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Arcadia #2
Bought: An Arcadia Novel
Welcome to Arcadia…where every dark fantasy can be yours. For a price.
Zara
It was supposed to be auction off my virginity to Tennyson Fox, get into his house, and find evidence of a murder he committed years ago. He bids on virgins but doesn’t use them - at least that’s what the Hamiltons told me when I agreed to the job. But what I didn’t count on was my body’s reaction to him or that when he makes me his, I want it to be real. When he teaches me about submission, I want to give him everything. His whips and restraints make me feel more cared for than anything else ever has. Yet I’m lying to him. And once he finds out I’m afraid he’ll send me away forever.
Tennyson
Everything went up in smoke the moment I saw her. I’ve worked hard to rise above my dark past - I started a successful business and pulled myself and my daughter up from the gutter. By day I’m a respectable CEO and father. By night, I’m a Dom who wields a firm hand in the club with my subs. I also bid on virgins trying to sell their bodies for money. I don’t take them – I save them. Until her. When I see her standing there in the club, offering herself to the highest bidder, one thing is she will be mine.
Zara
It was supposed to be auction off my virginity to Tennyson Fox, get into his house, and find evidence of a murder he committed years ago. He bids on virgins but doesn’t use them - at least that’s what the Hamiltons told me when I agreed to the job. But what I didn’t count on was my body’s reaction to him or that when he makes me his, I want it to be real. When he teaches me about submission, I want to give him everything. His whips and restraints make me feel more cared for than anything else ever has. Yet I’m lying to him. And once he finds out I’m afraid he’ll send me away forever.
Tennyson
Everything went up in smoke the moment I saw her. I’ve worked hard to rise above my dark past - I started a successful business and pulled myself and my daughter up from the gutter. By day I’m a respectable CEO and father. By night, I’m a Dom who wields a firm hand in the club with my subs. I also bid on virgins trying to sell their bodies for money. I don’t take them – I save them. Until her. When I see her standing there in the club, offering herself to the highest bidder, one thing is she will be mine.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 17, 2023
35 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Jackie Ashenden
494 books977 followersJackie has been writing fiction since she was eleven years old. Mild mannered fantasy/SF/pseudo-literary writer by day, obsessive romance writer by night, she used to balance her writing with the more serious job of librarianship until a chance meeting with another romance writer prompted her to throw off the shackles of her day job and devote herself to the true love of her heart – writing romance. She particularly likes to write dark, emotional stories with alpha heroes who've just got the world to their liking only to have it blown wide apart by their kick-ass heroines.
She lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband, the inimitable Dr Jax, two kids, two cats and some guppies (possibly dead guppies by the time you read this). When she's not torturing alpha males and their stroppy heroines, she can be found drinking chocolate martinis, reading anything she can lay her hands on, posting random crap on her blog, or being forced to go mountain biking with her husband.
She lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband, the inimitable Dr Jax, two kids, two cats and some guppies (possibly dead guppies by the time you read this). When she's not torturing alpha males and their stroppy heroines, she can be found drinking chocolate martinis, reading anything she can lay her hands on, posting random crap on her blog, or being forced to go mountain biking with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 4, 2023
Bought, Jackie Ashenden's follow-up to her first Arcadia novel , Tamed, is even hotter than the first novel in the series, and is every bit as steamy, angst-laden, suspenseful, and impossible to put down--I know I'm not alone in staying up all night to read it. 5 stars
Zara, her heroine, is more than sympathetic--her mother deserted her when Zara was just 13, and left her upbringing to her violent alcoholic, physical and emotionally abusive father, until Zara fled and chose living on the street at 16 to staying at home. She got involved with the wrong people, who used her computer hacking skills for nefarious purposes, but she eventually found employment at Cross, and became friends with a co-worked, Isabel Fox, daughter of tech billionaire Tennyson Fox, a man whose upbringing was just as manipulative and abusive as hers, but all she really wants is to make enough money to leave NYC for good, and to go to her dream destination, Santorini, Greece, but how to make enough money to get there?
When Zara is approached by the uber-wealthy Hamilton family, whose matriarch blames Tennyson Fox, Isabel's father, for the death of his wife, who was their daughter, Juliana, who died giving birth to Isabel, and whom they siupect might have killed his abusive mentor, Zara is charged with getting into his home and finding evidence the Hamilton's can use against him. But how?
The Hamilton's get Zara an invitation to the exclusive BDSM club, Arcadia, and its one-a-month virgin auction, where she is hopefully going to be bought by Tennyson Fox, a man who has a reputation for buying virgins, paying for them, and then releasing them without ever touching them, but that's not what happens when he first sets eyes on Zara.
To get Tennyson to take her to his home, something he's never done with any other virgin he;s bought, Zara puts on quite a performance, is strongly attracted to him, and she doesn't know just how dominant a Master he can be., nor does she realize that she's no match for him--he's excellent at reading people, and easily sees through Zara's bravado and her lies, and yet he can't resist her.
Getting the half-million dollars Tennyson paid for her isn't happening until she completes her mission for the Hamiltons. So what happens next? You'll just have to read this gripping novel for yourself, because you'll get no spoilers from me.
However, I will give you some trigger warnings--there is off-screen child abuse, alcoholism, parental desertion, domestic violence, physical and emotional manipulation and lots of on-screen sex. Tennyson is a controlling Dom in the BDSM lifestyle, and just before the virgin auction, Zara had to sign a contract in which she listed having no hard limits. If any of the aforementioned are issues for you, I recommend reading something milder. However, if you can handle these triggers, I think you'll be as hooked on this novel as I was.
I do suggest reading Tamed, the first Arcadia novel, before reading this novel, and for a short time, Tamed is free on Amazon.com. Both are excellent, well-written reads, and I wholeheartedly recommend them.
I received an advance reader copy of this novel by its author, but the opinions stated in this review are my own.
Zara, her heroine, is more than sympathetic--her mother deserted her when Zara was just 13, and left her upbringing to her violent alcoholic, physical and emotionally abusive father, until Zara fled and chose living on the street at 16 to staying at home. She got involved with the wrong people, who used her computer hacking skills for nefarious purposes, but she eventually found employment at Cross, and became friends with a co-worked, Isabel Fox, daughter of tech billionaire Tennyson Fox, a man whose upbringing was just as manipulative and abusive as hers, but all she really wants is to make enough money to leave NYC for good, and to go to her dream destination, Santorini, Greece, but how to make enough money to get there?
When Zara is approached by the uber-wealthy Hamilton family, whose matriarch blames Tennyson Fox, Isabel's father, for the death of his wife, who was their daughter, Juliana, who died giving birth to Isabel, and whom they siupect might have killed his abusive mentor, Zara is charged with getting into his home and finding evidence the Hamilton's can use against him. But how?
The Hamilton's get Zara an invitation to the exclusive BDSM club, Arcadia, and its one-a-month virgin auction, where she is hopefully going to be bought by Tennyson Fox, a man who has a reputation for buying virgins, paying for them, and then releasing them without ever touching them, but that's not what happens when he first sets eyes on Zara.
To get Tennyson to take her to his home, something he's never done with any other virgin he;s bought, Zara puts on quite a performance, is strongly attracted to him, and she doesn't know just how dominant a Master he can be., nor does she realize that she's no match for him--he's excellent at reading people, and easily sees through Zara's bravado and her lies, and yet he can't resist her.
Getting the half-million dollars Tennyson paid for her isn't happening until she completes her mission for the Hamiltons. So what happens next? You'll just have to read this gripping novel for yourself, because you'll get no spoilers from me.
However, I will give you some trigger warnings--there is off-screen child abuse, alcoholism, parental desertion, domestic violence, physical and emotional manipulation and lots of on-screen sex. Tennyson is a controlling Dom in the BDSM lifestyle, and just before the virgin auction, Zara had to sign a contract in which she listed having no hard limits. If any of the aforementioned are issues for you, I recommend reading something milder. However, if you can handle these triggers, I think you'll be as hooked on this novel as I was.
I do suggest reading Tamed, the first Arcadia novel, before reading this novel, and for a short time, Tamed is free on Amazon.com. Both are excellent, well-written reads, and I wholeheartedly recommend them.
I received an advance reader copy of this novel by its author, but the opinions stated in this review are my own.
August 29, 2023
Book two of the Arcadia series focuses on Tennyson Fox (who we met in book one, father of Isabel) and Zara - who just happens to be friends with Isabel. Only, that's not forefront in her mind when she decides to auction herself off at the BDSM club. Her goal is to be bought by Tennyson, and gather information for people who want to cause him harm, and take Isabel from him.
Not sure who those people are? Read Tamed (Caleb and Isabel's story) first.
While Zara may think she's capable of outsmarting Tennyson, their age gap and his Alpha control issues quickly spin her world on it's axis, and she finds herself wanting his dominance, and questioning her mission. Tennyson has his circle of trust limited to Caleb and Atlas only, and certainly doesn't trust Zara. He also finds her smart mouth to be in direct contrast to the innocent mask she hides behind, but can't seem to fight the chemistry between them.
This author consistently writes entertaining and enjoyable stories that are fun to get lost in, and this series is no different. There's no reality where this couple makes sense, but in Arcadia? Absolutely.
I grinned at her naïveté and turn-around in attitude as a result of his Dom behavior, because I knew it was coming!! And him ignoring All the warning bells and red flags about her behavior, was expected as well.
(And that's exactly what I wanted!)
This may not be a read for sensitive readers, for many reasons. I also recommend setting aside your woman's lib opinions/reality when you begin reading, you can pick it up when you're done. I found this book (and this series so far) very entertaining. It has lots of internal dialogs, steamy scenes, and a great for them HEA. In fact, I recommend reading this author's numerous other series as well.
I cannot wait to read Atlas' story next!!
Not sure who those people are? Read Tamed (Caleb and Isabel's story) first.
While Zara may think she's capable of outsmarting Tennyson, their age gap and his Alpha control issues quickly spin her world on it's axis, and she finds herself wanting his dominance, and questioning her mission. Tennyson has his circle of trust limited to Caleb and Atlas only, and certainly doesn't trust Zara. He also finds her smart mouth to be in direct contrast to the innocent mask she hides behind, but can't seem to fight the chemistry between them.
This author consistently writes entertaining and enjoyable stories that are fun to get lost in, and this series is no different. There's no reality where this couple makes sense, but in Arcadia? Absolutely.
I grinned at her naïveté and turn-around in attitude as a result of his Dom behavior, because I knew it was coming!! And him ignoring All the warning bells and red flags about her behavior, was expected as well.
(And that's exactly what I wanted!)
This may not be a read for sensitive readers, for many reasons. I also recommend setting aside your woman's lib opinions/reality when you begin reading, you can pick it up when you're done. I found this book (and this series so far) very entertaining. It has lots of internal dialogs, steamy scenes, and a great for them HEA. In fact, I recommend reading this author's numerous other series as well.
I cannot wait to read Atlas' story next!!
October 15, 2023
Superiorly Sexy !
Once again this author manages to suck you into her world , her love story with every page that’s turned. I couldn’t turn them fast enough! The HEAT & passion in THIS BOOK , or rather series could possibly be her best yet!🙌🏻. Highly recommended!
Once again this author manages to suck you into her world , her love story with every page that’s turned. I couldn’t turn them fast enough! The HEAT & passion in THIS BOOK , or rather series could possibly be her best yet!🙌🏻. Highly recommended!
August 4, 2025
loved the start
August 22, 2023
2.5⭐.
Way too long (at least 25%). Mostly soap opera with a lot of daddy/daughter issues and families at war.
The heroine is supposed to be street smart but the jury is out on that one.
No talking or negotiation when they decide to go steady as D/s. It's especially bad when the hero claims that he hates predators who take advantage of younger vulnerable subs. Practice what you preach etc.
When he asks if she knew his daughter well, she says "sure, we were coworkers for a month". Really?
Then we have the bout of noble idiocy at the 90% mark...
Meh.
Way too long (at least 25%). Mostly soap opera with a lot of daddy/daughter issues and families at war.
The heroine is supposed to be street smart but the jury is out on that one.
No talking or negotiation when they decide to go steady as D/s. It's especially bad when the hero claims that he hates predators who take advantage of younger vulnerable subs. Practice what you preach etc.
When he asks if she knew his daughter well, she says "sure, we were coworkers for a month". Really?
Then we have the bout of noble idiocy at the 90% mark...
Meh.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews