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Enslaved
The gods are flawed . . . and they make awful parents. Deryck knows first-hand the cruelty of the gods. Three thousand years after his birth, he is still trapped, forced to service humans as an Incubus-unable to choose whom he sleeps with, and living a life completely devoid of love. There is no out for him. No hope. Or so he thought. Shayla McIntire spent five years getting her life back on track after the accident claiming her husband's life. She is content to a nice, boring, subdued life free of the abuse she suffered before. Her friends are worried. They want her to find the man of her dreams and move on. Little do they know, the Powers That Be have decided the man of Shayla's dreams for her. There's just one hitch, he's enslaved to the gods and it will take power she doesn't know she has to free him. Deryck isn't the only one hoping Shayla will free him, though.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 11, 2014
3 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
R.C. Murphy
8 books17 followersR.C. Murphy spends her nights writing urban fantasy novels and a slew of short stories for her blog, The Path of a Struggling Writer. By day she is a not so mild-mannered housewife, wrangling vampires, demons, and various other nasty creatures. R.C. has joined forces with fellow writers, artists, and actors to form the Zombie Survival Crew where she reviews movies, TV shows, as well as penning articles on important survival skills. Her articles on survival in the zombie apocalypse are featured in the ZSC anthology Undead is Not an Option.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 25, 2013
I found this to be very enjoyable. The spelling of the male names reminded me of one of my favorite authors. But it very easy to get into and held my attention all the way through. I really hope the author continues on after this book.
February 23, 2013
Enslaved had me from hello. What can I say? I am an R.C. Murphy fan! Her characters, Shayla and Deryck are so well written that they sucked me in heart and soul, not an easy feat for an author to do. The plot moved along at a nice pace and she never left you guessing about why something happened. You saw Shayla emerge from her shell of insecurity and self-doubt to become a strong heroine. When I started the book I thought Deryck was meant to be the savior. I was pleasantly surprised by the turn it took. One could easily get lost in the story and not realize what time it was. The one point I have to make though, while this is a story about an Incubus, the sex was cleverly understated, that is until you got closer to the climax, no pun intended. Would I recommend this book? Absolutley! And I look forward to more from this budding author. She definitely has the talent to keep you coming back for more.
March 14, 2013
I was expecting a hot read. The hero is an incubus, a sex slave. This book was barely above a sweet romance. Finally there was a sex scene at the end. The book was well written and both Dyreck and Shayla were well developed characters who I felt a connection with. Unfortunately, I found the book long and boring.
March 14, 2013
originally reviewed at http://prufreads.blogspot.com/
My rating: 3 stars out of 5
"Listen to the sound of my heart, Shayla. Count the beats if you have to."
~Deryck
Enslaved has all the makings for a fantastic read. Deryck is a 3000 year old Incubus slave whose mother had been mortal and his father, an Egyptian fertility God. Living the life of a slave is a miserable existence. Deryck feels no love for the women he's forced to service. He feels nothing but shame, resentment and anger in regards to the life he's been handed.
Shayla has had a hard life, a failed marriage ending in double tragedy, she has basically cut herself off from the rest of the world. She finds security in her bland existence and simply wants the nightmares to stop. I think it's really important for heroines to come in all shapes and sizes. Enslaved made an attempt but for me, it fell short. Shayla came from an abusive relationship where her weight was often used against her so it's understandable that she struggles with her self image. That being said, whining about how big her ass is and two seconds later diving into basically whatever junk food she could get her hands on...unfortunately, the moment then passed. It didn't promote the understanding that you can be healthy and beautiful at any size. That was an issue for me, may not be for others, to each their own.
There are bigger powers in play when Deryck catches a glimpse of the woman he's seen in his dreams. He doesn't understand how he's able to dream at all, let alone in such detail of a woman that actually exists. Keep in mind he's 3000 years old so the every day of Earth isn't something he's accustomed to so his venture into the big bad city was charming and entertaining and the fact that Shayla assumed he was a crazy stalker made it even better. They come from different worlds, different times, so what seemed sweet and genuine to him, screamed restraining order to her! Deryck and Shayla's dance was the best part of this book, unfortunately, once he actually 'got the girl' it started to fall a bit flat for me. It was as though it took an abrupt turn and never really righted itself.
I really liked the idea of learning a bit more about Deryck and the others, their history, the formed relationships, but the pacing and flow of the story wasn't as smooth as it could have been so it didn't quite work for me. I gave it 3 stars because there is so much potential and some very, very good aspects of the book and the world that is being created for this new series. I would like to have been given more build up, backstory, and for the pacing to flow a bit better. R.C. Murphy is definately an author I would like to read more from and I'm curious as to where she will take the next installment.
My rating: 3 stars out of 5
"Listen to the sound of my heart, Shayla. Count the beats if you have to."
~Deryck
Enslaved has all the makings for a fantastic read. Deryck is a 3000 year old Incubus slave whose mother had been mortal and his father, an Egyptian fertility God. Living the life of a slave is a miserable existence. Deryck feels no love for the women he's forced to service. He feels nothing but shame, resentment and anger in regards to the life he's been handed.
Shayla has had a hard life, a failed marriage ending in double tragedy, she has basically cut herself off from the rest of the world. She finds security in her bland existence and simply wants the nightmares to stop. I think it's really important for heroines to come in all shapes and sizes. Enslaved made an attempt but for me, it fell short. Shayla came from an abusive relationship where her weight was often used against her so it's understandable that she struggles with her self image. That being said, whining about how big her ass is and two seconds later diving into basically whatever junk food she could get her hands on...unfortunately, the moment then passed. It didn't promote the understanding that you can be healthy and beautiful at any size. That was an issue for me, may not be for others, to each their own.
There are bigger powers in play when Deryck catches a glimpse of the woman he's seen in his dreams. He doesn't understand how he's able to dream at all, let alone in such detail of a woman that actually exists. Keep in mind he's 3000 years old so the every day of Earth isn't something he's accustomed to so his venture into the big bad city was charming and entertaining and the fact that Shayla assumed he was a crazy stalker made it even better. They come from different worlds, different times, so what seemed sweet and genuine to him, screamed restraining order to her! Deryck and Shayla's dance was the best part of this book, unfortunately, once he actually 'got the girl' it started to fall a bit flat for me. It was as though it took an abrupt turn and never really righted itself.
I really liked the idea of learning a bit more about Deryck and the others, their history, the formed relationships, but the pacing and flow of the story wasn't as smooth as it could have been so it didn't quite work for me. I gave it 3 stars because there is so much potential and some very, very good aspects of the book and the world that is being created for this new series. I would like to have been given more build up, backstory, and for the pacing to flow a bit better. R.C. Murphy is definately an author I would like to read more from and I'm curious as to where she will take the next installment.
March 23, 2013
This is actually a 3.5. I wish you could half star.
This was a book I picked up on a free day after it being recommended by a friend and following the author on twitter.
I had no expectations, even though I’d read its reviews and some of the author’s other works. I had mixed feelings about it, to say the least.
So, my mixed feelings.
I have to say that the writing is good. Descriptive, humorous, eloquent. Apart from a few spelling mistakes -how I would have loved to know how a ‘fist date’ went- and inconsistencies -the heroine’s eyes went from blue, to grey, to green on numerous occasions- there was nothing in regards to the writing that detracted from the story. I would say that with tighter editing and a better, human (as opposed to Word) spell checker, it would be solid.
The world is easy to follow, a fun play on the myths of many pantheons and the ultimate servitude of their half breed offspring, the incubi. It’s a take on it I haven’t seen before. The sex slave and incubus angle has been done but the author brings a new element to it.
Onto the lovebirds. This is where I really had trouble deciding how to rate this.
The heroine is a food fetishist, I’m sure, she’s constantly eating, and then complaining that her ass is fat or her friends look better than her. I wanted to shake her so many times. She gets herself stuck in this vicious cycle of self-loathing and low confidence that circles around her past and how she has been treated and how she sees herself. But she’s real. We all have these problems, flaws. It’s the whining that makes her a little less likeable. Her humour and snark saved her from being completely irritating and I was rooting for her to get with the guy because she deserved something good. That one person that makes you feel like you’re the most beautiful thing in the world. What woman doesn’t want that?
So, does the hero sweep her off her feet?
Kind of.
He isn’t the traditional alpha male. Oh, he’s hot, he’s got the bod for it. Just not the inner ‘Grrrr’ I like in my men. He was a demi-god outside and an awkward, gangly teenage boy on the inside. You’d never think he’d been having sex with millions of women his entire life. He’s adorable though. He falls in insta-love with her and tries everything human to woo her. He’s a perfect gentleman and I really admired his sweetness.
There isn’t so much sex, not until the very end. Then it’s sweet and slightly awkward. It lacked the passion one expects in a romance. His solo scene did more for me than their sex together.
All in all, a cute chick-flicky type easy-going read. Something to pass the time in the bath or on a journey.
Worth the read if you want to get lost in a world for a quick minute.
This was a book I picked up on a free day after it being recommended by a friend and following the author on twitter.
I had no expectations, even though I’d read its reviews and some of the author’s other works. I had mixed feelings about it, to say the least.
So, my mixed feelings.
I have to say that the writing is good. Descriptive, humorous, eloquent. Apart from a few spelling mistakes -how I would have loved to know how a ‘fist date’ went- and inconsistencies -the heroine’s eyes went from blue, to grey, to green on numerous occasions- there was nothing in regards to the writing that detracted from the story. I would say that with tighter editing and a better, human (as opposed to Word) spell checker, it would be solid.
The world is easy to follow, a fun play on the myths of many pantheons and the ultimate servitude of their half breed offspring, the incubi. It’s a take on it I haven’t seen before. The sex slave and incubus angle has been done but the author brings a new element to it.
Onto the lovebirds. This is where I really had trouble deciding how to rate this.
The heroine is a food fetishist, I’m sure, she’s constantly eating, and then complaining that her ass is fat or her friends look better than her. I wanted to shake her so many times. She gets herself stuck in this vicious cycle of self-loathing and low confidence that circles around her past and how she has been treated and how she sees herself. But she’s real. We all have these problems, flaws. It’s the whining that makes her a little less likeable. Her humour and snark saved her from being completely irritating and I was rooting for her to get with the guy because she deserved something good. That one person that makes you feel like you’re the most beautiful thing in the world. What woman doesn’t want that?
So, does the hero sweep her off her feet?
Kind of.
He isn’t the traditional alpha male. Oh, he’s hot, he’s got the bod for it. Just not the inner ‘Grrrr’ I like in my men. He was a demi-god outside and an awkward, gangly teenage boy on the inside. You’d never think he’d been having sex with millions of women his entire life. He’s adorable though. He falls in insta-love with her and tries everything human to woo her. He’s a perfect gentleman and I really admired his sweetness.
There isn’t so much sex, not until the very end. Then it’s sweet and slightly awkward. It lacked the passion one expects in a romance. His solo scene did more for me than their sex together.
All in all, a cute chick-flicky type easy-going read. Something to pass the time in the bath or on a journey.
Worth the read if you want to get lost in a world for a quick minute.
May 3, 2015
Well, this wasn't anything like I expected. I really thought it was going to be hot erotica. Let me just clear that misconception right up, in case anyone else thinks a book about incubi would involve sex...apparently not. It wasn't what I expected but it was still a decent read. Deryck was very sweet. Shayla was witty and her friends were fabulously supportive. If I had to reduce my review of Enslaved to one word it would be Sweet...maybe awkward, but sweet. I don't mean the writing or anything. The characters were shy and sweetly awkward with one another.
I liked that Shayla was said to be beautiful, but was shown to be something other than a stick. I don't think her dress size was actually ever given, but she had size D breasts and it was at least suggested that she's in the double digits size-wise, maybe a ten or twelve. I do wish she hadn't been so concerned about it, always calling herself a cow and such. But at least it was often countered by her friends. I also liked that she was a woman who ate. There didn't appear to be anything that a jelly donut and coffee wouldn't fix. That is a woman I can relate to!
I did think Deryck seemed a little clueless for a 3,000 year old incubus. Surely in a few of those calls to service women in their dreams at least one had wished for the perfect date before all that sex he was having but the reader didn't see. In fact, it's apparent Deryck had at least been in restaurants with the women he serviced. So how had he remained so innocent?
The book was a little slow, dragging in the middle a bit and I really would have like a little more back story to flesh the characters and their histories out. But it read well and wrapped up with a syrupy sweet ending. All in all, not what I was expecting but not bad either.
I liked that Shayla was said to be beautiful, but was shown to be something other than a stick. I don't think her dress size was actually ever given, but she had size D breasts and it was at least suggested that she's in the double digits size-wise, maybe a ten or twelve. I do wish she hadn't been so concerned about it, always calling herself a cow and such. But at least it was often countered by her friends. I also liked that she was a woman who ate. There didn't appear to be anything that a jelly donut and coffee wouldn't fix. That is a woman I can relate to!
I did think Deryck seemed a little clueless for a 3,000 year old incubus. Surely in a few of those calls to service women in their dreams at least one had wished for the perfect date before all that sex he was having but the reader didn't see. In fact, it's apparent Deryck had at least been in restaurants with the women he serviced. So how had he remained so innocent?
The book was a little slow, dragging in the middle a bit and I really would have like a little more back story to flesh the characters and their histories out. But it read well and wrapped up with a syrupy sweet ending. All in all, not what I was expecting but not bad either.
July 17, 2013
Shayla is a mess. Her abusive husband died 5 years ago (we never learn how), she miscarried, and her self-esteem is non-existent. Lucky for her, she has horny female friends who put up with her incessant whining, self-doubt, and crippling social anxiety. With their help, she is forced to go drinking with co-workers and date two men at once...totally believable for a woman who constantly degrades her own appearance and zero trust in men, right? Not to mention Shayla's bizarre and juvenile response to male interaction, such as running away screaming for help. Yup, totally believable.
Don't worry about Crazy Shay-ze though. When she gets a couple of compliments and shallow, conversation-lacking dates under her belt, all memories of her self-esteem issues evaporate. She miraculously overcomes all of her past issues without so much as a paragraph of reflection. It's like the author wrote the first half during the bloated phase of her period, and the second half after getting laid and squeezing into her skinny jeans.
If the complete 180 in personality doesn't leave you scratching your head, just wait until you read how Deryck breaks free of his incubus curse.
On a side note to the author, details are good. Details about cleaning up after the humpty dance and disposal of the condom are bad. Very bad. Throw-up-in-my-mouth-a-little bad.
Don't worry about Crazy Shay-ze though. When she gets a couple of compliments and shallow, conversation-lacking dates under her belt, all memories of her self-esteem issues evaporate. She miraculously overcomes all of her past issues without so much as a paragraph of reflection. It's like the author wrote the first half during the bloated phase of her period, and the second half after getting laid and squeezing into her skinny jeans.
If the complete 180 in personality doesn't leave you scratching your head, just wait until you read how Deryck breaks free of his incubus curse.
On a side note to the author, details are good. Details about cleaning up after the humpty dance and disposal of the condom are bad. Very bad. Throw-up-in-my-mouth-a-little bad.
July 9, 2013
Absolutely loved the idea for this story... God's impregnate women and take the child from the womb at 8 months to forever be enslaved... unless they are summoned for freedom.
In this particular story, a woman's child is taken from her womb (she thinks he's been miscarried) and her husband dies (unbeknownst to her, he's a God). Years later, she meets one of the enslaved, and another follows him to her.. the man who truly cares for her helps her away from the other enslaved who is just using her to free himself.. she helps him out of the curse he lives and gains powers of her own by doing so... you get a peek at what she can do at the end of this book, though I'd love to see the full extent of their powers.. I will more than likely read the next book, if there is one
In this particular story, a woman's child is taken from her womb (she thinks he's been miscarried) and her husband dies (unbeknownst to her, he's a God). Years later, she meets one of the enslaved, and another follows him to her.. the man who truly cares for her helps her away from the other enslaved who is just using her to free himself.. she helps him out of the curse he lives and gains powers of her own by doing so... you get a peek at what she can do at the end of this book, though I'd love to see the full extent of their powers.. I will more than likely read the next book, if there is one
October 2, 2013
This book had so much potential. I was very bummed with the slow storyline and the heroine gosh she pissed me off. I have to say that a stupid heroine ruins a really good story. I believe if you can't empathize or sympathize with the lead characters then that's it. The reason is there is so much possibility with the characters and creatively speaking that's how story lines are made.
Overall the story was great hence the 3 stars plus Deryck was a great character. Unfortunately the only good thing..
Overall the story was great hence the 3 stars plus Deryck was a great character. Unfortunately the only good thing..
October 21, 2013
It's rare to find a paranormal romance on an entity I've never read, or read very little of, before. So, I was happily surprised by this story of an incubus and the human woman he falls in love with. It was original, with good characters and an interesting plot. I couldn't fully connect with the heroine, but her issues were certainly justified. Overall, a good read.
April 1, 2013
actually I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could. I liked the concept behind this story especially; an incubus seeking the freedom to live and love as he wishes. :)
March 11, 2013
I would give a 4.25...it was a great book but I think, could have been better. Maybe I expected something out of it that it wasn't.
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March 10, 2013Currently free on amazon
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