Savage Chains: Scarred

Men in Chains #1.6

by Caris Roane

Angelica has a choice: leave the vampire BDSM club where she was held captive and sold as a sex slave, or stay and help Reyes bring down the men who captured her.  But if she stays, she must help Reyes complete his undercover mission by posing as his sex slave...which brings her deeper into the perilous underground world of vampire sex clubs. 

What she never expects is to get lost in the sensuality of the clubs...and lose herself in her role as Reyes' captive. But there's no disguising the brutality of the sex-slave community, and soon Angela begins to question whether Reyes is really who he says he is...and where she belongs.

Genres: Vampires, BDSM, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Erotica, Novella

90 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 10, 2014

About the author

I confess I've had a love affaire with vampires for several years now, especially warrior vampires, the kind found in the books of Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lara Adrian and JR Ward. Though I've been published in Regency Romance under the pseudonym Valerie King--and yes one of my Regency Novellas features a vampire--one day I woke up knowing I had to create my own contemporary world of the warrior vampire.

For some mystical, magical reason, early in the process, my vampires appeared with enormous beautiful wings and it has been the most amazing experience to include flight in my novels, in both battle scenes and scenes involving spectacle. My special vampire world, published by St. Martin's Press, is introduced in the first book called, ASCENSION (12-28-2010). The second book, BURNING SKIES (May of 2011), opens up the world a little bit more. And even as I write this, I'm on the final draft of my third novel, WINGS OF FIRE (September of 2011). What a thrill it has been to live with my ascended vampires through the creation of this extraordinary, multi-dimensional world!

For more information about my unique take on the vampire mythos, check out my website at carisroane.com and my book release video on YouTube by putting in the search phrase, Caris Roane Ascension.

With every hope you'll enjoy reading my books set in the World of Ascension, All my best, Caris Roane

Reviews

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

this copy courtesy of NetGalley on behalf of the publishers

reviewing all 3 parts of this together.

not a bad story. there were parts i really enjoyed and others i just didn't quite get for whatever reason. some things were a little superfluous to the story (his mother), while others could have been explored a little more (returning to "normal" life & her mother).

a good enough read, but i don't thin I'll be rushing off to read the rest of the Men In Chains series.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Combined review of Savage Chains 1-3.

I originally found this series on NetGalley and quickly snapped it up, Born in Chains is the first and is a unique and steamy vampire romance series. This review will be for all three Savage Chains novella’s that are quick reads and introduce us to Brogan and Angelica and the world of the vampire slave trade. They were all thoroughly enjoyable and I loved Brogan’s tough exterior but gentle heart towards Angelica.

Angelica is an accountant at a big firm, but has become bored with her life. After a little excitement and knowing there is usually a big strapping handsome man at Ocean Briggs, Angelica heads for a night of exhilaration. Talking with the bartender, Marcus, they discuss Brogan and Angelica is determined to meet this man. Marcus tells her what he knows of Brogan, which isn’t much. He meets with shady men, but seems to treat women well.

Brogan enters the club and zeroes in on Angelica. She builds her courage and heads to introduce herself. Brogan is all attitude and tells her it’s too dangerous for her to be there and to leave. Angelica kisses him and knows he’s interested, but still he pushes her away. Leaving embarrassed and humiliated, Angelica heads for her car, but has second thoughts and knows Brogan is who she wants.

Just as she is about to re-enter the club, two guys grab her, something is put over her nose and she blacks out. Angelica awakes to a horrific nightmare; she is bound by her arms and has been drugged to keep her docile. A woman is in the cell starts torturing her to see what Angelica’s limits are. The pain is so intense that Angelica blacks out again.

Brogan is in a club witnessing some horrific acts of torture to human slaves by vampires. He is trying to prove to the Starlin Group that he is a worthy member. Knowing he is being watched, Brogan gets some attention from a slave waitressing and that seems to be the winner. He receives the invitation he’s been working years towards. Now he can start to unravel the group and bring down Scorpion.

Brogan is at his first auction and is ready to buy his first slave. He is networking around the room looking at pictures of the potential slaves when he discovers Angelica’s picture is amongst them. Shocked to see her there, he doesn’t know what to do, obviously she was captured, his warning to her didn’t help.

Angelica is showing how feisty she is and the Starlin members are all eager to own her. Engles is the front man for Starlin and warned Brogan away, but when Angelica recognises Brogan in the crowd, her anger is immeasurable. Brogan has to win the bid on her, no matter the cost, he couldn’t live with himself if a real monster owned, tortured and killed her.

Brogan wins the bid, but now the real test begins. He has to show his dominance towards Angelica and it pains him to hurt her. In the end it will help her though and takes her back to his house.

In the coming instalments, Brogan has to attend events with Angelica in tow in costume. She also has to perform in front of people and surprises Brogan at every turn. The more time they spend together, the more they realise there is more than meets the eye.

Will Angelica be able to return to her normal hum drum life of money and numbers after experiencing a totally different world with Brogan? Will Brogan be able to let her go back after their intimate lifestyle the past few months? Can Brogan bring down the Starlin Group without getting Angelica or himself killed?

All three were fantastic, full on action, hot steamy scenes and horrific torture. I fell in love with Brogan and Angelica, they were so full of life, with pure intent and determination to make things right. I am really looking forward to reading more from this series, Caris Roane has a fantastic easy reading style that keeps me captivated from page one until the end. All adult vampire romance enthusiasts should pick up this series.

[Marta Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book in this trilogy that's part of the Men in Chains series and things are certainly hotting up! If readers thought the first instalment of Reyes and Angelicas fight to stay alive whilst infiltrating a vampire slave ring was erotic then prepare to turn the air conditioning up!
Having successfully bid on Angelica and now convinced her to help him take down the vile slavers Reyes must now encourage her further down into a world of debauchery, pain and sometimes death! Reyes is still determined to discover the ultimate power behind the group controlling the BDSM slavery ring but his overriding need to protect Angelica could well lead to their discovery. As the two become even more enmeshed in each other they have enemies surrounding them and Reyes past is about to crash back into his life! I really enjoyed the first book in this serial (Captured) and was quite keen to see how this story would progress but I have to admit to being just a touch flummoxed by this! Reyes is a big bad scary vampire ! He can fly, levitate,has enormous strength and for crying out loud drinks blood! Yet the heroine Angelica seems to have absolutely no fear of him whatsoever and indeed seems almost oblivious to the utter carnage and danger surrounding her. I get that she's always been attracted to Reyes but her total trust so easily is a little hard to swallow. Oh he's one of the good guys and clearly uber protective of Angelica but I can't help but want to scream at her naïveté .
As for Reyes well he's a vampire with a past and that past is about to hit him where it hurts with an ending that sees him floundering as yet again it's the heroine who seems to be the one whose bravery ( or should that be stupidity?) might just save the day!
There's lots more passion and steamy interludes in this book than the previous as the two leads begin to explore each other. Ms Roane has written a very sexy tale and it's clear that her background and indeed her heart is in romance. Yes it's quite depraved and exhibitionistic at times but it never feels. "Dirty" . This author cleverly makes the sexual acts feel almost intimate in spite of surroundings . Wow what an idea and what an imagination this author has! Strength, flight, levitation and even the ability to close wounds with saliva were not new to this genre but I was quite surprised to read of vampires who can induce humans to produce more blood, all you can eat buffet anyone? But most surprising was something that's mentioned but not revealed here and the possibilities for a unique ménage in the next instalment have my head spinning! Whilst I do have questions concerning the speed of this relationship I tip my mental hat to the author for yet another fantastic read. I can't wait to read the conclusion to this!

[Tbird London · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Holy heck, this just keeps getting better and better. This book picks up where the last one left, Angelica is left with the decision to accept the Blood Chains with Reyes and help him take down the Stalin Group or she is free to go back to her life. She knows that he is telling her the truth and she can see how he saved her, so her heart is leading her to help him free the slaves that are being tortured. Little did she know that the longer she stayed with him the more of his past she will learn and her focus will be set on helping him get his revenge.

Reyes wants to take down this group more than anything, well other than getting Sweet Dove, the woman who tortured him when he was a slave. She has eluded his search for years but she has never fallen off of his radar. He will quickly learn after talking to Angelica that Sweet Dove might not be too far away after all.

With them wearing the Blood Chains, they can’t be apart physically or the chains will tug them till they are back in the approved distance. It also allows Angelica to access Reyes past memories that have been erased from his mind. As she sees the horrors he went through pieces to this puzzle finally begin to fall in place and the identity of the players are becoming known. Things are asked of Reyes and Angelica that will push them to their limits, sights will give her nightmares but through it all they stay focused on the goal, destroying the Stalin Group.

When the invitation to meet the hidden leader is offered they know they can’t refuse. This could mean partnership in the group and give them a greater chance to succeed in their goal. Things were on track till the leader is identified and the request is made. Will Reyes be able to allow Angelica to chain him to a table and take advantage of him? Can he go back to being a slave and survive not only the torture but the memories that are coming back to him now. I can hardly wait to finish this series and see if they decide the goal is worth succumbing to the leader and the past.

I am in love with this series. The author wrote the characters so well I feel like I am standing there with them as they decide what to do. The secondary characters are so well developed you can feel the evil rolling off of them in the story. What I love most is Angelica and Reyes can talk to each other without words. I love the talks they have between the two which are private to the outside world. He begs her not to make him laugh or smile when they are in a situation that he must show his dominance, she melts when he tells her she is driving him crazy with love and lust. They are so made for each other. Go get this series and fill your need for dark and twisted love.

[Angela Goodrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Savage Chains: Scarred returns us to Angelica’s dilemma as she must make a life or death decision: return home to take care of her mother (life, but not living) or remaining with Reyes and help him take down the slavers (risking potential death). Her decision is complicated by the fact that she is drawn to Reyes, maybe even more so no that she knows his true mission.

