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Claimed by the Elven King #1-4
Claimed by the Elven King
This is the complete, Omnibus edition of the four-part serialized Fantasy Erotic Romance, Claimed by the Elven King. 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 obstacles to both are her new husband's barren and resentful queen, who makes no qualms about wanting Emily gone and is prepared to do the unspeakable to make it happen, and the whispers of anti-human sentiments within the elven court, itself?
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 obstacles to both are her new husband's barren and resentful queen, who makes no qualms about wanting Emily gone and is prepared to do the unspeakable to make it happen, and the whispers of anti-human sentiments within the elven court, itself?
268 pages, Paperback
First published June 18, 2014
170 people are currently reading
469 people want to read
About the author
Cristina Rayne
44 books159 followersNew 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
April 30, 2015
Finally finished this four part series (recommended by my dear friend Alyssa)! I haven't read about elves before so it was certainly something new to me and I'll admit I was a little dubious about this, but, you know what? It wasn't half bad.... :) Even though the story lacked a little depth and I was left wanting to know more about their world, I kept on reading primarily to find out what happens to Emily and her Elven King. I do prefer my men without pointy ears however :) Sorry Alyssa!!!!!
October 6, 2019
4 Stars / 3 Steam Fans
This book was suggested to me by a bookish friend as something I may not have known I needed....she was totally right! I will say that this book may not be for everyone but I really enjoyed it. I have never read anything about elves and I was delighted to explore this new world. Emily is the chosen human to help the elven world continue their bloodlines. Sethian is the elven king and even though he has an elven wife already she can't produce an heir. Emily and Sethian have a special connection but there is mystery, conspiracy, and naysayers within the kingdom. I was drawn into the story and listened to it in one sitting.
This specific video review will be included in the September/October 2019 wrap-up.
For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.
This book was suggested to me by a bookish friend as something I may not have known I needed....she was totally right! I will say that this book may not be for everyone but I really enjoyed it. I have never read anything about elves and I was delighted to explore this new world. Emily is the chosen human to help the elven world continue their bloodlines. Sethian is the elven king and even though he has an elven wife already she can't produce an heir. Emily and Sethian have a special connection but there is mystery, conspiracy, and naysayers within the kingdom. I was drawn into the story and listened to it in one sitting.
This specific video review will be included in the September/October 2019 wrap-up.
For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.
nevermind
April 4, 2016DNF at 8%.
I read the first two chapters, but I was less than thrilled with the random middle-of-the-night kidnapping, and the badly written sex. Several sentences with a few choice verbs does NOT automatically equal a hot sex scene.
Anyway, I do like hot elves, but I'm not interested to see where this is going.
I read the first two chapters, but I was less than thrilled with the random middle-of-the-night kidnapping, and the badly written sex. Several sentences with a few choice verbs does NOT automatically equal a hot sex scene.
Anyway, I do like hot elves, but I'm not interested to see where this is going.
August 26, 2019
I tried to soldier on and finish this book, but I just couldn’t. I didn’t even make it halfway through before calling it quits.
There’s only so much bad writing I can handle. The sex wasn’t even good enough to make me want to keep reading. The characters barely felt like characters, and Emily is an infuriating protagonist because the writer didn’t know how to write her to be a complex, interesting character. Although I guess that could be said for everyone. I just didn’t give a shit about anybody and once Emily got pregnant, I was so done with everybody that I couldn’t bring myself to care or be interested in what would happen next. Just a boring, terrible book all around
There’s only so much bad writing I can handle. The sex wasn’t even good enough to make me want to keep reading. The characters barely felt like characters, and Emily is an infuriating protagonist because the writer didn’t know how to write her to be a complex, interesting character. Although I guess that could be said for everyone. I just didn’t give a shit about anybody and once Emily got pregnant, I was so done with everybody that I couldn’t bring myself to care or be interested in what would happen next. Just a boring, terrible book all around
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2017
I'm bumping this up a star 'cause I do revisit it from time to time even if Emily is a little lack luster.
