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The Falling
Once a proud warrior, now a demon’s whore.
Brenaith had once been a warrior of renown, companion to the King of Artepia. Now he suffered in captivity as a demon’s whore, his country overrun by a race his people had not believed existed. Driven to the edge of madness by his tortures, the final blow comes when his master, a demon lord, gifts him as a blood servant to a Shadow Knight, Shaynith-una, a monster of legend that destroys even souls. Brenaith does not expect to survive the bonding by Shaynith-una, who is rumored to hold divine blood and is held in awe by other demons.
But with time he begins to see Shaynith-una as more than the monster he is reputed to be. The knight is a demi-god. Half demon god, half elf, the son of rape and darkness, mind taken and molded by his demonic deity father. And Brenaith’s fate and hope are both bound to Shaynith-una for good or for ill.
Can Brenaith break Shaynith-una’s conditioning and discover what and who really lies behind the knight’s facade…or will darkness always rule?
Brenaith had once been a warrior of renown, companion to the King of Artepia. Now he suffered in captivity as a demon’s whore, his country overrun by a race his people had not believed existed. Driven to the edge of madness by his tortures, the final blow comes when his master, a demon lord, gifts him as a blood servant to a Shadow Knight, Shaynith-una, a monster of legend that destroys even souls. Brenaith does not expect to survive the bonding by Shaynith-una, who is rumored to hold divine blood and is held in awe by other demons.
But with time he begins to see Shaynith-una as more than the monster he is reputed to be. The knight is a demi-god. Half demon god, half elf, the son of rape and darkness, mind taken and molded by his demonic deity father. And Brenaith’s fate and hope are both bound to Shaynith-una for good or for ill.
Can Brenaith break Shaynith-una’s conditioning and discover what and who really lies behind the knight’s facade…or will darkness always rule?
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 15, 2025
41 people are currently reading
252 people want to read
About the author
J.C. Owens
31 books612 followersAlso known as J.C. McGuire.
J.C Owens lives in small town, rural Alberta and is a self confessed writing-a-holic. In the absence of help for this affliction…
I do indeed love to write and have now completed thirty published stories, along with over twenty books sitting idle in my computer, waiting… I love the genre of male/male stories and conflict in what a person thinks they want, versus what they truly need to become themselves. I think any writing that shows the beauty of men loving men is worthwhile.
I love to hear from my readers and always appreciate suggestions and comments for future books. Sharing a love of reading and good, hot sensuality between men is always a cause for celebration!
J.C Owens lives in small town, rural Alberta and is a self confessed writing-a-holic. In the absence of help for this affliction…
I do indeed love to write and have now completed thirty published stories, along with over twenty books sitting idle in my computer, waiting… I love the genre of male/male stories and conflict in what a person thinks they want, versus what they truly need to become themselves. I think any writing that shows the beauty of men loving men is worthwhile.
I love to hear from my readers and always appreciate suggestions and comments for future books. Sharing a love of reading and good, hot sensuality between men is always a cause for celebration!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
October 18, 2020
Why did it take me so long to read this book and this author? Well, I'm so glad I did.
This story really blew me away and was so beautifully written. It takes place on a different pre-industrial world where humans have been slaughtered by demon invaders. We meet poor Brenaith, who is an enslaved soldier, as he is gifted to the Shadow Knight Shaynith-una.
So begins a great tale of gods, demons, elves and humans locked in a fierce battle and Brenaith and Shaynith-una are caught in the middle.
Just read it :D
This story really blew me away and was so beautifully written. It takes place on a different pre-industrial world where humans have been slaughtered by demon invaders. We meet poor Brenaith, who is an enslaved soldier, as he is gifted to the Shadow Knight Shaynith-una.
So begins a great tale of gods, demons, elves and humans locked in a fierce battle and Brenaith and Shaynith-una are caught in the middle.
Just read it :D
November 12, 2020
This one is hard to rate ... first I could not believe how there could develop a real relationship .... but it did, and it was beautifully done.
I liked how this developed but I think it would have done the story good to invest the same page time to this development as the bad part at the beginning got.
Another thing which stood out is, that this really REALLY needs a second book. There are so many questions open for me .... maybe we get one. I sure hope so
3,5 stars
I liked how this developed but I think it would have done the story good to invest the same page time to this development as the bad part at the beginning got.