As you’ve read the blurb, you obviously know she agrees to help him. Of course this means, as voyeurs to the whole twisted affair, we as readers have front row seats to the show as these two seek to make the best of an awful situation. While Angelica does what she must to help maintain his cover, she embraces all that Reyes is and loses herself to his sensuality and skill. Suffice it to say, Reyes has both in spades and that makes for some oh-so-hot sex scenes several times. Yet all is not smooth sailing as more and more of the things they encounter remind Reyes of his past as a sex slave, causing moments of hesitation and impulsiveness that place both of them in grave danger.

Savage Chains: Scarred is an excellent sequel to Savage Chains: Captured and kept me riveted the entire time as I couldn’t read fast enough. I had to get to the end because I just had to know whether or not Scorpion’s identity would be revealed during this novella; and if it was, was I correct in who I suspected it was? And you know, you’re going to have to read it for yourself to find out those answers. The author has provided her readers a wonderful follow-up novella in Reyes and Angelica’s story and I am looking forward to the next novella in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!

[SammieSue · Rating 3 out of 5]

'I was given a copy of this book from the Publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review'

I think I was in a bit of a hurry when I ran across this book on Netgalley and I seen two books by the same author that looked like they would be book 1 and 2. This was not the case as this seems to be book 2 of another book. So with it being a continuation I really should have been so lost knowing that. However, I was not. I know there are things that I probably should have read in book one, but I was able to follow along. It did manage to capture my attention enough to want to read the first book and the next when it comes out. I truly enjoyed this book. I thought that the author wrote great characters in Reyes and Angelica. I thought that it was a well written story and I look forward to reading more from this author. I do recommend reading this book however even though I was able to read it without reading the first book, I do suggest reading book one first.

'Read and Reviewed by LSK Sweetheart Reviews'

[She Hearts Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok so Angelica now knows that Reyes isn't the bad vamp that she thought he was when he bought her as his sex slave. Now she has to make a decision. She can either go home to her regular safe life or she can stay with Reyes undercover as his slave and risk her life. Hmmm...let's think about that. A whole lot of sex and kink with the vamp you've been crushing on and saving many lives if everything goes well or back home to that dreary life. Yep sign her up for danger. She's your gal...I mean slave...I mean undercover partner. Heck, she is just his. Now this is where the real peek at what happens in the vamp sex slave world and it is kinky but pretty scary at the same time. There's a whole lot of hot happening between Reyes and Angelica in this one.

I give Savage Chains: Scarred 4 hearts!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Savage Chains: Scarred (#2) is not a stand-alone. I will admit I knew that when I started reading it. However, I did understand the story line. Even the references to events that happened in the first part did not hinder the enjoyment of this segment. What it did do is make it difficult for me to bond with the characters enough to become invest in the outcome of the story. I’m thinking that the character development of Angelica and Reyes was in the earlier story. There is a cliffhanger at the end which I assume happened at the end of part one too. If I had not been aware of this being a serial kind of story I would have rated it 3 stars, but there is no one to blame for not buying part one first but myself. I would definitely recommend reading this series in order.
Copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

[KathyAnne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hhmmmmmm... Part one hooked me into the story... but I really didn't like how the story progressed in this second installment. I think my main problem is that everything seems to be happening a little too fast. If the plot moves too quickly towards a resolution then the story gets lost and it doesn't feel real. I think that's what is happening for me in this case. This is a compelling idea for a story but would be best told over several books so that there can be more attention paid to the world building and character building. This would also allow for a longer time line for events to unfold at a more realistic pace.
There is one more installment coming but I think this is where I will stop... :) Just isn't working for me...

ARC provided by St. Martins Press

[Betty Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really had a hard time with this book, as it deals a lot with BDSM and I am not really into that at all. I first thought that I might not like the book. It is about Reyes, who is a vampire that is under cover to infiltrat the worst BDSM club to get to the owner and shut it down from the inside. Angelica is a human woman who gets pulled into it by mistake but puts up a good front and when she learns what Reyes is doing she jumps in feet first to help him out. This was very well written so that I actually did get into the book and could tune out about the details that was said about the BDSM people. Caris Roane did not go into gory detail and that is what I liked about it and why I could concentrate on the story line. Would recommend.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Men in Chains series for Reyes and Angelica. The first one was good, but I thought this one was better. Granted you have to get through the intro to the story, but here in the second I felt like we got more not just from the two main characters but more inside to what Reyes had gone through and what he was really about. We also get to see hwo strong Angelica is.

This isn't just about being slavers and masters, but how something as simple as being chained can have different meanings depending upon who is with you and doing it.

We also get more about Starlin and Scorpion. Which is always interesting. Plus more hot scenes between Reyes and Angelica.

[Johanna Sawyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks netgalley for allowing me to view this title in exchange for a review. I did not read part one which might have something to do with my three star rating. I was a bit lost at first even though the story seemed to pick up well, I'm just no good with novella type books. They feel so rushed. I like a nice steady pace but it seemed as though in this series we are heading to the next climax at a high rate so we can get to the next part. Overall entertainment was okay...just three stars.

[KathyFalk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angelica has a choice stay or go home. If she stays she may die if goes she will be back in her boring day to day life. What should she do. Should she stay and see if she can build on this thing that she feels between her and Reyes or play it safe and get out while she still can.

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sickly sweet.