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Interstellar Service & Discipline #1
Victorious Star
Victoria Stark is an Imperial Navigations Pilot known among the sentient battleships as the Victorious Star—for sacrificing her captains to save her ships. Strong-willed and resourceful, she has never lost a ship she's flown—and never serviced a captain she's had.
Captain Ravnos of the Mercenary dreadnaught Hellsbreath rules his crew with an iron will. First Officer Seht is a skeldhi prince whose specialty is erotic discipline. They're on a mission, and in need of a nav-pilot.
Kidnapped into service on the Hellsbreath, Victoria is caught between two very different men locked in their own private and erotic power struggle. And then there's the mission…
The Moribund Company has captured the Imperial Dreadnaught Arcane, and intends to auction the sentient ship to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, Moribund himself is attending the auction and Ravnos is forced to remain onboard the Hellsbreath for Moribund has a personal vendetta against the handsome captain. It is up to Victoria and First Officer Seht to go deep undercover at the Mordred Space Station to rescue the Arcane.
To complete the mission and return to her duties as an Imperial Officer, Victoria must become Prince Seht's rehkyt—a pet, literally and figuratively. Not allowed on the furniture and kept at the end of a leash, Victoria discovers that there are worse things than servicing your captain. Or are there?
Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, BDSM (including bondage, domination/submission, whipping), menage (m/m/f), and homoerotic sexual situations (m/m, f/f).
Captain Ravnos of the Mercenary dreadnaught Hellsbreath rules his crew with an iron will. First Officer Seht is a skeldhi prince whose specialty is erotic discipline. They're on a mission, and in need of a nav-pilot.
Kidnapped into service on the Hellsbreath, Victoria is caught between two very different men locked in their own private and erotic power struggle. And then there's the mission…
The Moribund Company has captured the Imperial Dreadnaught Arcane, and intends to auction the sentient ship to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, Moribund himself is attending the auction and Ravnos is forced to remain onboard the Hellsbreath for Moribund has a personal vendetta against the handsome captain. It is up to Victoria and First Officer Seht to go deep undercover at the Mordred Space Station to rescue the Arcane.
To complete the mission and return to her duties as an Imperial Officer, Victoria must become Prince Seht's rehkyt—a pet, literally and figuratively. Not allowed on the furniture and kept at the end of a leash, Victoria discovers that there are worse things than servicing your captain. Or are there?
Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, BDSM (including bondage, domination/submission, whipping), menage (m/m/f), and homoerotic sexual situations (m/m, f/f).
484 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 2004
About the author
Morgan Hawke
38 books429 followersMorgan Hawke has been writing erotic fiction since 1998. She has lived in seven states of the US and spent two years in England. She has been an auto mechanic, a security guard, a waitress, a groom in a horse-stable, in the military, a copywriter, a magazine editor, a professional tarot reader, a belly-dancer and a stripper. Her personal area of expertise is the strange and unusual.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 213 reviews
January 24, 2013
Well Hot Damn, This is a Panty Soaker!!!
What an Amazing ride this turned out to be. No matter what your "Kink" is, this book had it! And I have a lot of Kinks!! Lets see it had...
Forced Seduction. Check
Menage............... Check
BDSM.................. Check
Erotic M/M ......... Check
Plus there was a Prince with 2 Cocks...Double Check
( I love a Buy one Get one Free Deal)
Prince Seht was beyond yummy with his Dual Package
There was a Golden Shower incident...Check
A Total Bad Ass Pilot ..aka Victorious Star
And my favorite Space Captain Ever, Captain Ravnos (sorry Jean-Luc Picard). He's a Sexy Mug of an Alpha with an attitude!!
And a beautiful Love story in the midst of all this craziness! Wow!!
Oh and the story was Action Packed and Amazing. A page turner!! I loved this book and scarfed down the next book in the series. If you like Sci Fi and find yourself in the mood for a walk on the wild side, This is the series to try!
I love Morgan Hawke's writing style and she knows how to write dirty sex that appeals to my dark side.
Interstellar Service & Discipline series:
Lost Star
Victorious Star
Fallen Star
What an Amazing ride this turned out to be. No matter what your "Kink" is, this book had it! And I have a lot of Kinks!! Lets see it had...
Forced Seduction. Check
Menage............... Check
BDSM.................. Check
Erotic M/M ......... Check
Plus there was a Prince with 2 Cocks...Double Check
( I love a Buy one Get one Free Deal)
Prince Seht was beyond yummy with his Dual Package
There was a Golden Shower incident...Check
A Total Bad Ass Pilot ..aka Victorious Star
And my favorite Space Captain Ever, Captain Ravnos (sorry Jean-Luc Picard). He's a Sexy Mug of an Alpha with an attitude!!
And a beautiful Love story in the midst of all this craziness! Wow!!
Oh and the story was Action Packed and Amazing. A page turner!! I loved this book and scarfed down the next book in the series. If you like Sci Fi and find yourself in the mood for a walk on the wild side, This is the series to try!
I love Morgan Hawke's writing style and she knows how to write dirty sex that appeals to my dark side.
Interstellar Service & Discipline series:
Lost Star
Victorious Star
Fallen Star
March 15, 2013
Rating lowered to 1* on second attempt of reading.
I tried to finish this a second time - having had an excellent run of well-written scifi by women - and again couldn't get past the rape scenes. The second time around I'm angry rather than just bored.
I wouldn't mind reading a future world containing institutional rape; I mean, one of the best scifis written by a woman is Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" after all. I also adore reading well-written rape fiction as it's a kink of mine. The stress in both cases is on "well-written".
I'll add that to be palatable to me, the rape has to be normally received by the woman. By this I mean I want the typical, normal reaction of a woman who gets raped. Even if the rape is institutionalised, even if she is physically brought to an orgasm (which is a response of nerves, not of anyone's actual enjoyment of rape) and - in particular - even if she is a masochist or submissive, and again can't help getting off on the pain and force, I want a normal reaction to the breach of consent.
What I do definitely NOT want is an author who writes a raped women the way MRAs talk about raping women: as in a hot babe, who reeeeeeeally only needs to be well done over to get dripping wet and have a couple of Os and she will come around to see the male's point of view.
THAT IS ABSOLUTELY FUCKING SKEEVY.
And it is this which this book does. It is reinforcing all those messages of rapists, that at the heart of it "all women want it" and that "you just have to do her hard and good, and she'll love it".
As I already said in my earlier review, this message is not subverted in the slightest. It isn't delivered sarcastically. Or cynically. The woman doesn't end up shooting those arseholes into bits of guts and shit. Nope, like the poster child of revisionist male expectancy she takes the rape and loves it. And she submits to these alpha arseholes like a "good girl".
Once again: I can't eat enough for how much I would like to puke reading such complete shice.
I also notice that the past 3 years reading a lot of very bad erotica, especially alleged BDSM erotica, has all but eroded my patience and willingness to suffer equably. I do not get the rates of this book. At all.
==============================
Ultimately this was very boring, the sex repetitive and not very erotic and the story a dime a dozen.
What irked me into going down to 2* instead of the usual 3* for something mediocre is the sex-negative message this spreads. Nowhere, not even within the female MC's inner dialogue does that get subverted--and that's the least I expect these days. At its core this has an ultra-conservative world-view. I don't know why this keeps astonishing me so much, but it does.
I tried to finish this a second time - having had an excellent run of well-written scifi by women - and again couldn't get past the rape scenes. The second time around I'm angry rather than just bored.
I wouldn't mind reading a future world containing institutional rape; I mean, one of the best scifis written by a woman is Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" after all. I also adore reading well-written rape fiction as it's a kink of mine. The stress in both cases is on "well-written".
