Bound

Cursed #2

by X. Aratare

Tiger-shifter Lord Bane Dunsaney released Nick Fairfax from the deal that bound the young man to his service for a year. Then Bane fled, afraid that the beast inside of him would harm Nick if he stayed. He never thought to see Nick again.

Little did Bane know, Nick has chosen to stay at his estate, Moon Shadow, to await the return of the lord who has his heart.

But can lasting love survive when there are tiger-sized secrets between them?

Book 2 of our modern, M/M retelling of Beauty & The Beast.

Cursed: Bound is the second part of a 3-book series. Part 3 is coming out in 2017.

After fleeing his uncontrollable attraction to Nick, Bane never dreamed that Nick would be in his life again. But when the billionaire returns to his estate, he finds Nick waiting for him with open arms.

Bane realizes he has a second chance with Nick. To be worthy of him, Bane wants to become a better man, but their developing romance is overshadowed by his most dangerous secret: Bane is a cursed tiger-shifter, and the beast stirs every time they start to become intimate.

Bane is disturbed by how the tiger wants Nick as a mate, but he finds himself unable to control his possessiveness, especially as Nick ventures out of Moon Shadow and sees the darker aspects of Bane’s life.

And, as a man deeply betrayed by his own father, Bane struggles to understand why Nick won’t abandon the family who treated him so badly…

Cursed: Bound ends on a cliff-hanger, which will be resolved in Book 3, Cursed: Beloved (2017.) Check updates on the series progress here: http://welcome.raythereign.com/catego...

Raythe Reign produces escapist, romantic M/M shifter, fantasy, scifi, adventure, and urban fantasy books and graphic novels.


Other Gay Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Series by X. Aratare:

Cursed: Smoke is a 20,000 word alternate version of the start of Nick & Bane's romance... in a sugar-daddy gay club! It's an alternate timeline and can be read and enjoyed on its own.

Get it FREE here: http://welcome.raythereign.com/free-s...

The Merman Series
The Merman is a 5-book gay paranormal romance series, containing psychic powers, a mostly-naked merman lover, an evil scientist, and true love beneath the waves.

Book 1, Transformation, is free and available on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/Transformation...

The Artifact Series
The Artifact is an M/M detective romance series. The books feature some beloved tropes of both the M/M and bodyguard romance genres! There's a hot bodyguard, his determined young client, an ancient golden sarcophagus, an evil cult, and unsolved mysteries in both their pasts...

Book 2 came out in spring 2016. People who love this series really love it. Check out the first 2 books here:

The Bodyguard Book 1 (Artifact Series):
https://www.amazon.com/Bodyguard-Book...

The Bodyguard Book 2 (Artifact Series):
https://www.amazon.com/Bodyguard-Book...



About Raythe Reign
Raythe Reign produces mostly M/M works following the classic advice - write what you most want to read! As a result, our stories are works

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Audiobook, Fantasy, LGBT

372 pages, ebook

First published November 17, 2016

About the author

X. Aratare is the pseudonym for Raythe Reign's Gay(M/M) books.

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2018: In desperate need of a good editor. The story has some good bones but needs some finesse.

Note: If the author calls Omar “the Indian man” one more time, I’m going to tear my hair out.

AUDIOBOOK March 6, 2019. DNF
The narrator completely changed Nick’s voice into a woe-is-me, hormonal, teenaged girl. Even Omar’s voice is changed. This made it sound all the more melodramatic. No thanks. Dislike this narrator. And the lack of research into tigers still makes my blood boil.

[⚣Michaelle⚣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a 4 but much better than a 3 so I can't see rounding down, especially as I am eager to get to the next installment because...Argh, another cliffhanger.

I'm a little reviewed-out from writing my last one, but I do have to type something since this is a challenge read. That said, I really did like the flashback to Dane's past, to seeing what happened to him, how he ended up with the Tiger Curse, and why he is so mistrustful of love...the thing that will eventually set him free if only he'd allow himself to feel it. Those sections were heart-breaking to listen to; even though the events were mentioned in the previous book, getting the complete story from his POV enriched the tale immensely.

I'm a little miffed at Nick, though. After that lunch with his family, he's still standing by them...and risks everything he has with Dane (the developing relationship, not the clothes/gifts/money - he could care less for all that) by asking him to set those assholes free of the agreement. I mean, I get it: It might be hard to love someone that puts your family out on the street & takes everything from them...but given their actions and attitudes (which have NOT changed), they're not learning from the opportunity Bane extended them. Aren't trying to be better people. IMHO, at some point, you gotta wash your hands of it all.

Still waiting for the Big Reveal and how Nick handles it. I think he's gonna be upset that Dane didn't trust him and that will lead to More Drama and/or a Big Misunderstanding...

But I gotta say that I am intrigued and engaged by the narration and story so I'm sticking with it to the end.

[Santy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good as well though it got a bit too saccharine in some parts for my tastes.

The MCs were also too oblivious to glaring things that could be spotted from the moon. Case in point was the whole Devin issue. Honestly, how many times does Devon get to act like a snake before he’s finally cut off? Sheesh.

However, the story managed to bring it back in for the last parts of the book with my favorite being the very last paragraph:


“And then the beast spoke, You have failed.  You have lost our mate.  Now it is my turn. We do things my way. Nick has run. So I will chase.”

PS: yes it ended on a Cliffy as well. Hold on to your hats!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is every-effing-thing!

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly I enjoyed this one SO much less than book one. Basically the entire book felt completely unnecessary, as it really was just the same thing over and over again with zero actual progression of plot in a substantive sense. I think this trilogy could likely have easily been a duology, and I'm hoping the final book will be more enjoyable since we'll have to actually make some progress on the issues introduced in the first book.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Yarie ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

18+- RTC- Very enjoyable

Rating: 3.5 Stars.
Steam: 6 out of 10.
Triggers: None
Love Triangle: No
Cheating: No
HEA: Yes

[Duck · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had such potential but Nick and his absolutely ridiculous whiney bitch hypocrisy ruined it.

One minute he's all my family is so awful. The next minute he's oh Bane is worse than my family. Men do not act like this. If you're going to turn a fairytale into an MM version, then make it an MM version. Nick's constant vaciliating made very little sense.

I can't actually count how many times "the billionaire", "the big man" and "the Indian man" were used. The book needs an editor and variety in sentence structure desperately.

Skip it.

[Annie Elm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second part

The second book begins with Bane coming back and he and Nick are getting closer and closer again.
But with Banes secret, Nicks family and other people trying to break them apart it's not easy.

I love that we got to see a little more of the Beast and Banes relationship with him. Someone I don't like is Devon and his seeds of dou9.
Bane and Nick are such a wonderful couple if Bane just could trust again.

[Arta reads at night · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf. I hoped that the second book will be better. It wasn’t. So I’m leaving this series be.

[Deirdre Ellison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

A wonderful continuation of the story. Loved both Nick and Bane and the chemistry was great. Anxiously waiting for book 3.

[Widya Vello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cliffhanger. Ah Bane and Nick, you guys really broke my heart. It's a good thing that the 3rd book already in my hand.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (6/3/2021)! 🎁

[Aeron · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a whole-series review.

TL;DR: Cool story, slightly shallow in some parts, but gives a satisfying HEA. It would be a decently good read except it's plagued by technical issues that are front-and-center levels of distracting. I finished the series because I wanted to know how Nick and Bane turned out, but I won't read this author again for a long while due to the issues.

The longer version...
Alright, so this is probably the most polarizing series I've ever read. There are things about it that I loved and things that I fucking despised.

Is it a sweet, intriguing story with a unique background? Yes. I especially loved the portrayal of the tiger spirit, very adorable. It was definitely a different take on "shifters" and one that kept me turning pages.

I also liked the pacing for the most part, as well as the interweaving of the back history. Some parts, particularly in book 2, seemed to drag a bit, but it wasn't anything crazy. The resolution of family and "endgame" stuff near the end of the third book felt a bit rushed. I would have to limit my rating to a 4 for that reason, but still a good read...

And if those were my only thoughts, I would have indeed rated this an overall 4. But so far I've just covered the things I liked. Now let's talk about the fucking problems.

Let me first say these next things are basically technical issues. I normally don't care about that too much. Seriously, mistakes happen, no biggie. I rarely knock ratings for technical issues unless they are egregious, and even then it's usually just a minor half-star bump or so. What I'm about to list off, though, yeah I'm giving that rating a FULL 2-STAR DROP. It's that fucking bad.

HOLY REPETITIVE PHRASES, BATMAN! The epithets are out of fucking control. Do you know how many times the author says "the billionaire" or "the billionaire's" to refer to Bane or something of his? 107 times. That's an average of once every 5-6 pages. Yes, I counted with a search. "The billionaire" this and "the billionaire" that. Jesus, he's Bezos, we fucking got it the first 5 times (i.e. in chapter 1). It's even more stupid when you realize that not much of the story has to do with how rich Bane (or anyone else) is... why the fuck does it matter if he's a billionaire?

Another insanely repetitive phrase is used nearly as many times, describing Bane's "Siberian blue eyes". I'm not kidding people. It is used verbatim over and over and over just like that. It is so fucking cringe after the first few times.

And the icing on the cake for repetitive phrases, while also doubling as some of the most passively racist shit I've ever read in a novel... I present you the phrase "the Indian man," aka Omar! I think he's referred to as "the Indian man" just as many times as he's called by name. You are NEVER allowed to forget he's Indian. Ever. He's a cool character (though a tad bland), but holy fuck, author. Do a find/replace in your text editor for these phrases. The books will be instantly better. Did I mention Omar is an Indian man?

Finally, I save the most infuriating thing for last: the fucking use of italics. So normally, as basically everyone knows, authors use italicized words to convey emphasis. Well, if that's the case here, then this author really wants to emphasize the fuck out of EVERYTHING. Italicized words are used a MINIMUM of 5 times per page. PER PAGE. PER FUCKING PAGE. I'm not kidding, not exaggerating. At all. It was so distracting that I nearly DNF'd this series a handful of times despite really liking the story. Oh, and there was an Indian man, too, Omar I think is his name.

I eventually trained myself to completely ignore the italicized words and then it wasn't quite as painful. But it still fucking sucked. Whenever some dialogue rolled around that actually called for emphasis, I spent several moments re-reading and deciding whether to mentally inject emphasis and where. It was exhausting, and that was in between reading about the billionaire and his Siberian blue eyes.

I once again remind you that I do not usually care much for technical issues. So for me to bitch about this... yeah I will not be reading any other of this author's work for quite some time. Which is sad because they are clearly talented at creating interesting stories and characters. But damn does it need an editor. Or even just a single beta reader, fuck. Hopefully their future work will not have these problems and I can revisit later.

There's an Indian man in this story, by the way. Can't remember his name anymore, but he's definitely Indian, and a man. He's the billionaire's servant, you know the billionaire with the Siberian blue eyes.

Fucking eye roll.

Broken (#1): 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 because cuteness, dropped to 2 for technical issues
Bound (#2): 3 stars, dropped to 1 for technical issues
Beloved (#3): 4 stars, dropped to 2 for technical issues

[Andrew Mattson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typically, I always find the middle books of a three part series the most intriguing and fun since it contains a lot of the series build up from the first half and ends with an excitement to leap to the final book and continue the story and see how it ends.

This book contains that core energy as a middle book:

1. We finally get to see more romance blossom between Bane and Nick and as always, X. Aratare’s more intimate sections of his writing do make me blush.

2. We finally learn Bane’s full back story of his first lover, Alistair, who betrayed him a century ago when Bane was just 18 and became his lover only to dump him and leave him at the mercy of his homophobic and abusive father for money so we now know in detail why Bane was so bitter about loving and opening up to anyone and how that anger lead him to that faithful hunt where he killed the Tiger spirit that caused him to be cursed with the tiger beast inside of him. This was by far my favorite part of the story as it was just so powerful and emotional of all Bane went through and he had opened up and finally told Nick about his past (leaving out the fact that he’s cursed, immortal, turns into a Tiger every month at full moon, and the tiger spirit seems obsessed with Nick as he is).

3. We also see the tension finally burn and explode between Nick and Band since Bane is still keeping his secret of the beast hidden and the fact that their relationship is clouded by Bane still having control over Nick’s greedy family and could toss them out on the streets. While nicks family is cruel, Nick dissent have the heart to see them suffer and this was a very interesting point of view as Bane was so quick to cut out the people that hurt him where Nick wants them to grow and change and had seen better qualities in god father and brothers at times so both their experiences in life are shaping their opinions on the matter and of course, with secrets and power imbalances straining the relationship, without complete trust, regardless of how much love they may have, it shows the relationship cannot exist without that trust and openness fully there.

Overall, a good romance novel and I look forward to competing this series in the third and final novel.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another exciting chapter in this multi book retelling of Beauty and the Beast

In book two things are progressing with Nick and Bane’s relationship. Bane has returned from a month away to find Nick still living at Moon Shadow. He is so thrilled to find him there and realizes that he needs Nick.

The relationship moves along but Bane is still keeping secrets and Nick’s family situation is a barrier between them. Additionally there are other forces standing between them, especially Bane’s spirit within (the Beast) which Bane still stupidly does not understand despite Omar trying to tell him.

There’s a nice build up to the crisis moment as various bricks are laid by outsiders only concerned about their own interests. The author very cleverly conceived of a way to incorporate the spirit of Gaston into the proceedings.

As things blow up in the end of this book in a very ugly way the cliffhanger ending had me on the edge of my seat. On to book 3!

[Sharon Hatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The closer Nick and Bane get the farther apart they become. When Bane returns from Europe a little worse for wear, he is shocked to find Nick still at Moon Shadow. Things get steamy but Bane wants to take it slow for fear of letting the tiger loose and harming Nick. Unfortunately, intimacy is not the only problem plaguing their relationship, secrets, family, old flames, and differences in perspective (colored by past experiences) threaten to split Bane and Nick apart. I love these characters, everything they go through and overcome just seems to uncover more obstacles, the story is gripping and I cannot wait to read more!
**I voluntarily chose to review a copy of this book and I have not been compensated in any way**

[Monika · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
I am super unhappy with this book. I found out that the author simply wants us to never get an ending of this story. This whole thing is so lenghty for no reason. This story is for one book, maybe two maximum, but no, the author needs three books for Nick to find out about Bane and for them to actually get settled..... This second book bored me to death and I don't think I will actually finish it. Since this story is a rendition of a famous story it's not like we don't know what will, in some way, actually happen. So this was too dragged out. The story is not good enough (entertaining enough) to keep me reading it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cursed: Bound by X. Aratare – This is a second part in a serial and on Kindle Unlimited! Bane comes home from his month long sulk in Europe after he accidently shifts and injures Nick to find that Nick is more resilient than he guessed. And just when you think Bane is going to confess everything, he clams up at the most important part! Bane’s past, exs, and secrets are all conspiring to keep him miserable. This time it’s going to be Nick who walks away unless the tiger has something to say about it! Several sweet and funny moments in here amid me wanting to bang my head on the desk at Bane’s hard headedness! Happy Reading!

[Lisa Tobleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

still hate flashbacks

So I Adore almost every book Aratare puts out. And I’ve read most of them and preordered the ones that are ongoing. I Still hate flashbacks though. I don’t care if they explain something in the present, make it brief and incorporate it somehow in the story. I do not want to jump back in time and relive a past relationship no matter how momentous. However, yeah. I’m over Mr Tiger’ idiotic behavior. Jade, and even his ex are correct. The power imbalance (and the lying) can’t allow a healthy relationship. Onward to book three and raise a glass of your preferred beverage to a Really great adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.

[Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in love with this series. I can't wait for the last book, but I also don't really want it to come out because I know it will be over. I love Bane and Nick and Omar. The only thing that I don't like is the overuse of italics. I hope there aren't so many italics in the next book! They take away from the story because I have to read two or three times to figure out how the author wanted the words to be stressed. 95% of the time I end up reading it as if there are no italics at all and it sounds perfect.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book continued on with Bane and Nick's relationship and everything is going wonderfully. Well, except for the Tiger and Devon (remember him?) which his meddling in trying to break up the loving couple.


The last couple of chapters brings about the angst of Bane and Nick's relationship to an all time high with everyone meddling from family to foe and leaves us with another cliffhanger. So if you start this series you might as well buy all three books, because you won't want to wait to get into the next book!


I love this series!

[Joe Burleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok. Let’s talk. I love this series. But for the love of GOD, this author needs to use more words to describe their characters. OH MY GOD WE KNOW ORMAR IS FROM INDIA! OH MY GOD! WE KNOW BANE IS A BILLIONAIRE. And OH MY FUCKING GOD WE KNOW HIS EYES ARE SIBERIAN BLUE. Jesus Christ! If I had a dollar for every time those phrases were used, I’d have more money that Bane! If I hear “The Indian man” “the billionaire” or “Siberian blue eyes” one more time, I’m going to shift I to a tiger and kill someone!

[Sydnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot:
Picked up nicely where the previous book left off. Had a reasonable escalation of conflict. Deviates from any real sense of ‘retelling’ the classic Beauty and the Beast story, but I’m cool with it.

The sex:
As in the previous book - MxM, romantic and sensual, slow paced and satisfying

The characters:
As in the previous book, the characters were enjoyable and likeable. They do fall into tropes, but it wasn’t necessarily a fault.

Tl;dr:
Plot continues at a reasonable pace, sex is satisfying and sensual, and the characters are still likeable, if common tropes.

[+Thomas Hooker]

This writer, X. Aratare, has kept me reading from book one through book two and now into book three. The story line is wonderful because the characters each have their own lives and are also able to learn to share those with others. In this book I found that the two main guys, Max and Tommy, may have gotten a push from someone who "knows" about what they're up to and wants them to get-it-together. I sure am hopng the awesom writer doesn't have this scattered over 25 volumes (grin).

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

While I still liked the idea of the story, and generally liked the plot, there were issues. There’s a lot of angst. I get that Bane has things he’s dealing with but he keeps making things worse. I really feel this story could have been told over two books instead of throwing in the wrench at the end of this book to stretch it out to three. I want to know what happens and as it’s on KU I’ll read it, but I don’t think I’d pay for it otherwise.

[Navyvet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this were heartbreaking, though it made for a compelling story. We learn more of Bane's backstory. There is violence and betrayal. Bane's father and Alistair were despicably cruel, evil people. I believe in Karma. Karma has no menu, you get served what you deserve. Bane's mother's story is so sad. So much trauma. It all explains a lot about what made Bane the way he is. In spite of some distracting typos and such, this book was hard to put down.

[Nick Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this sequel. I like how we delved deeper into Bane's backstory and why he is the way he is. I also liked how we got to see Nick's feelings about being in the couple's arrangement and how it isn't all sunshine and rainbows, like there's actual work involved. I do find Bane a bit whiney at times but overall I thought the story was a good read.

[Melissa Polk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I wonder how this story can keep going for another book, it smacks me in the face and gives me a very disappointed look for doubting. I'm so very committed to this story and these characters. (not gonna lie, though. Bane is a stubborn idiot and Nick is somewhat willfully oblivious at times.)

[K.C. Riley-Gyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are times when errors can ruin one’s reading pleasure. Despite this being a good story, I did find the errors annoying. I did enjoy the story and the characters. If you can work past those errors, then this story is a good read.