Prince in Leather

Hearth Motel #1

by Holley Trent

An inherited curse has kept depressed innkeeper Simone Bristol bound to a rundown beach motel for the past six years. Just when she has a chance to break free of it, some visiting guests check in and reset the curse’s clock. They may have foiled her getaway, but it turns out one of those guests could be her respite.

Heath Horan, Sídhe prince and leader of a crew of fairy, motorcycle-riding assassins, claims she’s his fated mate and her ticket out of there. Unfortunately, he also claims that her mother was a runaway from the fairy realm and that Queen Rhiannon—his mother—would love to see both women dead. It seems Simone has walked from one curse into another.

She may be able to get used to being the main squeeze of a sword-wielding prince in leather, but she’s not so sure she’s cut out to be an assassin, too. Unfortunately, if she wants to stay alive long enough to break her curse and help Heath subdue unrest in his realm caused by his mother’s antics, she might have to be.

***Contains scenes of explicit sensuality suitable for adult readers only.***

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Fae, Urban Fantasy, Magic

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 29, 2013

About the author

Holley Trent is a romance author who spins campy yarns set in North Carolina. She has a wicked sense of humor and regularly puts her story characters into unexpected situations.

When she's not writing, she's reading or eating Twizzlers.

Her contemporary and fantasy romances have been published by Crimson Romance, Calliope Romance/Musa Publishing, and she has work due for release by Lyrical Press.

2013 brings a change of pace with her self-published series of paranormal novellas: Shrew and Company. Five women, five romances, one big bear of a problem. Check out boss-lady Dana's story in THE PROBLEM WITH PADDY, available now.

Reviews

[Ivy Deluca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew biker fairies were a thing?


3.5 stars
During the month of romance discussions on Romance Twitter, and this was an author who came highly recommended. I can see why people are into this ‘verse and Ms. Trent’s writing.

As far as worldbuilding, I was super intrigued with the different realms and how fairies, the Afotama and the like all co-exist. The reader gets to learn alongside Simone, as she realizes that besides being cursed, she’s half Sidhe and destined to play her role in the upcoming power shift in the Sidhe realm. Which brings me to an important point. Ms. Trent’s books are separate series but they’re so interconnected, it’s important to read them in order to get the full effect. So I’m going back to read The Viking Queen’s Men and then follow the reading order suggested by Ms. Trent. The ‘verse and the overarching storyline were standouts to me.

The romance, on the other hand, was ….ok. It certainly plays its part in the story, but I wouldn’t say it’s the star attraction. Simone spends a good amount of time doubting herself and Heath’s commitment to her and I didn’t blame her. For a romance, it lacked a certain passion between the characters. It’s insta-relationship, but not insta-love. Let’s just say the romance didn’t make me bust out my “I <3 Simone & Heath” T-shirts.

I was way more interested in how they factored into Thom’s relationship with his fated mates, which speaks volumes. One point that’s hammered home more than once is the practicality and sexual openness of the Sidhe. Add in a dash of BDSM into the mix, and the sex was interesting, but again, not romantic, at least not to me.

All in all, if you’re into UF/F with very sexual open characters and a bit of romance, this may work for you. If you’re very romance-centric, I’m not sure if it’ll be your cuppa. Personally, I enjoyed it enough that I want to read the whole series, so back to the beginning I go.


For more reviews, visit

[Cee · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 45%

UGH I'm so sad, because I actually broke down and bought this one because the synopsis really interested me.
Here's the thing... it felt like I Was dropped right in the middle of a story universe. I have no idea who these other characters are, what they do, or why I should care. So. Many. Names.
But the main reason I DNF'd this one was because of the romance. I was so uncomfortable with it. Everyone was pushing him on her -- forcing her to love him without him actually doing any work to woo her. She's new to this world, overwhelmed, and expected to just have sex with him because he wants it. Here are my initial, immediate thoughts "Yup no actually this is gonna be a DNF. I was trying not to since I bought it, but the "he could have made you his plaything but isn't" is NOT a sexy line nor in any way endearing. They keep forcing her onto their level, but aren't trying to understand HER. And their first time is going to be a threesome because she has a mental block against touching him instead of say slowly working on the block themselves."

The whole set up for this first time having sex made me so, so mad. So, yeah hard pass and now I need to forget I bought it :(

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book!! I was scrolling down the pages (I received a PDF version) as fast as I could because I wanted to know what would happen next! So, in the Prince in Leather the title is to be taken quite literally. We have a young woman named Simone who gets saddled with misfortune due to some nasty and quite tricky relatives. She just wants freedom. She wants to go back to her old life, but it is definitely not in the cards for her. Not a minute before she can get her freedom back, a biker gang stops by her place of work, the Hearth Motel. The catch is, these bikers are not of the common variety. Their leader and reason for the title is Heath. Heath and his crew are hunters who carry out his mother's dirty work. When Heath and Simone meet they realize there may be hope for them yet. Simone wants to escape her imprisonment and Heath wants his mother offed. Along the way of their relationship there is plenty of action and lusty scenes. I especially enjoyed the parts that Heath's right-hand man played. Heath and Simone are a great match and I can't wait to see where they end up. If you love the fae in general, matches made in heaven (or elsewhere), great beat-downs, lusty romances, and ever-growing suspense this is more than likely a book for you.

[Mara · Rating 1 out of 5]

A snooze fest of epic proportion. At 45% I risked death by utter boredom. There's nothing to it, no plot, no characters, let's not talk about world building. There's nothing, nothing happens at all... except a big fat of.... nothing.
And I am not exaggerating, I'm sorry to say.
Even free it's not something I can recommend. It succeeds only in being somewhat irritating when the f*kward that is the 'hero' tries to speak. But then his only characteristic is smirking or the like.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this in The Masters of the Hunt Box Set

And I couldn't finish it. It was over the top (which I should have guessed from the title)
but not clever or funny...it just made me roll my eyes...repeatedly.

[Misa Buckley · Rating 1 out of 5]

An asshole who's rich and has a big d*ck is still an asshole. And to act like an asshole about his fated mate after he's found out how long her behaviour has already been a compulsion? Double no.

[Tori · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know how this book managed to take so many things I like (soulmates! urban fantasy! found family! weird sexual friendships!) and come out with something so... ick. but it did.

[Leigh Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typically I read series in order but for whatever reason, I read the second book in the Hearth Motel series first and now I’ve circled back around to catch up. Par for the course with Holley Trent, I couldn’t put it down! I loved learning more about the Sidhe fairies.

Heath came on very strong at the beginning. In part, because he didn’t realize Simone didn’t know she was a fairy and also didn’t know anything about how mates work in that realm. So he knew they were fated mates but she had no clue and had a lot of catching up to do. Understandably, she’s not immediately on board with the fated mates program. But while Heath could be aggressive in communicating how much he wanted her, he was also patient and let her set the pace, for the most part. He also reminded her that she was his wife, even if she wasn’t ready to think of him as her husband. They proved to be a great team. I was sad for Simone seeing just how much she’d given up in the past six years while she was cursed to stay at the motel with no relief or support. Especially because she was mere minutes from the curse breaking when Heath and his crew showed up, resetting the clock all over again. It was good to watch her have community, on top of having a partner. Plus, there were some excellent steamy scenes. Fairies have some very progressive ideas about sex and relationships!

CW: side character with burn scars, violence, toxic parent, attempted kidnapping

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy hotness Batman! Scruffy, greasy, semi-motorcycle-y Heath cleans up nicely and Simone, wary and doubtful - and who could blame her? A motorcycle “fairy” claims she is his fated mate. Plus her family didn’t leave her all that trusting in the first place ... I’d have issues with doubt too! But Heath proves his love and commitment over and over and drags Simone into his and surprise! Part her world.
I’m loving the interconnected nature of Afotama and Hearth Hotel and can’t wait to dive into more.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book . I'm so looking forward to the next in this series. Gr8 writer. :-)

[Elena Johansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of those reads that was so disjointed, I hardly know where to start unpicking the tangle of my thoughts about it. So let me try a point-by-point list format.

World-building: Sucks. Even if we set aside the weird grafting of pseudo-Irish fae onto a biker gang (hey, genre-mixing is fun sometimes, I applaud the creativity if not the end result) there's a slapdash quality to everything, curses and goddesses and fairy mythos piled together without anything resembling a plan. I admit my paranormal fantasy reading is limited to one big-name author and several lesser-known indies, so pardon my comparison to the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews: but this story is like the first KD book, only with even less explanation for anything. (I loved the whole series ultimately but I did feel the world-building in the first two novels could have been clearer.)

Characters: Too many and too shallow. And I mean waaaaay too many. There's the main couple, fine, but they've also got a third wheel grafted onto them, sort of. And that third wheel has two fated mates, apparently, and part of the story involves them, and also like six other characters surrounding them. And there's twelve members of the gang total, which isn't unreasonable in theory, but taking a whole chapter to randomly assign two more of them their mates from among the heroine's incredibly tiny circle of friends felt excessive and clunky. And there's a subplot about figuring out the heroine's fae lineage, which introduces several of her family members, and the first one we meet (her grandpa) is kind of entertaining and probably justified his place in the story, but everyone else shows up for ten seconds and acts like they own the place (story.) But I know nothing about these people! Why are they important?

Plot: what plot? No, seriously, what happens? There is no overarching story line beyond the romance, it's just a bunch of hooligans freeing the heroine from her curse (sort of) before the end of the first act, when I was under the impression that was a serious obstacle in her life, and then they just spend the rest of the book gallivanting around picking off minor bad guys and getting a tiny bit roughed up by Queen Bitch's guards. Which I guess was supposed to be the main plot, that the romance is putting the heroine in danger from her lover's mom? Only it never felt imminent enough to make it an actual threat, and so much else was going on that had nothing to do with it. Or nothing to do with anything, as far as I can tell.

Romance: blarg. Fated mates is not my favorite trope, but this wasn't even trying to pretend the protagonists had any chemistry, or reason to be together beyond "he says so," or even the slightest bit of sexual tension. The hero is just a gross man-child who steamrolls the heroine in nearly every way possible, including making his second-in-command a part of their sexual proceedings, not explicitly against her will, but definitely with a lot of coaxing to get her comfortable with the idea. I'm not at all against kink in general or threesomes in particular, but all of this felt like it was entirely out of left field, and not justified in any way by their personalities (what little they have) or any sort of thematic necessity.

When I got to the end matter and found out this book is the first in its duology, but not the first in the story universe, the shoddy world-building and vague feeling that I'd somehow been dropped in the middle of something unfamiliar became more understandable. But either it should be able to stand on its own anyway, or there should be some sort of indication in the front matter that this isn't the beginning of the story, and I should not start here.

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mechanically the writing in this book is fine. However, I really disliked it. It was full of quotes like this, "She didn’t want to give in to the six-foot-whatever pain in her ass, but ceding bits of her control to him felt so easy. So…natural." Now, that's not a generalizable quote. That comes from a sex scene and directly equates having sex with the male lead with accepting their relationship and therefore "ceding control" to him...in general, not just in the bedroom. Then random BDSM tropes were thrown in, but not discussed, such that it was inferred him having such control was normal and natural because all women always apparently want to give up their control to a man. So, there's no reason to discuss kinks or anything.

Then a random three-some was thrown in (for their first time together) and it's framed like this: “If he were less kind, he’d make you his plaything,” Thom said. “You may bear the title of wife, but he doesn’t have to treat you like one. He chooses to because he wants you. Do you understand?” Nothing, I repeat, nothing about that is sexy to me. This is the sort of gendered BS that makes me avoid M/F romance for large chunks of time!

I did appreciate the black heroine. You don't see that often enough. And again, the writing is mechanically fine, which is the only reason I haven't given this a one-star. But unless you're particular kink is seeing women subjugated, I wouldn't recommend this book.

[Shayay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is slightly spoilerish, but I think it's something readers should know before starting this book because if I'd know this aspect was in the book, I probably would've pass on it. The main characters engage in threesome activity, which is fine for others to read, but I just don't enjoy that type of thing; it diminishes the connection between the main characters for me, so I tend to stay away from book that type of thing. Also, it was a weird threesome, the guy felt like a creeper to me, so after that I sort of skimmed through the rest of the book because I felt off about the book after that. I do enjoy the premise for this book, and I liked the characters, so I was disappointed that the threesome stuff turned me off the story. If you don't mind that type of thing, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this book. It deals with the Fae, which I find super cool, and the author does have an unique take on the Fae, which was interesting. Also, the ending felt abrupt, and I felt dissatisfied with it. I listened to the audiobook version of this story, and the narrator does a good job, and I enjoyed her performance. Despite enjoying the premise for this book, I think I stay away from the next books in this series, and I may check out other Holley Trent books, but I'll definitely check reviews before I read any of them. Interesting, but not for me.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I liked the premise and found the general plot intriguing, the story was a bit hard to follow in places. I also didn't feel like I understood the main characters very well, even by the end of the book. It seemed more like stuff and characters just got thrown into the mix, which kept it interesting enough to keep reading, but made the flow somewhat disjointed. The romance didn't really happen (sex but not much romance, but also not a hookup--a newish dynamic but one that didn't seem purposeful). The actual story between the characters was confusing at times, and I wanted to skip past the character interactions to spend more time exploring the world the author created key fairies! the whole methodology of getting cursed by a deity! illicit underground fairy antiquities ring! motel remodeling! These were all cool elements but dipped quickly in and out of the storyline All in all, I'm a bit confused about how I feel after reading this book.

[Tabs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ended up being my favorite entry in this world so far but it took me by surprise. The blurb is misleading and put a certain picture in my head and I hadn't been all that intrigued by Heath's previous series appearances. Luckily, I tried it anyway and Simone had me hooked from the get-go. She's a pragmatic and weary cursed motel caretaker who gets bombarded by a group of fairy bikers, quickly discovers the supernatural world, realizes she has power she didn't know about, and finds herself shackled with a fairy prince husband. I loved her so much. I loved how she embraced things but at the same time insisted on going at her own pace as well. I loved Heath's caretaking. I loved the fairy gang finding themselves a home base and digging in. I loved this whole book.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was enjoyable, there were a few places I felt lost, since I hadn't read any of the other inter-connecting world series. I think it sorted itself out in the end. I did feel the flow had a few places that slowed to a crawl, and there were a few places that could have used some more background/world building, or more info on what was going on. Some conflicts seemed to conveniently solve themselves to easily too. The part that I didn't really enjoy, the ménage, it felt awkward & forced to me. I normally don't read ménage type stories. I would have liked to know what ever Thorn said to her, to get her to agree to it, because I thought she was against it until that point, maybe would have helped me to understand her giving in to the three-some in the first place.

[Shhh We're Reading Dirty Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you know that fairies like to ride motorcycles, wear leather, and assassinate bad people? Neither did we! Come along with us as we meet Simone and Heath, and fall into a world where anyone can be cursed when they are at the right moment at the wrong time. When Heath, Prince of the Sídhe, first meets Simone at the motel she has been bound to by a curse, he knew she was his mate. And while Simone is very attracted to Heath and thinks that he is super hot (because he is), she is rightfully hesitant about his claim on her as his mate and their impending future together. This was a fun story of adventure, self-discovery, and fun sexual adventures that include squishy time with Simone and Heath, and Tom. WHAT?! Give us more of Tom, please!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content notes:

- Casual ableism
- Injury
- Violence
- Scars, disfigurement
- Mention of depression
- Discussion of potential murder
- Explicit on page sexual content
- Semi-public sex
- D/s elements
- Interrogation

This book was just so fun! I love Heath and Thom, and I love meeting more of the crew. Simone is such an amazing heroine and I look forward to more of her friendship with Dasha and Zenia. I really enjoyed the romance between Heath and Simone, and I’m so curious about all the machinations at play! Fates are up to something, and I cannot wait to see it all play out!

[Lisa Ezzell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Prince and his Fated Mate!

This book dealt me multiple learning (almost) curves. I havent read any other of this fairy variety. It’s definitly not the tinker bell fairy variety, thats for sure. Think more of monsters and you’d be a little closer to the truth but still not on target. The mate grows up knowing nothing of her genisis. She runs an old motel on theouter banks of North Carolina, reluctantly. In walks her future, in the body of a hunk of beautiful biker guy. This is thestart of adventures in learning who andwhat she is and what she wants out of life.

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. Great characters, interesting personalities, sass and snark, curses and loops, strength, courage, determination, deities, spunk and a good HEA. I would definitely like to read more in this series after reading this book. I can't wait to see more of the other characters. There were a few iffy parts for me but not too bad. Great for the escape read of just getting away for a while. It had me chuckling to myself quite a few times. Maybe a few smirks too. ;) Enjoy!

[Mary Saha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this

I liked that this book opened up the universe beyond Norseton. I really hope eventually the series moves to the group in Africa too. I would Love to learn more about them. Overall this was a good book and a quick read. I did, however, find some of the minor characters more interesting than Heath. He is not really my type I am really glad Thom and his mates also have their own book. Mostly because I am super curious to know how he breaks his curse and what exactly he did to anger Hestia.

[Margaret Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet fated mates

Being caused to run a rundown coastal motel was a fun premise for the heroine. The fairy Prince -motorcycle thug -enforcer was a great foil for her, and I liked the whole motorcycle crew and that it included women. What I had hoped for was a little more conflict, that the Prince would be a little more have a few shades of grey that he would h ave to overcome to be with the heroine. Instead all the conflict was external, from the situation between the fairy realm and earth. So - low angst, sweet story.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a Holley fan and this has a lot of components that are very her, but I wasn't paying attention and didn't realize it was part of a larger world that I'm not sure I've read. It's not a deal breaker with the plot, it stands quite well on its own, but I felt I was missing a little bit of the worldbuilding which is one of my fave parts of her writing. So it's a recommend but if you're like me you'll want to read a couple of the afotama legacy books first.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
This book was an erotic story with supernatural drama at its center. The world of the fae, goddesses, and humans collide with all of the sexuality and brutality that this fictional world commands. The main characters were charismatic and relatable, even as they were otherworldly.

There were moments that felt like plot holes but were figured out eventually. I will be reading more by this author!

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

This is my first time reading Holley Trent. Imagine my shock as I realized this story is set in my home state around the area where I grew up. I really enjoyed the story and look forward to reading the rest of this series and others associated with it. I believe I've found a new favorite author. If you love a sexy Paranormal Romance I highly recommend this book.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this one has sucked me back in to the Afotama series as well. Was not expecting to care except I liked Simone from the start, and her responses to the crazy-ass situation she found herself in, and then I was interested in everything despite myself (and liking the political situation and overlapping characters and the history).

[EvaLovesRomance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving these series so much!!

I am reading these series the way it's advised and I absolutely love and enjoy every character from the afotama all the way to the faeries. The way the books entwined with one another is genius and therefore hooking you into the plot. Loving this author and her writing.

[KindleJo Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, this is so good. Simone and Heath are so much fun (not to mention Thom). This world is captivating, the intricacies and the lore. I love when PNR sits right on the line of UF like this. *happy sigh*

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm DNF'ing this book about 100 pages in. It's slow moving and something about the writing doesn't work for me. I may come back to it at a later date, since I'm not sure if it's my current reading mood or the book.

[Amanda Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start to the series.

This was a great read and a wonderful start to this series. The author gives you enough info on the world and other without it being too much. I really enjoyed it and already got the next two in the series.