Dark Mage Chained

by S. Rodman

There are only two things Max and Atticus agree on.
Love at first sight is not real and enemies to lovers is not a thing.

When Max is asked to guard a captive sexy dark mage, he just knows it will not end well.

Max is a light mage who likes his own company and living alone in his ramshackle cottage.

The prisoner reeks of disgusting dark magic, is hot as hell and a sarky pain in the ass.

He’s also dangerously full of magic. Max needs to empty him, and the only way to do that is through intimacy. Simple enough. No need for emotions to get involved.

Atticus is used to being passed around. He’s not used to the way Max looks at him. It’s annoying and stirs feelings in him. He will just have to escape as soon as possible by any means necessary.

There is no way he is going to catch feelings.

Please note.

This book contains dark themes. In this world, a person’s magic can be stolen by making them submit their body. This is a prominent feature of the plot.

Genres: M M Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Dark, Demons

171 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 30, 2022

About the author

I love characters who are battered and broken by life, who through the course of finding love, discover they are strong.
Despite everything, because of everything, I will always believe that love conquers all.

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Reviews

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (8/13/2022)! 🎁

[Jun]

A lot of dubious consent and very toxic macho behaviour from Max. Disappointing read, since the other books in the universe had great hurt/comfort.

[Shelba · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rape, like Rodman’s other books, is just casually thrown in for trauma porn. Why actually create characters with any depth when you can just make them hot and constant victims of rape? That sums up Atticus. Max has even less depth.

I guess the author never felt the need to address the cop Max killed that led them to fleeing his home or the coven members that had used Atticus and were in pursue of him for most of the book. I guess that was all magically resolved.

There are characters and events from at least two other books in it. Daniel and Ezekiel are from Incubus Broken, Luca and Erik are from Omega Alone. There was a Morningstar referenced, which I know was some character in Evil Omega. I can’t stand when authors have all their books tied in together, especially when they aren’t transparent about it going into the book.

I can say with confidence that S. Rodman is an author I won’t be reading any more from.

[Ronie Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about surprises! Now this is how I saw magic user. Being able to take other magic users power in the throws of passion. You don't find that unless ther is an Incubus, Succubus or vampire in the plot. Well done!

I especially like how you hint at all your books being in the same world. Much appreciated!

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

TW/CW should be listed for this book also. Dubious consent, non-consensual, mentioning of being kept as a sex slave, human trafficking, sexual and non-sexual violence, being drugged all make an appearance, either on page or being mentioned as having happened.

Decent plot, decent characters, overall not a bad read. Heed the warnings above.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure if I would like the book but turned out to be a wonderful surprise. Well written and a good story to read.

[Tia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ouf. While I enjoyed the premise and world building (and some of the author's other books), this felt unedited, strangely juvenile in its simplicity, and lacked any tension or art.. Suggesting a pass

[MommyCelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was curious

I was curious as to why such a low rating for the book. The premise seems intriguing and it’s short so I decided to read it. The things that were done to Atti were horrifying but I understand it’s to drive the plot and the storyline. The biggest issue I had was with Max. He was right when he called himself selfish and useless. He didn’t trust Atti and didn’t hesitate to betray and incapacitate Atti. What a despicable man! Poor Atti fell in love with Max because, well, he had no other choices. What Max felt for Atti wasn’t love, it was pure lust because Atti was beautiful. The ending was rushed but I did find the book interesting so 4 stars.

[James Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

From reading the description of this book I was prepared to not like it. But as I read more, the story redeemed itself in a very good way. I actually enjoyed the book. Max is a light mage assigned to watch over the dark mage, Atticus. It does not help that Atticus and he are very attracted to each other. The best way to prevent a dark mage from being dangerous is to drain them through physical intimacy. Atticus has been ill used before, but with Max things are different. Both men don’t want emotions to enter into this but they do. So while Max and Atticus navigate their feelings for each other, some truly bad people are looking for

[DMCechak · Rating 5 out of 5]

S. Rodman creates a magically painful, yet redeemable world in Dark Mage Chained. This is a standalone, yet interconnected M/M paranormal romance, that begins in the depths of despair.

As an expected dark mage, Atticus is placed with Max, a light mage who steers clear of most magicals, mundanes, and humans. An immediate attraction occurs between these two, but distrust is hard to break, and hard-fought energy is needed to keep both of them, and a close group of friends, safe from a hidden danger.

There is some deep and disturbing treatment of Atticus, so readers should be aware. But Max, and their friends, find the chance to help him when possible.

[Jeanette Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Max makes a big deal about consent in this book. Something that Atti is really unable to give. He's going to be forced into having sex to drain his magic regardless of his consent or lack of it. The author treads a very thin line between dub con and rape. Atti is the more likeable despite being a dark (and evil) mage. And of course he's going to fall for Max because he uses lube. And doesn't beat him.
The writing is good. The storyline is intriguing. Yes. I knew going in that this was a dark book. Just can't say that I loved it. Or maybe not even liked it.

[Theresa Derwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chained to his Mate

This MM Romance features characters in books you can get free if you sign up to the authors newsletter and it was fun seeing those linked characters.
In this one, Max is enjoying peace at a cabin when Ezekiel and Daniel drop a prisoner off for him to babysit - a chained dark mage who is snarky and gorgeous.
Max's job is to siphon off some if his power through sex - such a hardship.
But it isn't long before he realises Atticus his prisoner might not be the one at fault.
This is sexy, sweet, funny and has great worldbuilding.

[Catarina Águas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, way more than I thought I would. Atticus has been through a lot, any person would have broken but not him, I admired his strength a lot. Max was lost until his Atti, he needed someone, a porpuse in his life, something of meaning. These two needed each other in a big way and I loved to see them together. I can't to read the stories of the others characters that appeared in this book

[Foxy Vixen · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5
Badly written.
Barley worth it for the smut, but not even really for that. It's too bad, the premise is good and could have worked with more competent writing. It's really too bad, because it is ALMOST there, but sadly not close enough.

The emotions are whiplash back and forth, on and on again, and often very hyperbolic. Not everything needs to be an explosion of sensation.

[Kristi Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elements of Darkness Lead to a Happy Ending

Another great novel from S Rodman. The two protagonist have to overcome mutual misunderstandings to reach their HEA. The storyline and writing is tight, the characters compelling and the action, pace and heat enthralling. A truly satisfying read.

[Lucus Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wicked fun!

I read this with my kindle unlimited and loved it so much I went back and bought it! I already owned both the incubus and the halfbreed Omega's stories and about to read the prison Omega's story which I'm not sure is part of this particular storyline. Hopefully there will be more characters in this world getting their own chance at love in the future. PLEASE!!!!

[the.aquarius.booklover · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 rounded up to 3. I read the Evil Omega series first and fell in love with the characters. I wanted to learn more about Attitus and Max. Especially Atticus. The other characters from the series mentioned as well. It was a good book and I'm definalty catching up on more of this authors back catalog.

[... · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ☆ Both this one and Omega Alone had a lot of the exact same themes and beats as the Darkstar series. I think they were definitely fleshed out better there, which is no surprise since Darkstar came after these according to their publication dates, but I still enjoyed these related books because I'm always a sucker for the hurt MC who needs to be saved, lol.

[Ken Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Convention

Magical energy transference proves to be the backbone of the plot. Mages, both light and dark, pull power from a typically bound "toy" that seems to be a wellspring. Multiple paranormals slyly keep the shenanigans from the mundanes.

[Shu Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm on an S. Rodman kick this week. Four/Five books into it. Tight plot. Driven characters. Hard situations. Forced proximity. Satisfying conclusion. Totally enjoyed.

[Jessica Gorgen · Rating 4 out of 5]

good

This was a good book. Max was a bit all over the place. Poor Atti, his life has been awful. But his casual power use once he’s not chained is awesome.

[Sunny Groves · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf at like 10% because oh my god this is horrifying

[Tabby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Atti deserved better. Max sucked.