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Gezane Universe #1
Serenity
Their uneasy alliance could lead to love if the demon will allow it.
A Gezane Universe Novel
Melchior, King of the Bhresyas, is quickly growing tired of the war between his kind and the humans who view them as demons. He proposes a peace treaty with the most powerful human kingdom. His only stipulation? Once she comes of age, the human queen s daughter must be his bride.
Serenity has spent her entire life preparing for her role at Melchior s side. Other women might be frightened, but she embraces her destiny, knowing in her heart that she and Melchior have been twined together by fate.
While he wants cooperation between their two peoples, his union with Serenity cannot and should not lead to love. The more she tries to bring them together, the harder he pushes her away until she lands in the arms of those who would do her harm.
Love is the answer. But before Melchior admits to his, it may be too late."
A Gezane Universe Novel
Melchior, King of the Bhresyas, is quickly growing tired of the war between his kind and the humans who view them as demons. He proposes a peace treaty with the most powerful human kingdom. His only stipulation? Once she comes of age, the human queen s daughter must be his bride.
Serenity has spent her entire life preparing for her role at Melchior s side. Other women might be frightened, but she embraces her destiny, knowing in her heart that she and Melchior have been twined together by fate.
While he wants cooperation between their two peoples, his union with Serenity cannot and should not lead to love. The more she tries to bring them together, the harder he pushes her away until she lands in the arms of those who would do her harm.
Love is the answer. But before Melchior admits to his, it may be too late."
252 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
6 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
D. Renee Bagby
10 books130 followers'Home is where my stuff is'. That's Reneé's motto... one of many.
An Air Force brat born and raised, Reneé has traveled all of her life. She was born in the Netherlands and raised in Japan, Texas, Florida, and finally Virginia.
Her travels didn't stop once high school ended. She attended college in North Carolina at Elon University, graduating with a B.A. in International Studies and a minor in Asian Studies, Japanese concentration. And after graduation, she returned to Texas to start her life with her husband and rejoin the ranks of Air Force living as a military spouse. From Texas, it was off to California for four years where she finished her first manuscript.
It wasn't until she, her husband, and their two cats moved to Maryland—where they currently reside—that she submitted said manuscript to Samhain Publishing, Ltd. and received a contract.
Given her upbringing and the military tendency of traveling, Reneé knows a lot about adapting to new locales and being 'the new kid'. It's no wonder the majority of her stories tend to be 'fish out of water' stories.
Unlike many authors who said they had a love of reading and writing since a very young age, Reneé used to hate reading and writing wasn't even a thought. If it wasn't on TV then it didn't interest her.
All that changed when her elementary school held a reading contest. A gold medal was waiting for all the students who read a certain number of books and Renee was determined to be one of them. She received her gold medal and a love of reading. From YA Romance to Mainstream Romance, Reneé discovered an addiction to the happily-ever-after endings the romantic genres offered.
She didn't start writing until high school. Back then, her stories were a way to pass the time in class so the teachers thought she was taking notes. It wasn't until another contest, a literary contest, surfaced that she considered writing a story with a definite beginning, middle, and end.
While she didn't finish the story in time for the competition and thus didn't get a chance to submit it for consideration, her English teacher at the time—her very first beta reader—gave her the encouragement needed to keep at it.
It took a few years and many, many rough drafts but Adrienne was eventually born. And, as cliché as it sounds, that was the beginning of the end.
Reneé loves reading (romances and manga) when she has the time but finds she loves writing even more. Her imagination entertains her far more than anything she could find on television, though it is a lovely distraction at times. And, the writing community has introduced her to good friends who are just as crazy and out-there as she is.
An Air Force brat born and raised, Reneé has traveled all of her life. She was born in the Netherlands and raised in Japan, Texas, Florida, and finally Virginia.
Her travels didn't stop once high school ended. She attended college in North Carolina at Elon University, graduating with a B.A. in International Studies and a minor in Asian Studies, Japanese concentration. And after graduation, she returned to Texas to start her life with her husband and rejoin the ranks of Air Force living as a military spouse. From Texas, it was off to California for four years where she finished her first manuscript.
It wasn't until she, her husband, and their two cats moved to Maryland—where they currently reside—that she submitted said manuscript to Samhain Publishing, Ltd. and received a contract.
Given her upbringing and the military tendency of traveling, Reneé knows a lot about adapting to new locales and being 'the new kid'. It's no wonder the majority of her stories tend to be 'fish out of water' stories.
Unlike many authors who said they had a love of reading and writing since a very young age, Reneé used to hate reading and writing wasn't even a thought. If it wasn't on TV then it didn't interest her.
All that changed when her elementary school held a reading contest. A gold medal was waiting for all the students who read a certain number of books and Renee was determined to be one of them. She received her gold medal and a love of reading. From YA Romance to Mainstream Romance, Reneé discovered an addiction to the happily-ever-after endings the romantic genres offered.
She didn't start writing until high school. Back then, her stories were a way to pass the time in class so the teachers thought she was taking notes. It wasn't until another contest, a literary contest, surfaced that she considered writing a story with a definite beginning, middle, and end.
While she didn't finish the story in time for the competition and thus didn't get a chance to submit it for consideration, her English teacher at the time—her very first beta reader—gave her the encouragement needed to keep at it.
It took a few years and many, many rough drafts but Adrienne was eventually born. And, as cliché as it sounds, that was the beginning of the end.
Reneé loves reading (romances and manga) when she has the time but finds she loves writing even more. Her imagination entertains her far more than anything she could find on television, though it is a lovely distraction at times. And, the writing community has introduced her to good friends who are just as crazy and out-there as she is.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 10, 2011
A decent read if not for the f**ked up ending it would have received a 3 star rating.
Another Paranormal romance where the man treats the woman like shi*t - screws another woman in front of her, apologizes and all is forgiving by her opening her legs and falling on her back. Of course the mating bond is the reason for his change of heart - WTF.
This is a common factor in the Paranormal genre that is so frustrating. Shelly Laurenston books have strong, take no bull sh*t women please read them especially her Dragon Kin series.
Another Paranormal romance where the man treats the woman like shi*t - screws another woman in front of her, apologizes and all is forgiving by her opening her legs and falling on her back. Of course the mating bond is the reason for his change of heart - WTF.
This is a common factor in the Paranormal genre that is so frustrating. Shelly Laurenston books have strong, take no bull sh*t women please read them especially her Dragon Kin series.
July 17, 2011
The heroine is annoyingly perfect, and she is always smiling although both humans and demons try repeteadly to kill her. She befriends killers (all her Hell hounds tried to kill her, but couldn't because she smiled to them, and wanted to learn from them to be a good demon wife).
She loves a lot his friends (those who tried to kill her), but she also is ruthless in the revenge with those who try to kill her (that is, those who try to kill her and do not become her friends).
CAUTION "BIG" SPOILERS:
The hero (a demon king) marries her (a state marriage) but ignores her (does not touch her appart from the wedding night, lets a room when she enters, and so on...). There's someone better (Chigaru) who loves her, and is loved in return but "ai las" she is mated to the stupid one (the mating is about the souls, and you know that mating is much better than steady love). The hero does nothing else than ignore her (because he is frightened of his love), until the end of the novel when his advisors advise him to go to get his mate, which he does. Too long story, but, unexpectadly, the end was rushed: he goes there, explains her he has loved her since the begining, they made love and she smiles. Wonderful.
It could be worse: I read it, sometimes I just can't finish the books.
She loves a lot his friends (those who tried to kill her), but she also is ruthless in the revenge with those who try to kill her (that is, those who try to kill her and do not become her friends).
CAUTION "BIG" SPOILERS:
The hero (a demon king) marries her (a state marriage) but ignores her (does not touch her appart from the wedding night, lets a room when she enters, and so on...). There's someone better (Chigaru) who loves her, and is loved in return but "ai las" she is mated to the stupid one (the mating is about the souls, and you know that mating is much better than steady love). The hero does nothing else than ignore her (because he is frightened of his love), until the end of the novel when his advisors advise him to go to get his mate, which he does. Too long story, but, unexpectadly, the end was rushed: he goes there, explains her he has loved her since the begining, they made love and she smiles. Wonderful.
It could be worse: I read it, sometimes I just can't finish the books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2014
I liked it waaaay more than I expected to!!!
Angsty and interesting but the emotions weren't fleshed out well enough at times.
Angsty and interesting but the emotions weren't fleshed out well enough at times.
January 21, 2025
(From the archives)
I started writing reviews around 2020/2021, I am revisiting some books and writing reviews on books I missed. This book was first published in 2008 and continues to be available on Kindle (the most recent edition is from 2017).