Another thing which stood out is, that this really REALLY needs a second book. There are so many questions open for me .... maybe we get one. I sure hope so
3,5 stars
June 7, 2017
Really, really loved this story. For me, it did everything right, in every way. I'm intrigued with slave stories but at the same time I hate the way so many of them go: Stockholm syndrome, the joy of submission and so on. But The Falling had everything an ideal slave story is for me. The attraction between the characters comes through the vulnerability of the master, through equality, through freedom. I have no words how perfect it was. In the beginning I couldn't even imagine how anything might develop between Brenaith and the shadown knight: too much pain, too much was broken - and how delighted I was to see them in the end, what a long way they both made. And they both were so lovable, my heart was going out for both of them.
But I think the author forgot about the nose piercing :) I would think it'd be a big deal for Brenaith to choose to wear it or not.
But I think the author forgot about the nose piercing :) I would think it'd be a big deal for Brenaith to choose to wear it or not.
December 28, 2015
Disappointing.
November 19, 2015
The plot is unusual and quite interesting, with elves and demons and gods and demigods. The let down for me, is the two main characters. The blurb led me to believe that one of the MCs is a widely feared bad-ass demon but what I got is a soft spoken emotionless one with a bad rep. Other than that one scene with a hound, there is hardly any on-page display of his much touted power. The other MC is his slave, a wallflower of a character who is boring and uninspiring. It is no wonder then that the sex scenes between these two lacked passion and heat. A shame really, because the story really is good. There is no mention if this book is the start of a series but it had ended with only a HFN.
December 6, 2015
4.5 stars. I immediately bought this when I saw who the author was, without even reading what it was about. And all I can say is that I don't regret it now. I loved this story, as I have loved all of J.C. Owens' books. I was very happy with the ending and I'd love to read a few sequels to this one (to get the brothers' happy endings too).
December 19, 2015
Intriguing blurb, but the actual story fell flat and way below my expectations. I did not find either hero to my liking. Disappointed.
May 3, 2016
Lost a bit of heat towards the end but i liked the evolution here. It's harsh but not truly depraved. I enjoyed all the characters most esp. the knight!
December 20, 2015
It was well-written and engaging, but I felt like the story went in the wrong direction - not to mention the ending was absent. I can't even call it rushed, the story simply ended in the middle.
November 3, 2017
2.5 stars
April 30, 2020
⭐️ 3.5 stars ⭐️
June 16, 2020
⭐️4.5⭐️
July 4, 2020
This story is about a human enslaved by demons. Demons existence had always been more of a myth or used as a form of folktale to discourage bad behavior in both adults and children. But there has never been any physical evidence of demons being real. That is true in our reality but unlike real life, in this book, humans find out that demons do very much exist when they leave their home world and enter theirs. The demons naturally attack and killed millions of humans and those that survived were turned into slaves. The MC of this book is one such slave.
Brenaith was one of the seven companions to Price Tynan. Brenaith was very much in love with his prince and was devastated by his death. In the beginning of this novel, he is running away, trying to escape his captors after Prince Tynan’s death. He is the last one alive out of the eight humans who had been captured by demons. But unfortunately, Brenaith was hunted down and bitten viciously by hellhounds. The hellhounds were followed by Brenaith’s owner and master, Demon Lord Stratlin. Stratlin takes Brenaith back to his home and reveals that he plans on selling him to the last existing shadow knight.
Shadow knights are the most powerful of all demons because they are the children of Demon Gods. Thus they feel nothing and are able to enter people’s minds. They can hear what you’re thinking and what emotion accompanies those thoughts. Plus shadow knights are able to delve deep into their minds and have access to your memories. Those abilities extend to all species, including all demons. Shadow knights are also able to fully control the entire brain. This is proven a few times when Brenaith feels an intense pressure in his brain that is then followed by asphyxiation. Shadow knights are called that because they can control shadows. In fact the shadow knight who Stratlin sells Brenaith to shows a demonstration of this power. All the shadows in the corners of the room immediately leave their spots and travel to intertwine with the shadow knight. The shadow knight even seems fond of the shadows and treats them like they are beloved pets. The shadows are even protective like they are vicious guard dogs and kill a hellhound who gets freaked out by the shadow knight and attempts to attack him. The shadows intercept the hellhound and enter his body. Its not clear what is done to the dog. You just hear his screams of agony and then the shadows leave his body and returns to the shadow knight and the hellhound is revealed to be dead by whatever the shadows did. Their was no clear physical injury as to its death. It looked like he had just dropped dead.
These abilities make it so that even all other demons, including the powerful Demon Lord that owns Brenaith is deathly terrified of the shadow knight. Which both makes Brenaith feel better and worse that his tormentors felt the same fear he did.
The shadow knight’s name is revealed to be Shaynith-una. He is given a nickname by his four half-brothers (who you meet a chapter and a half after Brenaith meets Shaynith-una for the first time) and the nickname is Shay. For the rest of this review and summary apparently(sorry about that! I have a bad habit of writing a synopsis of the book before writing my opinion of it), I will write Shaynith-una’s nickname, Shay, instead of writing his full name. I tell you of this to hopefully avoid confusion. Shay and Shaynith-una are the same person, Shay is just a shorter version of the shadow knight’s name!
Anyway to continue on, during dinner, Brenaith’s current master of five years, Stratlin, introduces Brenaith to Shay and offers him as a gift to the shadow knight. Shay’s blood-servant had recently died and Stratlin offered Brenaith to him as a replacement to gain favor with the Demon God’s son. Shay thinks Brenaith is beautiful and loves that he has blonde hair, blue eyes and has fair-colored skin. Those physical characteristics are the exact opposite of a demons appearance and Shay loves that fact.
Shay takes Brenaith back to his guest room after dinner to test the compatibility of Brenaith’s blood to him. Shay enjoys the taste of Brenaith’s blood and plans to bond Brenaith to him in a type of ceremony. The only other person present for the ceremony other than Shay and Brenaith, is Stratlin. The reason Stratlin is there because as Brenaith’s current master, he has to officially relinquish his rights of ownership to Brenaith so that Shay can complete the bond with Braynaith. The ceremony consists of this exchange of ownership followed by Shay feeding on Brenaith’s blood and then Brenaith has to drink Shay’s blood in return. It is also revealed that only 4/10 humans survive the ceremony that bonds them to a demon because the process is extremely painful both mentally and physically. Of course Brenaith survives bonding his mind and soul to Shay. He wakes up after the ceremony to see that he is sleeping on a makeshift bed inside a luxurious cart being pulled by the demon version of horses. Brenaith is very relieved that he is no longer owned by the Demon Lord Stratlin.
Thus begins Shay and Brenaith’s relationship as Master and Blood-servant. Shay is a lot more kinder to Brenaith. Other than the two or three times of manipulating Brenaith’s brain into suffocating him as a punishment and warning to censure Brenaith’s words and thoughts. Which I found to be majorly ridiculous and unfair that Brenaith would get punished because of his personal thoughts. While it is easy to watch what you say out loud so as not to offend, its a completely different ballgame inside of your mind. What you actually think and feel about a person or situation should be safe inside of your mind. But that is not the case for Brenaith because Shay can hear his inner thoughts just as clearly and easily as the words he says out loud. So speaking the offending words in his head gets him punished as if he had spoken them instead of thought them. I pity poor Brenaith who just cannot catch a break for this injustice! But besides that, Brenaith is actually very well cared for. He no longer goes hungry or thirsty. Shay doesn’t physically harm Brenaith in anyway, so he no longer suffers from pain and injury. Shay only feeds from him every two days and besides the initial pain of the shadow knight’s fangs piercing into his skin, his master doesn’t make it hurt past that, unlike Brenaith’s first master, Stratlin, who got off on his pain and made sure to make his bite as painful as possible. Shay does the polar opposite of that, another thing that Brenaith is grateful about.
And Brenaith hates feeling gratitude towards Shay for his nonexistent cruelty. Brenaith thinks he shouldn’t feel grateful towards Shay for behavior that is supposed to be just plain common decency. Not a gift of mercy. I fully agree with this. Nobody deserves to have their sense of modesty and dignity taken from them, to be starved when there is plenty of food to go around, same with water as well. As someone who suffers from a severe case of social anxiety disorder, I am very aware of the kind of pain that comes from words and derisive laughter. Sometimes I think that mental pain is a lot worse than physical pain but then again, I have never been tortured. So I’m most likely wrong about that.
Anyway instead of giving literally the entire plot away as I see that is exactly what I’m doing, all I’ll reveal from here is that Brenaith’s opinion of Shay and demons in whole, change as he slowly falls in love with Shaynith-una. Brenaith realizes that not everything is black and white, and that even though he had only ever been surrounded by cruel and bloodthirsty demons before Shay became his master, that not every single demon in the world is like that. Just like not every human is good and kind.
This book teaches you that even a race you were raised to think of as evil monsters, can also contain those with a good and kind heart, no matter how they look on the outside. A body can never be evil, only the soul that body contains inside of itself can be turned into an evil psychopath. One of the worst things that is being a living sentient being is that nothing about ourselves is set in stone. Think of plants for instance, they can go through earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. and the plants that survived such a harsh and brutal environment that had killed so many other types of plants around them don’t change a thing about itself. Plants are a living thing, not sentient like us and other mammals, but they are still very much alive. They don’t want to die, they fight to survive just like humans. They feel the need to procreate, in a way, to keep their species expanding.
But unlike us, their way of life never changes. Plants do go through a type of evolution as a way to fight to survive, but that is it. When it comes to living sentient beings, surviving a harsh and brutal environment does change us. Sometimes for the better. But mostly for the worst. Some people let the cruel environment they were unfortunately subjected to change them into the same type of brutal forces of nature they themselves were forced to suffer by. Beforehand, those people could have been kind and giving humanitarians but their environment changed and they changed with it, becoming what or whom was behind their torment and fear. All of that is what I meant when I wrote that being a living sentient being infers that nothing about ourselves is set in stone. We are all susceptible to darkness, especially after a majorly traumatic event or series of events like what Brenaith went through.
Turning to the dark side, letting your trauma harden you and turn you into a person that is the complete opposite of who you were. That is the easiest route to take. Burying your feelings and caging your heart from ever loving anyone again, from being happy. That is the cowardly way of never facing the ugliness that is your past. I greatly admire Brenaith for not taking that path. He has the kind of mental strength that I wish I had. He had lost everything and everyone that had ever mattered to him while being beaten and raped daily at the same time. Yes, Brenaith wanted to die on many occasions and even tried to convince his master, Stratlin to show mercy and end his torment. But despite his depression and fear of the future, he didn’t let his tormentors break his mind. He stayed strong and taught himself how to appear submissive and meek, even though as a warrior sworn to protect Prince Tynan of Artepia, it would have been difficult for himself to do so. I so admire him for that.
But I do want to apologize if I offended anyone who has ever suffered any type, shape, or form of attack or trauma. I am not nor would I ever belittle what you have gone through. And if my personal opinions in the paragraph above this one make you feel like I have, I want to sincerely apologize to all those whose feelings I may have inadvertently hurt. It is not my intention to do so. I didn’t realize what it would sound like when I wrote it. And after reading through this way too long review, I admit, to check for any spelling mistakes, I read that paragraph over and I realized how it might be perceived. I thought about deleting the whole paragraph but it also has my honest feelings about one of the main plot points of the book so I decided not to.
So all in all, I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! The writing was great, the world building was awesome, thank you J.C. Owens for not writing a graphic rape scene, it is alluded to, readers, and in the first chapter, after Brenaith was caught after trying to escape, Stratlin decided to punish him by making Brenaith ride his cock as they were riding on a horse to get back to Stratlin’s castle. So you know that the rape is going to happen, but the actual scene was not written for us to read. And every sex scene between Brenaith and Shaynith-una was consensual. So if you like demon/human love stories as well as a lot of angst, this is definitely the book for you!!!
Brenaith was one of the seven companions to Price Tynan. Brenaith was very much in love with his prince and was devastated by his death. In the beginning of this novel, he is running away, trying to escape his captors after Prince Tynan’s death. He is the last one alive out of the eight humans who had been captured by demons. But unfortunately, Brenaith was hunted down and bitten viciously by hellhounds. The hellhounds were followed by Brenaith’s owner and master, Demon Lord Stratlin. Stratlin takes Brenaith back to his home and reveals that he plans on selling him to the last existing shadow knight.
Shadow knights are the most powerful of all demons because they are the children of Demon Gods. Thus they feel nothing and are able to enter people’s minds. They can hear what you’re thinking and what emotion accompanies those thoughts. Plus shadow knights are able to delve deep into their minds and have access to your memories. Those abilities extend to all species, including all demons. Shadow knights are also able to fully control the entire brain. This is proven a few times when Brenaith feels an intense pressure in his brain that is then followed by asphyxiation. Shadow knights are called that because they can control shadows. In fact the shadow knight who Stratlin sells Brenaith to shows a demonstration of this power. All the shadows in the corners of the room immediately leave their spots and travel to intertwine with the shadow knight. The shadow knight even seems fond of the shadows and treats them like they are beloved pets. The shadows are even protective like they are vicious guard dogs and kill a hellhound who gets freaked out by the shadow knight and attempts to attack him. The shadows intercept the hellhound and enter his body. Its not clear what is done to the dog. You just hear his screams of agony and then the shadows leave his body and returns to the shadow knight and the hellhound is revealed to be dead by whatever the shadows did. Their was no clear physical injury as to its death. It looked like he had just dropped dead.
These abilities make it so that even all other demons, including the powerful Demon Lord that owns Brenaith is deathly terrified of the shadow knight. Which both makes Brenaith feel better and worse that his tormentors felt the same fear he did.
The shadow knight’s name is revealed to be Shaynith-una. He is given a nickname by his four half-brothers (who you meet a chapter and a half after Brenaith meets Shaynith-una for the first time) and the nickname is Shay. For the rest of this review and summary apparently(sorry about that! I have a bad habit of writing a synopsis of the book before writing my opinion of it), I will write Shaynith-una’s nickname, Shay, instead of writing his full name. I tell you of this to hopefully avoid confusion. Shay and Shaynith-una are the same person, Shay is just a shorter version of the shadow knight’s name!
Anyway to continue on, during dinner, Brenaith’s current master of five years, Stratlin, introduces Brenaith to Shay and offers him as a gift to the shadow knight. Shay’s blood-servant had recently died and Stratlin offered Brenaith to him as a replacement to gain favor with the Demon God’s son. Shay thinks Brenaith is beautiful and loves that he has blonde hair, blue eyes and has fair-colored skin. Those physical characteristics are the exact opposite of a demons appearance and Shay loves that fact.
Shay takes Brenaith back to his guest room after dinner to test the compatibility of Brenaith’s blood to him. Shay enjoys the taste of Brenaith’s blood and plans to bond Brenaith to him in a type of ceremony. The only other person present for the ceremony other than Shay and Brenaith, is Stratlin. The reason Stratlin is there because as Brenaith’s current master, he has to officially relinquish his rights of ownership to Brenaith so that Shay can complete the bond with Braynaith. The ceremony consists of this exchange of ownership followed by Shay feeding on Brenaith’s blood and then Brenaith has to drink Shay’s blood in return. It is also revealed that only 4/10 humans survive the ceremony that bonds them to a demon because the process is extremely painful both mentally and physically. Of course Brenaith survives bonding his mind and soul to Shay. He wakes up after the ceremony to see that he is sleeping on a makeshift bed inside a luxurious cart being pulled by the demon version of horses. Brenaith is very relieved that he is no longer owned by the Demon Lord Stratlin.
Thus begins Shay and Brenaith’s relationship as Master and Blood-servant. Shay is a lot more kinder to Brenaith. Other than the two or three times of manipulating Brenaith’s brain into suffocating him as a punishment and warning to censure Brenaith’s words and thoughts. Which I found to be majorly ridiculous and unfair that Brenaith would get punished because of his personal thoughts. While it is easy to watch what you say out loud so as not to offend, its a completely different ballgame inside of your mind. What you actually think and feel about a person or situation should be safe inside of your mind. But that is not the case for Brenaith because Shay can hear his inner thoughts just as clearly and easily as the words he says out loud. So speaking the offending words in his head gets him punished as if he had spoken them instead of thought them. I pity poor Brenaith who just cannot catch a break for this injustice! But besides that, Brenaith is actually very well cared for. He no longer goes hungry or thirsty. Shay doesn’t physically harm Brenaith in anyway, so he no longer suffers from pain and injury. Shay only feeds from him every two days and besides the initial pain of the shadow knight’s fangs piercing into his skin, his master doesn’t make it hurt past that, unlike Brenaith’s first master, Stratlin, who got off on his pain and made sure to make his bite as painful as possible. Shay does the polar opposite of that, another thing that Brenaith is grateful about.
And Brenaith hates feeling gratitude towards Shay for his nonexistent cruelty. Brenaith thinks he shouldn’t feel grateful towards Shay for behavior that is supposed to be just plain common decency. Not a gift of mercy. I fully agree with this. Nobody deserves to have their sense of modesty and dignity taken from them, to be starved when there is plenty of food to go around, same with water as well. As someone who suffers from a severe case of social anxiety disorder, I am very aware of the kind of pain that comes from words and derisive laughter. Sometimes I think that mental pain is a lot worse than physical pain but then again, I have never been tortured. So I’m most likely wrong about that.
Anyway instead of giving literally the entire plot away as I see that is exactly what I’m doing, all I’ll reveal from here is that Brenaith’s opinion of Shay and demons in whole, change as he slowly falls in love with Shaynith-una. Brenaith realizes that not everything is black and white, and that even though he had only ever been surrounded by cruel and bloodthirsty demons before Shay became his master, that not every single demon in the world is like that. Just like not every human is good and kind.
This book teaches you that even a race you were raised to think of as evil monsters, can also contain those with a good and kind heart, no matter how they look on the outside. A body can never be evil, only the soul that body contains inside of itself can be turned into an evil psychopath. One of the worst things that is being a living sentient being is that nothing about ourselves is set in stone. Think of plants for instance, they can go through earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. and the plants that survived such a harsh and brutal environment that had killed so many other types of plants around them don’t change a thing about itself. Plants are a living thing, not sentient like us and other mammals, but they are still very much alive. They don’t want to die, they fight to survive just like humans. They feel the need to procreate, in a way, to keep their species expanding.
But unlike us, their way of life never changes. Plants do go through a type of evolution as a way to fight to survive, but that is it. When it comes to living sentient beings, surviving a harsh and brutal environment does change us. Sometimes for the better. But mostly for the worst. Some people let the cruel environment they were unfortunately subjected to change them into the same type of brutal forces of nature they themselves were forced to suffer by. Beforehand, those people could have been kind and giving humanitarians but their environment changed and they changed with it, becoming what or whom was behind their torment and fear. All of that is what I meant when I wrote that being a living sentient being infers that nothing about ourselves is set in stone. We are all susceptible to darkness, especially after a majorly traumatic event or series of events like what Brenaith went through.
Turning to the dark side, letting your trauma harden you and turn you into a person that is the complete opposite of who you were. That is the easiest route to take. Burying your feelings and caging your heart from ever loving anyone again, from being happy. That is the cowardly way of never facing the ugliness that is your past. I greatly admire Brenaith for not taking that path. He has the kind of mental strength that I wish I had. He had lost everything and everyone that had ever mattered to him while being beaten and raped daily at the same time. Yes, Brenaith wanted to die on many occasions and even tried to convince his master, Stratlin to show mercy and end his torment. But despite his depression and fear of the future, he didn’t let his tormentors break his mind. He stayed strong and taught himself how to appear submissive and meek, even though as a warrior sworn to protect Prince Tynan of Artepia, it would have been difficult for himself to do so. I so admire him for that.
But I do want to apologize if I offended anyone who has ever suffered any type, shape, or form of attack or trauma. I am not nor would I ever belittle what you have gone through. And if my personal opinions in the paragraph above this one make you feel like I have, I want to sincerely apologize to all those whose feelings I may have inadvertently hurt. It is not my intention to do so. I didn’t realize what it would sound like when I wrote it. And after reading through this way too long review, I admit, to check for any spelling mistakes, I read that paragraph over and I realized how it might be perceived. I thought about deleting the whole paragraph but it also has my honest feelings about one of the main plot points of the book so I decided not to.
So all in all, I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! The writing was great, the world building was awesome, thank you J.C. Owens for not writing a graphic rape scene, it is alluded to, readers, and in the first chapter, after Brenaith was caught after trying to escape, Stratlin decided to punish him by making Brenaith ride his cock as they were riding on a horse to get back to Stratlin’s castle. So you know that the rape is going to happen, but the actual scene was not written for us to read. And every sex scene between Brenaith and Shaynith-una was consensual. So if you like demon/human love stories as well as a lot of angst, this is definitely the book for you!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2017
Don't really know why, but I loved it, and I only allowed my reading frenzy to be interrupted by 4 hours of sleep (not every book has that effect on me!).
Formalities: The book is well written, in a smooth and flowing language, and there are very few typos (yipeeeh!). The descriptions of Dasoam are so detailed that I had no problems at all visualizing it.
As for the story? I very much liked the concept and the way things went! ! I dislike all those "deus ex machina" endings with a new superpower solving all the MCs problems in the blink of an eye and the happy couple riding into the sunset before the last drop of the enemy's blood has even dried ... This one (though not free from it completely) was actually done quite well.
I do have to make a confession at this point: I noticed recently that I seem to have a thing for rough stories containing a healthy dose of Stockholm Syndrome (I also loved the Soulseeker!) and this was definitely one of those stories. I also enjoy "enemies to lovers" much more than "friends to lovers" (which has the tendency to get slightly boring) and "strangers to lovers" (which usually happens much too fast for my taste). I have read other reviews (some of which were not very favourable), and I partially agree with their criticism, but there were actually just three points that I consider major flaws: (1) The world building could have been more detailed - it remained vague and a bit inconsistent (e.g.: Has all mankind been ruled by demons for 5 years only? If so: What did Shay do for the first 2995 years of his existence? And where do the humans suddenly come from in the end? Where is Redhill? On another plane? If so: how is it that people there are beeing attacked? By whom? etc.). (2) Shay did not really grow on me, not even in the end, despite his beauty and the fascination with his persona in general. Even though there were a lot of hints at a real relationship as the story carried on, there was nothing much to grasp, apart from Berenaith's musings and Shay tilting his head. The author skipped days and weeks - where she would have been able to showcase less action and more INTERaction: between Shay and Berenaith or between Shay, Berenaith and the elites. But apart from the physical, there was not much of a noticeable growing thing between Shay and Berenaith, and at times I was afraid it was all in Berenaith's imagination only. (3) I REALLY hated the epilogue, because some of the most interesting parts are yet to come (How will Shay adjust? How is Berenaith's freedom going to affect their relationship? What about the bond? How are they going to unite Redhill? What about Lutan?) and it seems the author is planning to leave us in a lurch - again!! (Most of her other books also seem to be pieces of a larger picture, but the rest, unfortunately, is never revealed.) I AM SERIOUSLY CLAMORING FOR VOLUME 2 HERE !!!
P.S. And what's with those piercings? Once they are done, they are never mentioned again. And what about the briefly-mentioned other shadow knights? Are they not Shay's brothers as well? What happened to them?
--> Remember, dear author: If you don't want to go through with it, please don't start it!!!
But it WAS a very enjoyable read - if you like it a bit rough - which, from.my point of view, totally deserves 4.4 stars.
Formalities: The book is well written, in a smooth and flowing language, and there are very few typos (yipeeeh!). The descriptions of Dasoam are so detailed that I had no problems at all visualizing it.
As for the story? I very much liked the concept and the way things went! ! I dislike all those "deus ex machina" endings with a new superpower solving all the MCs problems in the blink of an eye and the happy couple riding into the sunset before the last drop of the enemy's blood has even dried ... This one (though not free from it completely) was actually done quite well.
I do have to make a confession at this point: I noticed recently that I seem to have a thing for rough stories containing a healthy dose of Stockholm Syndrome (I also loved the Soulseeker!) and this was definitely one of those stories. I also enjoy "enemies to lovers" much more than "friends to lovers" (which has the tendency to get slightly boring) and "strangers to lovers" (which usually happens much too fast for my taste). I have read other reviews (some of which were not very favourable), and I partially agree with their criticism, but there were actually just three points that I consider major flaws: (1) The world building could have been more detailed - it remained vague and a bit inconsistent (e.g.: Has all mankind been ruled by demons for 5 years only? If so: What did Shay do for the first 2995 years of his existence? And where do the humans suddenly come from in the end? Where is Redhill? On another plane? If so: how is it that people there are beeing attacked? By whom? etc.). (2) Shay did not really grow on me, not even in the end, despite his beauty and the fascination with his persona in general. Even though there were a lot of hints at a real relationship as the story carried on, there was nothing much to grasp, apart from Berenaith's musings and Shay tilting his head. The author skipped days and weeks - where she would have been able to showcase less action and more INTERaction: between Shay and Berenaith or between Shay, Berenaith and the elites. But apart from the physical, there was not much of a noticeable growing thing between Shay and Berenaith, and at times I was afraid it was all in Berenaith's imagination only. (3) I REALLY hated the epilogue, because some of the most interesting parts are yet to come (How will Shay adjust? How is Berenaith's freedom going to affect their relationship? What about the bond? How are they going to unite Redhill? What about Lutan?) and it seems the author is planning to leave us in a lurch - again!! (Most of her other books also seem to be pieces of a larger picture, but the rest, unfortunately, is never revealed.) I AM SERIOUSLY CLAMORING FOR VOLUME 2 HERE !!!
P.S. And what's with those piercings? Once they are done, they are never mentioned again. And what about the briefly-mentioned other shadow knights? Are they not Shay's brothers as well? What happened to them?
--> Remember, dear author: If you don't want to go through with it, please don't start it!!!
But it WAS a very enjoyable read - if you like it a bit rough - which, from.my point of view, totally deserves 4.4 stars.
July 3, 2025
This book surprised me. It starts with a deep emotional pull and slowly unravels into something bold and vulnerable. Owens has a way of making every interaction feel meaningful. The story is heartbreaking in places, healing in others. A slower pace at times, but that gave space for the characters to grow. A great read for anyone who loves internal battles and soft strength.
December 19, 2015
OK read, could be better (spoilers)
Good writing mechanics. Interesting premise and characters. Sexual elements decent.
Since this is an erotic bdsm fantasy I expect some unreality. That's the nature of this genre. But I do want consistency in characterization and behavior within the parameters the author sets up when a story presents itself as having meaning beyond simple sexual titillation. In this work the MCs have complexity but not consistency. Their words and actions contradict their defined characters constantly. Stupidity arises to advance the action. Insta-growth, Insta-relationship, Insta-plot point.
Especially annoying because most of that could be reconciled by simply having the tale occur over a longer period of time. After a few hundred years or even a few decades it would of been much more realistic for the slave MC to gradually make a connection, the demon MC gradually becoming curious, the father complacent and careless. The story could of lived up to the premise.
IMO of course.
Good writing mechanics. Interesting premise and characters. Sexual elements decent.
Since this is an erotic bdsm fantasy I expect some unreality. That's the nature of this genre. But I do want consistency in characterization and behavior within the parameters the author sets up when a story presents itself as having meaning beyond simple sexual titillation. In this work the MCs have complexity but not consistency. Their words and actions contradict their defined characters constantly. Stupidity arises to advance the action. Insta-growth, Insta-relationship, Insta-plot point.
Especially annoying because most of that could be reconciled by simply having the tale occur over a longer period of time. After a few hundred years or even a few decades it would of been much more realistic for the slave MC to gradually make a connection, the demon MC gradually becoming curious, the father complacent and careless. The story could of lived up to the premise.
IMO of course.
November 24, 2022
I personally loved this. The relationship was cute. The world building was quite simplistic and the story focused more on the 2 MCs and their budding romance than the world around them. That is jot to say there wasn’t a plot. There was a clear plot line but it just wasn’t as complex and in depth as other fantasy novel and we didn’t have a range of characters usually seen in such fantasy genres. I did not mind this at all because I loved the 2 MCs and their interactions. I was there for the romance and to see how unemotional Shay would end up having feelings. I was not disappointed.
May 9, 2016
This story was total waste of my time and money. The main characters suffer lack of personalities hard time and author didn't dig deep enough to bring them really alive. Story itself was bland and lame, there wasn't any catch really. And worst of all... author did fall to every possible cliche there can be find. Story could've been nice, even interesting... but it ended up to be pointless failure.
But... at least language was nice.
But... at least language was nice.
January 27, 2020
I'm on a J. C. Owens binge, and so far this is the best novel I've read from her.
A real slow burn romance that doesn't take the up the whole of the book. There is an actual plot and place for character growth. All of it packed in the awesome writing of Owens. If you are interested in the author's books, you should definitely check this one out.
A real slow burn romance that doesn't take the up the whole of the book. There is an actual plot and place for character growth. All of it packed in the awesome writing of Owens. If you are interested in the author's books, you should definitely check this one out.
January 4, 2024
This was good, I liked the overall vibe and the MCs.
I just wanted more background, maybe a prologue, and the epilogue wasn’t really an epilogue because it just followed the last chapter. Also the last little bit was way too rushed, him dealing with the fallout of losing his father, getting wings, moving to a town of rejects, falling in love. The pacing was not there towards the end.
I just wanted more background, maybe a prologue, and the epilogue wasn’t really an epilogue because it just followed the last chapter. Also the last little bit was way too rushed, him dealing with the fallout of losing his father, getting wings, moving to a town of rejects, falling in love. The pacing was not there towards the end.
November 25, 2015
Love JC Owens' fantasy novels. Brenaith was a little whiney at times but overall I enjoyed watching his relationship with Shay develop. Shay's behavior continued to be a source of wonder for Brenaith.
December 28, 2016
I read this in one sitting - couldn't put it down
This book had some great world building and a fascinating mythology. I wasn't completely clear in the end if Brenaith was actually still fully human, or if he too had been changed.
This book had some great world building and a fascinating mythology. I wasn't completely clear in the end if Brenaith was actually still fully human, or if he too had been changed.
May 19, 2017
Is it bad that I wanted this book to be nastier than it was. It looked like it was going to be all depraved and then it turned into something about lurv. Lurv and understanding. Maybe even peace, love and understanding.
February 19, 2019
Shay is such a passive character, but he's not innocent and that made it nigh impossible to like him or to ever see him as a role model for others like him. What I'm basically trying to say is that the end of the story didn't seem at all consistent with the beginning. Two stars.
November 12, 2015
Fascinating fantasy
Another fascinating fantasy by this amazing author. A human slave is given to a demon. Both must learn from each other to survive the future. M/M romance
Another fascinating fantasy by this amazing author. A human slave is given to a demon. Both must learn from each other to survive the future. M/M romance
November 25, 2015
3.5 stars
March 23, 2016
3.5 stars
December 10, 2015
3.5 Stars
January 20, 2019
Hurt, comfort, torture and hopefulness abound in the book - loved it!
January 27, 2016
Very interesting read with a bit of a twist.
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