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The Companion #1
The Royal Companion: An epic love story
Bound by tradition. Now they must follow the rules. SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOOLLAHRA DIGITAL LITERARY AWARDS 2017 Companions are the kingdom’s most beautiful and educated women—possessions of Syrasan’s royal men. Aldara is sixteen years old when she is sold by her farming family to the obnoxious Prince Pandarus as a gift for his younger brother, Prince Tyron. Resistant at first, the new Companion soon realises she must embrace the role or face the consequences of her failure. Prince Tyron has just returned from war. All he wants is privacy to grieve the men who died at the border. At his brother’s insistence, Tyron attends a social hunt where his Companion is introduced for the first time. He senses something beneath the polished exterior presented to him. She is not like the others. While initial encounters between the troubled war hero and his reluctant Companion are awkward, their connection is immediate. But they are soon reminded by those closest to them that there is no place for love between a prince and his Companion. Set amid grief and war, The Royal Companion is a heart-warming love story about what it means to give yourself over to another. Trigger This book contains sexual violence
284 pages, Paperback
First published March 22, 2017
2661 people are currently reading
4650 people want to read
About the author
Tanya Bird
24 books489 followersTanya Bird is a RUBY award-winning author who lives in Brisbane with her hubby, three lively boys, a quirky greyhound, and a lazy whippet. Amid the chaos, she writes across a range romance sub-genres including historical, contemporary, and speculative. She is best known for her dark worldbuilding and high-emotion storytelling. A lover of horses, pancakes, and satire, Tanya dreams of one day attacking her rather long bucket list.
You can find her on Facebook @TanyaBirdAuthor, Instagram @tanyabirdauthor, TikTok @tanyabirdauthor or hiding in the pantry with her stash of chocolate.
Exclusive free reads available at tanyabird.com
You can find her on Facebook @TanyaBirdAuthor, Instagram @tanyabirdauthor, TikTok @tanyabirdauthor or hiding in the pantry with her stash of chocolate.
Exclusive free reads available at tanyabird.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 410 reviews
March 16, 2018
Originally I REALLY LIKED this story. Originally.
The book had some flaws. There was a scene in the beginning where I could not tell who was talking. Tanya gave no clues as to the speaker of the sentences, that was really confusing.
Then in another part of the story, the two characters (Aldara & Tyron) were at a party. They wound up walking into the stables and while in their they could see two other characters near the wine table. I hadn't imagined that the party taking place was in the stable... so how could they see the other characters at the party?
What I'm trying to say is that there were certain times I thought there was absolutely no editor to this book.
But that was ok! Because the dialogue was fast and the plot flew and I loved the girl power through out the story.
Aldara is sold off as a companion, which is basically a concubine. She is the gift from one prince to his brother. She hangs out in the harem and while the girls are kind of catty to each other, there is no REAL underling malice. They're all in this together so to speak. Girl power!
The story was a little cliched. The "ONE" girl that doesn't conform and of course the younger prince (Tyron) wants her to stay just as she is!! But I liked it. I'm here for cliched stories if they can be written in the style I like, which is fast paced dialogue and a good plot to go along with it. Aldara was such a great character, I enjoyed reading her.
I lost all respect for the book at the 71% mark.
This gets spoilery. DO NOT READ AHEAD.
I think it's novel writing 101, that you do NOT give the only dark skin characters in your ENTIRE novel, the part of the bad guy.
And not only the bad guys! BUT THE EVIL MEN WHO RAPE THE HEROINE.
And then! To add salt to an already gaping wound, to have the big conflict at the end involved the dark skinned people (called Zoelins) and have the MAIN CHARACTER TYRON CALL THEM SAVAGES. I'm a city girl. Born and raised in Chicago. I live in the highest mixed neighborhood of Chicago, saying there is 'some' racial tension here is a giant understatement. That is one many words (unfortunately) I have heard racist people use to describe black people. I can not read about it in my books. I can't. The racial undertones... I'm LITERALLY shaking my head.
So the reason the Zoelins are the major conflict at the end is because the older prince (Pandarus) and his dad went into an agreement with the Zoelin King to give over Syrana women as "companions" aka concubines to Zoelin royalty. BUT! After Aldara was brutally raped they're all like "Wow you treat women poorly, this is not a good idea. We're taking our word back on the contract we signed" Never mind that the "Companions" are not allowed to say no to the men they bed. So essentially they are raped every night. Like Pandarus (the oldest evil prince) can literally pass his women around to all his friends but you know they draw the line at Aldara's brutal rape. Never mind that they are judging an ENTIRE race on the behavior or two people.
No person of color was mentioned until the Zoelin's came in at 71% to rape the heroine. That was not cool. Do not do that. Listen, evil knows no race but when the good guys in the book are white and the bad guys are black... it's racist. Don't get me wrong, there were bad white people in this book... but no good black people. That says a lot about the novel.
I just couldn't... I wanted to like this but I couldn't.
The book had some flaws. There was a scene in the beginning where I could not tell who was talking. Tanya gave no clues as to the speaker of the sentences, that was really confusing.
Then in another part of the story, the two characters (Aldara & Tyron) were at a party. They wound up walking into the stables and while in their they could see two other characters near the wine table. I hadn't imagined that the party taking place was in the stable... so how could they see the other characters at the party?
What I'm trying to say is that there were certain times I thought there was absolutely no editor to this book.
But that was ok! Because the dialogue was fast and the plot flew and I loved the girl power through out the story.
Aldara is sold off as a companion, which is basically a concubine. She is the gift from one prince to his brother. She hangs out in the harem and while the girls are kind of catty to each other, there is no REAL underling malice. They're all in this together so to speak. Girl power!
The story was a little cliched. The "ONE" girl that doesn't conform and of course the younger prince (Tyron) wants her to stay just as she is!! But I liked it. I'm here for cliched stories if they can be written in the style I like, which is fast paced dialogue and a good plot to go along with it. Aldara was such a great character, I enjoyed reading her.
I lost all respect for the book at the 71% mark.
This gets spoilery. DO NOT READ AHEAD.
I think it's novel writing 101, that you do NOT give the only dark skin characters in your ENTIRE novel, the part of the bad guy.
And not only the bad guys! BUT THE EVIL MEN WHO RAPE THE HEROINE.
And then! To add salt to an already gaping wound, to have the big conflict at the end involved the dark skinned people (called Zoelins) and have the MAIN CHARACTER TYRON CALL THEM SAVAGES. I'm a city girl. Born and raised in Chicago. I live in the highest mixed neighborhood of Chicago, saying there is 'some' racial tension here is a giant understatement. That is one many words (unfortunately) I have heard racist people use to describe black people. I can not read about it in my books. I can't. The racial undertones... I'm LITERALLY shaking my head.
So the reason the Zoelins are the major conflict at the end is because the older prince (Pandarus) and his dad went into an agreement with the Zoelin King to give over Syrana women as "companions" aka concubines to Zoelin royalty. BUT! After Aldara was brutally raped they're all like "Wow you treat women poorly, this is not a good idea. We're taking our word back on the contract we signed" Never mind that the "Companions" are not allowed to say no to the men they bed. So essentially they are raped every night. Like Pandarus (the oldest evil prince) can literally pass his women around to all his friends but you know they draw the line at Aldara's brutal rape. Never mind that they are judging an ENTIRE race on the behavior or two people.
No person of color was mentioned until the Zoelin's came in at 71% to rape the heroine. That was not cool. Do not do that. Listen, evil knows no race but when the good guys in the book are white and the bad guys are black... it's racist. Don't get me wrong, there were bad white people in this book... but no good black people. That says a lot about the novel.
I just couldn't... I wanted to like this but I couldn't.
July 2, 2017
I have no idea what to make of this. I don’t even know what genre it is. The author says it’s a romance, and categorises it as medieval and Regency, which niggles at my tidy mind - how can it be both? Regency - no way. It has nothing in common with the historical Regency or fictional representations of it. In fact, I discovered it as an advert on the page of one of my own Regency romances, very out of place among the Pride and Prejudice fan-fiction that’s normally advertised there. But since the ad worked on me, I suppose it’s an effective strategy. But this is definitely not a Regency book.
The medieval part, on the other hand, I can just about see - there’s a king and a whole royal family, there’s a castle, the nobility indulge in boar hunting, archery and tournaments, the usual things. But it’s set in a created world, not part of the real medieval world, and to my mind it is clearly fantasy. So, fantasy romance, then? Well, no. Although this is about two people falling in love and being together despite obstacles, the equivocal ending puts it firmly outside the realm of romance. Let’s call it alternate world fantasy, or just a genre mashup. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
The premise: poor farmer’s daughter Aldara is sold by her mother to the obnoxious prince Pandarus, who gives her to his brother Tyron as a Companion. Companions are an interesting concept. On the one hand, their function as royal bed-warmers is a time-honoured and unoriginal one. But they are also trained to be beautiful, talented and adept at conversation, which makes them in some ways comparable to Geisha girls. Aldara finds the transition from independent-minded farm girl to meekly subservient courtesan a difficult one, not helped by Tyron being a reclusive and tortured soul, subject to black moods after action in one of the many border skirmishes plaguing the kingdom.
I found Aldara to be an uneven character. Sometimes she’s behaving with the utmost propriety, curtsying and remembering titles and pretending to be interested in the men’s conversations, as she’s required to do, yet at other times she’s being wildly outrageous, scandalising everyone. I’d have liked to see a little more consistency in her actions, and perhaps a steady progression towards a clearly defined goal. I’m not quite sure, looking back on it now, whether she ever truly accepted her role as Companion or not. It seemed to depend rather a lot on Tyron.
As for Tyron… well, what to say about a hero who causes his love so much grief? Would it have been so hard for him to make some effort to protect her, instead of simply ignoring her? And even when they’re lovers, he doesn’t bother to let her know that he’s safe and well. To be honest, I found his behaviour unforgivable, which is not a word I use lightly. When bad things happen to the heroine, and here the bad things are pretty harrowing, I like to think that the hero would have done everything in his power to prevent the bad things, and that if they happen anyway, it’s because his hands were tied and he was helpless to intervene or protect. But not in this case. Here the supposed hero actually creates the situation where it was almost inevitable that, sooner or later, bad things would happen. So, no, I can’t quite forgive him for that.
Some of the other characters in the book were, in many ways, far more interesting than the two main characters. The retired Companion who trains the new recruits, for instance, is a very complex creation. I’d have liked to see more of the queen and the princess, too, who I felt had more depth than portrayed here. And then there was the younger brother and his archery-champion Companion, who were simply enjoying a pleasant and amicable relationship. That would have been a bit more fun to read about than the darkness around Tyron.
I had a few issues with some of the premises. The idea of a Companion, taking a peasant girl and training her up (in just a few months!) to be a sophisticated and intelligent consort for a prince, able to hold a conversation amongst the nobility, is intriguing but inherently implausible. I couldn’t see any reason why peasant girls were preferred over (say) minor nobility. And then there’s the issue of motivation. Why, for instance, did Aldara’s mother sell her in the first place? They didn’t have so many children that a daughter would be an excessive burden. And why tell her nothing at all about what she is being sold for? That made no sense. Then there was the issue of poverty. I get that the ordinary folks were struggling to survive, but why on earth were servants within the royal estate struggling to survive, to the extent of needing to steal food? Surely the servants would be fed, and fed pretty well, too. And then there was Tyron’s behaviour, which made no sense. Even when he was supposedly falling in love with Aldara, he never cared enough for her to protect her. And why not sleep with her? That was what she was there for!
Some minor quibbles: lots of little typos, like a wide birth, pales of water, and something that was omitting noises. There were intrusive modernisms (to my ear), like sourcing food, or the need for personal space. Sometimes modern insertions like this are done for effect, but I found they just jarred me out of the pseudo-medieval setting.
This was an interesting and unusual read that would perhaps do better marketed as literary fantasy. I applaud the author’s attempt to explore a refreshingly different setting and some unusual characters. Despite all my quibbles, I found it fascinating, because I never quite knew what was going to happen. The weaknesses in the characters and the unsatisfying ending keep it to three stars for me, but I recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit different.
The medieval part, on the other hand, I can just about see - there’s a king and a whole royal family, there’s a castle, the nobility indulge in boar hunting, archery and tournaments, the usual things. But it’s set in a created world, not part of the real medieval world, and to my mind it is clearly fantasy. So, fantasy romance, then? Well, no. Although this is about two people falling in love and being together despite obstacles, the equivocal ending puts it firmly outside the realm of romance. Let’s call it alternate world fantasy, or just a genre mashup. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
The premise: poor farmer’s daughter Aldara is sold by her mother to the obnoxious prince Pandarus, who gives her to his brother Tyron as a Companion. Companions are an interesting concept. On the one hand, their function as royal bed-warmers is a time-honoured and unoriginal one. But they are also trained to be beautiful, talented and adept at conversation, which makes them in some ways comparable to Geisha girls. Aldara finds the transition from independent-minded farm girl to meekly subservient courtesan a difficult one, not helped by Tyron being a reclusive and tortured soul, subject to black moods after action in one of the many border skirmishes plaguing the kingdom.
I found Aldara to be an uneven character. Sometimes she’s behaving with the utmost propriety, curtsying and remembering titles and pretending to be interested in the men’s conversations, as she’s required to do, yet at other times she’s being wildly outrageous, scandalising everyone. I’d have liked to see a little more consistency in her actions, and perhaps a steady progression towards a clearly defined goal. I’m not quite sure, looking back on it now, whether she ever truly accepted her role as Companion or not. It seemed to depend rather a lot on Tyron.
As for Tyron… well, what to say about a hero who causes his love so much grief? Would it have been so hard for him to make some effort to protect her, instead of simply ignoring her? And even when they’re lovers, he doesn’t bother to let her know that he’s safe and well. To be honest, I found his behaviour unforgivable, which is not a word I use lightly. When bad things happen to the heroine, and here the bad things are pretty harrowing, I like to think that the hero would have done everything in his power to prevent the bad things, and that if they happen anyway, it’s because his hands were tied and he was helpless to intervene or protect. But not in this case. Here the supposed hero actually creates the situation where it was almost inevitable that, sooner or later, bad things would happen. So, no, I can’t quite forgive him for that.
Some of the other characters in the book were, in many ways, far more interesting than the two main characters. The retired Companion who trains the new recruits, for instance, is a very complex creation. I’d have liked to see more of the queen and the princess, too, who I felt had more depth than portrayed here. And then there was the younger brother and his archery-champion Companion, who were simply enjoying a pleasant and amicable relationship. That would have been a bit more fun to read about than the darkness around Tyron.
I had a few issues with some of the premises. The idea of a Companion, taking a peasant girl and training her up (in just a few months!) to be a sophisticated and intelligent consort for a prince, able to hold a conversation amongst the nobility, is intriguing but inherently implausible. I couldn’t see any reason why peasant girls were preferred over (say) minor nobility. And then there’s the issue of motivation. Why, for instance, did Aldara’s mother sell her in the first place? They didn’t have so many children that a daughter would be an excessive burden. And why tell her nothing at all about what she is being sold for? That made no sense. Then there was the issue of poverty. I get that the ordinary folks were struggling to survive, but why on earth were servants within the royal estate struggling to survive, to the extent of needing to steal food? Surely the servants would be fed, and fed pretty well, too. And then there was Tyron’s behaviour, which made no sense. Even when he was supposedly falling in love with Aldara, he never cared enough for her to protect her. And why not sleep with her? That was what she was there for!
Some minor quibbles: lots of little typos, like a wide birth, pales of water, and something that was omitting noises. There were intrusive modernisms (to my ear), like sourcing food, or the need for personal space. Sometimes modern insertions like this are done for effect, but I found they just jarred me out of the pseudo-medieval setting.
This was an interesting and unusual read that would perhaps do better marketed as literary fantasy. I applaud the author’s attempt to explore a refreshingly different setting and some unusual characters. Despite all my quibbles, I found it fascinating, because I never quite knew what was going to happen. The weaknesses in the characters and the unsatisfying ending keep it to three stars for me, but I recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit different.
April 12, 2018
Okay. I literally was all into this book at first although as far as love story it’s very slow paced. I mean like 80% into the book before more than a kiss... but by that point I literally hated both characters. Hated! This book is not romantic it’s childish and pisses me off. Basically if you don’t want to read about a girl being beaten and raped over and over again and then the “hero” does jack shit about it! Hell he barely even comforted her! Then she just turns around and forgives him like oh it was nothing. Then don’t read this BOOOOOK!!!!!! It’s honestly just stupid. She’s a prisoner and he’s a weak little prince. They aren’t in love she has no choice but to do everything he says and he is just a Spoiled brat.
March 4, 2022
✅🆗 Characters
🆗 World-building
🆗 Plot
🆗 Romance
2.5 stars
Aldara, 16 years old, comes from a poor family of farmers and her mother sold her to the arrogant prince Pandarus, heir to the throne, so she could become a royal companion for his young brother Tyron (and because her family is so poor that they needed to sell a kid apparently). Companions are highly educated girls with gifts for art, discussion and they are, of course, very pretty. Aldara learns how to navigate in her new life and she learns to know and appreciate prince Tyron. The fact that they are taking poor farmer girls and are able to transform them into sophisticated ladies in a few months is impressive, if not improbable, but then again, the story would have been way too boring if the girls were to spend a year in training.
The world-building is very simple, and it is what you would expect of a medieval-inspired fantasy. There are a king and princes, some neighboring countries with fights and alliances, but it is not the focus of the story. It is more about the romance between Aldara and Tyron, but at the same time, they were apart for most of the book. The story as a whole is very cliché and predictable, and there are some holes in the plot or things that are not explained well enough for me to really enjoy this story.
The companions reminded me of the geishas as they are described in Memoirs of a Geisha. They are glorified sexual partners, but they also need to be able to have conversations, show various skills, and make every man feel at ease.
I like Aldara, she has fire, and she is used to independent farm life. She struggles to adapt to the curtsies, the titles, and all the court decorum and I liked how she remained strong all throughout the story. Tyron is an okay character, he is kind to Aldara, but at the same time, he causes her much grief… There is not much to say about him.
Warning: there is explicit mention of rape and abortion in the book.
Overall, I enjoyed parts of this book, it is a quick and easy read, but I will not continue with this series because it was not good enough for me to want to know what happens next and there are 5 more books (and also, the ending of the first book is really boring).
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🆗 World-building
🆗 Plot
🆗 Romance
2.5 stars
Aldara, 16 years old, comes from a poor family of farmers and her mother sold her to the arrogant prince Pandarus, heir to the throne, so she could become a royal companion for his young brother Tyron (and because her family is so poor that they needed to sell a kid apparently). Companions are highly educated girls with gifts for art, discussion and they are, of course, very pretty. Aldara learns how to navigate in her new life and she learns to know and appreciate prince Tyron. The fact that they are taking poor farmer girls and are able to transform them into sophisticated ladies in a few months is impressive, if not improbable, but then again, the story would have been way too boring if the girls were to spend a year in training.
The world-building is very simple, and it is what you would expect of a medieval-inspired fantasy. There are a king and princes, some neighboring countries with fights and alliances, but it is not the focus of the story. It is more about the romance between Aldara and Tyron, but at the same time, they were apart for most of the book. The story as a whole is very cliché and predictable, and there are some holes in the plot or things that are not explained well enough for me to really enjoy this story.
The companions reminded me of the geishas as they are described in Memoirs of a Geisha. They are glorified sexual partners, but they also need to be able to have conversations, show various skills, and make every man feel at ease.
I like Aldara, she has fire, and she is used to independent farm life. She struggles to adapt to the curtsies, the titles, and all the court decorum and I liked how she remained strong all throughout the story. Tyron is an okay character, he is kind to Aldara, but at the same time, he causes her much grief… There is not much to say about him.
Warning: there is explicit mention of rape and abortion in the book.
Overall, I enjoyed parts of this book, it is a quick and easy read, but I will not continue with this series because it was not good enough for me to want to know what happens next and there are 5 more books (and also, the ending of the first book is really boring).
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January 24, 2020
Very good, especially for a first novel!
Aldara is sold by her family against her will, to be a Royal Companion. The Royal Companions are beautiful and charming women who are owned by the ruling men of her country. Prince Pandarus buys her as a gift for his brother, Prince Tyron, possibly as a joke, because Tyron doesn't own any Companions, and Aldara is more of a tomboy than a lady.
Aldara's education and training to prepare her to be "suitable" is interesting and funny. The romance between the shy prince and the tomboy is very well done. The entire book feels like the fantasy genre to me, although some have mentioned it should be characterized as a Harem Romance (didn't seem that way to me at ALL. I love fantasy, and am not a fan of HR, so I thought this book was great!).
People in their country are being attacked—is it their ancient enemy, or their ally that is causing the trouble? Battles are inevitably leading to war, and Tyron must go to defend his country.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely buy the rest of the series. It was very readable as a standalone, doesn't have what I would say are Cliffhangers, but I do want to find out what happens!
Aldara is sold by her family against her will, to be a Royal Companion. The Royal Companions are beautiful and charming women who are owned by the ruling men of her country. Prince Pandarus buys her as a gift for his brother, Prince Tyron, possibly as a joke, because Tyron doesn't own any Companions, and Aldara is more of a tomboy than a lady.
Aldara's education and training to prepare her to be "suitable" is interesting and funny. The romance between the shy prince and the tomboy is very well done. The entire book feels like the fantasy genre to me, although some have mentioned it should be characterized as a Harem Romance (didn't seem that way to me at ALL. I love fantasy, and am not a fan of HR, so I thought this book was great!).
People in their country are being attacked—is it their ancient enemy, or their ally that is causing the trouble? Battles are inevitably leading to war, and Tyron must go to defend his country.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely buy the rest of the series. It was very readable as a standalone, doesn't have what I would say are Cliffhangers, but I do want to find out what happens!
April 23, 2018
I found this book to be pretty problematic. I kept waiting for the issue of women sex slaves to be brought up in a meaningful way, but it just never happened. The women acknowledge it amongst themselves and then shrug it off and it’s almost brought up to the princes, but they never show any problem with the institution. The ‘hero’ prince even defends it at the end when comparing it to what the black ‘barbaric’ enemies will do to the women. And yes it is also problematic that the only POC characters are depicted as rapists.
It’s problematic that the ‘hero’ prince promises to protect his slave girl and her friend and they are promptly beaten and raped and his response is to get upset for a passing afternoon and then continues to ignore her. It’s problematic that the slave girl sees that her prince is the type of man who will cut off a woman’s hand for stealing a bit of food to feed her starving children, who will ignore her for weeks on end even though he knows it will lower her status in the harem, makes her feel useless and inept and makes her a target for his sadistic brother, and who’s response to her being brutally raped by two men is to visit her in her blood filled bath, say nothing of comfort and then ignore her for a month. She sees this and does not hesitate to forgive him, sleep with and fall in love with him.
This was not a love story. This was a story about women with no choices and men who felt entitled to sex because they were in charge and horny. I disliked the heroine and hated the prince. The story made no attempt at a resolution for any of the issues brought up and ended rather abruptly with no climax. I just don’t have in me to read the sequel.
It’s problematic that the ‘hero’ prince promises to protect his slave girl and her friend and they are promptly beaten and raped and his response is to get upset for a passing afternoon and then continues to ignore her. It’s problematic that the slave girl sees that her prince is the type of man who will cut off a woman’s hand for stealing a bit of food to feed her starving children, who will ignore her for weeks on end even though he knows it will lower her status in the harem, makes her feel useless and inept and makes her a target for his sadistic brother, and who’s response to her being brutally raped by two men is to visit her in her blood filled bath, say nothing of comfort and then ignore her for a month. She sees this and does not hesitate to forgive him, sleep with and fall in love with him.
This was not a love story. This was a story about women with no choices and men who felt entitled to sex because they were in charge and horny. I disliked the heroine and hated the prince. The story made no attempt at a resolution for any of the issues brought up and ended rather abruptly with no climax. I just don’t have in me to read the sequel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2021
TW: Rape, trafficking
Melancholy story. I enjoyed the majority until the weak female characters & misogyny became too much for me and that’s saying a lot because I am not bothered by meek-ish female leads within their character arc.
But unfortunately this delved pretty deep within the submissive, sex trafficked plot line. I didn’t realize this is a series. Perhaps, in the subsequent installments, we’ll see a brighter change in the plot, moving more toward liberation for these poor women who are sold into sex slavery.
It was also unfortunate the author gave more detail into the MC’s rape (which was still rather minimal). And chose, complete fade-to-black, when it came to the love scenes between the two main characters.
I am not interested in reading any further into the series. I don’t see why it needs to continue. Although strangely I read this fervently and mostly enjoyed it. Odd.
Melancholy story. I enjoyed the majority until the weak female characters & misogyny became too much for me and that’s saying a lot because I am not bothered by meek-ish female leads within their character arc.
But unfortunately this delved pretty deep within the submissive, sex trafficked plot line. I didn’t realize this is a series. Perhaps, in the subsequent installments, we’ll see a brighter change in the plot, moving more toward liberation for these poor women who are sold into sex slavery.
It was also unfortunate the author gave more detail into the MC’s rape (which was still rather minimal). And chose, complete fade-to-black, when it came to the love scenes between the two main characters.
I am not interested in reading any further into the series. I don’t see why it needs to continue. Although strangely I read this fervently and mostly enjoyed it. Odd.
September 10, 2020
It was fine at first then it got to the chapter on the brutal rape with two behemoths doing it to the child~like Aldara. I stopped reading at this point. This kind of prose is just not for me. Even if is a free copy and I do get some of my books via Amazon but this I got via booksweeps/bookfunnel from an email by Emily Larkin together with a bunch of freebies. I am sorry but this is it for me. If this is the kind of material that will come from this author, then I want none of it. I will unsubscribe after this post.
May 2, 2019
What can I say, it is a bad book. It has the plot setting and tropes that I would love to read about, hence my excitement going into this book and the only reason I managed to pull through it, but it was so disappointedly developed! It was unrealistic, lacked depth, and failed to properly delve into the important themes it brought into the scene. SPOLIER AHEAD. Specially the way the rape aftermath was handled (or not handled, just suddenly solved on its own after a time skip) bewildered me and infuriated me so much that I lost all respect for this book, and despite the premise of the next one in the series being enticing (touching onto PTSD), I know there is absolutely no point in reading it because of the author's laughably superficial exploration of these subjects. What I expected to be a light read and a guilty pleasure became an unenjoyable mind-numbing experience.
TLDR: Good plot set up, terrible and shallow development.
TLDR: Good plot set up, terrible and shallow development.
October 31, 2018
WTF did I just read.
November 1, 2018
So I just have to say that I love this story so far but there are some parts that I hated.. I mean I had to just quit reading it for a bit cuz I was so emotional. If you have read the book you know what I mean but I’m so interested to know what happens to all the characters and how their story unfolds. Also Tyron & Aldara. 😍💖
October 2, 2019
Historical drama set in a fictional world.
I liked the drama a lot.
The characters are compelling and interesting.
Kindle freebie first book out of 3
I liked the drama a lot.
The characters are compelling and interesting.
Kindle freebie first book out of 3
June 30, 2023
Decent story line but dark. A few things were not good in this book. Check trigger warnings. I like the slow burn romance, but this book could have been better. 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
September 26, 2017
Tanya Bird is a new find for me. I have to be at work in 2 hours but once I started The Royal Companion I could not put it down. Aldara and Tyron are made for each other and deserve a happy ever after. Can't wait to read more of their story. And hopefully Prince Pandarus will get his just desserts with a little redemption. I was to angry to cry at what he did to Aldara and Hali .
Thank you Tanya Bird for a great read.
Thank you Tanya Bird for a great read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2020
dnf 56%
I had so many hopes for the book, the blurb made it look SO good. But i was dissapointed.
I had so many hopes for the book, the blurb made it look SO good. But i was dissapointed.
April 24, 2022
So, I finished this book, and had a look at the reviews as I usually do, hoping to see other people just as horrified as I was about how race was handled here. I did find a few, but I'm even more horrified by the number of people who didn't find it at all problematic that the only country of dark skinned people, are portrayed with so many negative, harmful and derogatory tropes.
To be clear, this isn't a book which acknowledges racism exists within the world, and deals with it. Within world, it seems racism doesn't really exist, or at least isn't a prevalent or systemic issue.
While I fully support fantasy books speculating worlds without racism, I do think that needs to be done with a lot of consideration and deconstruction on the part of the author. Racism is systemic in the world of the author, and you can't construct an imaginary world without it if you haven't first acknowledged all the ways it's influenced the real world. I have zero confidence that Tanya Bird has done this.
A lot of the comments I've seen circulating about this book, if the race issue is addressed, seem to view the lack of racism within the story as a defence. There's a lot of 'the story says they're bad people because the things they do are bad, not because of their skin colour'. Which makes me despair that most readers know anything about racism either. Every novel exists in two worlds, the world within and the world without. All readers live in the world without, as do all authors, so the world within is both constructed and viewed through this shared knowledge and understanding of the world without. Yes, supposedly no racism exists in the story (though the hero looks very close to developing a severe case), but racism does exist in our world, as does this book. Presenting the majority of the very few characters of colour in the novel as villainous reinforces racism, particularly implicit bias, in our world.
No I'm not saying this book will make you racist. I am saying it contributes to a wider problem though. It also raises a lot of questions to me about what on earth this author was thinking. Making your happy food-filled and rather progressive country dark skinned, and make the rape-y slave-y savages of the north fair, would have helped. A lot.
There were other problems in this book, the editing was poor, the pacing was all over the place, the way the romance built and came together wasn't believable, the hero was pretty unlikeable, and the way it dealt with sexual assault was appalling. Particularly that most/all of the consensual sex was fade to black, but the SA wasn't.
But honestly, sexual assault is a topic rarely handled with the care and consideration it deserves, and I've forgiven worse books all the other flaws. If that one small change had been made, if the author had swapped the races of the prosperous progressives and the savage rapists, this book might have been tolerable.
As it stands, I wouldn't recommend anyone read this. Ultimately it's a dangerous narrative I thought the romance genre had put to bed along with the 70s surge of dubcon bodice rippers.
To be clear, this isn't a book which acknowledges racism exists within the world, and deals with it. Within world, it seems racism doesn't really exist, or at least isn't a prevalent or systemic issue.
While I fully support fantasy books speculating worlds without racism, I do think that needs to be done with a lot of consideration and deconstruction on the part of the author. Racism is systemic in the world of the author, and you can't construct an imaginary world without it if you haven't first acknowledged all the ways it's influenced the real world. I have zero confidence that Tanya Bird has done this.
A lot of the comments I've seen circulating about this book, if the race issue is addressed, seem to view the lack of racism within the story as a defence. There's a lot of 'the story says they're bad people because the things they do are bad, not because of their skin colour'. Which makes me despair that most readers know anything about racism either. Every novel exists in two worlds, the world within and the world without. All readers live in the world without, as do all authors, so the world within is both constructed and viewed through this shared knowledge and understanding of the world without. Yes, supposedly no racism exists in the story (though the hero looks very close to developing a severe case), but racism does exist in our world, as does this book. Presenting the majority of the very few characters of colour in the novel as villainous reinforces racism, particularly implicit bias, in our world.
No I'm not saying this book will make you racist. I am saying it contributes to a wider problem though. It also raises a lot of questions to me about what on earth this author was thinking. Making your happy food-filled and rather progressive country dark skinned, and make the rape-y slave-y savages of the north fair, would have helped. A lot.
There were other problems in this book, the editing was poor, the pacing was all over the place, the way the romance built and came together wasn't believable, the hero was pretty unlikeable, and the way it dealt with sexual assault was appalling. Particularly that most/all of the consensual sex was fade to black, but the SA wasn't.
But honestly, sexual assault is a topic rarely handled with the care and consideration it deserves, and I've forgiven worse books all the other flaws. If that one small change had been made, if the author had swapped the races of the prosperous progressives and the savage rapists, this book might have been tolerable.
As it stands, I wouldn't recommend anyone read this. Ultimately it's a dangerous narrative I thought the romance genre had put to bed along with the 70s surge of dubcon bodice rippers.
July 11, 2020
Okay, I really enjoyed this book and I'll tell you why. I am a sucker for books with Royalty, I've discovered that fact about myself recently and it doesn't matter if it's contemporary or fantasy. Then, the King and Queen in this book are GREAT. Usually the king and queen are pretty terrible when (one of) their children is a protagonist, but this King was fair and asked all his sons for counsel, the Queen was a supportive woman who wanted nothing but the best for her children and the people her children come to care about. It was so refreshing to read.
The story itself was fun and fast paced, even though I know the premise of the book is kind of terrible. It gave me 'The Selection' and 'Girls Of Paper & Fire' vibes with the whole 'girls get bought for princes' thing and you should realize that this wouldn't stand up in modern times. But it worked for this world and personally I think it was done a LOT better than in GOP&F.
Yes, trigger warnings for sexual abuse and violence as the beginning of the book mentions. I do think in this case story could've stood without it.
So is this that unknown gem I've been searching for for years? Possibly. There's more books in the series and I'm actually quite stoked to read on. I think Bird is a great author and I'd love to see her grow in her works.
The story itself was fun and fast paced, even though I know the premise of the book is kind of terrible. It gave me 'The Selection' and 'Girls Of Paper & Fire' vibes with the whole 'girls get bought for princes' thing and you should realize that this wouldn't stand up in modern times. But it worked for this world and personally I think it was done a LOT better than in GOP&F.
Yes, trigger warnings for sexual abuse and violence as the beginning of the book mentions. I do think in this case story could've stood without it.
So is this that unknown gem I've been searching for for years? Possibly. There's more books in the series and I'm actually quite stoked to read on. I think Bird is a great author and I'd love to see her grow in her works.
May 3, 2020
Wow! What a Fantastic Story! The Royal Companion will hold you spellbound as it comes to life with all the intrigue, betrayal and strife with a web of disillusion that is spun that will keep you reading to the very end. Tanya Bird has written an unforgettable romance with a strong plot, remarkable emotions, unforgettable characters. Prince Tyron and Companion Aldara are so well developed you feel every emotion that they are feeling throughout the story and become very endearing as the story progresses. It's a heart pounding romance with trials and tribulations, danger, uncertainty, heartbreak dark themes, death and the twist and turns that make this one outstanding read that you won't want to miss. This is the first book I read by Tanya Bird and it be the last! Can't wait to continue the journey with Prince Tyron and Companion Aldara in The Common Girl and The Majestic Imposter.
May 18, 2018
Disappointing
Very disappointing. Warning for those who can be triggered: the heroine gets brutally raped as a virgin. The sexual tension built up dissipates immediately afterwards until the heroine tells the prince that it’s “all in the past” and then they pretend the rest of the book that it never happened. I was very disappointed in the plot “twists” and the writer did not adequately acknowledge the trauma of the heroines initial situation or dealings with the aftermath of her situation. I finished reading it to see if it got better, but I was officially disengaged after the rape plot twist and subsequent brushing over of that traumatic event. Who gets their face beat in and forgets about it a week later? Glad this book was free but wasn’t worth my time.
Very disappointing. Warning for those who can be triggered: the heroine gets brutally raped as a virgin. The sexual tension built up dissipates immediately afterwards until the heroine tells the prince that it’s “all in the past” and then they pretend the rest of the book that it never happened. I was very disappointed in the plot “twists” and the writer did not adequately acknowledge the trauma of the heroines initial situation or dealings with the aftermath of her situation. I finished reading it to see if it got better, but I was officially disengaged after the rape plot twist and subsequent brushing over of that traumatic event. Who gets their face beat in and forgets about it a week later? Glad this book was free but wasn’t worth my time.
February 6, 2018
You know that warm feeling that arises in your chest...when sadness leaves your limbs, you feel joyous and peaceful...other days you feel as if despair surrounds you like a pervasive fog and there is no way out....I took pleasure in this torture of hopeless love set in medieval time. With her writing style, daring characters and her endless wit, this author gave such a compelling venture. Looking forward to reading more of her work!
I read this book in one sitting because seriously COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!!
I read this book in one sitting because seriously COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!!
October 3, 2017
When I first started this, I was a little concerned with Aldara being only 15 in the beginning. I just wanted to make note of the fact that time progresses quickly and she spends most of the story between 17 and 18. Also, Tyron is 25 best I can tell.
I really liked this story, it very much reminded me of the Air Awakens story, but without the magic :)
I really liked this story, it very much reminded me of the Air Awakens story, but without the magic :)
March 6, 2018
The book doesn't end. It pauses. There is no wrap up of any of the bits started in book one. I hate when a series doesn't have an ending for each book. Because now they are not separate books. It's one really long story and that just pisses me off. By the end of this book, I honestly do not care anymore what becomes of them.
October 19, 2019
Good story but writing was lacking...
September 6, 2023
The Goodreads reviews for this make me feel like I shouldn’t have enjoyed these books but they honestly were a really great airport read for me … so 3 stars.
October 27, 2017
3.5 stars
RTC
RTC
November 8, 2017
1.5 stars
May 3, 2018
Really?
That was a sucky ending. The rest was ok. Though it was slow in spots and full speed in others. Cliffhanger
That was a sucky ending. The rest was ok. Though it was slow in spots and full speed in others. Cliffhanger
January 30, 2019
If I could give it 0 stars as a rating I would, and that’s good becuse I got this book for free. Very fast paced, the plot had holes in it, very cliché, the relationship was also weird like this whole idea of “Companions” and of course anyone who has read this book knows about the part at the end. I was shocked and almost decided to stop reading, I continued hoping something would happen to the people responsible, but of course, great disappointment.
August 26, 2019
The story was very engaging, the plot was interesting and I really enjoyed it all. But I only got the book because it was free and the blurb peaked my interest. I highly doubt I read the next ones due to the fact it is not in KU.
Read
September 28, 2022DNF at 55%. I could tell this book was headed for tragedy of a very personal sort for the heroine, and I just wasn't in the mood to stomach it. Plus, I had no idea when I started that his volume abruptly ends and continues for two more books.
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