Lord Bereshti's Concubines

by Aimy Schreiber

To settle his father’s debts, Jovari allowed himself to be sold and trained as a concubine, something taboo in his native Darlesh. Upon completion of his training, he was sold to Lord Bereshti’s zenanem. Unable to face that he’d become the very thing sneered at by his people, he avoided doing his duties with all his heart. Instead, he only tolerated intimate touches which outraged the favorite, Silvian, who was determined that Jovari wouldn’t shame the honored profession of concubine. A profession that depended on honesty and pride in one’s station.

76,000 Words

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance

250 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 10, 2013

Reviews

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is full of smutty goodness and fun! Silvian is a talented concubine in Lord Bereshti's household, and he shares the harem in harmony with 2 other concubines. They get up to mischief and a lot of sex, and the early scenes of the concubines playing are delightful. And Lord Bereshti is a lovely master - firmly in control, clever, and indulgent with his concubines. Then Lord Bereshti's agent buys another concubine, a beautiful boy trained to be obedient, but who is miserable. Jovari comes from a country that morally condemns concubinage, and his bad mood infects the household. Of course Silvian does everything he can to "cure" Jovari, including a lot of training and practice. :)

It's impressive because I think about 75% of this book was erotica, but yet throughout there was a strong sense of story and narrative. I liked Bereshti, and I really liked everything about his household. This was a sweet, entertaining, and hot story.

[Hpstrangelove · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn't really click for me; I was interested in the characters so I finished it, but it was hard to get through. I can't say exactly why. I think there were just too many sex scenes that didn't add anything to the story. They were hot, but I found myself wishing they would 'hurry up' and get it over with so I could find out what was going to happen with character X or Y. There was a scene in the kitchen that I found more interesting than some of the sex scenes.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I snagged this book during the swap meet at Y con. The girl selling it warned me that the book had "too much sex in it." Too much sex? I wondered. No way. I am one of those people who un-ironically likes the fact that The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty is nothing but page after page of sex. There was no way I wouldn't love this book if that was her complaint. Having finished the book, I think what she meant to warn me about was that the book was sex... and nothing else. Literally nothing else.

The back cover, which contains a dismal summary, hints that the main character may be Jovari, a young man with a conflicted and interesting past who allowed himself to be sold to save his younger brother from the same fate. Being from a culture where concubines are not normal, Jovari is reluctant to embrace his new life, something that drives Silvian, the favored concubine of Lord Bereshti's zenanem (harem), crazy. Silvian has embraced every aspect of his life and is determined that the members of his zenanem be happy and content, including reluctant Jovari.

This plot alone should have been interesting and unique enough to carry the story. The struggle of two people at fundamental odds with each other and the clash of cultures between the way Jovari sees the world and Silvian sees the world would have been interesting -- if instead we weren't treated to a few whiny temper tantrums that clear up as soon as sex is applied.

This book probably wouldn't bother me so much and I'd just be able to toss it out if it weren't for the fact that the writing is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Stunningly so. Ms. Schreiber knows her English language and commands it wonderfully! Even more frustrating are the hints of depth to the story. For example, there's a scene where Silvian goes to the kitchen and is insulted by the kitchen boy for the fact that he drinks chamthi -- a tea that keeps him from developing body hair or otherwise maturing out of adolescence. Silvian exacts his revenge in a beautiful scene that clearly highlights the relationship between the concubines and the rest of the household. It's this hint of depth -otherwise absent in the story - that makes this book so ungodly frustrating.

I can't really carry on too much longer without continuing to reiterate how frustrating this book is. What few plot points appear are waved in as if the author went down a checklist and said "by this page, this will happen" instead of taking the time to let the story unfold organically, giving us a more realistic love story than the one we got.

This was overwhelmingly a major disappointment. I'll be selling this book at the next swap meet I attend, hopefully with a better warning than the one I received. Good writing, poor plot, and too much sex with too little substance behind it. From the girl that likes Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, that's saying something, and the saying's not very good.

[Vall · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story line was good. but did not achieve interaction and involvement with personage

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Wished it was longer. Liked the characters. Very safe choice.