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The Chronicles of Erla #1
Here She Rules
A trans-dimensional rift takes Cassandra Powell to a foreign world where she finds herself in the country of Erla—a Queendom ruled by women. After saving the life of Erla’s Queen, Cassie finds herself elevated to a position of power in the new world she discovers she can never leave. She is bestowed honors and a bevy of beautiful male slaves, who live to serve her every desire.
She soon finds herself at war with brutal enemies as well as with herself as her entire view of life and what is right and wrong undergo a dramatic transformation. Determined to make a place for herself in this new world, she learns to embrace her situation, discovering the pleasures to be found in the arms of the beautiful men that now belong to her, body and soul.
She soon finds herself at war with brutal enemies as well as with herself as her entire view of life and what is right and wrong undergo a dramatic transformation. Determined to make a place for herself in this new world, she learns to embrace her situation, discovering the pleasures to be found in the arms of the beautiful men that now belong to her, body and soul.
483 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 26, 2014
26 people are currently reading
180 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 4, 2016
I was asked to read and review Here She Rules and give it and honest review. I really like the story and the concept behind it was fun and entertaining. What keeps me from giving it a higher rating than a 3 is it is just too wordy. The world built is beautiful; I understand the author wants to give us every nuance, but when I am reading that the character is reliving themselves, then dressing, then eating, it just gets boring and brings down the story. Less is more. For example:
“Cassie threw back the furs and stood, shivering slightly in the morning chill as her men groaned at the cold. She quickly threw on her parka and boots and went out to answer nature’s call. As she was making her way back, Nera passed her and smiled as she went to take care of the same thing.
While she had been gone, the men had started a fire and were preparing food and comfortingly hot tea. They insist Cassie sit while they finished making breakfast and prepared the equipment for travel. When Nera came back, breakfast was ready and the rest all sat down to eat.”
These two paragraphs contribute nothing to the story. We already know the men take care of the women’s every need. The story was filled this type of over wordy ness and just made the story incredibly longer than it needed to be. Those two paragraphs could be summed up in one sentence and make for a much smoother read. “Cassie and Nera woke the next morning, dressed quickly from the cold and saw to their needs as the men prepared breakfast for everyone.”
Though I loved the concept and the world; I am not sure I would dive back into a second book.
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“Cassie threw back the furs and stood, shivering slightly in the morning chill as her men groaned at the cold. She quickly threw on her parka and boots and went out to answer nature’s call. As she was making her way back, Nera passed her and smiled as she went to take care of the same thing.
While she had been gone, the men had started a fire and were preparing food and comfortingly hot tea. They insist Cassie sit while they finished making breakfast and prepared the equipment for travel. When Nera came back, breakfast was ready and the rest all sat down to eat.”
These two paragraphs contribute nothing to the story. We already know the men take care of the women’s every need. The story was filled this type of over wordy ness and just made the story incredibly longer than it needed to be. Those two paragraphs could be summed up in one sentence and make for a much smoother read. “Cassie and Nera woke the next morning, dressed quickly from the cold and saw to their needs as the men prepared breakfast for everyone.”
Though I loved the concept and the world; I am not sure I would dive back into a second book.
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https://www.facebook.com/BBReviews
September 23, 2021
Fine! I give up! DNF at 61%
I was stubbornly trying to get through it. Wanting so much to give this a fair shot, and also to get my money's worth. But this ain't worth it. No more!
The slavery
So I've seen some reviews take issues with the fact that there's slavery in this. With books like this, though, the slavery is a kink thing. And when written in that spirit... I can overlook it. Unless it presents a problem in the story (as in slavery actually being a bad thing like in real life), then I expect it to be dealt with. Is that foreshadowing? Yes.
My issues
1) Grammar and typos
I'm not a native English speaker. I never learnt how to do the commas. I will always sound slightly awkward in my sentence structure. My point: I can forgive a lot of mistakes in a story. But this? This was truly bad. There were words missing or misspelled almost. every. page. It was driving me mad.
2) Her harem has no personality
Cassie gets most of her harem immediately. She also falls in love with them almost immediately - and them her. Despite this I can barely tell them appart. So little work is put into making them real, fleshed out characters. They're really just there to be hot, sexy, and serving. Legit, some of the men outside her harem get more page time than them.
3) Cassie is too perfect
I have stood up to defend many a Mary Sue. Largely, I think romance readers are too critical of heroines and won't let them excel in the name of "relatability". But Cassie was just too much.
Everything she does makes people love and admire her. She literally becomes the Queen's general - the second most powerful person in the country - in the first chapter.
4) POV switches every paragraph
We jump between people's thoughts all the time. I think this might qualify as omniscient narrator?
The result is that we know what everyone is feeling and thinking all the time. And it's almost always about how much the character loves Cassie. It gets real tiring and real boring, real quick.
5) The slavery 2.0
6) Barely legal men
So while Cassie doesn't have any, apparently the male slaves are schooled in pleasure from fairly young...
Uhm, no, thank you.
7) Unfocused plot and odd pacing
The story jumps from one random story beat to the next with little connection. There is no big plot being slowly built towards. I've used this analogy before, but this felt like something written for wattpad or AO3. Where sometimes you just write with no real end-goal, and you need to sometimes write a filler chapter because you update once a week.
CW:
Final rating
1 star. Now let this be over.
I was stubbornly trying to get through it. Wanting so much to give this a fair shot, and also to get my money's worth. But this ain't worth it. No more!
The slavery
So I've seen some reviews take issues with the fact that there's slavery in this. With books like this, though, the slavery is a kink thing. And when written in that spirit... I can overlook it. Unless it presents a problem in the story (as in slavery actually being a bad thing like in real life), then I expect it to be dealt with. Is that foreshadowing? Yes.
My issues
1) Grammar and typos
I'm not a native English speaker. I never learnt how to do the commas. I will always sound slightly awkward in my sentence structure. My point: I can forgive a lot of mistakes in a story. But this? This was truly bad. There were words missing or misspelled almost. every. page. It was driving me mad.
2) Her harem has no personality
Cassie gets most of her harem immediately. She also falls in love with them almost immediately - and them her. Despite this I can barely tell them appart. So little work is put into making them real, fleshed out characters. They're really just there to be hot, sexy, and serving. Legit, some of the men outside her harem get more page time than them.
3) Cassie is too perfect
I have stood up to defend many a Mary Sue. Largely, I think romance readers are too critical of heroines and won't let them excel in the name of "relatability". But Cassie was just too much.
Everything she does makes people love and admire her. She literally becomes the Queen's general - the second most powerful person in the country - in the first chapter.
4) POV switches every paragraph
We jump between people's thoughts all the time. I think this might qualify as omniscient narrator?
The result is that we know what everyone is feeling and thinking all the time. And it's almost always about how much the character loves Cassie. It gets real tiring and real boring, real quick.
5) The slavery 2.0
6) Barely legal men
So while Cassie doesn't have any, apparently the male slaves are schooled in pleasure from fairly young...
He is 17 cycles, and is just learning his household skills. He is being schooled in pleasure.
Uhm, no, thank you.
7) Unfocused plot and odd pacing
The story jumps from one random story beat to the next with little connection. There is no big plot being slowly built towards. I've used this analogy before, but this felt like something written for wattpad or AO3. Where sometimes you just write with no real end-goal, and you need to sometimes write a filler chapter because you update once a week.
CW:
Final rating
1 star. Now let this be over.
Want to read
November 29, 2019🎁 FREE on Amazon today (11/29/2019)! 🎁
April 26, 2016
***6 Stars*** The Most Fun I’ve Had in a Long Time!!
“Snatched from her life into a different world and time, Cassandra Powell finds herself in a country ruled by women—where men live to serve their Mistresses.”
Here She Rules was a true treat to read. This novel is a scintillating mix of Femdom (*Girl Power* rather than your traditional dominatrix theme), Adventure, Romance, and Fantasy with a hint of SciFi thrown in for good measure.