I'll add that to be palatable to me, the rape has to be normally received by the woman. By this I mean I want the typical, normal reaction of a woman who gets raped. Even if the rape is institutionalised, even if she is physically brought to an orgasm (which is a response of nerves, not of anyone's actual enjoyment of rape) and - in particular - even if she is a masochist or submissive, and again can't help getting off on the pain and force, I want a normal reaction to the breach of consent.
What I do definitely NOT want is an author who writes a raped women the way MRAs talk about raping women: as in a hot babe, who reeeeeeeally only needs to be well done over to get dripping wet and have a couple of Os and she will come around to see the male's point of view.
THAT IS ABSOLUTELY FUCKING SKEEVY.
And it is this which this book does. It is reinforcing all those messages of rapists, that at the heart of it "all women want it" and that "you just have to do her hard and good, and she'll love it".
As I already said in my earlier review, this message is not subverted in the slightest. It isn't delivered sarcastically. Or cynically. The woman doesn't end up shooting those arseholes into bits of guts and shit. Nope, like the poster child of revisionist male expectancy she takes the rape and loves it. And she submits to these alpha arseholes like a "good girl".
Once again: I can't eat enough for how much I would like to puke reading such complete shice.
I also notice that the past 3 years reading a lot of very bad erotica, especially alleged BDSM erotica, has all but eroded my patience and willingness to suffer equably. I do not get the rates of this book. At all.
==============================
Ultimately this was very boring, the sex repetitive and not very erotic and the story a dime a dozen.
What irked me into going down to 2* instead of the usual 3* for something mediocre is the sex-negative message this spreads. Nowhere, not even within the female MC's inner dialogue does that get subverted--and that's the least I expect these days. At its core this has an ultra-conservative world-view. I don't know why this keeps astonishing me so much, but it does.
Read
December 6, 2021okay I tried but I just can't with this two dicks popping up from one crotch thing. had to give up. otherwise this is a fast-paced, rollicking adventure with high stakes and amusing characters, one that would probably be lightly enjoyable, even with all of the extremely over the top sadomasochistic activities happening every other page. the book certainly makes bloodplay sound like just another Tuesday lol. anyway, I tried and failed, again, as this is my second time attempting to handle imagining a double-dong guy, so not blaming the author because apparently this is something that people semi-frequently write about. but two dicks from one guy, another dick from the second guy because this is menage erotica... that's just too many dicks for me. and here I thought I'd never say that last phrase.
October 7, 2017
Oh, this book is just pure magic I have lost count of the number of times I have re-read this baby and its one of the few I actually own a physical copy of and have in paperback on my bookshelf.
That non-con/dub-con scene where she is made to submit over the captain's desk is my fave ever and as this was one of the first books I ever experienced this type of scenario with you could even say Victorious Star popped that particular cherry for me.
Now, this is not going to be the book for everyone especially if you prefer your romantic interludes all wrapped up in a pretty pink bow and all politically correct and all.
This is the opposite it's raw and rough with some dubious content involved and I bloody devoured it and will continue to do so in the future.
So despite this being heavy on the kink front, there is also an interesting storyline running through which makes this even better.
Genre-wise this is a sci-fi BDSM erotic menage romance and as I am a sucker for anything slightly alien this made this even more intriguing to me.
So basically Victoria Stark imperial Nav Pilot is liberated from her current assignment by Mercenary Captain Ravnos of the Hellsbreath and his second in command first officer Seht a royal Skeldhi prince to nav-pilot their ship.
There's a lot of hot and heavy antics that are heavy on the Dom/Sub side of things.
This is M/M/F and the males are together first before being joined by Victoria.
My fave character here was most definitely Seht and I just adored everything about him including his character dynamic with both Victoria and Ravnos.
The side story as well was fabulous an undercover assignment with Seht where she will have to be genetically altered and act as his pet.
This was hands down my fave bit of this story, I do so love a bit of pet-play (although this was more tongue in cheek rather than serious on Victoria and Seht's part so don't be put off)
This is such an imaginative story that I highly recommend especially if you like the unusual and bar the desk scene which definitely pushes and borders on the non-con the rest of this is all consensual and there is nothing majorly over the top here, this is actually a lot of fun at times.
definitely not for the easily offended though and I will put this out there: lots and lots of anal here folks just a heads up.
So yep this baby definitely gets my stamp of approval, loved it.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
June 21, 2012
I chose this book for an Erotic SciFi Club group read due to the broad acknowledgement of its appeal within our genre. I also had a personal agenda in selecting a so-called "classic"--I've been looking for the missing middle ground between Science Fiction and Erotica for years (consider what it implies about human sexuality), and "Victorious Star" looked like an ideal story to deconstruct in that aim.
The first part of this critique takes a pretty surly tone, and I apologize in advance to anyone harboring warm sentiments for the book as I will be evaluating it from the perspective of the SciFi literature it presumes to extend. But there is more to say after that, and for what it's worth my feelings did not end where they started.
Let us begin.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I...
I am...
I am soaking you...
"I am soaking you in my piss." The scent of male urine filled the shower.
Stop. What manner of beginning is this?
It is a theory of mine that every book has two beginnings; its literal entrance, and the crucial moment in the narrative from which its interpretation ultimately flowers. Despite its almost casual execution, the golden shower conferred on protagonist Victoria Star by her manly captors is the secret gravity of this story.
Why? Is it psychologically significant? Or even the hardest humiliation on the schedule? No. It's just the most calculatedly sensational of all the half-serious technical gestures connecting science with sexuality here. Victoria is being marked like an animal, part of an imprinting procedure that also involves drugs and sex magic. This book offers a steady drizzle of such wince-inducing situations from beginning to end, and it also develops big problems with logical continuity as we follow a deadly but beautiful starship navigator through the travails of abduction, seduction, addiction to and redemption by a pair of bisexual giants named Ravnos and Seht; the latter submissive to the former despite a double-endowment of fuckrods.
Anyone comfortable with even middle-tier SciFi is going to groan almost line by line through the asshaul of derivative tropes yanked into this story without any sense of discipline or aesthetic--usually from the most casual territories of the genre. Those committed to the higher genius of SciFi will find this book an excruciating read. I stumbled down three chapters just on the inertia of its acclaim before I had to stop and reckon the sheer volume of bad writing that had already accumulated. Morgan Hawke is not a capable stylist and Victorious Star doesn't offer any elevated moments where you can feel the author really reach for something subtle or beautiful. I was genuinely surprised by the artless prose given the general reputation of her work.
That's not all. The main characters in this narrative exhibit frequent u-turn changes in motivation and sensibility, at such implausible velocity on occasion I lost all conviction anyone had functioning objectivity on call by the middle chapters. The backstories provided are numbly unspecific hinterlands of experience, illuminated as required by the plot to a predictably complicated network of secret loyalties.
In this book, everything is rated class 4 or level 6 or capacity 9; the story is set far in the future but titanium is evidently still a wonder-metal; you can somehow fall through atmosphere a hundred times faster than an elevator will take you; machine mentalities are transferred into human minds by casual touch... in all, the "science" Hawke commands is so corny and unconvincing it may actually hurt your rationality to experience it. From the standpoint of a serious SciFi enthusiast, Victorious Star deserves just one, sadly unvictorious star. It would be considered almost unpublishable in that genre.
And yet, it was the comprehensive nature of its failure on logical terms that stirred me to question the basic business of rationality in storytelling--to the extent that I finally decided my self-appointed stewardship of "real" science fiction was just uncool. The greater feat of analysis here would consist in a sincere submission to the story on its own terms. So I tried that.
And you know what? I began to see something underneath the words that suggested the real reason for the popularity of this book--despite its stilted presentation you can clearly detect the author's deep investiture in the reality of her world. Hawke seemed genuinely aroused by her own narrative, and I realized it was strictly my decision whether to follow her there.
In this light the story started to feel more like the Star Trek novels I used to love, just retooled for kinks. Could I really not identify with that? As with Fifty Shades of Grey, it became obvious to me on second investigation that Victorious Star renders a genuine image of the feminine sexual subconscious; an unsated inclination to giant men with harder needs and steeper vulnerabilities than real life can supply. While the elaborately gay relationship between Ravnos and Seht cancels their masculine sovereignty over Victoria in my view, the author describes the triangular ardency of their menage with an obvious yearning for actualities; her feminine heat is blatantly felt between details borrowed from SciFi material distant in ambition and effect.
What this novel really wants is a competent editing--by someone who can connect the dots back to science with a sure instinct for technical credibility. But after thinking about it for a while I decided this would make a modest contribution to the result at best; Hawke did the harder thing by giving life to a true fantasy, however blunt its revelation. I have never encountered a work of erotica in the formal tradition of SciFi that can match the intensity of desire this story conveys, and for that I shall deal Victorious Star four of a kind, reserving just one mark for her rational resurrection into general literary distinction someday.
FOUR STARS ****
The first part of this critique takes a pretty surly tone, and I apologize in advance to anyone harboring warm sentiments for the book as I will be evaluating it from the perspective of the SciFi literature it presumes to extend. But there is more to say after that, and for what it's worth my feelings did not end where they started.
Let us begin.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I...
I am...
I am soaking you...
"I am soaking you in my piss." The scent of male urine filled the shower.
Stop. What manner of beginning is this?
It is a theory of mine that every book has two beginnings; its literal entrance, and the crucial moment in the narrative from which its interpretation ultimately flowers. Despite its almost casual execution, the golden shower conferred on protagonist Victoria Star by her manly captors is the secret gravity of this story.
Why? Is it psychologically significant? Or even the hardest humiliation on the schedule? No. It's just the most calculatedly sensational of all the half-serious technical gestures connecting science with sexuality here. Victoria is being marked like an animal, part of an imprinting procedure that also involves drugs and sex magic. This book offers a steady drizzle of such wince-inducing situations from beginning to end, and it also develops big problems with logical continuity as we follow a deadly but beautiful starship navigator through the travails of abduction, seduction, addiction to and redemption by a pair of bisexual giants named Ravnos and Seht; the latter submissive to the former despite a double-endowment of fuckrods.
Anyone comfortable with even middle-tier SciFi is going to groan almost line by line through the asshaul of derivative tropes yanked into this story without any sense of discipline or aesthetic--usually from the most casual territories of the genre. Those committed to the higher genius of SciFi will find this book an excruciating read. I stumbled down three chapters just on the inertia of its acclaim before I had to stop and reckon the sheer volume of bad writing that had already accumulated. Morgan Hawke is not a capable stylist and Victorious Star doesn't offer any elevated moments where you can feel the author really reach for something subtle or beautiful. I was genuinely surprised by the artless prose given the general reputation of her work.
That's not all. The main characters in this narrative exhibit frequent u-turn changes in motivation and sensibility, at such implausible velocity on occasion I lost all conviction anyone had functioning objectivity on call by the middle chapters. The backstories provided are numbly unspecific hinterlands of experience, illuminated as required by the plot to a predictably complicated network of secret loyalties.
In this book, everything is rated class 4 or level 6 or capacity 9; the story is set far in the future but titanium is evidently still a wonder-metal; you can somehow fall through atmosphere a hundred times faster than an elevator will take you; machine mentalities are transferred into human minds by casual touch... in all, the "science" Hawke commands is so corny and unconvincing it may actually hurt your rationality to experience it. From the standpoint of a serious SciFi enthusiast, Victorious Star deserves just one, sadly unvictorious star. It would be considered almost unpublishable in that genre.
And yet, it was the comprehensive nature of its failure on logical terms that stirred me to question the basic business of rationality in storytelling--to the extent that I finally decided my self-appointed stewardship of "real" science fiction was just uncool. The greater feat of analysis here would consist in a sincere submission to the story on its own terms. So I tried that.
And you know what? I began to see something underneath the words that suggested the real reason for the popularity of this book--despite its stilted presentation you can clearly detect the author's deep investiture in the reality of her world. Hawke seemed genuinely aroused by her own narrative, and I realized it was strictly my decision whether to follow her there.
In this light the story started to feel more like the Star Trek novels I used to love, just retooled for kinks. Could I really not identify with that? As with Fifty Shades of Grey, it became obvious to me on second investigation that Victorious Star renders a genuine image of the feminine sexual subconscious; an unsated inclination to giant men with harder needs and steeper vulnerabilities than real life can supply. While the elaborately gay relationship between Ravnos and Seht cancels their masculine sovereignty over Victoria in my view, the author describes the triangular ardency of their menage with an obvious yearning for actualities; her feminine heat is blatantly felt between details borrowed from SciFi material distant in ambition and effect.
What this novel really wants is a competent editing--by someone who can connect the dots back to science with a sure instinct for technical credibility. But after thinking about it for a while I decided this would make a modest contribution to the result at best; Hawke did the harder thing by giving life to a true fantasy, however blunt its revelation. I have never encountered a work of erotica in the formal tradition of SciFi that can match the intensity of desire this story conveys, and for that I shall deal Victorious Star four of a kind, reserving just one mark for her rational resurrection into general literary distinction someday.
FOUR STARS ****
September 14, 2010
This is not your Grandpas scifi story. Ms. Hawke has managed to write a story that combines two genres I love to read: Science Fiction and Erotica. This is not a typical romance although there is a HEA. If you prefer your erotica/romance more vanilla- you should probably just move along ~ nothing to see here!~. However, if your adventuresome and like to take a walk on the wildside (or at least take a peek on the wildside), I can recommend this book. The erotic portions of the book run the gamut of themes: BDSM (heavy D/s), Dubious Consent, Menage (MMF,MFM,FFF), voyeurism, exhibitionism, rough sex. It is a very visceral read. There's a little something for everyone. The author throws in something "extra" for her readers too;) The sex scenes are combustible, well written and part of the overall plot of the book. The scifi parts speak to the scifi geek girl in me. The author builds a complex futuristic universe with sentient starships/battleships, sentient(slightly pervy) space stations, alien civilizations, alien biology, hot aliens, hot cyborgs, evil aliens, evil cyborgs, nanotechnology, human/machine interfaces, and genetic bio-modification. The only thing missing? Robots- there are no robots in the making of this book. Victorious Star is a re-read book for me. If you like your Scifi to sizzle, I recommend that you give this book a try.
February 12, 2017
This is one of those books where you think " wtf I'm I reading" like... 1000 times while you read it. I really don't have a specific review for this. Sometimes it felt OK, sometimes so off.
The males were OK, the heroine I just couldn't connect with.
Maybe I'm done with sci fi (for now). Although I have to say that this book was very unique and soo steamy.
Not quite sure I'll read the others in the series, though. We'll see.
The males were OK, the heroine I just couldn't connect with.
Maybe I'm done with sci fi (for now). Although I have to say that this book was very unique and soo steamy.
Not quite sure I'll read the others in the series, though. We'll see.
January 9, 2011
This is one of my FAVOURITE books of all time. Ms. Hawke creates an amazing world that I would love to live in. The aggressive skeldhi culture which includes modified humans into sex slave is amazing. Captain Ravnos is an uber dom. I don't know why Victoria resisted so hard. Seht is a hot and sexy alien. He also sports Every sex scene in here turned me on. Ms. Hawke writes great scenes of submission. She is truly talented. I wish she would write a few more books in this world.
December 17, 2021
When I read this book many many years ago for the first time, it was no doubt the weirdest sci-fi romance/erotica I had ever read.
Now that I reread it (and after so many similar style books I have read), I have to admit that it is still the weirdest sci-fi romance/erotica I have ever read. And the most enticing!
Now that I reread it (and after so many similar style books I have read), I have to admit that it is still the weirdest sci-fi romance/erotica I have ever read. And the most enticing!
February 10, 2016
You might have noticed that this book has some pretty wildly diverging reviews. You'll move from glowing 5 star ones to pitiless 1 star ratings. I've read plenty of both, to try to make my mind around this novel. And I've realised I'm not sure I agree with any. Oh, don't get me wrong, this has been a 1 star experience for me, out of sheer bordom, mostly.
But let's clear the field first. This is erotica, plain and simple. I didn't know that, so my fault. Still, I read the genre, and while I admit freely that most is trash or porn (= meaning it's awfully written or completely missing the point), I still read it, and enjoy some books.
This is actually the erotica that's most disappointing: stories with a wonderful potential in plot and world building that get destroyed by totally lack of focus on anything that's not sex.
Anyway, going back on the reviews. This is not my idea of a good book (the 5 stars): it lacks character coherence and depth, a tight plot. It does have a core of a good story, but it would come out only if you cut at least 20 of those 40 chapters. And then rebuild the story. As it is you get an almost non stop sex scene. And that's it. Again, yes, erotica, but god how mind numbing boring. And coarse and offensive, but I'll get back on this.
(By the way, I have no idea of other people's opinion, but to me eroticism has to be engaging, it's never the mechanics.)
It's quite difficult to get engaged in a plot if it drowns in thousands useless details (here sex), and if characters are unbelievable or unpalatable, or flat. And here you had all of this, and not one rounded, believable one. Let's take the heroine, she's presented as a real tough, competent, military pilot, able to resist all her captains, even physically. This is the background offered and hinted. What did we get? A sopping, dripping, useless masochistic slave out of the blue. She's raped repeatedly, violated in many ways, humiliated, and forced into every situations, including being a slave; and she enjoys it so much she falls in love. There's not a single real reaction. Oh, yes. She's has temper (as an excuse for punishment and sex), but not one single ounce of steel. She's fake and unbelievable in all her reactions. A kind of Mary Sue, unreal. So why do you give her that background simply to ignore it?
So many things had no sense, except as the author's way to have it happen. Yes, she's the pilot who saves ship rather than crew. But I need one hell of a strong, valid motive to justify the choices she makes, like forfeiting her life for a ship. I don't see it here at all. Self preservation is one hell of a feeling...
As to the male leads, I can only say they are unpleasant and unpalatable. I couldn't find one saving grace. They are not even evil, or real bad guys. They aren't that interesting. They are spoilt, selfish jerks. Unfeeling, and uncaring, words notwithstanding. At the end of the book, one of them says their love is unromantic. Nope, that simply isn't love. She's a toy, maybe a breeder, but surely she's not loved.
As for the 1 star rating. What can I say? Right, but not because this book is dark or gritty. It definitely isn't. It isn't good enough to be, it doesn't know how to be gritty. It's too shallow, there's no despair, no depth of feeling. How can it be? It's just a yawn-inducing sex fest. Boring, at time a bit revolting, but not even maddening enough to rant.
Now, to the other hot topic. The non con. Those who know me know I don't run from rapes, as long it's acknowledged as such. Wanderlust is such a book. It's a love story between a rapist and his victim. It's not sugar coated, it's not dressed. She may orgasm, but it's still a rape.
Here I found it really irritating (and therefore offensive), not because it's a rape, but because it's unacknowledged. It's negated, there's no reaction. "it's not really rape, you wanted us, no matter what came out of your mouth". No is no is no, even if I tease you and then I say no. No is no is no. Rinse an repeat. If it's real, it has consequences. Otherwise you are just using to titillation, and that's offensive too. (I'm talking to the author, not to the characters.)
Plus, this isn't an historic romance, some things have no sense. She's not the belle of the ball. (Not that they had in HR....) Different genre, different expectations.
Any way I found the sex and the sexual situation overall coarse, excessive and over the top (and not in a good way), again lacking in subtlety and depth (sorry the pun is unintentional). Rape and slavery as a joke.
Bleah, bash it as a waste of time and money, but don't give it more merit than it deserves.
But let's clear the field first. This is erotica, plain and simple. I didn't know that, so my fault. Still, I read the genre, and while I admit freely that most is trash or porn (= meaning it's awfully written or completely missing the point), I still read it, and enjoy some books.
This is actually the erotica that's most disappointing: stories with a wonderful potential in plot and world building that get destroyed by totally lack of focus on anything that's not sex.
Anyway, going back on the reviews. This is not my idea of a good book (the 5 stars): it lacks character coherence and depth, a tight plot. It does have a core of a good story, but it would come out only if you cut at least 20 of those 40 chapters. And then rebuild the story. As it is you get an almost non stop sex scene. And that's it. Again, yes, erotica, but god how mind numbing boring. And coarse and offensive, but I'll get back on this.
(By the way, I have no idea of other people's opinion, but to me eroticism has to be engaging, it's never the mechanics.)
It's quite difficult to get engaged in a plot if it drowns in thousands useless details (here sex), and if characters are unbelievable or unpalatable, or flat. And here you had all of this, and not one rounded, believable one. Let's take the heroine, she's presented as a real tough, competent, military pilot, able to resist all her captains, even physically. This is the background offered and hinted. What did we get? A sopping, dripping, useless masochistic slave out of the blue. She's raped repeatedly, violated in many ways, humiliated, and forced into every situations, including being a slave; and she enjoys it so much she falls in love. There's not a single real reaction. Oh, yes. She's has temper (as an excuse for punishment and sex), but not one single ounce of steel. She's fake and unbelievable in all her reactions. A kind of Mary Sue, unreal. So why do you give her that background simply to ignore it?
So many things had no sense, except as the author's way to have it happen. Yes, she's the pilot who saves ship rather than crew. But I need one hell of a strong, valid motive to justify the choices she makes, like forfeiting her life for a ship. I don't see it here at all. Self preservation is one hell of a feeling...
As to the male leads, I can only say they are unpleasant and unpalatable. I couldn't find one saving grace. They are not even evil, or real bad guys. They aren't that interesting. They are spoilt, selfish jerks. Unfeeling, and uncaring, words notwithstanding. At the end of the book, one of them says their love is unromantic. Nope, that simply isn't love. She's a toy, maybe a breeder, but surely she's not loved.
As for the 1 star rating. What can I say? Right, but not because this book is dark or gritty. It definitely isn't. It isn't good enough to be, it doesn't know how to be gritty. It's too shallow, there's no despair, no depth of feeling. How can it be? It's just a yawn-inducing sex fest. Boring, at time a bit revolting, but not even maddening enough to rant.
Now, to the other hot topic. The non con. Those who know me know I don't run from rapes, as long it's acknowledged as such. Wanderlust is such a book. It's a love story between a rapist and his victim. It's not sugar coated, it's not dressed. She may orgasm, but it's still a rape.
Here I found it really irritating (and therefore offensive), not because it's a rape, but because it's unacknowledged. It's negated, there's no reaction. "it's not really rape, you wanted us, no matter what came out of your mouth". No is no is no, even if I tease you and then I say no. No is no is no. Rinse an repeat. If it's real, it has consequences. Otherwise you are just using to titillation, and that's offensive too. (I'm talking to the author, not to the characters.)
Plus, this isn't an historic romance, some things have no sense. She's not the belle of the ball. (Not that they had in HR....) Different genre, different expectations.
Any way I found the sex and the sexual situation overall coarse, excessive and over the top (and not in a good way), again lacking in subtlety and depth (sorry the pun is unintentional). Rape and slavery as a joke.
Bleah, bash it as a waste of time and money, but don't give it more merit than it deserves.
November 9, 2010
Violent, frequent, painful rape may be a turn-on for some, but it’s not for everyone. It’s mostly about sex, but the sci-fi story is ok.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Throughout the book, the heroine is forced to do things that are painful, uncomfortable, or humiliating and to suffer bad situations. In the first sex scene she is kidnapped and fights two men who handcuff her and forcibly rape her (rear door). It’s painful. She is forced to do her job as pilot wearing no underwear and a skirt so short that other crew members see her nakedness. When undercover as a slave, two girls want to have sex with Victoria. She is repulsed and refuses. But her undercover partner is amused and forces her to do it. All of this was hard for me to take. She is constantly forced to do things against her will. Yet she desires the two men who repeatedly rape her. Apparently this is her subconscious desire to be submissive. I had trouble with the rapes. They were frightening. I would never want to experience this, but it was physically arousing for me which I don’t want to admit. Some readers may be disgusted.
Victoria is a great fighter and a great nav-pilot. But because most of the things that happen to her are against her will, there is a helpless feeling to the book. The heroine is never in control – always a victim. Throughout the book I was uncomfortable.
I was angry with one of the events. Victoria is pretending to be Seht’s slave on an undercover mission. Because of her slave status, he must protect her. But he doesn’t do his job when he allows her to be separated from him, and something horrible happens to her. I was angry. This was just one more instance of something bad happening to her against her will. Seht’s reason for allowing the separation was stupid and unnecessary. I felt like the author should have come up with something better if she wanted this to happen to Victoria. I did not like it happening.
On the positive side, the story had some interesting world building – ideas that were new and different. But I don’t know if I want to read any more of this series. There isn’t much character or relationship development. Lust creates relationships. There is a lot of graphic, explicit group sex, men with men, women with women, bondage, whipping, pain, blood, and urine. Rear door sex is the norm with very little regular sex.
I was disappointed with the cover picture. Seht has long silver hair and pointed ears, but the cover guy has short blond hair and normal ears. Victoria is shown in a teddy (lingerie) which is not what she wore in the book.
STORY BRIEF:
Victoria is a starship nav-pilot for the Imperium. A computer mechanism is implanted in in her. To pilot a ship, she opens her mind and links with the ship’s computer. They have conversations. She respects and cares for them, and they respond well to her. More than once, a captain does not listen to her and abandons ship, but she is able to save the ship which makes the captain look bad. Throughout the fleet, it is tradition for captains to rape their crew members with rear door sex. Victoria has been able to avoid that due to her fighting abilities.
Ravnos is captain of a mercenary ship. He kidnaps Victoria, rapes her in the captain’s way and forces her to be his nav-pilot. Seht is his first officer. Seht participates in the rapes of Victoria. There is frequent sex among the three of them. Moraine is planning to destroy a ship whose computer is named Arcane. Ravnos has been hired by the Imperium to get possession of Arcane before it’s destroyed. Ravnos wants Victoria to go onto that ship and let Arcane come into her body to bring him back. The only way for Victoria to get to that ship is to go undercover as a slave owned by Seht.
DATA:
Story length: 477 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 15. Estimated number of sex scene pages: 101. Setting: in the future on spaceships and a space station. Ebook published: 2004. Copyright: 2006. Genre: erotic science fiction romance.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Throughout the book, the heroine is forced to do things that are painful, uncomfortable, or humiliating and to suffer bad situations. In the first sex scene she is kidnapped and fights two men who handcuff her and forcibly rape her (rear door). It’s painful. She is forced to do her job as pilot wearing no underwear and a skirt so short that other crew members see her nakedness. When undercover as a slave, two girls want to have sex with Victoria. She is repulsed and refuses. But her undercover partner is amused and forces her to do it. All of this was hard for me to take. She is constantly forced to do things against her will. Yet she desires the two men who repeatedly rape her. Apparently this is her subconscious desire to be submissive. I had trouble with the rapes. They were frightening. I would never want to experience this, but it was physically arousing for me which I don’t want to admit. Some readers may be disgusted.
Victoria is a great fighter and a great nav-pilot. But because most of the things that happen to her are against her will, there is a helpless feeling to the book. The heroine is never in control – always a victim. Throughout the book I was uncomfortable.
I was angry with one of the events. Victoria is pretending to be Seht’s slave on an undercover mission. Because of her slave status, he must protect her. But he doesn’t do his job when he allows her to be separated from him, and something horrible happens to her. I was angry. This was just one more instance of something bad happening to her against her will. Seht’s reason for allowing the separation was stupid and unnecessary. I felt like the author should have come up with something better if she wanted this to happen to Victoria. I did not like it happening.
On the positive side, the story had some interesting world building – ideas that were new and different. But I don’t know if I want to read any more of this series. There isn’t much character or relationship development. Lust creates relationships. There is a lot of graphic, explicit group sex, men with men, women with women, bondage, whipping, pain, blood, and urine. Rear door sex is the norm with very little regular sex.
I was disappointed with the cover picture. Seht has long silver hair and pointed ears, but the cover guy has short blond hair and normal ears. Victoria is shown in a teddy (lingerie) which is not what she wore in the book.
STORY BRIEF:
Victoria is a starship nav-pilot for the Imperium. A computer mechanism is implanted in in her. To pilot a ship, she opens her mind and links with the ship’s computer. They have conversations. She respects and cares for them, and they respond well to her. More than once, a captain does not listen to her and abandons ship, but she is able to save the ship which makes the captain look bad. Throughout the fleet, it is tradition for captains to rape their crew members with rear door sex. Victoria has been able to avoid that due to her fighting abilities.
Ravnos is captain of a mercenary ship. He kidnaps Victoria, rapes her in the captain’s way and forces her to be his nav-pilot. Seht is his first officer. Seht participates in the rapes of Victoria. There is frequent sex among the three of them. Moraine is planning to destroy a ship whose computer is named Arcane. Ravnos has been hired by the Imperium to get possession of Arcane before it’s destroyed. Ravnos wants Victoria to go onto that ship and let Arcane come into her body to bring him back. The only way for Victoria to get to that ship is to go undercover as a slave owned by Seht.
DATA:
Story length: 477 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 15. Estimated number of sex scene pages: 101. Setting: in the future on spaceships and a space station. Ebook published: 2004. Copyright: 2006. Genre: erotic science fiction romance.
October 26, 2015
Re-Read Review: 3.2 Stars
Yeah, I remembered pretty quickly why I didn't rate this one higher once I started reading it again; I absolutely hate the whole mind and mouth say no, but body says yes trope. I think it helps that we're in the FMC's head the whole time, so we know that she is against the whole forced sex/domination thing on principle, but can't ignore what her body wants...so it's a little less rapey than if we don't have her POV as depending on the MMCs' PsOV would make it a lot rapey.
The insta-love was strong with this one as well, and nothing about the story seemed to warrant that connection between Victoria and the guys. I DID love her dedication to the Ship's Sentience, recognizing his existence and war record (as well as her determination to save all the ships she's been assigned to when incompetence would have the crew abandon them to pirates/privateers).
The rest of the story was really really good (well, other than that bit of having to "perform" for the stationmaster, letting him "ride" her thoughts and emotions - which, why was this necessary? Was there no other way to bribe him for the access codes they needed?), which is why it's still in the 3+Star range. I am definitely going to go read the prequel (again?) because there was far too little revealed of how Seht & Ravnos get to this point of the story, and I want to hear their voices & feel the connection that is plainly there to see.
Original Review:
Another one I need to re-read as I can't remember why I rated it 3 stars. I don't even have a "read" date entered. I mean, I know I read it, and even without the blurb I recognize the story...but can't for life of me remember what didn't appeal to me. It's SciFi AND MMF; that's pretty much my favorite combo.
Yeah, I remembered pretty quickly why I didn't rate this one higher once I started reading it again; I absolutely hate the whole mind and mouth say no, but body says yes trope. I think it helps that we're in the FMC's head the whole time, so we know that she is against the whole forced sex/domination thing on principle, but can't ignore what her body wants...so it's a little less rapey than if we don't have her POV as depending on the MMCs' PsOV would make it a lot rapey.
The insta-love was strong with this one as well, and nothing about the story seemed to warrant that connection between Victoria and the guys. I DID love her dedication to the Ship's Sentience, recognizing his existence and war record (as well as her determination to save all the ships she's been assigned to when incompetence would have the crew abandon them to pirates/privateers).
The rest of the story was really really good (well, other than that bit of having to "perform" for the stationmaster, letting him "ride" her thoughts and emotions - which, why was this necessary? Was there no other way to bribe him for the access codes they needed?), which is why it's still in the 3+Star range. I am definitely going to go read the prequel (again?) because there was far too little revealed of how Seht & Ravnos get to this point of the story, and I want to hear their voices & feel the connection that is plainly there to see.
Original Review:
Another one I need to re-read as I can't remember why I rated it 3 stars. I don't even have a "read" date entered. I mean, I know I read it, and even without the blurb I recognize the story...but can't for life of me remember what didn't appeal to me. It's SciFi AND MMF; that's pretty much my favorite combo.
April 9, 2012
Really enjoyed this book recommended by Belinda McBride. It had all the ingredients I love in a great read: strong, likeable characters, action, sci-fi/fantasy, and lots of scorching sex.
AMBIGUOUS SPOILERS BELOW!
The only reason I'm not giving it a 5-star rating is because I didn't feel as though some of the reactions were equal to the actions in the book. For example, I didn't really get a sense that Victoria was a submissive in denial, so the dub-con scene really threw me for a loop. I mean, it was super hot and sexy, even if it was *incredibly*, uncomfortable to read (btw: I count my real discomfort as a credit to the author for creating such a visceral scene), but in my mind it really painted the heroes as the villains. I did not, until much, much later, understand that the only reason they did it was because they had a moral certainty it was what she wanted. Because I didn't know it was what she wanted, her blase attitude after the fact made me raise my WTF eyebrows. Once her inner yearning(s) were better explained, I let it go rather easily, but it took too long to get there. Furthermore, I thought Victoria fell in love too quickly given the fact that the entire story takes place over a three day period in which her entire life is destroyed and rebuilt.
Still, for all that, I really enjoyed the book and immediately purchased the prequel: Lost Star
AMBIGUOUS SPOILERS BELOW!
The only reason I'm not giving it a 5-star rating is because I didn't feel as though some of the reactions were equal to the actions in the book. For example, I didn't really get a sense that Victoria was a submissive in denial, so the dub-con scene really threw me for a loop. I mean, it was super hot and sexy, even if it was *incredibly*, uncomfortable to read (btw: I count my real discomfort as a credit to the author for creating such a visceral scene), but in my mind it really painted the heroes as the villains. I did not, until much, much later, understand that the only reason they did it was because they had a moral certainty it was what she wanted. Because I didn't know it was what she wanted, her blase attitude after the fact made me raise my WTF eyebrows. Once her inner yearning(s) were better explained, I let it go rather easily, but it took too long to get there. Furthermore, I thought Victoria fell in love too quickly given the fact that the entire story takes place over a three day period in which her entire life is destroyed and rebuilt.
Still, for all that, I really enjoyed the book and immediately purchased the prequel: Lost Star
June 30, 2010
I'm afraid I don't understand the high ratings for this one. I can enjoy a well-done dub-con scene along with the rest of them, but this was just cold. I kept wanting Victoria to escape Ravnos and Seht, because her time with them was just one violation after another.
September 23, 2011
Nice world building with a sort of Battlestar Galactica meets Farscape feel. Some serious bdsm with a healthy dose of all which is set in the hierarchical world of a military ship. Throw in some twisted ties revolving around the three primary characters and slavery--it's bound to be crazy hot.
Sure the sex is off the charts, but it's the story that pushes you along so it doesn't become a stream of never-ending IKEA sex. It truly is a smorgasbord of sexual encounters, definitely not for the timid with menage, m-m, f-f-f, m-m-f, m-f-m, exhibitionism, blood play, heavy D/s, showers of both varieties, etc.
That said I loved all three protagonists and Hawke did a wonderful job expressing the internal conflicts each faced. This is not a weak heroine and for her to submit was a challenge, in many ways and was successful. Victoria comes across a force to be reckoned with and respected even as a submissive. Plus, there's a treat with the non-human, Seht whom is endowed in quite the most distracting manner.
Can wait to read the second book in the series.
Sure the sex is off the charts, but it's the story that pushes you along so it doesn't become a stream of never-ending IKEA sex. It truly is a smorgasbord of sexual encounters, definitely not for the timid with menage, m-m, f-f-f, m-m-f, m-f-m, exhibitionism, blood play, heavy D/s, showers of both varieties, etc.
That said I loved all three protagonists and Hawke did a wonderful job expressing the internal conflicts each faced. This is not a weak heroine and for her to submit was a challenge, in many ways and was successful. Victoria comes across a force to be reckoned with and respected even as a submissive. Plus, there's a treat with the non-human, Seht whom is endowed in quite the most distracting manner.
Can wait to read the second book in the series.
December 5, 2010
This is my favorite down and dirty erotica book of all time. OMG! I remember when I first read it, I was just blushing from ear to ear and giggling. Here’s a spaceship where they still believe in old school, with a little rum, sodomy and the lash.
Morgan writes fun smut, and she's just so damn imaginative. Her story just moves along at a breathtaking pace. I think Seht is the most hilarious Dom ever, and he’s so ornery. It’s sort of amusing to see Seht topped by Ravnos.
Anyway, all I can say is WOW, WOW, WOW!
If you like imaginative, MMF, eye-popping BDSM that is fun and hot, plus a little Sci-Fi to boot, check this book out. I don’t think you will be disappointed. It truly is Morgan’s best book yet, although I love “Fallen Star” too.
Just a warning though, this book is not for the easily offended.
Morgan writes fun smut, and she's just so damn imaginative. Her story just moves along at a breathtaking pace. I think Seht is the most hilarious Dom ever, and he’s so ornery. It’s sort of amusing to see Seht topped by Ravnos.
Anyway, all I can say is WOW, WOW, WOW!
If you like imaginative, MMF, eye-popping BDSM that is fun and hot, plus a little Sci-Fi to boot, check this book out. I don’t think you will be disappointed. It truly is Morgan’s best book yet, although I love “Fallen Star” too.
Just a warning though, this book is not for the easily offended.
November 18, 2008
This is one of my favorite books of all times. It marries beautifully two of my favorite genres, scifi and erotica. Absolutely amazing. Not for the faint of heart though. There are some S&M elements and m/m/f sex that is very graphic. You've got to love a book that comes with a disclaimer not to try anything in the book on your own without a skilled practitioner. Love it!
June 7, 2012
If not for 2 huge flaws, I would have happily read this twice & then go looking for sequels. Because of those flaws I have -with regret- stopped at 30% and can go no further.
As military science fiction with steampunk visuals this works. As science fiction ménage alien romance this also works (or I assume it does as the story progresses). The erotica component is well written enough that you can read the parts that don't float your boat as easily as you read the parts that do. I really hope to find work by this author of a similar nature sans erotica, I really do. Seriously Morgan Hawke, if you write mainstream stuff under another name I want to know.
What doesn't work for me is this:
So there we have it - without those two flaws I'd have gone for a 4 star rating and bought the rest of the series. From every other POV I enjoyed both the sci-fi and the erotica, hence 2 stars instead of one (and BTW, I usually never start reading stuff when I know in advance it contains something that I've already learnt squicks me, but I really really wanted to read this).
As military science fiction with steampunk visuals this works. As science fiction ménage alien romance this also works (or I assume it does as the story progresses). The erotica component is well written enough that you can read the parts that don't float your boat as easily as you read the parts that do. I really hope to find work by this author of a similar nature sans erotica, I really do. Seriously Morgan Hawke, if you write mainstream stuff under another name I want to know.
What doesn't work for me is this:
So there we have it - without those two flaws I'd have gone for a 4 star rating and bought the rest of the series. From every other POV I enjoyed both the sci-fi and the erotica, hence 2 stars instead of one (and BTW, I usually never start reading stuff when I know in advance it contains something that I've already learnt squicks me, but I really really wanted to read this).
December 15, 2012
4.5 Stars
Sooooooo Good! I can’t believe I waited this long to read this series. I should have my head examined!
There is a fair amount of what I call “scy-fy” lingo & you can definitely tell that Ms. Hawke is ex-military (I’d guess Navy but I could totally be wrong); but, it still held my attention. This is significant since I tried to read Dune once & fell asleep in the first chapter.
The story & pacing are highly entertaining & engaging. The characters are witty & pithy & cheeky & just fun. Ravnos is a super sexy & bossy Dom of Seht & Victoria a.k.a. Victorious Star. Victoria progresses through a broad spectrum of emotions during her journey with Seht & Ravnos, all of which are brought to life vividly through Ms. Hawke’s pen. There’s an actual plot with a couple of surprises!
The dub-con element is executed well but it is there for those that have issues with that sort of writing, be forewarned. I don’t really feel like Victoria is truly submissive, more like forced submission that’s eventually adapted ostensibly due to the dynamics of their relationship. The sex is just…OMG…I have no words. Highly recommend!
…wish I could find this planet.
Sooooooo Good! I can’t believe I waited this long to read this series. I should have my head examined!
There is a fair amount of what I call “scy-fy” lingo & you can definitely tell that Ms. Hawke is ex-military (I’d guess Navy but I could totally be wrong); but, it still held my attention. This is significant since I tried to read Dune once & fell asleep in the first chapter.
The story & pacing are highly entertaining & engaging. The characters are witty & pithy & cheeky & just fun. Ravnos is a super sexy & bossy Dom of Seht & Victoria a.k.a. Victorious Star. Victoria progresses through a broad spectrum of emotions during her journey with Seht & Ravnos, all of which are brought to life vividly through Ms. Hawke’s pen. There’s an actual plot with a couple of surprises!
The dub-con element is executed well but it is there for those that have issues with that sort of writing, be forewarned. I don’t really feel like Victoria is truly submissive, more like forced submission that’s eventually adapted ostensibly due to the dynamics of their relationship. The sex is just…OMG…I have no words. Highly recommend!
…wish I could find this planet.
December 20, 2011
Hot, damn, sexy smexiness!!! This book was full of amazingly written hot (HOT!!) M/M AND M/F AND M/F/M Loving and I loved it.Truly I did. Morgan Hawke, what other amazing goodies do you have to offer because I am hunting them down to see if they compare to this jewel.
Oh and the two penis's!!!!Wowowowowow. Just loved it.
Oh and the two penis's!!!!Wowowowowow. Just loved it.
November 19, 2012
Oh... a lovely story of abuse, rape, blackmail and negligence of a woman by two males that claim to love her... Nothing described in this book can be classified as BDSM, purely non-con fiction.
July 29, 2015
Great space opera. Heavy on the explicit m/f sex but worth skimming over to read this fun adventure.
October 6, 2010
Practically everyone reviewing this book has gushed over the sex scenes, which are definitely hot and not for the faint of heart or easily offended. There's strong BDSM, m/f and m/f/m scenes as well as one other consensual act that can't be mentioned here. However, what makes Victorious Star worthy of the 5-star rating is the overall story itself.
Ms. Hawke has brilliantly fused such diverse ideas ranging from the 80's cyberpunk movement to Anne McCaffrey's The Ship Who Sang and even throwing in a bit of ancient Egyptian language. She has created a universe full of sentient ships and fascinating races and peppered it with large interstellar battles worthy of C.S. Forester and Patrick O'Brien with enough action and derring-do to make even 007 wipe his brow.
That's a good thing because if the book depended on the strength of its characters it wouldn't have succeeded as well. Unfortunately the three main characters - Captain Aubrey Ravnos, his second-in-command, the skheldi blood prince Seht and their soon-to-be submissive, former Imperial nav-pilot Victoria Stark - aren't as fully fleshed out as they could have been.
Aubrey and Seht have what seems to be the standard Dom/Dom relationship in books such as this one and frankly it seemed a little improbable that Seht, a blood-prince from the warlike and rather vicious skheldi, would choose to be less than overly dominant towards a human (Aubrey) whom his people regard as nothing more than pleasure toys and slaves.
Victoria Stark, known as the "Victorious Star" for her habit of rescuing ships from nearly impossible situations brought about by incompetent captains goes from tough, [...] and self-assured to submissive without a really tangible transition point. She maintains the attitude, but that seems less about her personality and more about a plot device that moves the story along. She likes the sex, but often has interior monologues that make her (and the reader) wonder why. There's no deeper look into her need and desire to be dominated, especially by these two alpha males. Also, the few m/m scenes weren't as intense as I'd hoped.
Overall though, Victorious Star is a compelling read and a good book from a talented author. I've read on the author's website there's to be both a sequel and a prequel. That's great because it would definitely help flesh out the lives of the characters more.
Ms. Hawke has brilliantly fused such diverse ideas ranging from the 80's cyberpunk movement to Anne McCaffrey's The Ship Who Sang and even throwing in a bit of ancient Egyptian language. She has created a universe full of sentient ships and fascinating races and peppered it with large interstellar battles worthy of C.S. Forester and Patrick O'Brien with enough action and derring-do to make even 007 wipe his brow.
That's a good thing because if the book depended on the strength of its characters it wouldn't have succeeded as well. Unfortunately the three main characters - Captain Aubrey Ravnos, his second-in-command, the skheldi blood prince Seht and their soon-to-be submissive, former Imperial nav-pilot Victoria Stark - aren't as fully fleshed out as they could have been.
Aubrey and Seht have what seems to be the standard Dom/Dom relationship in books such as this one and frankly it seemed a little improbable that Seht, a blood-prince from the warlike and rather vicious skheldi, would choose to be less than overly dominant towards a human (Aubrey) whom his people regard as nothing more than pleasure toys and slaves.
Victoria Stark, known as the "Victorious Star" for her habit of rescuing ships from nearly impossible situations brought about by incompetent captains goes from tough, [...] and self-assured to submissive without a really tangible transition point. She maintains the attitude, but that seems less about her personality and more about a plot device that moves the story along. She likes the sex, but often has interior monologues that make her (and the reader) wonder why. There's no deeper look into her need and desire to be dominated, especially by these two alpha males. Also, the few m/m scenes weren't as intense as I'd hoped.
Overall though, Victorious Star is a compelling read and a good book from a talented author. I've read on the author's website there's to be both a sequel and a prequel. That's great because it would definitely help flesh out the lives of the characters more.
November 23, 2011
This is straight up porn, let's not kid ourselves, but I found myself really engrossed in the story. There's a great plot with a rich world building between all the buttsex scenes. In the first chapters I found the characters a bit cardboardish but as the story progressed I came to like them more and more. I ended up pretty invested in their arcs. Victoria is a kick ass heroine. I loved her connection to the ships, who are sentient beings, and the world she navigates through is compelling. There are fascinating races and incredible technologies as well. Add to that the fact that the sex is scorching hot and you have a great, entertaining book.
PS There's also a lot of humour. I nearly choked when the stationmaster, who's a sentient machine who controls the planet they're on shouted:
"Everyone! Get your fat asses out of the primary dock! Atmosphere loss imminent! I repeat: Atmosphere loss imminent! I'm sealing the f**king doors, so you better be on the other sides, boys and girls!"
PS There's also a lot of humour. I nearly choked when the stationmaster, who's a sentient machine who controls the planet they're on shouted:
"Everyone! Get your fat asses out of the primary dock! Atmosphere loss imminent! I repeat: Atmosphere loss imminent! I'm sealing the f**king doors, so you better be on the other sides, boys and girls!"
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September 25, 2011Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable.
Read the above note and take it seriously! I now know what the publisher meant by finding situations "objectionable." The forced sex as part of the dom/sub role would have many readers running. It's explained that the heroine is a "fear junky." She gets turned on by fear. She runs, fights, struggles to get away and at the same time she is sexually excited. It happens once but it is enough. It was disturbing and this book has made me feel sad. I can't rate this book. :o(
Read the above note and take it seriously! I now know what the publisher meant by finding situations "objectionable." The forced sex as part of the dom/sub role would have many readers running. It's explained that the heroine is a "fear junky." She gets turned on by fear. She runs, fights, struggles to get away and at the same time she is sexually excited. It happens once but it is enough. It was disturbing and this book has made me feel sad. I can't rate this book. :o(
August 30, 2012
This book has a little bit of everything for everybody. Some m/m, m/m/f, m/f, even a tiny bit of f/f action. BDSM, dub-con, public sex, I don't think anything was left out of this one.
June 6, 2015
A score of 4 on Goodreads is usually a very strong recommendation, so I decided to give this a shot. My faith was shaken as yellow flags appeared paragraph after paragraph: the heroine appears to be hyper competent and flawless while her superior officers are unfit for duty (no, really, how does someone who faints at the start of combat ever get promoted to a captain? What the fuck?), there's no world-building, the novel rambles about how attractive the men-candy are...
Yeah. This is basically a paranormal romance novel set in space, all about steamy romance in a rather predictable love triangle. The alpha and beta male roles are established from the very start in the second scene and there's nothing to suggest the author is planning on deviating from formula. I'll share with you the lines at which I stopped reading and deleted this from my Kindle:
“Do you doubt my honor?” His eyes blazed with frigid unholy violence.
The "frigid unholy violence" bit is embarrassing and representative of the quality of the writing: the author appears to be either unaware or uncaring of basic style rules. But really, what turned me off wasn't the terrible use of adjectives but the content: the man who's speaking here is a pirate captain who makes a living out of destroying and looting military ships—presumably killing the crew in the process—and has been established as kidnapping people and forcing them to serve as his crew. So we have a psychopath demanding that a kidnapping victim acknowledge his honor—whatever that means—and the heroine averts her eyes, reflecting on how beautiful his face is.
At this point my disbelief shattered like a pane of glass dropped from a high-rise building. This is not just badly-written sci-fi, it's badly-written fiction. The setting is unbelievable, the characters are unbelievable, their reactions are unbelievable, and the entire thing feels like nothing more than cheap pornography. 4 stars, Goodreads? Really?
Yeah. This is basically a paranormal romance novel set in space, all about steamy romance in a rather predictable love triangle. The alpha and beta male roles are established from the very start in the second scene and there's nothing to suggest the author is planning on deviating from formula. I'll share with you the lines at which I stopped reading and deleted this from my Kindle:
“Do you doubt my honor?” His eyes blazed with frigid unholy violence.
The "frigid unholy violence" bit is embarrassing and representative of the quality of the writing: the author appears to be either unaware or uncaring of basic style rules. But really, what turned me off wasn't the terrible use of adjectives but the content: the man who's speaking here is a pirate captain who makes a living out of destroying and looting military ships—presumably killing the crew in the process—and has been established as kidnapping people and forcing them to serve as his crew. So we have a psychopath demanding that a kidnapping victim acknowledge his honor—whatever that means—and the heroine averts her eyes, reflecting on how beautiful his face is.
At this point my disbelief shattered like a pane of glass dropped from a high-rise building. This is not just badly-written sci-fi, it's badly-written fiction. The setting is unbelievable, the characters are unbelievable, their reactions are unbelievable, and the entire thing feels like nothing more than cheap pornography. 4 stars, Goodreads? Really?
July 29, 2014
For some retarded reason I read the second book in this series before this one, and turns out it was probably for the best since it was way better than this crappy excuse for erotica.
Whilst the love triangle in Fallen Star made sense, in a way, the one in Victorious Star did not, especially for those who read the prequel to it called Lost Star, about the two male protagonists from Victorious Star. Seht and Aubrey were truly in love with each other, even if in a very twisted way, and regardless of the prequel, Victoria felt like she was shoehorned into the story just so some hot alien threeways could occur. It also makes no sense how she falls in love with her captors and they fall in love with her so quickly.
It was all so stupid I can barely be eloquent about it.
Anyway, if you want to read the good books in this series read the prequel and the sequel, but skip this one entirely.
Whilst the love triangle in Fallen Star made sense, in a way, the one in Victorious Star did not, especially for those who read the prequel to it called Lost Star, about the two male protagonists from Victorious Star. Seht and Aubrey were truly in love with each other, even if in a very twisted way, and regardless of the prequel, Victoria felt like she was shoehorned into the story just so some hot alien threeways could occur. It also makes no sense how she falls in love with her captors and they fall in love with her so quickly.
It was all so stupid I can barely be eloquent about it.
Anyway, if you want to read the good books in this series read the prequel and the sequel, but skip this one entirely.
September 16, 2016
Ok so the plot I don't even care about the plot. Not much about the world is explained I think this is because there is a prequel I did not read so I was missing that info. However for some reason this book was seriously hot. There are some parts in it I didn't care for like any f/f scenes and bloodletting. But otherwise it was very interesting and different. The author did a great job with the sex scenes and I was surprised at how I wasn't even bored with them.
However this is not for some of you on my friends list a few reasons why but because most of the stuff that does bother me I skim through I did enjoy this book and once I understood what was sort of going on in relation to the plot I was interested.
However this is not for some of you on my friends list a few reasons why but because most of the stuff that does bother me I skim through I did enjoy this book and once I understood what was sort of going on in relation to the plot I was interested.
July 15, 2011
Seriously? I'm at a loss for words. Oh, maybe it's that I'm having trouble talking around my ball gag. Oops, did I say that out loud? This one combined two of my favorites-- erotica and scifi. What's not to love? Well, if the whole BDSM scene isn't to your taste, then this one isn't for you. Scat got your tongue? This one isn't for you. Menage a twat isn't your thing? Move along, there's nothing to see here.
I thoroughly enjoyed this-- in spite of some of the sexual scenes that may or may not have been consensual. I think that Hawke handled this very kinky book with a certain amount of decorum. I loved the characters-- and really didn't want to let go of them in the end. ooooh, in the end. Ouch!
I thoroughly enjoyed this-- in spite of some of the sexual scenes that may or may not have been consensual. I think that Hawke handled this very kinky book with a certain amount of decorum. I loved the characters-- and really didn't want to let go of them in the end. ooooh, in the end. Ouch!
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