Sethian and Emily. 4 serial books put together in a boxset and it's still pretty quick at 270 pages. I listened to the audio which was pretty good. I thought the reader tended to over enunciate, but I still enjoyed it.
For some reason, the Elven king, Sethian has chosen Emily of all the human women to be his baby mama. The Elves are plagued with infertility which they hope to cure by taking human brides. Sethian's first Queen, although aloof at first is definitely not on board with this idea. At one point the story (I assume where book 3 and 4 originally split) jumps a decade into the future and it is rather jarring. There's some court intrigue but it's pretty tame, and the characters and the need for world building is kept to a minimum. Still, I enjoyed it more than I expected and found it hard to put down and it satisfied my need for a romantic HEA. I look forward to reading more by this author!
It had a lot of potential if only the author had put more effort into the intrigue or character/world development.
Sethian and Emily. 4 serial books put together in a boxset and it's still pretty quick at 270 pages. I listened to the audio which was pretty good. I thought the reader tended to over enunciate, but I still enjoyed it.
For some reason, the Elven king, Sethian has chosen Emily of all the human women to be his baby mama. The Elves are plagued with infertility which they hope to cure by taking human brides. Sethian's first Queen, although aloof at first is definitely not on board with this idea. At one point the story (I assume where book 3 and 4 originally split) jumps a decade into the future and it is rather jarring. There's some court intrigue but it's pretty tame, and the characters and the need for world building is kept to a minimum. Still, I enjoyed it more than I expected and found it hard to put down and it satisfied my need for a romantic HEA. I look forward to reading more by this author!
It had a lot of potential if only the author had put more effort into the intrigue or character/world development.
April 2, 2016
I had high hopes for this one after reading it's prequel. In fact it was one of the few books I decided to read based on the stories in Kiss of Christmas Magic boxed set. It was a real disappointment. Save yourselves the trouble and don't read it if you don't enjoy flat world-building, illogical female leads, annoying characters and weak plots. The plot was a haphazardly thrown together with huge jumps in time that don't serve any purposes. Some, major as it turns out, plot points were just randomly inserted here and there with no explanation or apparent reason. It felt like a child has gotten a hold of the book and cut some of the story away. And I won't even start on how incredibly stupid and naïve Emily - the female lead - is. I actually expected a lot more sex but even that was somehow flat. All in all a total waste of my time.
August 5, 2018
Could be More
I really liked this story, it started out very well, with good characters and a good story line but later it jumps to years into the future and loses some of that magic that had me enthralled in the beginning. I hope the author rewrites this book and adds more because it has great potential and started out very well.
I really liked this story, it started out very well, with good characters and a good story line but later it jumps to years into the future and loses some of that magic that had me enthralled in the beginning. I hope the author rewrites this book and adds more because it has great potential and started out very well.
April 13, 2015
This was an excellent story. I really enjoyed reading it. The main female character was revisiting how everything started. From being kidnapped from her room in the middle of the night by the Elven King’s guard to becoming his bride.
This was a different way to tell how the Elven King produced heirs to the throne. But with the newest female the Elven King has finally found his destined soul mate. At first he didn’t realize that she was his soulmate.
This is a good book for people that are into stories that the main character revisits the past and are into stories about destined soulmates and that like Fantasy stories. I am not that big on Fantasy stories but this was a good one and can’t wait to read part 2 and 3.
I would give this story about 5 stars. I could not find anything wrong with this story in either the telling or writing of it. It was an excellent story.
This was a different way to tell how the Elven King produced heirs to the throne. But with the newest female the Elven King has finally found his destined soul mate. At first he didn’t realize that she was his soulmate.
This is a good book for people that are into stories that the main character revisits the past and are into stories about destined soulmates and that like Fantasy stories. I am not that big on Fantasy stories but this was a good one and can’t wait to read part 2 and 3.
I would give this story about 5 stars. I could not find anything wrong with this story in either the telling or writing of it. It was an excellent story.
September 27, 2022
It was okay, I guess. I kind of laughed out loud at some of the silly parts because you'd have the elf dude talking in his elegant words and the MC just goes "huh?" and then they just happen to have sex and then people cry because she's getting pregnant. But then again, we came here for the elf sex so I am not in any place to leave a bad rating nor a good rating. We got what we wanted! That sweet sweet elf sex delivered! IDK when this sudden obsession of mine will flare down but who knows, maybe vampires will make a comeback and I'll start reviewing trashy vampire sex novels instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2018
Light, fun romance! I would have liked more details on why he chose Emily and more information about the family.
October 16, 2018
Badly written sex, rapey, and just unrealistic.
January 24, 2018
This is one of those books where the premise sounded promising and I was excited to read it. However, I feel sorely disappointed. While I liked the concept, the story lacked emotional depth to me. I didn't finish, probably made it about 70% of the way through and was just not in the mood to keep going. I'll list a couple reasons why I couldn't enjoy this story so spoilers ahead.
I'll end my rant and perhaps this review isn't really fair since I didn't finish the whole book, but I just felt like this was just a disappointment to what sounded like a good concept with promising characters and potential world building.
I'll end my rant and perhaps this review isn't really fair since I didn't finish the whole book, but I just felt like this was just a disappointment to what sounded like a good concept with promising characters and potential world building.
July 6, 2017
"A Wildly Entertaining Treasure!"
Where does Claimed by the Elven King rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Claimed by the Elven King ranks pretty high among all of the other incredible audio books that I had read. I am always looking for new authors that will take my heart for a glorious journey, and this was one of those amazing stories!
What was one of the most memorable moments of Claimed by the Elven King?
My most memorable moment was when Emily sacrificed herself for her husband's life and the well-being of their children. She didn't even think twice about what this meant for her. She just had to ensure that the people she loved the most were taken care of. No matter what she had complete faith in her husband and her eldest son to do what was best for their family, and this was the best that she could ever give to each of them.
Which character – as performed by Emily Wahlund – was your favorite?
My favorite character was Emily. I loved how her life changed so drastically, and yet she had the grace and inner strength to see it through and to do what she could to make it the best life possible along the way. She loved completely and gave everything of herself for those she held most dear in her life. What more could you want in a life?
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The moment in the book that touched me so deeply was whenever the King realized that he and Emily were soulmates. It shocked him to the core, and yet he cherished it so deeply because he loved her completely. This truth cemented their connection as a family along with their newborn son at the time. It was an incredible moment!
Any additional comments?
I really enjoyed this paranormal romantic suspense story. It was utterly amazing and incredibly beautiful! The details, the foreign world, and the intricate society she was put into really showed the type of person Emily was and in extension those around her. What an amazing journey this has been! I would like to see more from this story unfold in the future!Where does Claimed by the Elven King rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Where does Claimed by the Elven King rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Claimed by the Elven King ranks pretty high among all of the other incredible audio books that I had read. I am always looking for new authors that will take my heart for a glorious journey, and this was one of those amazing stories!
What was one of the most memorable moments of Claimed by the Elven King?
My most memorable moment was when Emily sacrificed herself for her husband's life and the well-being of their children. She didn't even think twice about what this meant for her. She just had to ensure that the people she loved the most were taken care of. No matter what she had complete faith in her husband and her eldest son to do what was best for their family, and this was the best that she could ever give to each of them.
Which character – as performed by Emily Wahlund – was your favorite?
My favorite character was Emily. I loved how her life changed so drastically, and yet she had the grace and inner strength to see it through and to do what she could to make it the best life possible along the way. She loved completely and gave everything of herself for those she held most dear in her life. What more could you want in a life?
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The moment in the book that touched me so deeply was whenever the King realized that he and Emily were soulmates. It shocked him to the core, and yet he cherished it so deeply because he loved her completely. This truth cemented their connection as a family along with their newborn son at the time. It was an incredible moment!
Any additional comments?
I really enjoyed this paranormal romantic suspense story. It was utterly amazing and incredibly beautiful! The details, the foreign world, and the intricate society she was put into really showed the type of person Emily was and in extension those around her. What an amazing journey this has been! I would like to see more from this story unfold in the future!Where does Claimed by the Elven King rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
October 8, 2019
2.5 stars.
This was an interesting read. I lived the premises of the story, but it did leave a few questions. What happens to the title of Queen since the Kings sleeps with no one as far as we are led to believe after Emily has their first child. That is my biggest wonder. Does he need to take on a new Queen or will that position remain vacant until his son's rein? It's just a wonder I had once the book was finished.
I do think this story or stories could have been drawn out more and had more detail given about their day to day lives especially at the end. Does Emoly get more free rein?
I did enjoy the story and enjoyed some of the explanations that were given through out. I just thought some things were glossed over to make the book go faster.
This was an interesting read. I lived the premises of the story, but it did leave a few questions. What happens to the title of Queen since the Kings sleeps with no one as far as we are led to believe after Emily has their first child. That is my biggest wonder. Does he need to take on a new Queen or will that position remain vacant until his son's rein? It's just a wonder I had once the book was finished.
I do think this story or stories could have been drawn out more and had more detail given about their day to day lives especially at the end. Does Emoly get more free rein?
I did enjoy the story and enjoyed some of the explanations that were given through out. I just thought some things were glossed over to make the book go faster.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2021
Listened to this via Audible. Although the steam meter is OMG and the book seemed to jump through time a bit with Emily's story, there's still an actual story. LOVED every minute of it.
Edit 9.7.21: This is my second listen of this book since 2018. Still loved the book. The narrator was...not the best, but I didn't she was terrible. I did like the storyline. The author had a lot of ideas and concepts that I found intriguing and wish they could be fully fleshed out in a series. While she does have another book in this Elven realm "Memories of an Elven Prince", it's not on audible. The sex scenes primarily happen in the first half of the book. I do wish it was longer and wish we could explore the world and culture that was teased. Hoping that the 2nd book comes to audible!
Edit 9.7.21: This is my second listen of this book since 2018. Still loved the book. The narrator was...not the best, but I didn't she was terrible. I did like the storyline. The author had a lot of ideas and concepts that I found intriguing and wish they could be fully fleshed out in a series. While she does have another book in this Elven realm "Memories of an Elven Prince", it's not on audible. The sex scenes primarily happen in the first half of the book. I do wish it was longer and wish we could explore the world and culture that was teased. Hoping that the 2nd book comes to audible!
September 9, 2018
A great paranormal connection.
Emily and Sethian are a once in a millennia couple. After all, how often do the Sidhe consent to associate with humans on an emotional level. More surprising is why the king needs her in the first place. A truly compelling read. Loved it!
Emily and Sethian are a once in a millennia couple. After all, how often do the Sidhe consent to associate with humans on an emotional level. More surprising is why the king needs her in the first place. A truly compelling read. Loved it!
February 15, 2018
This was a quick “between other books” type read. Little bit of plot, lots of sex, ok writing, ok characters. Didn’t really get the heroine - too helpless, too biddable? But it was ok.
September 26, 2018
Can't wait to read more in this series, I absolutely loved it!
October 17, 2018
I found it a slow read at first but as I pushed on I couldn't be kept from this tale for long.
October 2, 2019
Interesting and a great science fiction love story
This book really kept me reading. I enjoyed the elf realm and the problem of fertility. I couldn't stop reading.
This book really kept me reading. I enjoyed the elf realm and the problem of fertility. I couldn't stop reading.
October 10, 2019
2.75 stars.
November 29, 2019
It was a bit entertaining and I was eager to keep reading at times but definitely too cringe for my taste. I should have expected it.
December 11, 2019
Wow... Im glad i finally got to finish this.. Read book 1, listen to the rest is better...
February 3, 2020
DNF. I tried my best. No plot. Little character development. I did not care about any of them. I did not like the writing. I made it a third of the way through, but that is the best I could do.
April 26, 2020
I forgotten how much I loved this series! I can't wait to read the sequel series (I'm NOT going to spoil it for you here)!
August 17, 2021
Messy. The heroine is a doormat and annoyed me to no end.
November 11, 2019
Fantastic read!
The characters were well built and approachable. I even identify myself with Emily because she always seemed so harmless and submissive but when her love ones were harm she transformed into a wildcat. Sethian's reminded me of my husband sometimes, so it was like seeing us interact with one another.
I found the plot well crafted. Although the kidnapt for breeding purposes topic has been greatly used in literature, Cristina Rayne managed to keep things interesting to the very end of the book. Between Emily's falling in love with her captor, the political connotations of being a human in an elven court, the racism of some elves, the hot sex scenes and the attempts in killing Emily, I always found it difficult to tear myself from the reading.
All in all, once the last word was read, I was sighing dreamily because of Sethian and thinking what a fulfilling story "Claimed by the Elven King" was. I'm sooo reading the rest of this series!!
The characters were well built and approachable. I even identify myself with Emily because she always seemed so harmless and submissive but when her love ones were harm she transformed into a wildcat. Sethian's reminded me of my husband sometimes, so it was like seeing us interact with one another.
I found the plot well crafted. Although the kidnapt for breeding purposes topic has been greatly used in literature, Cristina Rayne managed to keep things interesting to the very end of the book. Between Emily's falling in love with her captor, the political connotations of being a human in an elven court, the racism of some elves, the hot sex scenes and the attempts in killing Emily, I always found it difficult to tear myself from the reading.
All in all, once the last word was read, I was sighing dreamily because of Sethian and thinking what a fulfilling story "Claimed by the Elven King" was. I'm sooo reading the rest of this series!!
November 21, 2017
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...
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...
July 3, 2015
I am giving my review for the whole series at once:
This was a fun adventurous romance between a human woman and an eleven king. I really enjoyed reading about the elven world and how Emily has to adjust to the elven ways. She goes through so much in such a short period of time yet she isn't some weak heroine like I've read about in some romance books. She has her moments where she breaks down and cries, but who wouldn't in a situation like that?
The relationship between the elven king, queen, and Emily is pretty strange. I wasn't expecting the hero to have 2 wives. That's not something I would ever be okay with in real life, I don't care what the reasoning for it is, but it was interesting reading about it in this story.
There was a little "insta-love" between the main couple, but the author gave good reasoning for that and she still had them grow together with their relationship throughout the story. So even though there was a little insta-love when they first meet we still aren't sure what will come of their relationship until we see how the story progresses. At one point I was worried they wouldn't get their HEA! But have no fear, they do eventually get it!
The love scenes were descriptive but very well done. There weren't too many that it took over the actual story. There were just enough and in just the right places. If you don't like love scenes then just skip them.
I would recommend reading the whole series back to back. I know how some people give the author negative reviews and complain about how they break a book into small sections and just release parts of it at a time. They do this for the people who just can't wait for the whole book to be done & released. If you don't like reading stuff that's broken into sections and having to wait for the next part to be released then just wait until the author has released all parts of the book. Don't give a bad review just because you couldn't wait! This series was released with parts 1-3 being around 45-50 pages long (about 5 chapters per part) and the last part book 4 being about 150 pages long (about 15 chapters). I read all of the parts back to back. So I didn't have to wait for each part to come out. I really enjoyed that.
I would recommend this series to anyone who likes paranormal romance, or fairy tale/fantasy romance. I will definitely be reading more from this author!
This was a fun adventurous romance between a human woman and an eleven king. I really enjoyed reading about the elven world and how Emily has to adjust to the elven ways. She goes through so much in such a short period of time yet she isn't some weak heroine like I've read about in some romance books. She has her moments where she breaks down and cries, but who wouldn't in a situation like that?
The relationship between the elven king, queen, and Emily is pretty strange. I wasn't expecting the hero to have 2 wives. That's not something I would ever be okay with in real life, I don't care what the reasoning for it is, but it was interesting reading about it in this story.
There was a little "insta-love" between the main couple, but the author gave good reasoning for that and she still had them grow together with their relationship throughout the story. So even though there was a little insta-love when they first meet we still aren't sure what will come of their relationship until we see how the story progresses. At one point I was worried they wouldn't get their HEA! But have no fear, they do eventually get it!
The love scenes were descriptive but very well done. There weren't too many that it took over the actual story. There were just enough and in just the right places. If you don't like love scenes then just skip them.
I would recommend reading the whole series back to back. I know how some people give the author negative reviews and complain about how they break a book into small sections and just release parts of it at a time. They do this for the people who just can't wait for the whole book to be done & released. If you don't like reading stuff that's broken into sections and having to wait for the next part to be released then just wait until the author has released all parts of the book. Don't give a bad review just because you couldn't wait! This series was released with parts 1-3 being around 45-50 pages long (about 5 chapters per part) and the last part book 4 being about 150 pages long (about 15 chapters). I read all of the parts back to back. So I didn't have to wait for each part to come out. I really enjoyed that.
I would recommend this series to anyone who likes paranormal romance, or fairy tale/fantasy romance. I will definitely be reading more from this author!
February 19, 2016
This was recommended to me by Amazon and I thought it sounded a lot like some Tolkien Fanfic I have read**. Eventually I bought it out of curiosity.
It is meant to be a romance. However it's definite dubcon, if not bordering noncon. The female lead is kidnapped from her bed, has what could best be described as painful 'magical plastic surgery' performed on her without her consent, and then finds herself in a bed with a big guy who tells her he is going to have sex with her - her only options in this matter are whether she wants to be fully conscious, and remember it clearly, or have her mind blurred so it might be remembered as more a dream.
And this immediately becomes her great romance...
And I find myself wondering what message does this send out to the intended readership? Which is doubtless female. Having things done to you against your will, having sex without even an introduction, let alone any level of 'courtship', and without you being able to say 'no', is not only acceptable but desirable? As is 'changing your body into what the man desires, even if it hurts you and even if it means you no longer recognise yourself'? Not to mention being forced to have sex whilst drugged if you aren't going to do it any other way?
What a reflection it is on 'the state of the world' that so many female writers normalise this behaviour and treat it as a natural precursor to a wonderfully happy and fulfilling life.
And if we accept that it doesn't even strike the writer as behaviour we should be trying to stamp out - then what hope is there for our daughters and granddaughters? How can we complain that male-orientated porn encourages our young men to assume all girls should be happy to go with whatever the male wants to do with her body, when we have women clearly saying this is a good thing?
Hence my single star.
** It does read as if it either began as Tolkieverse fanfic, from about the time Lee Pace first appeared as the Elven King, or the writer read a good deal of Tolkienverse fic before she wrote it, as there are a number of fanon tropes here!
The actual writing is fine - about the standard of the upper half of Tolkien fanfic, but not as good as the top 20% or so.
It is meant to be a romance. However it's definite dubcon, if not bordering noncon. The female lead is kidnapped from her bed, has what could best be described as painful 'magical plastic surgery' performed on her without her consent, and then finds herself in a bed with a big guy who tells her he is going to have sex with her - her only options in this matter are whether she wants to be fully conscious, and remember it clearly, or have her mind blurred so it might be remembered as more a dream.
And this immediately becomes her great romance...
And I find myself wondering what message does this send out to the intended readership? Which is doubtless female. Having things done to you against your will, having sex without even an introduction, let alone any level of 'courtship', and without you being able to say 'no', is not only acceptable but desirable? As is 'changing your body into what the man desires, even if it hurts you and even if it means you no longer recognise yourself'? Not to mention being forced to have sex whilst drugged if you aren't going to do it any other way?
What a reflection it is on 'the state of the world' that so many female writers normalise this behaviour and treat it as a natural precursor to a wonderfully happy and fulfilling life.
And if we accept that it doesn't even strike the writer as behaviour we should be trying to stamp out - then what hope is there for our daughters and granddaughters? How can we complain that male-orientated porn encourages our young men to assume all girls should be happy to go with whatever the male wants to do with her body, when we have women clearly saying this is a good thing?
Hence my single star.
** It does read as if it either began as Tolkieverse fanfic, from about the time Lee Pace first appeared as the Elven King, or the writer read a good deal of Tolkienverse fic before she wrote it, as there are a number of fanon tropes here!
The actual writing is fine - about the standard of the upper half of Tolkien fanfic, but not as good as the top 20% or so.
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