Cassandra (Cassie) is transported to a world lacking in technology and with customs that lend an almost historical feel to it. There are queens and kings, queendoms and kingdoms, candlelit halls and banquets (as well as romantic bedchambers).
In her new environment, her black belt in karate comes in handy, and after a bit of heroism, she is rewarded with an offer to become the leader of Erla’s armed forces. By the end of the day, though new to the planet of Jiva and the Queendom of Erla, she is second only to Erla’s queen herself! Aside from that amazing social status and job description, she is gifted with her own sumptuously appointed quarters fit for royalty as well as the “demand” that she choose as many male slaves as she wishes. These men will act not only as her consorts, but they will also manage her household and provide for her in any way that she sees fit. All of the men she has to choose from are exceptionally breathtaking, sexy, and despite the role reversal, they are ALL—unmistakably—male!
Of course, in the beginning, having come from a place where slavery has long since been abolished (legally anyway), Cassie has many internal arguments with herself about becoming a Mistress. She soon caves, however. The men of Erla are different from the men of Earth, you see. Genetically, they are predisposed to submissive behavior, and they truly enjoy their way of life (as long as their Mistresses are kind of course). They also lack the testosterone-laden urge to fight. In this realm, the women do the fighting, and the men take care of the household and raise the children. Their domestic skills do not inhibit their sexiness or raw sensuality in any way, however.
Onto my “feelings” about this book… So many things happen on so many levels that it’s a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride, but it is definitely an enjoyable one. In fact, I haven't enjoyed reading anything as much as this in a VERY long time. It was an easy read, and, for once, the plot twists weren't predictable, and it wasn't just one long book forcing me to just sit back and wait for the heroine to get to her happy ending either. The mindsets in this book are very different from most, but they’re not at all offensive if you take the time to understand and compare the differing ways of life amongst the people in the fabulously detailed and diverse world which the author has created for us.
This is not a *true* Femdom book, but I listed that at the start because there are distinct themes of dominance and submission with the women taking the lead for the most part. They are not portrayed how you might expect either. This is truly a perfect world (almost) because it houses a balance of cultures, which have all (mostly anyway) learned to coexist despite radically different social mores.
I wanted to be Cassie as I read this. In most respects, I could see myself in her “Xenaesque” shoes, and that was a pretty fantastic fantasy!
Fun. Empowering. Insightful. Intelligent. I would love to see this on shelves in actual stores someday. This isn't a throwaway; this is a keeper. It felt too good to be in that world (most of the time) to not wish for more or fail to appreciate it!
*Trigger* Warning: I must note that despite the strength of the women and the protected status of the men, neither are invincible. I must warn readers that there are rape triggers present for both the men and the women. In the case of the men, the reader is simply told that it had occurred (no graphic descriptions). With the women, we do read a bit of their experiences. As horrible as they were, the author did a great job of keeping the story flowing by focusing on the strength of the women and how they used the situations to their advantage as much as was possible rather than on the heinous act itself. There is a bit of justice involved later on too!
P.S. Please pass the Jul!
May 2, 2016
Re-read of rewrite of original story. I Love the New Cover! I liked some aspects of this book and others not so much. I like seeing a woman as a leader. Seeing woman who are capable of defending others as well as themselves. I did question where the a the men were said to be genetically engineered to submissive behavior not as fighters, yet they have kingdoms in this same realm where the men think women are merely good to be slaves or spouses. So I can't follow that line of reasoning that it is a genetic thing. Though I see nothing wrong with a man as a submissive if he wants that from his life. Cassie's men however decide to be fighters to save the love of their lives therefore showing its not necessarily genetic just what they choose. I did have a problem with her giving her child up so he wouldn't be raised as a slave if it is a genetic induced trait. That she wouldn't fight to change the way men were perceived in her lands so she wouldn't have the need to separate form her child or separate the children from each other. It is still a good read and gives women a stronger role in their lives showing they can do what they set their minds too.
March 12, 2014
Women rule
I wouldn't call this book a fem-dom book, it is more a re-read book. I loved it. very pro female
I wouldn't call this book a fem-dom book, it is more a re-read book. I loved it. very pro female
September 4, 2019
When I was first contacted with a proposition to review this book I was hesitant at first... I mean, there weren't a lot of reviews online to be found about it, and I wasn't sure if it's a story that I would enjoy... but I decided to give it a try :) and how glad I am for that, because I absolutely fell in love with this book :) it is very hard to describe without spoilers, but I will do my best to convince you to try it as well :) because the best words I have to describe my experience with this story is "fantasy guilty pleasure read" :) and I mean it in the best possible way :) let me try to explain you more, but be sure to stay with me till the end :)
Cassie, coming back home after one of her martial arts classes, stumbles upon a rift and is transported into a completely different world... :) I know, I know... but it took me a moment to adjust to this fact as well, so don't be discouraged, it's definitely worth it :) and when I say different I really mean it... :) she lands in Erla and it's a place where... think about it like this :) it has a vibe of those ancient civilizations, where the men were warriors and kings and women were servants and slaves... it's sort of like that, but in reverse :) Erla is a Queendom, with female warriors as dominant group, and men as submissive slaves... and I know what you're thinking... I needed a moment to get on board of that idea as well, because slaves... well, I wasn't sure if I'm gonna enjoy a story like that... but men in Erla are very passive and as long as their Mistress is fair, they don't want another life... :) believe me, it's much better than you think, so keep an open mind :) so when Cassie lands there, she happens to stumble upon Nera, the queen of Erla and her warriors, being attacked by another vicious group :) she uses her own fighting skills to save her life and in doing so, the grateful queen offers her a position as a commander of her army :)
And in that smooth way, I'm gonna tell you a bit more about some secondary characters now :) so we have Nera, the queen of Erla :) and Kara, Cassandra's second :) they are both great warriors and they befriend Cassie pretty quickly :) then there are of course Cassie's slaves... there are a few of them, but I'm not gonna share their names with you here, because the identity of some of them are sort of a surprise along the way, so I don't want to spoil you stuff ;) but looking at how they adore her... *sighs* originally I was a little bit surprised by how quickly Cassie got used to this brand new reality, but if I had a bunch of sexy and sweet men taking care of me and pampering me on a daily basis, I would probably get used to it pretty fast as well ;) there are of course a lot more important characters... and I mean A LOT ;) but because the book actually takes place over a long amount of time, and some of those characters don't show up until the second half, I don't want to spoil you anything :) but I will say, that in this new world, there are Kingdoms as well, where the men are the dominant group, and we see people from those places as well ;) some very fine people indeed... ;)
I absolutely loved this book :) I mean, it started off pretty good for me, although I needed a moment to adjust to this new world, but the more I read, the more I fell in love with this story :) I adored how strong the women were in this book, and I am not talking only about Cassie :) there were lots of examples for that :) I was really wondering what can happen, because it's a pretty long book and I am very pleased to say... a lot :) this whole book took place over a very long amount of time and a whole lot of things happen... I mean like gasps-in-shock-almost-drops-my-kindle-while-reading surprising :) it was full of adventure and action and all sort of relationships between characters... I loved to read about romance as well as friendships forming on the pages of this amazing book :) I enjoyed the writing style immensly and cannot wait to read more stories set in this world :) so if you are looking for a fantasy story with strong heroine as the main character... a story that will make you forget yourself and keep you glued to the pages... a story filled with adventures and fantastic relationships, definitely give this gem a try :)
XOXO
A
Cassie, coming back home after one of her martial arts classes, stumbles upon a rift and is transported into a completely different world... :) I know, I know... but it took me a moment to adjust to this fact as well, so don't be discouraged, it's definitely worth it :) and when I say different I really mean it... :) she lands in Erla and it's a place where... think about it like this :) it has a vibe of those ancient civilizations, where the men were warriors and kings and women were servants and slaves... it's sort of like that, but in reverse :) Erla is a Queendom, with female warriors as dominant group, and men as submissive slaves... and I know what you're thinking... I needed a moment to get on board of that idea as well, because slaves... well, I wasn't sure if I'm gonna enjoy a story like that... but men in Erla are very passive and as long as their Mistress is fair, they don't want another life... :) believe me, it's much better than you think, so keep an open mind :) so when Cassie lands there, she happens to stumble upon Nera, the queen of Erla and her warriors, being attacked by another vicious group :) she uses her own fighting skills to save her life and in doing so, the grateful queen offers her a position as a commander of her army :)
And in that smooth way, I'm gonna tell you a bit more about some secondary characters now :) so we have Nera, the queen of Erla :) and Kara, Cassandra's second :) they are both great warriors and they befriend Cassie pretty quickly :) then there are of course Cassie's slaves... there are a few of them, but I'm not gonna share their names with you here, because the identity of some of them are sort of a surprise along the way, so I don't want to spoil you stuff ;) but looking at how they adore her... *sighs* originally I was a little bit surprised by how quickly Cassie got used to this brand new reality, but if I had a bunch of sexy and sweet men taking care of me and pampering me on a daily basis, I would probably get used to it pretty fast as well ;) there are of course a lot more important characters... and I mean A LOT ;) but because the book actually takes place over a long amount of time, and some of those characters don't show up until the second half, I don't want to spoil you anything :) but I will say, that in this new world, there are Kingdoms as well, where the men are the dominant group, and we see people from those places as well ;) some very fine people indeed... ;)
I absolutely loved this book :) I mean, it started off pretty good for me, although I needed a moment to adjust to this new world, but the more I read, the more I fell in love with this story :) I adored how strong the women were in this book, and I am not talking only about Cassie :) there were lots of examples for that :) I was really wondering what can happen, because it's a pretty long book and I am very pleased to say... a lot :) this whole book took place over a very long amount of time and a whole lot of things happen... I mean like gasps-in-shock-almost-drops-my-kindle-while-reading surprising :) it was full of adventure and action and all sort of relationships between characters... I loved to read about romance as well as friendships forming on the pages of this amazing book :) I enjoyed the writing style immensly and cannot wait to read more stories set in this world :) so if you are looking for a fantasy story with strong heroine as the main character... a story that will make you forget yourself and keep you glued to the pages... a story filled with adventures and fantastic relationships, definitely give this gem a try :)
XOXO
A
July 17, 2017
Definitely a unique book on my "sword-and-planet" bookshelf, because of the matriarchal aspect. The world was an interesting one, and the characters were well developed. "Fleshed out", if you'll pardon the pun. But plenty of action, adventure, and romance. And more than a fair share of kings and queens. With the kingdoms as close in proximity as they were, the world must contain many more...
The biggest drawback for me is that it got a bit too repetitive in the domestic situations and the graphic sex. Decades ago, I had to give up John Norman's Gor series because I started skimming over too many overly long "sex slave" scenes (which get boring after a while) to get to the next part of the actual plot. The problem got so prevalent I was eventually skipping over nearly 70% of the books.
In any case, I've already picked up the second book in this series, but I may wait a bit before continuing.
The biggest drawback for me is that it got a bit too repetitive in the domestic situations and the graphic sex. Decades ago, I had to give up John Norman's Gor series because I started skimming over too many overly long "sex slave" scenes (which get boring after a while) to get to the next part of the actual plot. The problem got so prevalent I was eventually skipping over nearly 70% of the books.
In any case, I've already picked up the second book in this series, but I may wait a bit before continuing.
May 3, 2018
I really love this series. I often find myself re-reading it over and over again. I would love to read a story on Cassandra, Willow & Veronica children growing up half traveler half Jivian and the type of people they become. Also what happens to Nelson?
Maybe a story from one of the slaves now Consort (Mika or Raven would be interesting)
Continuing the story from Valen and add what happens when they come back to take over Gevardia.
Lastly, a final story, one last adventure before they retire???
Just some of my thoughts.
Maybe a story from one of the slaves now Consort (Mika or Raven would be interesting)
Continuing the story from Valen and add what happens when they come back to take over Gevardia.
Lastly, a final story, one last adventure before they retire???
Just some of my thoughts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2017
Girl Power
I really enjoyed this book and the world that the author was able to create. Each time I thought the story could not become me in depth a not her layer was added. Plus female ruling, fighting and taking what the wanted and needed is always fun to read.
I really enjoyed this book and the world that the author was able to create. Each time I thought the story could not become me in depth a not her layer was added. Plus female ruling, fighting and taking what the wanted and needed is always fun to read.
Read
June 30, 2016:)
February 1, 2020
OMG!
Wow! I absolutely loved this book. From beginning to end, from world building to action packed fight scenes this book was amazing! It deserves more than 5 stars!
Wow! I absolutely loved this book. From beginning to end, from world building to action packed fight scenes this book was amazing! It deserves more than 5 stars!
November 24, 2017
Here she rules is a work of woman fiction with strong hints of fantasy. Ladies are fierce, formidable, and are warriors. The land of Erla is ruled by women, and this story takes a turn when Cassandra saves the Queen. She is then promoted to a position that provides her with an endless amount of men, all servant to her needs and desires. She has everything she wants but there is a catch, she cannot leave.
When I began to read this book, I felt the strong impulsive need of sensing that the author wished to introduce a more female-dominated world where women are not the ones to be saved, and they are the heroes. Embracing what is, and accepting what you have rather than wanting what you don’t is the message here.
What I did feel at times was how dominant the women were over men, and that took me a while to get used to. The other thing I was not sure about was the book cover. Why would a story with such strong women presence, have a 6-pack male body, as its cover?
The world development was crucial in my opinion, and that was done in a very descriptive way. Cassie falls into this rift that enters her into this fantasy world. The literature standard was in a good manner which made the experience much more pleasurable.
I believe it is nice for once to be able to read about a story where the tables are turned, and women are in charge.
When I began to read this book, I felt the strong impulsive need of sensing that the author wished to introduce a more female-dominated world where women are not the ones to be saved, and they are the heroes. Embracing what is, and accepting what you have rather than wanting what you don’t is the message here.
What I did feel at times was how dominant the women were over men, and that took me a while to get used to. The other thing I was not sure about was the book cover. Why would a story with such strong women presence, have a 6-pack male body, as its cover?
The world development was crucial in my opinion, and that was done in a very descriptive way. Cassie falls into this rift that enters her into this fantasy world. The literature standard was in a good manner which made the experience much more pleasurable.
I believe it is nice for once to be able to read about a story where the tables are turned, and women are in charge.
July 25, 2022
Its a long book. I stopped over three thirds of the way. Its good but not great.
I don't feel anything for the characters Cassie comes in contact with. They don't feel real and you almost forget they are a part of the book till they pop back in.
Cassie traveled by portal to a different world. She ends up in a land ruled by woman, where men are subservient and slaves. Cassie ends up with 4 male slaves in her first few days. Then shortly adds 2 more .
Cassie is strong but I miss a connection with our main character and others.
If you're a addicted reader maybe give this one a miss.
I don't feel anything for the characters Cassie comes in contact with. They don't feel real and you almost forget they are a part of the book till they pop back in.
Cassie traveled by portal to a different world. She ends up in a land ruled by woman, where men are subservient and slaves. Cassie ends up with 4 male slaves in her first few days. Then shortly adds 2 more .
Cassie is strong but I miss a connection with our main character and others.
If you're a addicted reader maybe give this one a miss.
March 5, 2021
DNF at 12% . I really tried but I couldn't finish it. I love alpha males and in this book the males couldn't be further from that.... 😅Also, I didn't like how the heroine immediately changed her ways.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews