy his time with the Princess as the bond between them deepens to be something much more than just a slave and mistress. But Lissa is a Princess and Devadas is still just someone captive and he must do whatever those in charge wish.

When the tables turn and he finds himself in a position of power over Lissa, some 10 years later, he sees the perfect opportunity to extract some revenge. He binds her in chains that she must wear publicly so that the people can see that their Princess is now the whore to the Warlord Death and bound to do whatever he wishes. Although Lissa begs not to wear them when she is out in the fields, helping, Devadas is unmoving. It seems that the old passion between them hasn’t gone anywhere and even though Devadas seeks to bed her only as a way to humiliate her, it soon becomes clear that there is more to it, especially when Devadas’ elder brother, now the King of Catiscal turns up and demands his bride – Lissa.

Lissa is a spoiled Princess when she uses Devadas but he is a grown adult when he comes back and begins to take his so-called revenge upon her. He is mostly kidding himself that all he is after is the chance to humiliate her before he resumes being the Warlord Death but both of them are hopelessly clueless about the way the other truly feels and Devadas has no idea that all these years, Lissa has believed him dead because that’s what her father told her. It isn’t until Devadas learns that his elder brother, with whom he has never gotten along, intends to claim Lissa that he begins to accept the fact that his feelings for her are not so hostile.

Chains Of Love is quite a spicy but short read but there were two thing that tempered my enjoyment of it (and these are purely personal, but that’s what reading is, a personal experience). The first was overly-excessive usage of a particular word during intimate scenes. I loathe this word (it begins with ‘C’ so you fill in the blanks yourselves). I hate it in every day conversation, which seems to be popular now among high school and twenties-aged males, I hate it used as an insult and I hate it used as a descriptive term. And this book is absolutely littered with this word. In every scene in which Lissa and Devadas are intimate, it must be used at least four times. It pulls me out of the story because it’s such an ugly word and I really, really dislike “cunny” even more, which is used once in this book. If you don’t mind this word then you’ll no doubt enjoy the erotic scenes more than I did but if you share my sensitivity to it (and I’m no prude, I read plenty of hot stuff, it’s just this particular word that I do not enjoy) then you may have the same issue I did in that it pulled me out of the scenes.

The second thing is that the relationship the second time around develops extremely rapidly, perhaps too rapidly for my liking given they haven’t seen each other in over 10 years and they are both very different people. Devadas seeks to humiliate Lissa despite the fact that they’d been on good terms when he left and had to go and fight a war for her father. She didn’t humiliate him for her amusement when she was a teenager, it was part of the cultural custom for a virgin to be taught the ways of the bedroom prior to marriage. She was haughty and often a bit condescending but she was also a Princess. Devadas is a grown man both times and his revenge is a bit childish and makes it even more difficult to believe that he still has actual feelings for her. I’d have liked a little more character exploration and depth to the arrangement between them the second time around in order for me to get more satisfaction out of this one.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A princess uses a slave to teach her the ways of sexual pleasures...in every way imaginable. Months go by and love has bloomed between the two even though neither has admitted it or said it to the other. Eventually, the slave is taken from her to assist her father, the king, in his war. Her heart breaks when her father, returning after 8 long months, tells her that the slave was was killed.

It is now 10 years later and the Warlord Death has conquered her city. He is her lost slave. She is thrilled until he lets her know that she is now his slave and that he is her master in all things. He proceeds to place a gold link harness with matching lead on her and parades her around in front of her people.

For what happens next, you must read the book.

[Ainslie Paton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read Chains of Revenge as a self pubbed book. Amongst all the books I read it stood out. I remembered it well which talks to the strength of not only the storyline but the bold, muscular voice of Keziah Hill.

[Moira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story.

[Summeralism · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok... the whole time I kept thinking 'why?' Why would he do that or why would she say that? It's also like 90% bow-chicka-wow! It's a one and a half star kinda book. Read it if you must.

[Brittany · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this zero stars, I would.
Sorry if the author reads this.
We all have our opinions and this just wasn’t it, at all, for me.