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Red Moon #1

Red Moon

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Many years have passed since the Great War that destroyed over three quarters of the world’s population. Now, humans and supernaturals alike have learned how to survive in the new world. For Avery Hendrin, the eldest daughter of the man who brought light back to the world, life has taken a turn for the worse. Sold into slavery after her father’s death, Avery’s only concern is keeping her younger sister safe. Branded as a witch and rejected by her own kind because of her red hair, Avery resigns herself to a life in the slave house until a chance meeting with a powerful Lycan named Tristan Williams.

Although Tristan does not believe the human’s tales of the Reds being witches, he has no need for Avery. He’s in search of a nanny for his young children and after an impassioned plea from the redhead, agrees to hire her younger sister as his nanny. However, his beloved daughter Sophia has an immediate connection with Avery and Tristan cannot deny her request to purchase Avery as well, despite the discord it will bring to his household.

Struggling to accept her new life as a slave and to ignore her almost immediate attraction to Tristan, Avery tries to hide her healing powers from him but exposes her gift when she saves Tristan’s adopted brother from death.

Tristan believes his obsession with Avery is nothing more than lust. Determined to bed her despite her strange powers, will he convince her to accept her new life or give her the freedom she craves?

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First published August 27, 2013

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About the author

Elizabeth Kelly

75 books693 followers
Elizabeth Kelly is a romance novelist who spends her days writing and pushing her cat Murray off the keyboard. She firmly believes that a person can survive solely on sushi and coffee, and only her husband's mad cooking skills prevents her from proving that theory.

She also writes contemporary and paranormal romance under her alter-ego "Ramona Gray".

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
Profile Image for Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves.
1,458 reviews18 followers
January 12, 2024
I enjoyed this story about a post-apo dystopian world where weres/lycans, faes and vampires rule over poor humans who are mostly slaves. The world building is basic and the story is very paint by numbers.
But the sexscenes are hot and earthy - and that's the usp.

The redhead h is feared and ostracized as a witch by many and lives with her sister in a slave house, waiting to be sold. She, though a human, has supernatural healing powers that work through touch. Her sister is bought by the H, a single father to serve as nanny for his children but his 7 yo daughter immediately connects with the h and asks him to buy the h for her. The H/h have an immediate chemistry and are soon lovers. And although she's a willing partner, the power balance is obviously off.
Then we get all the usual mini-tropes - an evil housekeeper, poor h drudging along but uncomplaining and hiding all the meanness thrown her way from the H, his disapproving mother wishing for a lycan wife for him, an attractive lycan-ow (the potential wife), her handsy brother coming for along on the visit and a sweet sec-romance for her sister. And yes, she saves almost everyone's lives but is unwilling to take credit.
The sister's romance is cute and I like that she indeed is the primary caretaker of his children instead of the h as usually happens.

The very un-cute faes and the 'leeches' are the bad people in this book.
Profile Image for Mariana.
725 reviews83 followers
August 17, 2019
I prefer her alter-ego "Ramona Gray"

There is a love triangle, which I found unnecessary. Also, I didn't like that the h literally belongs to the H as a slave. The hero is a selfish jerk who only refers to his sex slave as "girl". He finally realizes that he only thinks of himself and uses his lover but not enough to redeem him for me.
Profile Image for Deborah.
3,839 reviews496 followers
May 16, 2015

So much potential but.....


After reading the synopsis I just knew I had to read this book and since the synopsis is so complete I won't bother with my usual summary I'll just give my opinion.
The idea behind this book was interesting and it started really well, Avery was a strong character, she had to be due to all the abuse directed at her purely because of her hair colour, the prejudice made difficult reading at times.
Tristan started off well and I was quite excited that I'd finally found a really outstanding shifter book, it soon became apparent that my enthusiasm and excitement were misplaced as this soon went the usual way of loads of sex and not much else.
Avery started off strong but then she became a shadow of her earlier character, taking everything and saying nothing, even when given the opportunity.
Tristan couldn't make up his mind what he wanted and in the end all the back and forth was just too much for me, sex, no sex, sex, not seeing each other for days, sex....you get the idea.
Initially this world sounded fantastic a dystopian world where humans, werewolves, vampires and faerie's all live but this book didn't elaborate, it became predictable and for me it was a wasted opportunity.
Profile Image for Lover of Romance.
3,712 reviews1,123 followers
September 8, 2015
oh what a book!!! So amazing, I just couldn't put this one down. Red Dawn shocked me in how much I loved it. I got it at B&N for .99 cents, but boy I would totally have paid more for it. It had romance...a intense setting, paranormal creatures, and one sexy wolf. We have a story of two lovers that find their HEA through struggle and pain. Loved every moment. Can't wait for the second one.
Profile Image for ❋.
107 reviews5 followers
September 9, 2015
DNF

The concept was interesting but the execution was not.

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I'm going to keep this short since I'm running low on time. The characters were bland and I felt very little of anything really for them. They were too one-dimensional with a pig-headed hero and a weak-willed heroine. I felt like Tristan was very much driven by lust and Avery was unable to use common sense, getting her into the most ridiculous of situations. I was also desperate to learn more of the world that was built but found that where usually the first book in a paranormal romance novel is dense with world building, a lot was assumed and very lightly touched upon.

Also, with all of the controversy concerning Reds being witches, I did wonder how that would be out of the ordinary in a place where there are faeries and lycans.

Avery's healing ability was intriguing and I was hooked from her first healing of baby Nicolas. However, when it came to Marshall (her sister's love interest and the hero's friend), suffice to say, heavy kissing, petting and groping ensues and all in front of our hero. Not her finest hour. Intimate contact and skin on skin touch is necessary with her gift of healing (so yes they were both naked, entwined and umm...yep) however I felt that the author possibly took it too far since it was with someone who wasn't the hero and was also after Avery and Tristan had been together or as they very often said, "fucked". This is personal but if it isn't used in a dirty but sexy talk manner, it just seems very coarse in describing their coupling- especially in a romantic novel. Anyway, back to the story, Avery managed to succeed in healing him so props to her. Although, I'm afraid to say, it is a real hassle to read about weak heroines and for me, Avery was the very epitome of the word.

Tristan was also a bit of meh character. I never really felt any strong emotions regarding any of the characters or the situations. That, to me, is when I have found a book that isn't worth my time. I wasn't even perturbed when the Marshall scene happened-which in any other book I would have been squirming and as raging as the hero. Tristan was okay, although I felt the author tried hard to depict him as the alpha hero he certainly was not. Also, just to add, the formal and somewhat outdated form of speech was just a nuisance since it's meant to be in the future yet they spoke as if they were in the past.

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Finally, for all the physical chemistry and sparks, this book and the romance fell flat for me. It was a pretty silly read and not awfully well thought out. And what's probably most upsetting is the potential that glimmered but never shone.

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Profile Image for Sydney M Neblett.
2,660 reviews27 followers
September 15, 2022
Bathed in red

I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to read this book! The author really knew how to set the scene and I was completely enthralled before the end of the first chapter. The characters had substance and depth that just made them seem real. I half expected to see them step right out of the pages of the book. The storyline was just as exciting and interesting. There were so many emotional moments, that almost brought me to tears, and I loved the HEA. I can’t wait to read the next installment, but I wished the other couples had their own stories as well.
Profile Image for Cinnamingirl.
256 reviews2 followers
July 27, 2015
I started reading this book last night while high, and even that didn't really make it better. I got it for free though, so it wasn't a horrible way to spend a few hours, although next time I'm as bored/annoyed with a story I'll probably just stop in the middle. Too little time for shitty books, right?

Seriously. This could have actually been interesting if the author had bothered to include more information about the world the characters live in *in the novel* rather than just putting it all in the synopsis blurb. I have no idea why there are werewolves, or why the world ended, or why people with red hair are suddenly considered witches. Also, there are a lot of scenes where consent gets really blurry. And to be honest I've never fallen for the trope where people have lots of sex and then are omg-suddenly-in-love. The "conflict" that Avery feels is just...meh. Like for fuck's sake, TALK TO YOUR PARTNER. Preferably before you almost die/are sent away. It's possible that I have reached a point in my life where I just have no patience for the bullshit that passes for emotional intelligence in romance novels. Seriously, not everything needs to be this big of a deal. Just communicate.

And lastly - learn the difference between plural 's' and possessive 's', for fuck's sake!
Profile Image for Mei.
1,897 reviews471 followers
February 12, 2015
I didn't like neither the hero nor the heroine... She was too doormat and he was too an egoistical bully... :(

But I liked the story and the world building: that was ineteresting and that waas why I gave 3 stars. :)

I'm curious to read the next book, but I'm a little bit afraid too... what if I don't like the MCs again?!!! O_o
Profile Image for Rosanna.
165 reviews71 followers
September 10, 2013
What a gem this book is. I loved it!
This story has a strong heroine and one very sexy alpha Lycan. It was steamy and entertaining from beginning to end!
Excellent story and writing. A must read for PRN fans. I will definitely read more from this author.
Profile Image for Jac K.
2,517 reviews487 followers
July 6, 2020
3.5 “shifter drama-llama” Stars
I stumbled across this freebie, the concept/lifestyle was unique, and the writing was pretty solid. Red Moon is the first book in the series of a futuristic/apocalyptic Lycan/human/fairy/leech civilization. This society has slaves that I believe are made up of poor/low income humans. This was a smidge unclear; some humans were born into slavery, some were sold by their parents/orphaned, but other humans are free. The Lycans also aren’t in a pack, rather they live in households.

Tristan is recently widowed from his estranged wife, and needed slaves to staff his home now that he's bringing his kids home. There’re no true mates, marking, etc. He and his daughter are both drawn to Avery, and on it goes. Avery was strong, and her story was heartbreaking much of the time. She was treated poorly for having red hair, and deemed unfit for Tristan because she was human. Tristan wasn’t cruel; he cared for Avery, but was in denial of his feelings, and took awhile to stand against prejudices. About halfway through, Tristan’s mother brings in fellow Lycan Victoria to pressure Tristan into marrying her. This ramps up the angsty goodness. Victoria is evil, and a total bitch, but she added much needed tension and drama to the plot.

Bottom Line- The author could have done better with the “world building” concept; there’re some inconsistencies, and fuzzy details, (like her healing Marshall) but I enjoyed it from an action/angsty/drama standpoint. **FYI-The Goodreads blurb is much more informative than the kindle one** Honestly, them being shifters, and the other “magical beings” IMO was just an added layer that didn’t really contribute much to the personal/love story part of the plot. The following books in the series follows their kids.


Profile Image for Kelly.
185 reviews32 followers
March 5, 2015
It was a good book for the most part - The relationship was very frustrating to me though. It felt like there was to much back and forth. Lots of drama, hidden feelings, secrets, etc.

The heroine, Avery, for the most part was a passive character. She was a slave bought by Tristan. I am not sure what time period this was. She accepted way to much shit to keep her sister safe. And it irked me to no end that she kept secrets from the hero, Tristan. She was beat, almost raped, some serious shit but didn't want to tell him.

The hero, Tristan, was semi OK for me. I thought he cared for her, then I didn't, then I did again.

Overall a decent story. The sex scenes were hot. The authors writing was good.
Profile Image for Megpie.
453 reviews85 followers
May 15, 2015
I liked this one though the heroine was too weak for me and I didn't understand the world at all. There's never a clear description of what happened to the world and I'm still kinda confused about it. Also I never really got why "Reds" were considered bad. Because they have magic? There's fairies, and lycans, and vampires but they all don't like "reds" (people with red hair) because they maybe had magic? Come on now. Didn't seem logical to me.

And I hated how everyone talked like they were from a hundred years ago when it's supposed to be hundreds of years in the future right? Their speech was stilted and very formal, I just didn't like it.

Overall this was an okay read. I liked it enough but I didn't love it.


Profile Image for Reya Reychelle.
1,163 reviews9 followers
November 8, 2020
So, I liked this book. Like I REALLY liked it! I absolutely loved Avery. Well, she might have been just a little too selfless for my taste, but still- loves. Here is the problem, & unfortunately it was a BIG ONE!! Never once in the entire book, did he offer or even suggest to free her of her slave status. NOOOOO! What was his solution? Either stay & be his “bed companion” or he could sell her to another master.....

https://media4.giphy.com/media/Av72cr...

Now, we know for a fact that it was possible to free slaves because Avery talked about how her father freed slaves. Now would she have been alright as a red by herself? Probably not, but it was never even fucking discussed as an option!!

The other problem was the lack of world building. Honestly, I learned more about the background from the blurb than I did anywhere in the actual book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for ᗰ.ᑕ. ❄️ O͎L͎D͎E͎R͎ ͎&͎ ͎W͎I͎S͎E͎R͎.
1,790 reviews35 followers
July 8, 2025
3 good reads = 5 stars
2017, 2020, 2023

Saturday Moon Demo
July's Full 'Buck' Moon May Appear Red In The Sky - Simplemost

Long ago, The Great War decimated most of the world's population—both supernatural and human. With technology lost, survivors were forced into a simpler, harsher era. In this now backward land, superstition has become a common practice, shaping daily life and beliefs. (World-building is minimal.)

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Pin by Scorpio DHM on Men Again | Long hair styles men, Long hair ...

A well-written story that flowed smoothly and kept a good pace with drama and action. I never felt bored or the need to skim. The romance was often frustrating—Tristan was slow to claim Avery until the end—but it created angst and kept my interest as I waited for the MCs to get their HEA.

The blurb explains well, what this is about.
Basically, Tristan, a lycan, buys a few slaves to help with his home and children. Among them are two human sisters, Avery and Maya. He falls for Avery.

Avery has red hair and is a gifted healer. Superstitious people treat her cruelly, believing 'reds' are evil magic users.

Tristan’s attraction to Avery leads to many passionate, well-written sex scenes. At first, it’s just desire, but soon Avery falls in love. Tristan takes longer to realize and admit his feelings. There’s a lot of tension and push/pull. Avery pleads to be sent away to avoid watching Tristan marry another. He struggles between making his mother happy and following his heart.

Tristan is a strong alpha-male. He's possessive and protective of Avery, growling at other males who try to touch her.

He says things like:
▪️ "You belong to me and I will allow no other man to touch you.”
▪️“You belong to me now,” he whispered. “You will do what I tell you.”
▪️“You’re mine,” he whispered, kissing her temple.


Supernatural Creatures:
🐺 lycans - both good and bad
🧛🏻 leeches - vampires that are always evil
🧚🏽‍♂️ fairies - evil, grotesque creatures who suck out the life essence of others

😧 Trouble Makers:

Mrs. Lanning, the cruel housekeeper. She uses and abuses Avery until Tristan finally steps in and demotes her. Avery talks him out of banishing her to the outskirts, a death sentence.

Tristan's mom, who comes to live with him, wants him to marry a lycan. She invites old friends—siblings Victoria and Hendrick—to visit and enact her plan. She convinces Tristan to give Victoria a chance, for the sake of his lycan daughter.

Victoria and Hendrick. Selfish and cruel, they plot to get Tristan to marry Victoria. Hendrick wants Avery for her healing ability, to get money and power.

The fairies attack twice, the first time early on. The second time happens near the end, when

A leech nearly kills Avery, when Victoria has her collect berries after dark. Tristan rescues her.

Avery, during the story, saves:
(All are Tristan's relatives.)
➡️ Marshall, after a fairy attack.
➡️ Tristan's mom, from an unknown ailment.
➡️ Sophia, after falling off her horse.
➡️ Baby Nicholas, from a serious illness.

The Exciting Ending: .

The Short & Sweet Epilogue:

My Biggest Complaint:

😍 Book 2 is my favorite in the series.
Profile Image for Emry.
62 reviews23 followers
January 8, 2020
An enjoyable read, been a while for something no heavy hehe
Profile Image for Jane.
1,489 reviews72 followers
December 7, 2022
Well... it felt like one of those pay-per-chapter stories Facebook keeps recommending to me for some reason. Lots and lots of sex; I have to admit that it is not very detailed, but I did skim parts of it because I frankly tired of these scenes and wanted more content.
Post-apocalyptic world, werewolves, witches, fae that are more like dementors... and yet most of the words are spent telling the reader how wet she is and how hard he is for her. Do not plan on continuing with the series, luckily I had this book for free...
Profile Image for BooK-O-Holic.
46 reviews2 followers
February 28, 2017
Hot damn that was a good book! Avery, the heroine, was such an awesome character. She was definitely a favorite for me. At times things became very rough for Avery and her sister Maya, but mostly just her. Once she and her sister were purchased by the pig headed, arrogant, sexy as all get out, lord Tristan things got a little easier for Maya, but Avery continued to struggle with society's backwater view that red heads are all witches. Her strength is continually tested by those who fear her or find her inferior because she is human, but Avery continues to stay strong and stand by her convictions.
I just loved this book and I loved how Avery continued to stay strong and true to herself. She is a better person than I would have been in her situation. It would be hard for me to not be bitter at some of the injustices she faced. And lord Tristan was no help. Don't get me wrong, I loved his arrogant, charismatic, take charge attitude but in the beginning he was just an ass and wanted to use Avery like everyone else has in her life. It's not until his growing fascination with her does he start to treat Avery as more.
As far as the "love" scenes go they were very hot and started off fairly quickly. Once Avery is purchased and cleans up a bit Lord Tristan realizes what a beauty she is and begins to pursue her relentlessly.
Oh and I loved/hated Tristan's grandmama. I don't want to give away too much but like I said I loved/hated that woman. She was very blunt at times and almost cruel but in a nice way meaning, I guess that she wasn't trying to be a bitch but didn't want Avery dream of the possibly of more than her life was now. At the same time though I just wanted to punch her in the mouth.
Overall I would rate this book 4.5.
Profile Image for Teri.
1,801 reviews
July 21, 2014
So....my review didn't save and that pisses me off, so this will be much shorter than my original review.
Things I liked: The paranormal aspect wasn't shoved down my throat. There weren't walls of dialogue or long bland explanations and descriptions, things were how they were and that was it and it worked.
I liked Tristan. He was very sweet and this wasn't even mentioned really, it was in his actions and allowed to speak for itself--well done.
Sofia--could she have been cuter?
Maya and Marshall (though I wasn't sure about Marshall at first.)
Tristan's mother--even when she broke my heart I couldn't hate her.
Avery. Avery was a strong, good character. She could have gotten revenge on those that harmed her and she never did. Her love was obvious and she always thought of the bigger picture without giving into her emotions.
What I didn't care for: people as property--God I hate it! Victoria...ugh...was this harlot even necessary (I mean...she was, but damn it all if I didn't want to hurt her!)
Overall, I really enjoyed it. I would recommend and read more from this author.
Profile Image for JJH--Judy.
1,089 reviews1 follower
June 25, 2022
4 1/2-5 stars. Really enjoyed it. I liked the heroine a lot--she was strong, didn't care what other people felt about her, and went through A LOT. The reason this book wasn't a solid 5 stars for me was because the hero, clearly a possessive alpha male (wolf-whatever) did nothing to stop the abuse the heroine a was suffering from members of his staff--and he knew what was going on. I get that she was purchased as a slave, but this did not sit right with me. One this that I found different about this book was the time period of which is was written. I kept forgetting it takes place in the future after a "great war". The people speak almost in a medieval way with "my Lord", they travel by carriage, and the women wear "shifts" as undergarments--but then like zippers and twinkle lights are mentioned. I personally didn't mind this, just felt it was interesting. With all things considered, I really did like this book and would recommend it.
Profile Image for Kimmy.
155 reviews1 follower
February 24, 2016

Avery started off as a very strong person when first introduced to the readers. She was strong in character and a way distant all due to all the abuse directed at her because of her hair color, but then she became a shadow of her earlier character as the story progress. Taking everything and saying nothing, even when given the opportunity - the role of hiding her abuse made me mad. I don't mind when female lead characters are not so strong willed due to their personalities but when intentionally changing their character annoys me. Along with Tristan calling her girl and her continuously calling him lord was infuriating.
Then the sex was activating as well.
Sex. No sex. You need me. Sex. Stay away. Dammit it I miss him. Sex. No sex. It's best this way. He saved me I have to return it. Sex. No sex. Sex. No sex. Like seriously the most illogical thinking ever.
Ending is cliché. I would have been pissed if I would have bought this book.
Profile Image for Gabz.
1,284 reviews41 followers
May 2, 2016
I'll have to agree with another reviewer on the matter of Tristan and his chosen way to address Avery. I might be tempted to become part of the world if only for the chance to knee him in the family jewels. Gosh, he had moments when he frustrated me so bad. I had a couple of scenes where I wasn't entirely sure if I was comfortable with the plot, but it proved to be just fine.

I had thought I'd really like Avery but she came across as a great, lovely, doormat and while the juicy scenes were great, I felt that the characters could have grown loads. And I mean LOADS. I was addicted to it, though, kind of like you can't turn your head away from a train wreck. There was plenty of the rolling around stuff and that was all nice and satisfying, if only there had been better character development. Gah. But yeah, I'll recommend this for a mindless afternoon lazing in bed. Can't always have it all. :)
Profile Image for Cheesecake.
2,800 reviews509 followers
December 7, 2014
This was a fun story. Pretty predictable but entertaining. The characters ended up having more depth than I was expecting, and the Hero was great! I look forward to reading more in the series! You could tell there was quite a bit of thought put into the world building so there weren't any annoying lapses in logic. Great ending with all the romance I crave in an HEA. Tristan and Avery reminded me of the Hero and Heroine in 'Warlord's Honor', another favourite of mine.
Profile Image for Holly.
1,533 reviews1,610 followers
July 5, 2016
This book is currently free for both Nook and Kindle, so grab it quickly! I just could NOT put this book down last night. I can't really pinpoint why I like this book so much. It isn't deep, there isn't much worldbuilding, and I can't quite figure out why Avery fell in love with Tristan. But despite all that, I found this to be an entertaining, steamy read. It's free, so why not give it a try yourself?
Profile Image for Angel Schunard.
359 reviews
January 28, 2020
*DNF @ 46%

This book was free so I suppose I can't be that disappointed. The premise of the book was interesting enough but the cringy insta-love and rapey vibes I got from Tristan were enough to draw me away. The entire book is a cringy excuse for sex scenes and I was not down for that.
Profile Image for Alisha Rowe.
631 reviews32 followers
March 27, 2020
Review originally posted at kittylishareviews.blogspot.com.
Avery was sold along with her sister into the life of slavery by her mother after her noble father died. She was a Red, meaning someone with red hair, and had the ability to heal others through touch at some expense of her own. The thing is none of that mattered to her. Not even that everyone considered her to be a witch because she was a Red. She just wanted what was best for her younger sister and she would do whatever it took for her to have a good life. When Tristan came with his daughter to purchase slaves she knew she had to get her sister to go with him.

Tristan needed to add some slaves to his home in order to better provide for his daughter, whom he had only recently gotten back from her mother, his ex-wife. When he seen the Red he was leery due to the superstitions around them, but as his daughter was taken with her he could not refuse. Soon, however, he quickly realized he needed her by his side and in his bed.

When one falls from a high status to one as low as a slave it is bound to be humiliating as well as a very difficult transition. That being said Avery lives the life she has been dealt with a sort of calm that I have never known in a redhead. That is not to say that she rolls over and accepts whatever people try to throw her way, she just does not start by lashing out and uses it instead as only a last resort.

I enjoyed the concept of a redhead being a witch, which used to be a common belief among humans hundreds of years ago. Not only that but I will forever love a good shifter romance. Besides, we all know how I feel about a redheaded heroine. There's something about a redhead.

That being said I can't rate this as one of my top favorites and I don't think I will be looking for book two any time soon, if at all. While I was caught up in the story while I was reading it I had no problem pulling myself back to reality without that dazed and confused period that readers frequently experience with a very good book. All in all read it if you would like a smutty period romance, but if you're looking for something to draw you in and leave you wanting more then this is not the book for you.
Profile Image for Tasha Brynn.
Author 7 books
April 20, 2019
There is nothing really terrible about this book, but there's nothing really good about it either. A thin plot is stretched to its shredding point to cover the bare bones of a series of sex scenes, and don't look for plot holes, because you will find them. For example ***MINOR SPOILERS*** the H purchases the h as a slave, even though he's worried about feeding his current household. This problem of food is never brought up again. Later, he throws a spur of the moment party and buys his slave a fancy dress, and no one thinks that's weird, as they dance together at the fancy ball.

The world-building is minimal. There's not even an attempt at an explanation of the heroine's special powers, and all the characters are one-dimensional and flat. They are so vague that the author doesn't even bother to introduce most of the secondary characters, though later, the reader is expected to know who 'Leo' is and, jeez, I can't even remember the other guy's name. It took me almost half the book to figure out what relationship one of the more significant characters had to the H. There are no morally-ambiguous characters; they are either 'good' or 'bad.' I had hope for the housekeeper, thinking the reader would be treated to at least one character progression arc. Nope, she has no depth at all.

It's not quite insta-lust between the two leads, because the H waits until after the h has taken a bath, before sexually pressuring her. Of course, the bath takes place like ten pages in, so.... And, of course, the H and h are good-looking and 'good,' so they fall in love.

It's a shame, because the author had some interesting ideas, but they weren't developed, and, since the next book is about the next generation, it doesn't appear that the author has any intention of adding any depth to her world.
180 reviews10 followers
April 5, 2021
3.5 stars - Not your typical alpha romance

POV: dual (mainly)
HUMOR: not really
F BOMBS: yes
CLIFFHANGER: no
NEW AUTHOR FOR ME: yes
TRIGGERS: slavery, physical abuse/violence, mistreatment of slaves

This paranormal world is not explained nor fully described, but apparently there are attacking faeries (no Tinkerbells here), wolf shifters, vampires, witches, and others. It is also a time of human slavery, despite ethnicities, and mostly due to wealth. At the prompting of his 7 year-old daughter, the main character Tristan buys a red-headed human slave, Avery. Redheads "Reds" are rumored to be witches and are usually burned at the stake.

There's no distinct chapter heading that informs you which character's perspective you are reading. There are repetitive explicit sex scenes but didn't feel the chemistry nor romance. If you're ok with heroes who don't fight for nor strongly stand up for their heroines, then this story is for you. Over and over his love interest is treated poorly and he doesn't do anything about it.

On the plus side, this story rounds up the HEA with a sweet epilogue. Even though this is book 1 of the series, credit given to the author for completing this story - no cliffhanger here!
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