What do you think?
Rate this book
Rage #1
Forbidden Monastery
Book One
Rage is a seasoned assassin, and he lives by his own rules. One of them forbids him to kill children, and at sixteen, his new target is definitely too young to die. Instead of breaking her neck, he kidnaps Lucinda of Babylon—and soon finds out the girl has the knack to annoy the hell out of him.
As if taking care of a stubborn girl isn’t enough of a burden, Lucinda’s best friend Keiran joins their escape. And falls in love with Rage. And totally ignores the fact that the man in black, who cannot and will not use magic even to save his own life, does not love him back.
Staying one step ahead of a madman who is desperate to end their lives, Rage and his unwilling companions travel to the Forbidden Monastery, a place where horrible magical experiments once took place. There are ghosts screaming for their blood and dangerous, wild magic is always ready to strike. At the end of the day, two people are dead, and Rage realizes with bitter clarity that his heart can break just as easily as it did when he was young.
Rage is a seasoned assassin, and he lives by his own rules. One of them forbids him to kill children, and at sixteen, his new target is definitely too young to die. Instead of breaking her neck, he kidnaps Lucinda of Babylon—and soon finds out the girl has the knack to annoy the hell out of him.
As if taking care of a stubborn girl isn’t enough of a burden, Lucinda’s best friend Keiran joins their escape. And falls in love with Rage. And totally ignores the fact that the man in black, who cannot and will not use magic even to save his own life, does not love him back.
Staying one step ahead of a madman who is desperate to end their lives, Rage and his unwilling companions travel to the Forbidden Monastery, a place where horrible magical experiments once took place. There are ghosts screaming for their blood and dangerous, wild magic is always ready to strike. At the end of the day, two people are dead, and Rage realizes with bitter clarity that his heart can break just as easily as it did when he was young.
- GenresFantasyM M RomanceLGBT
310 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 26, 2015
1 person is currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Sam C. Leonhard
17 books33 followersSam C. Leonhard is a journalist by profession who lives in southern Germany. Writing has been part of her life since age twenty, but somehow it was never enough to report the latest news about small-town politics. She wrote short stories for friends and family until a few years back she discovered the world of fandom. The Petulant Poetess is where she feels at home; slash became an addiction as soon as she stumbled over the first story.
If not writing—which isn't half as often as she'd like—Sam takes care of her son, her dog, a few cats, the madness at work, and life in general. She likes to believe she’s got some humor left after years of dealing with people who usually don’t understand what she’s talking about when she says she’s writing fantasy and gay porn on top of it.
If not writing—which isn't half as often as she'd like—Sam takes care of her son, her dog, a few cats, the madness at work, and life in general. She likes to believe she’s got some humor left after years of dealing with people who usually don’t understand what she’s talking about when she says she’s writing fantasy and gay porn on top of it.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 7, 2015
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publish date: 26th May 2015
Full review can also be found on: Paein and Ms4Tune’s Book Blog
I like assassin stories, especially when the assassin isn't full of hate...and they accidentally pick up things like stray kittens and annoying young women and mute young men and they all ruin his serious, dark killer image. I just find it so amusing!
Now, before I read this story I read a review, which is something I never, ever do. It was a complete accident and it's also the only time I've ever found it to be a good thing. See, it warned me that the ending was sad and that the blurb for the next book made everything ok. I needed that bit of good news. I'm not sure I'd have found it on my own. I may have been too upset to explore further. Of course, with that warning in mind, this book didn't make it onto the made me cry list, but it was a close one.
This world is interesting; everyone has magic except a select few 'crippled' people. It's not fully explained but as this is book one in a series, I'm not bothered. Enough is covered that I'm not confused while reading, but I definitely have more questions that need answering and I look forward to being shown more of this world.
I'm certainly curious enough to keep reading this series, Rage is a pretty interesting character, and this whole situation is just all over the place enough to be interesting. As to the relationships, within this story, the dynamics are confusing. No doubt it will take a few books to clarify this too. It's predominantly a gay relationship, but there are elements of a threesome in there. How all this develops is key.
And, who names somewhere they don't want people going FORBIDDEN. That's basically a welcome mat. Mad Magician Monastery would have been better, or People Died Here Monastery or something. Sheesh.
August 23, 2015
My rating 3.5. Erotic, dark, but cute M/M Fantasy. This story starts when, Rage, an assassin with an appetite for male prostitutes, gets a job proposal that he cannot accept. Rage has no problem killing for a living, but he draws the line when it comes to rape. His refusal to rape the sixteen-year-old, magical noblewoman, Lucinda, makes him a target for those who sought to hire him. After an attempt on his life, Rage saves the girl and her kitten, and they set off on an adventure as they flee their attackers. Along the way, they run into Lucinda’s mute friend, Keiran. Although Rage is afraid to fall in love due to a painful experience in his past, he and Keiran come together and a romance forms between them.
I was drawn to the darkness of this story, but was also delighted by the sweet humor when the dangerous assassin becomes the protector of a sassy teen girl, a kitten, and a sexy mute boy. Time and again Rage finds himself in the position where he is saving innocence instead of bringing death. I loved the erotic romance in this book, which dipped briefly into menage, as well as some taboo situations. Although the danger they faced as well as the erotic side story kept me interested, I wasn’t fond of how the book ended. I had trouble connecting with and understanding the magic in the final chapters, and the ending was quite sad. However, after reading the blurb for the next book in this series, I was able to walk away from the book with a smile.
I was drawn to the darkness of this story, but was also delighted by the sweet humor when the dangerous assassin becomes the protector of a sassy teen girl, a kitten, and a sexy mute boy. Time and again Rage finds himself in the position where he is saving innocence instead of bringing death. I loved the erotic romance in this book, which dipped briefly into menage, as well as some taboo situations. Although the danger they faced as well as the erotic side story kept me interested, I wasn’t fond of how the book ended. I had trouble connecting with and understanding the magic in the final chapters, and the ending was quite sad. However, after reading the blurb for the next book in this series, I was able to walk away from the book with a smile.
January 13, 2018
The blurb for this book just doesn't capture the feel of the story at all. This is really a shame. I picked it up on sale for $1 in October 2015 and had given up on any intention of ever actually reading it. However, it met a requirement for a reading challenge so I decided to give it a go. I was shocked to discover after finishing it that my entire Saturday had just flashed by while I was completely enraptured by Rage, Keiran, and Lucin—oops, Luca. And I spent the first half of the novel completely hating Luca.
Forbidden Monastery is incredibly well-written, with fantastically witty dialogue, and characters that I just couldn't help but fall in love with. I'm not much of a fantasy reader, and if it weren't for just how much I loved Rage & co. then I don't know how far I would've gotten through it. The things that I'm sure were intended to make Rage unlikable were the same things that made me adore him. He was exciting to read about even in the prologue and opening chapters where he was solo, but it was the side of him that Keiran and Luca brought out that I liked the most. Keiran, as a character, I didn't really connect with outside of his contact with Rage. However, it was Luca I was most surprised to find myself adoring by the end of the book. I disliked her from the beginning, but just as Rage warms up to her I found my general tolerance of her increasing into actual like by the end of the story.
Forbidden Monastery is incredibly well-written, with fantastically witty dialogue, and characters that I just couldn't help but fall in love with. I'm not much of a fantasy reader, and if it weren't for just how much I loved Rage & co. then I don't know how far I would've gotten through it. The things that I'm sure were intended to make Rage unlikable were the same things that made me adore him. He was exciting to read about even in the prologue and opening chapters where he was solo, but it was the side of him that Keiran and Luca brought out that I liked the most. Keiran, as a character, I didn't really connect with outside of his contact with Rage. However, it was Luca I was most surprised to find myself adoring by the end of the book. I disliked her from the beginning, but just as Rage warms up to her I found my general tolerance of her increasing into actual like by the end of the story.
November 1, 2017
Dark MM fantasy
may-be
April 22, 2021Need to figure out if this is MMF or not.
June 25, 2015
A Joyfully Jay review.
4.5 stars
Forbidden Monastery is a fast-paced adventure with a trio of fantastic characters and an intriguing plot. The author has done a decent job of providing a relatable sense of place, though the world building is otherwise limited. The pacing is strong, save for a few places in the middle of the novel that seemed to lag a bit. These sections didn’t last long though and the book really flew by and I definitely wanted more by the time I got to the end. The author’s style of writing is relaxed and approachable and a perfect fit for this novel, as it adds a natural intimacy that works on several different levels.
The characters are the most important aspect of Forbidden Monastery and they bind the various plot threads together to make everything work. Rage is a classic anti-hero. He repeatedly claims to have no use for people or to care about anything but he saves everyone who crosses his path including drowning kittens and fire victims. He regrets it every time but his reluctant bravery makes him all the more endearing. Though he is not always kind, Rage is honest and I appreciated the fact that right or wrong he knows who he is and doesn’t hide from even the darker aspects of his nature.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
4.5 stars
Forbidden Monastery is a fast-paced adventure with a trio of fantastic characters and an intriguing plot. The author has done a decent job of providing a relatable sense of place, though the world building is otherwise limited. The pacing is strong, save for a few places in the middle of the novel that seemed to lag a bit. These sections didn’t last long though and the book really flew by and I definitely wanted more by the time I got to the end. The author’s style of writing is relaxed and approachable and a perfect fit for this novel, as it adds a natural intimacy that works on several different levels.
The characters are the most important aspect of Forbidden Monastery and they bind the various plot threads together to make everything work. Rage is a classic anti-hero. He repeatedly claims to have no use for people or to care about anything but he saves everyone who crosses his path including drowning kittens and fire victims. He regrets it every time but his reluctant bravery makes him all the more endearing. Though he is not always kind, Rage is honest and I appreciated the fact that right or wrong he knows who he is and doesn’t hide from even the darker aspects of his nature.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
September 10, 2015
This one was different from anything I've read, so different I'm jumping right into Book 2 from Netgalley.
Read
December 17, 2015It started ok but I just could not get into to it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews