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WARHOUND: Volume One
Sartha Thrace, ace mech pilot, is always so confused. She's a rebel, so why is she fighting on the wrong side? She's a free woman, so why is she wearing a muzzle? She's a hero, so why do her comrades treat her like a rabid dog? Sartha Thrace is so fortunate that her beloved Handler is always there to help her understand…
Once a hero to the rebellion, Sartha Thrace has been captured, brainwashed, and turned by the Empire she once fought against. During her captivity—and subsequent rescue—three other pilots find themselves transfixed by what has been done to her. Sergeant Kotys, an Imperial pilot bent on revenge and power. Leinth Aritimis, a young rebel who worships Sartha. And Kione Monax, a mercenary ace who shares with Sartha a strange, confused bond.
Each wants something from whatever remains of Sartha Thrace, but as they peer into the abyss within her, they soon find their own reflections staring back. And what of the sinister woman in black leather who holds Sartha’s leash?
Once a hero to the rebellion, Sartha Thrace has been captured, brainwashed, and turned by the Empire she once fought against. During her captivity—and subsequent rescue—three other pilots find themselves transfixed by what has been done to her. Sergeant Kotys, an Imperial pilot bent on revenge and power. Leinth Aritimis, a young rebel who worships Sartha. And Kione Monax, a mercenary ace who shares with Sartha a strange, confused bond.
Each wants something from whatever remains of Sartha Thrace, but as they peer into the abyss within her, they soon find their own reflections staring back. And what of the sinister woman in black leather who holds Sartha’s leash?
- GenresLGBTTransgenderLesbian
387 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 21, 2025
35 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 13, 2025
It's transfemme mecha dog peak. Off the leash :3
October 14, 2025
hfhh hfhhbdhd hfhhshchhf hfhhshsh (/pos)
September 29, 2025
permanently altered my brain chemistry (probably for the worse)
October 1, 2025
It’s so peak. They should send a copy of this out into space with a satellite to let the aliens/affini/whoever’s out there that sometimes, humanity does indeed Know Real Ball. I <3 Handler
February 7, 2026
Legitimate cognitohazard to subby transfems who went down the gifted kid to tgirl burnout pipeline, you might not be a person by the time you're done reading this.
999999999/10 would melt my brain again :3
999999999/10 would melt my brain again :3
December 30, 2025
i feel like i got hit by seven to ten busses
August 8, 2025
When I first read the stories that are collected in this book, they were really fun and really opened my imagination. And these stories have inspired so many others to write as well and I think that influence really speaks to how well written they are. The first story especially which gives the series its name is just so perfect in how succinct the plot and setting are, but having the physical edition now and re-reading through them, I see an even brighter light that I missed before.
It's not just trashy erotica-- and it is trashy erotica too make no mistake-- but there's also an examination of what makes a person and their desires and how we view those who are important to us and imprint our feeling and emotions and expectations onto them. And it's about how it can be hard for us to accept that they may not be who we want them to be. At the end of the day, we can only decide whether to accept that reality or reject it.
It's not just trashy erotica-- and it is trashy erotica too make no mistake-- but there's also an examination of what makes a person and their desires and how we view those who are important to us and imprint our feeling and emotions and expectations onto them. And it's about how it can be hard for us to accept that they may not be who we want them to be. At the end of the day, we can only decide whether to accept that reality or reject it.
October 30, 2025
Devastating. Depraved. Phenomenal. Visually stunning. Absolutely not for everyone.
Lesbian mech brainwashed skullfucked ragged war torn violence. Insane. Held onto every word. Kione is so easy to hate. Sartha is so easy to love. Fucking hell.
—
TW: Mostly SA, Abuse, Violence, War Violence.
—
Quotes:
- “It’s not familiar, it’s no one she knows, but there’s something in her voice. A depth; a ragged, throatfucked anguish that only comes from something real.”
- “”You’re a mutt.” Handler’s words are thunderous, even though She doesn’t raise Her voice. She doesn’t need to. “That’s all you’ll ever be.””
- “I can’t believe it. I did all this for you. And you don’t even love me.”
- “Ancyor has a mouth and it can scream, and its unearthly howl leaves devastation in its wake.”
- “She is an embodiment. She is Empire itself. She is the apocalypse tide. She is conquest, the horseman. All this, thanks to Her, was inevitable- and that’s a comfort, is it not?”
Lesbian mech brainwashed skullfucked ragged war torn violence. Insane. Held onto every word. Kione is so easy to hate. Sartha is so easy to love. Fucking hell.
—
TW: Mostly SA, Abuse, Violence, War Violence.
—
Quotes:
- “It’s not familiar, it’s no one she knows, but there’s something in her voice. A depth; a ragged, throatfucked anguish that only comes from something real.”
- “”You’re a mutt.” Handler’s words are thunderous, even though She doesn’t raise Her voice. She doesn’t need to. “That’s all you’ll ever be.””
- “I can’t believe it. I did all this for you. And you don’t even love me.”
- “Ancyor has a mouth and it can scream, and its unearthly howl leaves devastation in its wake.”
- “She is an embodiment. She is Empire itself. She is the apocalypse tide. She is conquest, the horseman. All this, thanks to Her, was inevitable- and that’s a comfort, is it not?”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2025
so completely undeniable. haunting and awful and totally irresistible in the way it continuously and unpredictably twists the knife. from the first pages, it sliced into my psyche and buried itself there.
obviously the main draw is in the power dynamics at play here, but i also found myself completely enraptured by the action, world-building, storytelling, and of course the characters. i don't think i'll ever stop thinking about Sartha Thrace, Kione Monax, and especially not Leinth Aritimis.
beyond excited to continue following this world and these stories. long live erotic transgender science fiction!!!
obviously the main draw is in the power dynamics at play here, but i also found myself completely enraptured by the action, world-building, storytelling, and of course the characters. i don't think i'll ever stop thinking about Sartha Thrace, Kione Monax, and especially not Leinth Aritimis.
beyond excited to continue following this world and these stories. long live erotic transgender science fiction!!!
February 17, 2026
The first part of this review will try to mostly be objective, with subjective criticism coming in through the second half. There should be only minor spoilers in the first half. My basic thoughts are that it was a good premise but awful execution.
Objectively, the book is highly flawed. To start with, the structure between pornography and narrative is really bad. The first two sections, War Hound and Hunting Hound, are purely pornography and don't really have that much interesting character work going on. Hunting Hound is better than War Hound in this regard, but it still is too limited with its story and it is more of a pornographic pastiche. There aren't really any stakes and you know what's going to happen.
Rescue Hound is the real novel with actual characters, stakes, plot and character development. However, there is a big pacing problem. Much of its length is padded out with pornographic scenes, which aren't necessarily a problem, but I found myself getting bored. This was the part with a plot, and yet the plot was going so slowly. The story should have had less of it in and more character work or the introduction of more rebel characters (especially rebel characters in leadership who actually have agency).
The writing can be very sparse. It certainly is intentionally plain to an extent, but there could have been better description at points, especially during the drug scenes which are meant to be transcedental, but are written just functionally. It's at its worst in the beginning but improves as the story goes on. On the other hand, the action scenes are well written and I found them to be very exciting. Maybe this is just because I like mechs. I was not reading the book as pornography so I can't comment on the effectiveness of the sex scenes, and though some can be a little corny, I think they are mostly serviceable.
There are some plot inconsitencies. There isn't really a leadership on the rebel's side, they never actually do anything other than purely defensive missions. It's kind of ridiculous that they left Sartha at the frontline base rather than retreating her back. It's frustrating. Their supply lines and logistics also don't really make much sense. You can't fight an industrial war with hodge-podge individually made mechs, especially not one where you have a major material disadvantage and you are losing. Even producing replacement parts when every mech is unique would be a nightmare.
It is an idealist story which puts far too much weight on the actions of individuals. Heroes seem to dictate this war, which is not grounded or realistic. The plot does not really go anywhere. There is not enough worldbuilding or information about the war.
Subjectively, this book made me seethe. It is a completely nihilistic story, where EVERY SINGLE POV named character becomes a mental slave to the Handler. It shows no path to resisting the Empire or the Handler. The rebels only ever lose, and they are losing really hard by the end. There is no good character ending, no catharsis, only the inevitable slide into identity destruction.
I was engaged throughout the whole story because I was waiting for a twist. When I was reading Rescue Hound I was waiting for Kione to come to her senses. I thought she was a good person because she saves Radio Girl at the beginning of it. But instead it is literally just a downwards spiral where she becomes more and more fucked up and abuses Sartha really badly.
I really thought she would be redeemed in the end, I thought Radio Girl would sacrifice herself to save Kione at the end, showing her what the rebels really stand for. But there is no satisfaction, just loss and a transformation into being one of the abuser bad guys. This was such an incredibly unsatisfying ending for me.
I don't think characters have to necessarily be likeable, but there has to be other things going on in the story to facilitate this. There is nothing holding it up for Kione. She is an incredibly hateable character and only gets worse and worse. But more than this, I found basically all the characters to be unlikeable. They all piss me off so much.
This has to do with the whole psychology aspect of the story and this again connects with the nihilism. People in this story think and act like some misanthropic nazi would think people act and think. Everyone is deep down either evil or like a psycho-sexual gigasub who just wants to follow orders and is completely dictated by sexual gratification and cares about nothing else.
You can't say just to ignore this because its "just porn", because it isn't just porn, its a book with a narrative. It is art that someone wrote. Anyway, I would critisize any piece of media or entertainment for displaying this total nihilism. You can write non-con puppygirl smut without also making it really depressing and nihilstic! There's nothing stopping you from writing a happy ending or at least one with some hope. Or at the very least you don't have to write every character as being completely subservient to pseudo-psychological inner desires!
I think I should re-iterate how I think the action scenes were a highlight by the way. The mechs had weight to them. I just wish that at the end some random unnamed rebel gun implacement shot the Handler when she was exposed and the story just ended like that lol.
Objectively, the book is highly flawed. To start with, the structure between pornography and narrative is really bad. The first two sections, War Hound and Hunting Hound, are purely pornography and don't really have that much interesting character work going on. Hunting Hound is better than War Hound in this regard, but it still is too limited with its story and it is more of a pornographic pastiche. There aren't really any stakes and you know what's going to happen.
Rescue Hound is the real novel with actual characters, stakes, plot and character development. However, there is a big pacing problem. Much of its length is padded out with pornographic scenes, which aren't necessarily a problem, but I found myself getting bored. This was the part with a plot, and yet the plot was going so slowly. The story should have had less of it in and more character work or the introduction of more rebel characters (especially rebel characters in leadership who actually have agency).
The writing can be very sparse. It certainly is intentionally plain to an extent, but there could have been better description at points, especially during the drug scenes which are meant to be transcedental, but are written just functionally. It's at its worst in the beginning but improves as the story goes on. On the other hand, the action scenes are well written and I found them to be very exciting. Maybe this is just because I like mechs. I was not reading the book as pornography so I can't comment on the effectiveness of the sex scenes, and though some can be a little corny, I think they are mostly serviceable.
There are some plot inconsitencies. There isn't really a leadership on the rebel's side, they never actually do anything other than purely defensive missions. It's kind of ridiculous that they left Sartha at the frontline base rather than retreating her back. It's frustrating. Their supply lines and logistics also don't really make much sense. You can't fight an industrial war with hodge-podge individually made mechs, especially not one where you have a major material disadvantage and you are losing. Even producing replacement parts when every mech is unique would be a nightmare.
It is an idealist story which puts far too much weight on the actions of individuals. Heroes seem to dictate this war, which is not grounded or realistic. The plot does not really go anywhere. There is not enough worldbuilding or information about the war.
Subjectively, this book made me seethe. It is a completely nihilistic story, where EVERY SINGLE POV named character becomes a mental slave to the Handler. It shows no path to resisting the Empire or the Handler. The rebels only ever lose, and they are losing really hard by the end. There is no good character ending, no catharsis, only the inevitable slide into identity destruction.
I was engaged throughout the whole story because I was waiting for a twist. When I was reading Rescue Hound I was waiting for Kione to come to her senses. I thought she was a good person because she saves Radio Girl at the beginning of it. But instead it is literally just a downwards spiral where she becomes more and more fucked up and abuses Sartha really badly.
I really thought she would be redeemed in the end, I thought Radio Girl would sacrifice herself to save Kione at the end, showing her what the rebels really stand for. But there is no satisfaction, just loss and a transformation into being one of the abuser bad guys. This was such an incredibly unsatisfying ending for me.
I don't think characters have to necessarily be likeable, but there has to be other things going on in the story to facilitate this. There is nothing holding it up for Kione. She is an incredibly hateable character and only gets worse and worse. But more than this, I found basically all the characters to be unlikeable. They all piss me off so much.
This has to do with the whole psychology aspect of the story and this again connects with the nihilism. People in this story think and act like some misanthropic nazi would think people act and think. Everyone is deep down either evil or like a psycho-sexual gigasub who just wants to follow orders and is completely dictated by sexual gratification and cares about nothing else.
You can't say just to ignore this because its "just porn", because it isn't just porn, its a book with a narrative. It is art that someone wrote. Anyway, I would critisize any piece of media or entertainment for displaying this total nihilism. You can write non-con puppygirl smut without also making it really depressing and nihilstic! There's nothing stopping you from writing a happy ending or at least one with some hope. Or at the very least you don't have to write every character as being completely subservient to pseudo-psychological inner desires!
I think I should re-iterate how I think the action scenes were a highlight by the way. The mechs had weight to them. I just wish that at the end some random unnamed rebel gun implacement shot the Handler when she was exposed and the story just ended like that lol.
January 10, 2026
CW: erotica, sexual abuse, rape
-----------------
so i will admit i did not know that WARHOUND was erotica when i bought it. a good friend on mine recommended it and i think she has good taste. to be clear, i knew it was going to have dog stuff in it and also be quite explicit, but i didnt know it was LITERALLY erotica! oh well!
and tell you what mate, it's pretty good! not that i'm being a puritan about this but the particular kinks this volume is going for, pet play, brainwashing, dubcon, etc, are not ones i am personally into you. i'm not an anti though so i'm all for them, they just don't scratch the itch for me! therefore i think it's a real credit to the way this book is written that i was still on the edge of my seat reading the whole thing. i think what makes warhound brilliant is the fact that the characters are so strong, and the sort of extent of their mindfuckery is so painstakingly laid out for you. it's kind of funny that such a concept of "fuck with someone's brain so much their super-ego shatters so now there's two of them and one of them is always in a weird daze dreamlike state and the other one is a literal dog that still knows how to pilot a mech and wear a strapon" actually ends up feeling quite logical? i think Hunting Hound was my favourite story for that reason, in that leinth's transformation works quite well. i do think there's a BIT of a jump from "starting to understand" and "now there's two leinth's and the first one basically doesn't exist anymore except for a tiny little percentage that can basically be ignored"
still, it's good! Rescue Hound was obviously the Main Story here and while i liked it i felt it went on a BIT too long. kione is an interesting character but, maybe because the erotic stuff did nothing for me, i didnt super care for her relationship with sartha. i DID think it was interesting that you as the reader almost stop viewing sartha as a character and more of a "thing" which is textually apt. i thought that kione and handler's relationship was the most interesting in the whole story though, and i was delighted that at the end kione ends up in this weird soulless middle position of both being a handler and also just living this totally unfufilling life. it's kind of satisfying to know that kione isnt ACTUALLY happy at the end, even if she is a victim too, because she of the main POV characters is the one least deserving of a happy ending.
on that note, oh no!!! it has a horribly sad ending hahaha
i love rho's prose so much that i enjoyed reading this but i am a certified bad-end disliker! i think it was the original director of the exorcist who wanted the film to have a happy ending because he didn't like the ide that the devil could win. spoilers for warhound! the devil (the fascist rape empire) wins pretty wholeheartedly! all your characters get turned into drooling dogs who constantly get raped all the time and they hate it, but they love that they hate it because they think that's what they deserve. jesus christ! i was hoping at least leinth would get out of there because i just liked her the most, but oh well!
very cool moment near the end of rescue hound when genetor shows up to fight. not into mechs at all but walking fortress DOES do it for me
-----------------
so i will admit i did not know that WARHOUND was erotica when i bought it. a good friend on mine recommended it and i think she has good taste. to be clear, i knew it was going to have dog stuff in it and also be quite explicit, but i didnt know it was LITERALLY erotica! oh well!
and tell you what mate, it's pretty good! not that i'm being a puritan about this but the particular kinks this volume is going for, pet play, brainwashing, dubcon, etc, are not ones i am personally into you. i'm not an anti though so i'm all for them, they just don't scratch the itch for me! therefore i think it's a real credit to the way this book is written that i was still on the edge of my seat reading the whole thing. i think what makes warhound brilliant is the fact that the characters are so strong, and the sort of extent of their mindfuckery is so painstakingly laid out for you. it's kind of funny that such a concept of "fuck with someone's brain so much their super-ego shatters so now there's two of them and one of them is always in a weird daze dreamlike state and the other one is a literal dog that still knows how to pilot a mech and wear a strapon" actually ends up feeling quite logical? i think Hunting Hound was my favourite story for that reason, in that leinth's transformation works quite well. i do think there's a BIT of a jump from "starting to understand" and "now there's two leinth's and the first one basically doesn't exist anymore except for a tiny little percentage that can basically be ignored"
still, it's good! Rescue Hound was obviously the Main Story here and while i liked it i felt it went on a BIT too long. kione is an interesting character but, maybe because the erotic stuff did nothing for me, i didnt super care for her relationship with sartha. i DID think it was interesting that you as the reader almost stop viewing sartha as a character and more of a "thing" which is textually apt. i thought that kione and handler's relationship was the most interesting in the whole story though, and i was delighted that at the end kione ends up in this weird soulless middle position of both being a handler and also just living this totally unfufilling life. it's kind of satisfying to know that kione isnt ACTUALLY happy at the end, even if she is a victim too, because she of the main POV characters is the one least deserving of a happy ending.
on that note, oh no!!! it has a horribly sad ending hahaha
i love rho's prose so much that i enjoyed reading this but i am a certified bad-end disliker! i think it was the original director of the exorcist who wanted the film to have a happy ending because he didn't like the ide that the devil could win. spoilers for warhound! the devil (the fascist rape empire) wins pretty wholeheartedly! all your characters get turned into drooling dogs who constantly get raped all the time and they hate it, but they love that they hate it because they think that's what they deserve. jesus christ! i was hoping at least leinth would get out of there because i just liked her the most, but oh well!
very cool moment near the end of rescue hound when genetor shows up to fight. not into mechs at all but walking fortress DOES do it for me
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2026
As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am not typically averse to "transgressive" literature. WARHOUND, however, disturbed me in a way I haven't experienced perhaps ever, to the point, no joke, that I began to actively avoid any references to dog ownership in my life, whether it was a cute puppy video on YouTube Shorts or the neighbors taking their husky out to pee. The only thing I can think of that comes close is, well, Closer by Dennis Cooper, to which WARHOUND bears a remarkable resemblance, from its avant la lettre thematic concerns to its approach to narrative. (Plus it's hard to read Sartha Thrace as anything but a kind of transfem response to George Miles.)
There's just something so uncannily perceptive in its assessment of imperial attitudes, especially with regard to the role of sadomasochism in reproducing the ideological basis for fascism. According to Paul Preciado, we're living in a pharmacopornographic era, and Sartha, of course, is the very embodiment of the term. The creation of a subject who desires her own subjection--isn't this, as some have noted, the fundamental task of political thinking today? To answer the question of why so many want higher taxes, less bread, and to get off by being literal bootlickers? And like, let's be honest here, within a certain milieu of affluent, young, liberal people today, hypermasochism is on the rise. Personally, the novel discomfited me precisely because of the eerie familiarity of its worldview, and ultimately--horribly!--in its ability to make me empathize with its worldview. It's as though the reader is conditioned, through a sort of "shock doctrine" of porn and ultraviolence, into a an awful nihilistic stupor, much in the way Sartha herself is.
This technique is employed most effectively in the longest section, RESCUE HOUND, whose plot is about the lurid, abased consequences of a regime of gender and sexuality predicated on drugs and gore porn. It's all Prozac, Cialis, and Estradiol. It's about the insidious ease with which a love of pleasure and profit can become a love of authority, domination, and sadism. And the final section, SHOWHOUND, is probably the most honest look into the interior of today's bourgeoisie you're likely to find in contemporary lit. This was blindingly obvious as I alt-tabbed between the book and the Epstein files. I also found myself crying at odd moments throughout: there is, despite all the smut, a terrible lovesick loneliness that permeates the whole thing.
There is so much more I could say about it, but all in all, if you're willing to tolerate some "genre conventions" (i.e. melodramatic prose, boring sci-fi stuff), it's really worth reading. I write all this as someone who has no tolerance for mecha battle scenes--I pretty much skimmed them--nor the affection for its supposedly "sexy" characters that some people on Tumblr seem to have.
There's just something so uncannily perceptive in its assessment of imperial attitudes, especially with regard to the role of sadomasochism in reproducing the ideological basis for fascism. According to Paul Preciado, we're living in a pharmacopornographic era, and Sartha, of course, is the very embodiment of the term. The creation of a subject who desires her own subjection--isn't this, as some have noted, the fundamental task of political thinking today? To answer the question of why so many want higher taxes, less bread, and to get off by being literal bootlickers? And like, let's be honest here, within a certain milieu of affluent, young, liberal people today, hypermasochism is on the rise. Personally, the novel discomfited me precisely because of the eerie familiarity of its worldview, and ultimately--horribly!--in its ability to make me empathize with its worldview. It's as though the reader is conditioned, through a sort of "shock doctrine" of porn and ultraviolence, into a an awful nihilistic stupor, much in the way Sartha herself is.
This technique is employed most effectively in the longest section, RESCUE HOUND, whose plot is about the lurid, abased consequences of a regime of gender and sexuality predicated on drugs and gore porn. It's all Prozac, Cialis, and Estradiol. It's about the insidious ease with which a love of pleasure and profit can become a love of authority, domination, and sadism. And the final section, SHOWHOUND, is probably the most honest look into the interior of today's bourgeoisie you're likely to find in contemporary lit. This was blindingly obvious as I alt-tabbed between the book and the Epstein files. I also found myself crying at odd moments throughout: there is, despite all the smut, a terrible lovesick loneliness that permeates the whole thing.
There is so much more I could say about it, but all in all, if you're willing to tolerate some "genre conventions" (i.e. melodramatic prose, boring sci-fi stuff), it's really worth reading. I write all this as someone who has no tolerance for mecha battle scenes--I pretty much skimmed them--nor the affection for its supposedly "sexy" characters that some people on Tumblr seem to have.
January 7, 2026
I absolutely adore Kallidora Rho writing. Warhound made me want to start writing myself, not grim, dark, and totally fucked up like this, but close enough.
Kione lives freely in my mind. Her relationship with Sartha broke me into little pieces at the ending and most of the time, I begged for it to end, not only the relationship but every character of this universe, should be killed and buried because of the amount of torture they tolerate from Her.
I love it so much. Hopefully, Radiogirl has a good time as a Hound❤️
Kione lives freely in my mind. Her relationship with Sartha broke me into little pieces at the ending and most of the time, I begged for it to end, not only the relationship but every character of this universe, should be killed and buried because of the amount of torture they tolerate from Her.
I love it so much. Hopefully, Radiogirl has a good time as a Hound❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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February 13, 2026Abjectly horrifying and unrelentingly bleak; an all-encompassing examination of personhood and responsibility. Where exactly do you place yourself on a spectrum of victimizer vs victimized, and is it possible to exist on a different axis; to reject the premise altogether? Volume one doesn't seem to think so, but I desperately hope the eventual conclusion to the story isn't so bleak.
December 12, 2025
4.5 I had so much fun reading this it was so perfectly grimdark. I loved discussing what was going on inside everyones head throughout and I loved the mech fights. So excited to get more from this world
January 3, 2026
Absolutely phenomenal, gut wrenching and beautiful the entire time. Every emotion is so well written.
January 13, 2026
Im genuinely out of words
January 28, 2026
Lurid and repetitive, unless you truly love BDSM you're not going to enjoy this.
February 11, 2026
kione this isn't your heart
August 1, 2025
Followed for so long, overjoyed to see it get a physical release. Thrilling, exciting, hot- even if you anticipate a characters' direction the fall is still just as sweet. Will remain a staple on my shelf.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews