Claimed by the Elven King: Part One

Claimed by the Elven King #1

by Cristina Rayne

This is Part One of a four-part serialized Fantasy Erotic Romance with a length of about 11,000 words. It contains strong sexual content and is not intended for readers under 18.

For Emily Ford, being awakened in the dead of night by what seems to be the very shadows in her bedroom come to life is the least of her worries as she is spirited away to become the new wife of an elven king for the purpose of bearing his heirs. Entranced despite herself by his ethereal beauty, Emily surrenders willingly to his seduction and is introduced to a new world of sexual pleasures she had not thought possible outside of a dream.

But can a human ever really win the heart of an elf or have a place within the elven court, especially when the biggest obstacle to both is her new husband's barren and resentful queen who makes no qualms about wanting Emily gone and, if the whispers within the court are to be believed, is prepared to do the unspeakable to make it happen?

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fae, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Erotica, Adult

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2014

About the author

New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author
I live in West-Central Texas with my crazy cat and about a dozen bookcases full of fantasy worlds and steamy romances. I also have a degree in Computer Science which totally qualifies me to write romances. Fantasy is my first love, and if I can inject a little love into the fantastical, along with a few steamy scenes, then all the better.

Reviews

[Raquel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Being submissive doesn't bother me. Falling for and having awesome sex with a sexy Elf - Yum. The lack of build up for her falling for him... No real world building which makes the sexy times less interesting, less intense. Maybe it gets better, I won't be reading the next to find out.

[Marta Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 and a half
I was checking my kindle and found this which is the first part of a four part story. I guess I downloaded it in an effort to find out if I actually wanted to purchase the whole book and obviously I was very curious about the Elf storyline.
I love paranormal romance and don’t mind a touch of erotica but I’m afraid this had a virginal Emily being intimate with the Elven king Sethian at their first meeting. Perhaps it’s me but I do prefer some buildup and it just felt terribly submissive and just too quick. I did enjoy the first person voice of Emily as it meant as a reader I knew her thoughts however the lack of background meant I didn’t particularly get sucked into this book. I understand there’s more to come but at this point doubt I will wish to continue which is a shame as I was very intrigued by the synopsis.

[dumbells · Rating 1 out of 5]

UGH when oh when will this book end already!!!
This book checks all the boxes at “what not to do when writing a modern book”:
1. Useless stupid heroine that frequently stumbles over any obstacle tossed at her. Not to mention the gratuitous PhD she has that is supposed to make her smart on paper but she continuously disproves throughout the book with her very stupid actions and thoughts, and the far too many “huhs?”. Not to mention how easily she adjusts to her captivity and does not a one thing to question her kidnapping and denial from ever returning to her outside world. Please, please just create a character already that will look at everything that “suddenly” happens to her and says: “Ew! Oh hell no! This is so not how things are gonna go down.” For the love of all our mothers and their mothers went through to gain recognition on this man dominated world, just create a heroine with some back-bone already.
2. Too much introspection, made so much more intolerable with an utterly unlikable heroine.
3. Hero totally unregistered on any radar and showing no endearing characteristics.
4. Wallflower for supporting characters. One-dimensional and completely uninteresting.
5. A plot that takes place entirely in the main characters bedroom.
Hated every single minute of reading this book. Way too many times wanted to rage quit…
if you will excuse me, I am going to cleanse the palate with sth that has a PROPER heroine for fantasy fiction.

[-S♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars.
Really entertaining!

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this series. There were quite a few bad reviews but I did not let that discourage me from reading this series.
I really like Sethian and Emily. At first I didn't think things would last between them or that they even connected much but then in book 2 I realized that they fit perfectly together.
This series is really short and book #1 is probably the shortest book I have ever read before. I mean, there's only 38 pages ! That was definitely a new experience lol. My favorite books from this series is book #3 & #4 - They felt more developed, longer and more detailed. Overall the series is good and very entertaining. Not my favorite and although there is a possibility that I won't read this series again it did keep me very entertained.

[Brigitte Aranguren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gusto el planteamiento de la historia. Aunque la prota es tipo sumisa, entiendo que este deslumbrada con el Rey Elfo pues el poder que tiene le facilita a el que ella se mantenga en calma.
Al momento de hacer esta reseña ya lei las 4 partes publicadas y realmente la historia tiene potencial.
Algo que me hubises gustado, que la escritora desarrollara y se extendiera en presentar el mundo de los elfos asi como la vida de los personajes secundarios y por supuesto el caracter y comportamiento del Rey Elfo con el resto del mundo.

[P.A. Lupton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel wasn’t completely bad, but there were two things that almost completely ruined the book for me. I was completely into the story from the beginning and found it completely interesting. However, I was also completely annoyed by the author’s overuse of the word completely. Seriously, I think she must have used it 10,000 times. I thought about sending the author an email to inform her of this nifty little invention known as a thesaurus. It was almost as if she felt the reader wouldn’t understand the depth of emotion a character was experiencing until she added the word completely to it.

Normally, I don’t notice little things like that, but it was obvious and irritating after a while. Personally, I think it was probably inexperience. As I said, I thought the story was great. The author did an excellent job of weaving an interesting fantasy world. I’ve never read a book about elves, but I liked it. The characters were well thought out and the pacing of the story was excellent. I think after she gets a few books under her belt, this author will sharpen up her writing skills and little amateurish traits, such as using completely in every sentence, will disappear.

The other thing that almost destroyed this book for me was the fact that I listened to it in audio. I do NOT recommend listening to this one. In fact, I would venture as far as saying this was hands down the WORST narrator I’ve ever listened to. She reminded me of Ben Stein saying Bueller, Bueller, Bueller in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. In fact, I think he showed more intonation than this narrator did. Her words were clipped, awkward, and the whole story came out stilted. If I ever see a book narrator by this author I will avoid it and read the ebook.

[Jagged · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was fine. But I have decided that I will avoid these mini series from now on. There is just not enough time to connect with the characters as there is little to no character development. There is no world building and the plot is rather nonexistent which makes you unable to find a rhythm, not that it would matter since it is so short.

I am not sure why this is the current trend in writing other than to force readers to spend more money on a single book as it is being broken up into so many parts. I would rather spend my money on books that are complete as part of a series. Because this structure is just a tease.

I have read a few books that are done in episodes that are much better. In this case I would say that size does matter. As this is not a short story, but a part of a whole, it is just missing everything a whole book has to offer.

[T00zday · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.
Book 1 was a freebie download on Amazon.
This was filler reading.

Heroine is kidnapped by elves to be the broodmare, 4th wife and human sex toy for their king. She is converted into a semi-elf against her will. The only choice she gets is to be aware of her new life as it occurs, or for the Elven king to remove her consciousness/awareness - she will never get to go back to her life in any way.
Throughout the four books, she never gets powers and is pretty much in the dark throughout all four books while successfully breeding the kings heirs.

[Brinda Choquette · Rating 1 out of 5]

totally stupid book and I use that term loosely. How can something so short be considered a book? Shouldn't there be a limit to how short something can be to be called a book?

I guess I should be glad it was this short as it was quite ridiculous. The premise might have been good but the writing is mediocre and she spends most of her time on the smut. Even that wasn't very well written.

Anyway, total waste of my time.

[Mou: Fae of Heartfelt ARC · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was too short to judge. But I didn't like the starting of the story at all. Without even asking you just kidnapped her to make her your wife and had sex. The heroine was so surprised about the whole idea that she thought it was a dream.

[Clara Harding · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally downloaded Claimed by the Elven King: Part Onebecause it was free on Amazon UK. But once I began reading it I found that at every opportune moment I had to pick it back up and carry on reading. In Fact once I finished Part One, I looked up to see if part two was available which I bought and read, then part Three, which I again steamed my way through, running along with Emily's story. Cristina Rayne is a genius! the adult content is excellent verging on the amazing in the descriptive sense.

The storyline itself is something different than he usual Vampires and Werewolves that are out there so I jumped on this to read as a welcomed change, a what a change it is! Emily goes along with what is happening to her as she reasons it out in her mind that it is a dream, why else would she be having random sex with a complete hunk of a man who happened to be an Elven King? The Elven King is so perfect in every way from the softness of his skin to the perfect size of his sex which gives her pleasure that she never though possible. The next day when she wakes and begins to realise what happened is NOT a dream her whole world is turned upside down - her life as she knew it is now over and her new life with the Elves has begun. Her purpose? To provide heirs, but what she wants is to steal the King heart. The queen is not happy about her husband taking a human wife to provide heirs and she makes this known......... Emily needs to watch her back as well as her heart!

[13unnychase · Rating 2 out of 5]

This starts off in an amazing fashion. Girl gets sucked into new realm, thinks its a dream with some excellent sheet tango options. Surprise! He's married! Seriously, it hooked me in the first two chapters. The further in you get the worse it goes. I've never really been a fan of the "another woman is necessary to procreate my race while I'm legally married and still banging my wife, but guess what? You're my soulmate. Mazal tov" ML even leaves his "new wife, read that as FmC on their 'wedding night' to go bang one out with his Queen one last time cause he needs to give her every chance to carry his child before he goes on with his new bride plan which was actually enacted generations ago and might be part of the reason his race as a whole is going sterile?!!! I don't blame the elven queen for being pissed cause the men can still get it on but women get stuck watching literally from the bedroom door while hubby bangs new chick to bring their incredibly desired children into their actual universe. Women who have been trying for thousands of years to have a baby! Sure i get that is theory provided by the "bad guys side" but if the situation was reveresed would that seem ok in any universe? Any woman actually ok knowing she is doing that to others is not someone to root for. FmC is a "scientist " There is a random mentioning of her studying stars and that might have corelationto why this elf decided to pick her. All the importance of her studies and work keep getting brought up like she was working so hard for school but now that she has Sidhe egplant none of it really mattered to begin with. Guilded cage thay gets tighter as she goes on? Check! So many questions, rarely answered but mostly with an "you'll understand in a decade or three" patronizing kindaway instead of treating her with actual respect and like she is educated. Or "he didn't tell you how this works" from literal guards. Immediately pregnant even though impossibly hard to accomplish. Miracle baby? Miracle baby like equivalent of a demigod. Then everything drops off quality wise. Goes from a solid 7 to a 2. Suddenly dozens of situations: near death, trauma for kids and shoving elven queen into ultimate cookie cutter bad guy mold to impress on how evil and dangerous she actually is just to ensure she still has the throne. It feels more like random ideas of scenes that maybe should have occurred elsewhere but didn't make it because needed more steamy scenes. FmC is reduced to a baby machine and arm candy for vast majority of the book, she gets to stand in the sidelines at major events per her words "thankfully " 13 year pass with her still in situation of living as a side piece in a royal court only really managing because of the power of her first child and husband. Yes she hopes her former roommate knows just how happy she is and that she got her happy ending. I had high hopes. This had promise, but there is more to be sad about for the female elves in this world than to be happy for the other woman getting railed into side chick of the century. Give me reason to not like the queen other than she is cold and alien like entity with information gathered over possible thousands of years to show why what her political marriage husband might be doing to screw over her race of people as a whole even more. Make him worth liking other than being really good in bed, mental links to children MC can't talk to in womb don't work beyond him having magic d. The first two chapters are good. After that make what you will of this. I spite finished hoping for some form of redemption and found nothing

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my review of the omnibus edition which includes part one:

An enthralling, imaginative, descriptive, intense, fast-paced, ADULT fairy tale romance.

It was the middle of the night when they came for me. Even now I can’t be sure of the time, whether they waited for me to have been asleep long enough to ensure that I would be super confused if accidentally awakened, or if they had waited until after midnight when my roommate usually headed out for her graveyard shift at the hospital.

Claimed by the Elven King by Cristina Rayne is an erotic paranormal romance told in the heroine’s first person point of view. It contains strong, mature adult content. This marks my first foray into any books written by Cristina Rayne and the first I’ve ever listened to anything voiced by Emily Wahlund. I was originally drawn to this audio as the male pictured on the cover reminded me slightly of The Goblin King. Besides the entitled attitude, the similarities ended there. This is the story of human Emily Ford and Sethian, the Elven King.

As the story opens, we are with Emily, a human, as she is abducted by the elven guard in the middle of the night. She is confused and, at points, in pain, as her body is prepared for the transition from the human world to the world of the Sidhe. She learns that she has been taken to be mated to the Elven King and to produce his heirs because elven women are barren. We are present as she is becomes his bride and as she is integrated into the day-to-day of the elven court. I will add that what happened to Emily would not be ok in real life, but, in the author’s fantasy world, it works well. Amid the throes of a steamy encounter, the couple discover that they are destined soul mates. So what starts out as insta-love, actually develops into a loving relationship.

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes from Claimed by the Elven King:

For what felt like hours, we sucked on each other’s tongues while his hands seemed determined to search out and skillfully caress every spot on my body within reach that made me shudder and moan, his rock-hard erection equally determined to stimulate me into a frenzy as he sensually rubbed himself almost teasingly against my pelvis. Then before I knew it, his considerable girth was inside me…
---
Sethian began, sounding thoughtful. “As I said, last night was more than a night of pleasure. When I brought you into my bed, you became my wife.
---
I seemed to leave my body momentarily, and another presence filled me—Sethian—every bit of emptiness within my soul had become saturated with his essence. No—bonded. Joined, connected—our souls had somehow become one.

Emily Wahlund, the narrator, did a very good job bringing this story to life. She consistently voiced and differentiated between the characters exuding the proper emotions. She was easy to understand. I’m glad that I elected to listen to the audio of this read but it definitely required headphones.

Claimed by the Elven King is an enthralling, imaginative, descriptive, intense, fast-paced, fairy tale romance. Besides the frequent, steamy, vivid, extremely hot sex, there’s love, court politics and treachery. The story and characters are well-developed and the tale held my interest through-out. I’d like to check out the other titles from this series. If you enjoy fascinating, exceedingly erotic, paranormal romantic fantasies, I would encourage you to check out Claimed by the Elven King. Get the Omnibus as I can’t imagine reading it in serialized form.

My full review is published at Reading Between the Wines Book Club. Please check it out there: http://www.readingbetweenthewinesbook...

[Gypsy Madden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emily is kidnapped from her apartment and brought to the Elven realm where she is put through a painful procedure, stretching her limbs, erasing her body fat, and basically turning her into a supermodel stunning half-elven creature. And then she is raped by the elven king. She doesn’t want to do it, but he magically drugs her so she can’t fight. He also gives her the option to black it all out. But he is so beautiful and the sex is so magical, that she doesn’t seem to care.

I’ve been eying this story for a while, but the description read like rape. But then I read Shadows Beneath Falling Snow which is the prequel for this series. It was magical. It was a beautiful, sweet romance with a snowy Christmas falling on the crystalline elven kingdom and it won me over to the author. I’m dying to read more of that story. I thought maybe I just wasn’t reading the blurb right, that maybe there was a beautiful romance after he whisks the human girl away to the Elven realm as he woos her into having a passionate affair with him. Sadly, that’s not the case. This is rape. She’s kidnapped, and then forced and drugged so she can’t fight. Yes, she thinks he’s handsome and the sex is wonderful. But it’s still rape. Does she confront him on it, or even mention to him that what he did wasn’t appropriate, and definitely done without any care to her? Nope. The fact that he did all that definitely didn’t win him over in my eyes as a worthy romance interest. He may be a king, but he’s definitely not worth my time as is the rest of this series. Oh, and the blood was just ewww gross!

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Emily Ford may be the dumbest protagonist I’ve read so far.
She is abducted then taken to a bedroom to be sexually abused, and she doesn’t freak out? Granted, she thinks she is dreaming at first, but later when she realizes that isn’t the case…she still doesn’t freak out? She immediately accepts the elf’s advances for plot reasons.
But the worse offense of this book is that the sex scenes are not great. For the most part, the author avoids writing foreplay or writes too vaguely. For example:

“When had he taken off his clothes? I couldn’t remember a time he had paused long enough to remove anything.”

“Then he did something amazing with his tongue, and any worries about vampires or elven taboos were instantly thrown to the wayside.”

Moreover, I think the weirdest part to read was this:

“Before I knew it, his considerable girth was inside me, stretching my virgin passage almost to the point of tearing, and he was thrusting into me as if he were trying to drive me completely through the mattress to the floor beneath.”

Almost immediately followed by this:

“The sensations I experienced were phenomenal. Shockwave after shockwave of pleasure shot up my spine with every heavy, deep thrust until my toes curled, and I all but screamed.”

Emily is a virgin getting railed without any prep. How is that not super painful? He didn’t even wait for her to get comfortable. This book makes no sense.

[Nina Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Downloaded this and read it in the same day. It is quite short, but it is only part one of a three or four part series. I was torn on whether I wanted to continue or not. I ultimately decided against it, but not because it is inherently bad. Honestly, this book just is not to my taste.

The book throws you immediately into a sex scene which, while descriptive, is a bit too purple for my taste. Phrases like “his lips latched to my breast” and “he slid into my wet passage” personally turn me off a bit. What bothered me more was how all the information I received about the heroine came from her own self-reflection without any chance to get to know her from her settings.

Many people might like this style and I don’t discourage you from buying it if the subject matter interests you. I won’t be continuing based on what I’ve read.

[Zimmy W · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really really did not like this story. Aside from the fact that it normalize kidnapping and rape - seriously - it's just not well written. The characters are one-dimensional, there's zero lead up or backstory to the characters, no real reason why the main character, Emily, is just so chill with being raped, forced into marriage, and becoming a birthing machine for a literal elf king. Also, the fact that this "series" is four 11,000 word books is crazy to me - the author very well could've combined them all into one novel-length book. All in all, this book was a real head-scratcher on why on earth someone thought this was a good idea to publish.

[Lynnette E Karnes trahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow claimed by the ElvinKing

Wow I keep thing I missed something but wow the imagination that went into writing this story! Holy cow just so real and yet not real to imagine the depth at which they joined and how they had changed her to be able to be one of them Just WOW MIND BLOWN GOTTA READ MORE !

[Odemira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok

Not sure if I missed something buts it's a 5 chapter short story. Its starts off okay enough but it just ends in a weird place. It isn't a complete book, just part of a book. Some of the wording could be better and sentences feel only just okay sometimes. It was a free read so I can't complain, wouldn't pay for the next bit though.

[Hannah Proviance · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not finish this. To be honest, there is so much that could be amazing. Not much is set up in terms of world building or in creating conflict. There is so much budding potential in the first portion I read but I was turned off by the rape, especially when the very next morning the main character was rendered essentially useless and didnt seem to push to fight back or much of anything. If she does later on or gets a good footing for herself, great, but I just cant finish it.

[Johanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read the first few chapters. The female lead just accepted everything way to easily for my taste. Didn’t even bother to have her questions answered before “yes I’ll have your babies even though you kidnapped me and changed what I am”. This opinion is entirely personal, it’s just hard for me to read when the protagonist doesn’t follow common sense at least a little bit

[Janet Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another well read book

Thought I'd find out whether an elven romance would be just as interesting as a vampire I have come to the conclusion it is!! Good & very surprising story although again too short!

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't all that bad but if ended just as fast as it started. You didn't actually get anything from it other than an abduction, an eleven king, sex and some kind of connection between them. So no answers what so ever and she automatically just liked everything.

[Pat Raab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite intriguing!

[Aerly · Rating 2 out of 5]

What happened here?

Kidnapping, then lovemaking, then talking (but not too much) and then back again to lovemaking... only to be interrupted by a woman...

One hour of pure WTF! Haha

[Fathiyyah Ismail · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an ok read, found the heroine annoying and is to accepting and doesnt question much of whats happening.

[Sofia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but too short. It should all be one book.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

I liked the book but will not continue to buy multiple parts of a whole book. It's my least favorite of writing.

[A.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A getaway book for me.

[Dellisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the storyline but it needed to be developed further. I couldn't connect with Emily, i found her reaction to all that was happening inexplicable.