Serenity: A Gezane Universe by D. Reneé Bagby is a hard book to describe but I really enjoyed the unique plot and the world-building. In Ms. Bagby’s imagined world, humans and Bhresya (considered to be demons by humans) are enemies through years of bloodshed and turmoil. When King Kiros reneges on a treaty and instead destroys the family of Melchoir, Melchoir accepts the hand of the unborn Serenity as his affianced bride in another bid to bring about peace. The Bhresya people have long life spans and Melchoir’s wait for his bride is just a blip on a long timeline for him. For Serenity, her life is spent preparing for her upcoming marriage and dodging the many attacks from entities trying to stop the upcoming marriage. One of the most interesting aspects of this story is how Serenity conquers her attackers (Chigaru is especially appealing) with the strength of her personality, wit and sweetness. When Melchoir finally claims his bride, he is acting on policy and adherence to the treaty while she is acting from a place of willingness and hope, what happens when she realizes how distasteful her husband finds her company and their marriage? I enjoyed the sheer unusualness of this story (the age-gap was extreme) but found Melchoir’s unyielding and harsh stance to be distasteful; he really needed more humbling in the end. I am happy to see that Chigaru has a story but unfortunately it is not currently available on Kindle.
https://theretiredreader.com/read-for...
I started writing reviews around 2020/2021, I am revisiting some books and writing reviews on books I missed. This book was first published in 2008 and continues to be available on Kindle (the most recent edition is from 2017).
Serenity: A Gezane Universe by D. Reneé Bagby is a hard book to describe but I really enjoyed the unique plot and the world-building. In Ms. Bagby’s imagined world, humans and Bhresya (considered to be demons by humans) are enemies through years of bloodshed and turmoil. When King Kiros reneges on a treaty and instead destroys the family of Melchoir, Melchoir accepts the hand of the unborn Serenity as his affianced bride in another bid to bring about peace. The Bhresya people have long life spans and Melchoir’s wait for his bride is just a blip on a long timeline for him. For Serenity, her life is spent preparing for her upcoming marriage and dodging the many attacks from entities trying to stop the upcoming marriage. One of the most interesting aspects of this story is how Serenity conquers her attackers (Chigaru is especially appealing) with the strength of her personality, wit and sweetness. When Melchoir finally claims his bride, he is acting on policy and adherence to the treaty while she is acting from a place of willingness and hope, what happens when she realizes how distasteful her husband finds her company and their marriage? I enjoyed the sheer unusualness of this story (the age-gap was extreme) but found Melchoir’s unyielding and harsh stance to be distasteful; he really needed more humbling in the end. I am happy to see that Chigaru has a story but unfortunately it is not currently available on Kindle.
https://theretiredreader.com/read-for...
June 17, 2019
I remember getting this at the Romantic Times convention in 2010 but it didn't appeal to me especially but I managed to get it from the library and I was delightedly surprised by how easy it was to get into the story and how much fun it was. I am not a big fan of the romance/science fiction genre because I have found so few books done well. This is an exception. Serenity was born to be given in marriage to the king of the Demons. They aren't demons, of course, but to human eyes, they are certainly not human. Their colorful skin and eyes and curved horns rising from the heads or necks or shoulders, make them scary. The King Melchior, was supposed to marry Serenity's mother as part of a pact to end the war between the races. But no one told that to Rhiannon, the unknowing bride. But when Melichior told Rhiannon that she was already pregnant with triplets and that he could wait for the princess to turn 18. Serenity grew up looking forward to this marriage. Her mother trained her and her one of her twin brothers in strategy, weapons, history and everything else required to rule. Since her birth Serenity has been the subject of assassination attempts. Including those by her future husband's people. She has taken those assassins and made them into her personal guard. Serenity is difficult not to like but some people manage it, including it appears, her husband, who pushes her away after consummating the marriage. Is it a misunderstanding or something more? The world building was very clever, the romance was fun. The story worked for me.
February 9, 2019
Great world building and a strong heroine. The problem was the love story. Serenity is a 19 year old very sheltered woman who has spent her entire life preparing for a marriage to a stranger. It makes perfect sense that she built him up in her head and thought a great love would ensue. The reality being very different made a lot of sense too. The failure was in giving the characters interactions to actually fall for each other. They had a conversation where Melchior said you don't know me how can you love me, and it was true. They traveled from her home to his in the same party, but didn't talk. They had sex and then the very next day he distanced himself from her emotionally and physically. I can't stand when being mated is used to justify instalove. Being mated means there is something to build on, it's a foundation. No one lives in a concrete hole on purpose, you move in when home is complete.
April 27, 2020
Sad that the ride is over
I loved this book. Serenity is the type of woman that I aspire to be. Strong, regal, fiery, and graceful. She wasn't someone that shied away from her duty. She welcomed it and prepared for it. What she wasn't prepared for was a king who couldn't reconcile his love for her. Melchior was a jerk...I would use some sort of profanity but that isn't allowed. He treated her so poorly, my anger would easily rise everytime he appeared on the scene. I so wanted her to love Chigeru as he seemed like the closest thing to a lover for her. Alas, it was not meant to be. Overall, I very much enjoyed the book. I just wish the story didn't have to end from there.
I loved this book. Serenity is the type of woman that I aspire to be. Strong, regal, fiery, and graceful. She wasn't someone that shied away from her duty. She welcomed it and prepared for it. What she wasn't prepared for was a king who couldn't reconcile his love for her. Melchior was a jerk...I would use some sort of profanity but that isn't allowed. He treated her so poorly, my anger would easily rise everytime he appeared on the scene. I so wanted her to love Chigeru as he seemed like the closest thing to a lover for her. Alas, it was not meant to be. Overall, I very much enjoyed the book. I just wish the story didn't have to end from there.
November 23, 2021
Great Read
I wish there was more to their story. This story was so good and the character development was amazing. Exactly what I've been looking for lately. All authors are not created the same. I'm glad that this one was an escape fire me with everything going on in the media. I loved this tale.
I wish there was more to their story. This story was so good and the character development was amazing. Exactly what I've been looking for lately. All authors are not created the same. I'm glad that this one was an escape fire me with everything going on in the media. I loved this tale.
April 6, 2019
DNF
I was enjoying the book, got about a third of the way through before I gave up. It just didn't feel like anything was happening. I didn't connect with any of the characters. If you just want a fun read to kill a few hours, definitely give it a shot. It just wasn't for me.
I was enjoying the book, got about a third of the way through before I gave up. It just didn't feel like anything was happening. I didn't connect with any of the characters. If you just want a fun read to kill a few hours, definitely give it a shot. It just wasn't for me.
September 25, 2010
Entertaining story. Not much romance, but some interesting relationships with heroine’s guards.
REVIEWER’S OPINION WITH HINTS OF SPOILERS:
If you’re looking for a traditional romance novel with a guy to swoon over, you won’t want this one. He is rude and insensitive. He demeans and humiliates her in public. He is married but takes a lover in front of his wife. He won’t sleep with his wife, but he refuses to allow her to sleep with anyone else. He also refuses to see certain truths.
However, there are beautiful, romantic, loving and nonsexual relationships between Serenity and her guards. I enjoyed seeing how assassins came to kill Serenity and ended up being her teachers and guards. The guards were bhresyas (a type of demon – tall humans with horns). I enjoyed the name she gave to them, the Hell Hounds. The name was an insult to others of their race, but the guards were proud of it. I also enjoyed reading about Serenity and Lorcan, her guard dog/creature. I liked this story. It was different.
STORY BRIEF:
There had been war between the humans and the bhresyas. Melchior is king of the bhresyas. Rhiannon is queen of the humans. Rhiannon is pregnant with triplets (2 boys and 1 girl). As part of a peace treaty, Melchior wants the girl child to be his wife in 19 years. Rhiannon agrees. The child is named Serenity. Serenity spends her entire 19 years preparing to be Melchior’s wife. She looks forward to it. There are many assassination attempts on Serenity’s life by those wanting to restart the war. After they marry, she realizes that Melchior does not love her, respect her or want an heir with her. He plans to wait until she dies and then marry a bhresya woman to have children. Serenity is not allowed to do things she was prepared for and planning to do. She is not allowed to do other things that she wants to do. She is miserable, but she has her Hell Hounds who are with her at almost all times. The big questions are: What will happen with Serenity and Melchior? Will they stay together? Will they ever love each other?
DATA:
Story length: 236 pages. Swearing language: moderate. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: 1, six pages long. Setting: Cheslav and Nexeu, two kingdoms on an unspecified planet. Copyright: 2009. Genre: fantasy sci-fi romance.
OTHER BOOKS:
To date, I’ve read one other book by D. Renee Bagby. My 4.5 star review of “Adrienne” copyright 2008 was posted 7-26-09.
REVIEWER’S OPINION WITH HINTS OF SPOILERS:
If you’re looking for a traditional romance novel with a guy to swoon over, you won’t want this one. He is rude and insensitive. He demeans and humiliates her in public. He is married but takes a lover in front of his wife. He won’t sleep with his wife, but he refuses to allow her to sleep with anyone else. He also refuses to see certain truths.
However, there are beautiful, romantic, loving and nonsexual relationships between Serenity and her guards. I enjoyed seeing how assassins came to kill Serenity and ended up being her teachers and guards. The guards were bhresyas (a type of demon – tall humans with horns). I enjoyed the name she gave to them, the Hell Hounds. The name was an insult to others of their race, but the guards were proud of it. I also enjoyed reading about Serenity and Lorcan, her guard dog/creature. I liked this story. It was different.
STORY BRIEF:
There had been war between the humans and the bhresyas. Melchior is king of the bhresyas. Rhiannon is queen of the humans. Rhiannon is pregnant with triplets (2 boys and 1 girl). As part of a peace treaty, Melchior wants the girl child to be his wife in 19 years. Rhiannon agrees. The child is named Serenity. Serenity spends her entire 19 years preparing to be Melchior’s wife. She looks forward to it. There are many assassination attempts on Serenity’s life by those wanting to restart the war. After they marry, she realizes that Melchior does not love her, respect her or want an heir with her. He plans to wait until she dies and then marry a bhresya woman to have children. Serenity is not allowed to do things she was prepared for and planning to do. She is not allowed to do other things that she wants to do. She is miserable, but she has her Hell Hounds who are with her at almost all times. The big questions are: What will happen with Serenity and Melchior? Will they stay together? Will they ever love each other?
DATA:
Story length: 236 pages. Swearing language: moderate. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: 1, six pages long. Setting: Cheslav and Nexeu, two kingdoms on an unspecified planet. Copyright: 2009. Genre: fantasy sci-fi romance.
OTHER BOOKS:
To date, I’ve read one other book by D. Renee Bagby. My 4.5 star review of “Adrienne” copyright 2008 was posted 7-26-09.
February 1, 2014
Serenity is a princess, though some call her a walking sacrifice. This is because she is promised to someone not of her world. Through countless assassination attempts and being alienated in a land where she should have been treasured, Serenity embraces her destiny and learns how to be the perfect Bhresian wife.
when she finally meets her intended, she is sure that her destiny is about to be fulfilled. Once married, Serenity soon sees that the rumors were in fact truth. She has a husband who, though he demanded her hand doesn't actually want her as a wife, and a kingdom, that definitely doesn't want her as a Queen, which is bittersweet, because Serenity loved her husband before she ever met him.
Serenity has never been a quitter or let people keep her down, so she fights for her King to be a husband in more than name only.
when she finally meets her intended, she is sure that her destiny is about to be fulfilled. Once married, Serenity soon sees that the rumors were in fact truth. She has a husband who, though he demanded her hand doesn't actually want her as a wife, and a kingdom, that definitely doesn't want her as a Queen, which is bittersweet, because Serenity loved her husband before she ever met him.
Serenity has never been a quitter or let people keep her down, so she fights for her King to be a husband in more than name only.
Read
October 10, 2011A decent read if not for the f**ked up ending it would have received a 3 star rating.
Another Paranormal romance where the man treats the woman like shi*t - screws another woman in front of her, apologizes and all is forgiving by her opening her legs and falling on her back - WTF.
This is a common factor in the Paranormal genre that is so frustrating. Shelly Laurenston books have strong, take no bull sh*t women please read them especially her Dragon Kin series.
Another Paranormal romance where the man treats the woman like shi*t - screws another woman in front of her, apologizes and all is forgiving by her opening her legs and falling on her back - WTF.
This is a common factor in the Paranormal genre that is so frustrating. Shelly Laurenston books have strong, take no bull sh*t women please read them especially her Dragon Kin series.
April 22, 2015
I had trouble with this one. One of the reasons was that Melchior was an arrogant ass. To introduce the carnal pleasures to her then deny her. That was just cruel. While he had the gull to have lovers while married to her. And also deny her her own. Also that the pink female rubbed it in just made me want to throw out the book. Then the weak ending. Oh my God What a crock.
August 9, 2010
Good story and interesting flawed characters.
November 3, 2014
Loved Serenity. There were laughs and there were tears. Just wish it would go on and never stop the story.
February 12, 2013
love this book
April 22, 2014
Again I'm left with the feeling of wanting more.
May 7, 2016
I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews