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Mate of the Tyger Prince #8
Royal Captive
From the outside, it looks as if Janos, the king of Laltana, has everything—looks, wealth, power, and the love of his people. But, few realize his on-going battle with his inner demons. Captured, imprisoned, and abused by the Tygerians, he loathes his enemies and vows revenge.
When the king’s brother gifts him with a young Tygerian slave, the perfect opportunity for vengeance is within his grasp, but he finds he can’t take it. Bastion is young, defiant, and brave—and reminds Janos too much of himself at that age.
Bastion, becomes a soldier for the king instead, but Janos knows very well Bastion is not his real name. This is Prince Larz of Tygeria, and his family is scouring the galaxies for him. Both Janos and Larz struggle with a growing attraction to each other that they just can’t deny as the years pass, though Janos keeps his distance.
When war breaks out with a neighboring country, King Janos leads his soldiers into battle and soon finds the scared boy of long ago is now a deadly warrior who looks just like his brother, the Bloody Prince Mikos--Janos’s most hated enemy.
Torn between loathing for the Tygerians, and a growing respect and attraction for Larz, Janos must face not only his demons but the wrath of Larz’s family. If the two of them can weather the coming storm, they might just get everything their hearts desire.
When the king’s brother gifts him with a young Tygerian slave, the perfect opportunity for vengeance is within his grasp, but he finds he can’t take it. Bastion is young, defiant, and brave—and reminds Janos too much of himself at that age.
Bastion, becomes a soldier for the king instead, but Janos knows very well Bastion is not his real name. This is Prince Larz of Tygeria, and his family is scouring the galaxies for him. Both Janos and Larz struggle with a growing attraction to each other that they just can’t deny as the years pass, though Janos keeps his distance.
When war breaks out with a neighboring country, King Janos leads his soldiers into battle and soon finds the scared boy of long ago is now a deadly warrior who looks just like his brother, the Bloody Prince Mikos--Janos’s most hated enemy.
Torn between loathing for the Tygerians, and a growing respect and attraction for Larz, Janos must face not only his demons but the wrath of Larz’s family. If the two of them can weather the coming storm, they might just get everything their hearts desire.
230 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 31, 2019
31 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 3, 2021
CAN DO MUCH BETTER...
To say things simply, I liked three things about this book:
1 - Oddly, the cover.
2 - The fact that it's a standalone. (For me, it is, even though I read most of the previous books.)
3 - It's rather well-written (not much typos, the punctuation is good, the chapters are long enough...)
Yet there are still a lot of things that I have to pinpoint about the series in general and this book in particular:
1 - Being a mega fanatic of the Stargate series, something kept bugging me in the universe of this series, reminding me way too much of my favorite TV show. Did the Stargate World inspire the author? I think so. I am quite sure it's Stargate Atlantis that inspired her.
- King Janos and the other inhabitants of his planet remind me of Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa) and later on Larz who, with his height, strength and confidence, is much like Ronon.
- Davos was just the name of the ruler of one of the planets visited by the team in season 4 (The Seer)... among other similarities.
As I said, I am a big fan of the whole series, I know every single thing about it and I can spot the Stargate touch, absolutely, anywhere.
2 - The universe of this series is incoherent. It's interesting, but not perfectly woven. The most important while creating the universe of a story is its realism. Might it be historical fiction, fantasy or science-fiction... if the universe lacks coherence, the story-line would seem/be bland, if not boring. Yet several passages of this 8th book don't make any sense at all, if anything they scream lack of imagination. For a futuristic universe, it seemed to me way backward:
- LV vehicles, feeding bottles and aviator sunglasses? Allow me to roll my eyes, Author!
- A disruptor for Larz? The weapon created by the Ancients in SG-1 and SG Atlantis, the most advanced race in the universe.... what the author claims to be the case for the Tygerians ...
Wanna more similarities with the Stargate series?
3 - I said that the story was well-written, but this is all. The narration was good but the content itself lacked inspiration and fantasy. I understand the concept of a human-alien marriage between people, societies or/and worlds but the dialogues seemed to me way too banal, and the expressions not even suitable for a decent conversation between two people on our forsaken planet.
4 - For the eventfulness, I think one can't do worse (well, one can always do worse!). I knew how the story would end from the blurb and this is definitely something I detest. Maybe that other readers would find some suspense in it, but for the obsessive reader that I am, it takes some gray matter to impress me.
5 - I said above "Oddly, the cover." because it's oddly incoherent. As the title is Royal Captive, it would be more suitable, and make more sense, for the captive to "appear" on the cover, not his captor! From what I read about Lars/Bastion (bulky, tall, has black strips under his skin and blondish red hair...) this is not him!
Well, as expected, my rating won't be higher than 2 stars. I rate it 2 stars for the sake of the cover that I like despite everything I said about it, and the technical side. I think it's a rushed work, botched even, and the universe of this series deserves several sets of fresh eyes that would review all the incoherent passages in it.
If it's truly inspired by the Stargate series, and I am 100% certain it is, I'd be more disappointed. Stargate series are the best sci-fi universe ever created for TV, it would be really hard, if not impossible, for one person, to do better than its amazing screenwriters.
Review edited on 04/20/2020.
To say things simply, I liked three things about this book:
1 - Oddly, the cover.
2 - The fact that it's a standalone. (For me, it is, even though I read most of the previous books.)
3 - It's rather well-written (not much typos, the punctuation is good, the chapters are long enough...)
Yet there are still a lot of things that I have to pinpoint about the series in general and this book in particular:
1 - Being a mega fanatic of the Stargate series, something kept bugging me in the universe of this series, reminding me way too much of my favorite TV show. Did the Stargate World inspire the author? I think so. I am quite sure it's Stargate Atlantis that inspired her.
- King Janos and the other inhabitants of his planet remind me of Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa) and later on Larz who, with his height, strength and confidence, is much like Ronon.
- Davos was just the name of the ruler of one of the planets visited by the team in season 4 (The Seer)... among other similarities.
As I said, I am a big fan of the whole series, I know every single thing about it and I can spot the Stargate touch, absolutely, anywhere.
2 - The universe of this series is incoherent. It's interesting, but not perfectly woven. The most important while creating the universe of a story is its realism. Might it be historical fiction, fantasy or science-fiction... if the universe lacks coherence, the story-line would seem/be bland, if not boring. Yet several passages of this 8th book don't make any sense at all, if anything they scream lack of imagination. For a futuristic universe, it seemed to me way backward:
- LV vehicles, feeding bottles and aviator sunglasses? Allow me to roll my eyes, Author!
- A disruptor for Larz? The weapon created by the Ancients in SG-1 and SG Atlantis, the most advanced race in the universe.... what the author claims to be the case for the Tygerians ...
Wanna more similarities with the Stargate series?
3 - I said that the story was well-written, but this is all. The narration was good but the content itself lacked inspiration and fantasy. I understand the concept of a human-alien marriage between people, societies or/and worlds but the dialogues seemed to me way too banal, and the expressions not even suitable for a decent conversation between two people on our forsaken planet.
4 - For the eventfulness, I think one can't do worse (well, one can always do worse!). I knew how the story would end from the blurb and this is definitely something I detest. Maybe that other readers would find some suspense in it, but for the obsessive reader that I am, it takes some gray matter to impress me.
5 - I said above "Oddly, the cover." because it's oddly incoherent. As the title is Royal Captive, it would be more suitable, and make more sense, for the captive to "appear" on the cover, not his captor! From what I read about Lars/Bastion (bulky, tall, has black strips under his skin and blondish red hair...) this is not him!
Well, as expected, my rating won't be higher than 2 stars. I rate it 2 stars for the sake of the cover that I like despite everything I said about it, and the technical side. I think it's a rushed work, botched even, and the universe of this series deserves several sets of fresh eyes that would review all the incoherent passages in it.
If it's truly inspired by the Stargate series, and I am 100% certain it is, I'd be more disappointed. Stargate series are the best sci-fi universe ever created for TV, it would be really hard, if not impossible, for one person, to do better than its amazing screenwriters.
Review edited on 04/20/2020.
August 9, 2019
Not the best one in the series, this was kinda slow and not a lot of smexy times for the 2 leads. Kinda resolves the plot about Larz though. I would have preferred to know Davos' point of view too on his argument with Blake.
November 10, 2019
ボク、いつのまにこんなに大きくなったんや？と親戚のおばさん気分。ブレイク様のブレイク王朝も現在です。二カールには可愛いお嫁さんをぜひ。
というか、このシリーズは書いてあること以上に深読みさせられていつも楽しい。人間より優れた生き物である虎族、妊娠もしたし、ボトムもした。そして新しい子供も存在する。次はどんな局面見せてくれるのでしょうか。
というか、このシリーズは書いてあること以上に深読みさせられていつも楽しい。人間より優れた生き物である虎族、妊娠もしたし、ボトムもした。そして新しい子供も存在する。次はどんな局面見せてくれるのでしょうか。
November 6, 2019
A ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Review. This review can also be found here.
Larz has been kidnapped and sold as a slave to King Janos of the Herkos Empire on the planet Laltana. Fearing that his position might give undue power to King Janos if he decides to use him as a bargaining chip in his fight against the Axis Empire, Larz has to live out his life as a slave turned soldier in the Herkos Empire.
Meanwhile, Janos is fully aware that Bastion is actually Prince Larz of Tygeria but has no idea what to do to with him. He can’t ever forget what the Tygerians did to him but he can’t see himself perpetuating the same crimes the Tygerians did. So, Janos decides to stick him in a place where Larz will be out of his sight and more importantly, out of his mind.
But, when Herkos’ war with Athelon places them in close quarters both Larz and Janos will have to figure out what to do with the attraction between them.
This book was almost a disappointment especially if you compare it with the other books in this series. Weirdly enough, it seemed like this book was written just to deliver on a deadline, though now that I have checked I realise that this book is 230 pages. I am really surprised to find that out this book is that long because it felt really short like about a hundred pages. Wow! That is one thing I will have to give Shannon West she has me so engrossed in this series and this family that I really can’t stop reading.
I love Davos and Blake’s family. These characters are now so real to me that you don’t even need to define them for me you can just mention them by name and I know what they are like. I am very invested in this series to the point that the author can get away with passably okay books but even though I know I will read the next book in this series despite not being wowed by this one, I really want good stories for these characters who I’m already in love with.
So, what went wrong in this book? Well, for one Davos, Blake, Mikos, Ryan, Mikol and even Renard stole the show completely. This might be a problem with this series because there are already so many characters that you love that they steal the show with just a single dialogue, and thus, I as a reader find it hard to get invested in a new character like Janos in this story. Though I feel the author does a good job of giving the love story in focus the time to breathe separately from the family, especially Blake.
Secondly, Larz and Janos are just not that developed. They are developed as characters and when they shared their first kiss, I was excited for these two but the author doesn’t have them meet up again till quite a while after that. The second time they meet after sharing kisses with each other, is in a very tense situation and sorry but I am with Annie Porter from Speed in this one, tense situations don’t make for lasting relationships. I wouldn’t have a problem with this if not for the fact that this situation is the entire breadth of their relationship as featured in this book. We never really get to see Larz and Janos in another situation and the ending really screwed these two over. Larz at the end just finds that Janos knew who he was all along and we never get to see Larz and Janos sort out this problem between themselves, the book ends before they get a single private moment again which left me feeling very shortchanged.
Also, this book doesn’t leave Larz and Janos on solid ground at all. Not only have they not talked about how Janos’ knew Larz’s true identity all this time we also don’t see Larz having to deal with the consequences of making decisions for Janos. The decision that is made for Laltana by Davos makes a lot of sense from Davos’ and Mikos’ perspective but Janos ends up losing his entire kingdom without any say in the matter which considering that he is Larz’s nobyo he should have had. Even if it was protesting and rallying for remaining a king even though I feel not being a king actually works in Janos's favour but still, he should have had the liberty to make decisions even bad ones. So, yeah I am not happy with where we left Larz and Janos or how we leave them.
Now let’s talk about the third thing that has me outraged. Where is Nicarr? I can’t imagine that the author decided to have a book featuring overbearing omak, Blake at his most overbearing and Larz without one single scene featuring Nicarr. Like, this is not a movie it doesn’t cost you anything to have Nicarr show up so, where was he? This fact was actually so jarring because Nicarr and Larz have been very close since the beginning of this series and added to the fact that Nicarr can no longer claim the title of being Blake’s baby, I was shocked that Nicarr was not up there stealing the show with the rest of his family. Like seriously, where is Nicarr I really, really want to know, which in hindsight is probably a calculated move by the author to have us so curious to find out about Nicarr that we will definitely pick up the next book which fingers crossed will be Nicarr’s story because I really want an answer.
So, initially I was talking about how Blake & Davos and Mikos & Ryan totally stole the show in this book and they totally did but these are also the best scenes in the book. I liked that Blake called out Davis on all the bullshit he spewed at the end of "Inconvenient Mate" and I am glad to see these two work it out.
Mikos, in a totally unexpected move, stole the show. I feel like this was one of the better resolutions to the baby question. In recent times in popular media we have had a lot of individuals who are couples but are on opposite sides of the baby question and there have been a lot of solutions offered but I think I liked how Mikos and Ryan went about finding their own solution and I like the answer they came to. Also, Renard talking back to Blake and finding out that Blake truly believes no one will ever be good enough for his children was so golden.
Overall, this wasn’t the best instalment in the series but it makes for an exciting read.
Cover Art by E. Keith. I really liked the cover for this book.
Larz has been kidnapped and sold as a slave to King Janos of the Herkos Empire on the planet Laltana. Fearing that his position might give undue power to King Janos if he decides to use him as a bargaining chip in his fight against the Axis Empire, Larz has to live out his life as a slave turned soldier in the Herkos Empire.
Meanwhile, Janos is fully aware that Bastion is actually Prince Larz of Tygeria but has no idea what to do to with him. He can’t ever forget what the Tygerians did to him but he can’t see himself perpetuating the same crimes the Tygerians did. So, Janos decides to stick him in a place where Larz will be out of his sight and more importantly, out of his mind.
But, when Herkos’ war with Athelon places them in close quarters both Larz and Janos will have to figure out what to do with the attraction between them.
This book was almost a disappointment especially if you compare it with the other books in this series. Weirdly enough, it seemed like this book was written just to deliver on a deadline, though now that I have checked I realise that this book is 230 pages. I am really surprised to find that out this book is that long because it felt really short like about a hundred pages. Wow! That is one thing I will have to give Shannon West she has me so engrossed in this series and this family that I really can’t stop reading.
I love Davos and Blake’s family. These characters are now so real to me that you don’t even need to define them for me you can just mention them by name and I know what they are like. I am very invested in this series to the point that the author can get away with passably okay books but even though I know I will read the next book in this series despite not being wowed by this one, I really want good stories for these characters who I’m already in love with.
So, what went wrong in this book? Well, for one Davos, Blake, Mikos, Ryan, Mikol and even Renard stole the show completely. This might be a problem with this series because there are already so many characters that you love that they steal the show with just a single dialogue, and thus, I as a reader find it hard to get invested in a new character like Janos in this story. Though I feel the author does a good job of giving the love story in focus the time to breathe separately from the family, especially Blake.
Secondly, Larz and Janos are just not that developed. They are developed as characters and when they shared their first kiss, I was excited for these two but the author doesn’t have them meet up again till quite a while after that. The second time they meet after sharing kisses with each other, is in a very tense situation and sorry but I am with Annie Porter from Speed in this one, tense situations don’t make for lasting relationships. I wouldn’t have a problem with this if not for the fact that this situation is the entire breadth of their relationship as featured in this book. We never really get to see Larz and Janos in another situation and the ending really screwed these two over. Larz at the end just finds that Janos knew who he was all along and we never get to see Larz and Janos sort out this problem between themselves, the book ends before they get a single private moment again which left me feeling very shortchanged.
Also, this book doesn’t leave Larz and Janos on solid ground at all. Not only have they not talked about how Janos’ knew Larz’s true identity all this time we also don’t see Larz having to deal with the consequences of making decisions for Janos. The decision that is made for Laltana by Davos makes a lot of sense from Davos’ and Mikos’ perspective but Janos ends up losing his entire kingdom without any say in the matter which considering that he is Larz’s nobyo he should have had. Even if it was protesting and rallying for remaining a king even though I feel not being a king actually works in Janos's favour but still, he should have had the liberty to make decisions even bad ones. So, yeah I am not happy with where we left Larz and Janos or how we leave them.
Now let’s talk about the third thing that has me outraged. Where is Nicarr? I can’t imagine that the author decided to have a book featuring overbearing omak, Blake at his most overbearing and Larz without one single scene featuring Nicarr. Like, this is not a movie it doesn’t cost you anything to have Nicarr show up so, where was he? This fact was actually so jarring because Nicarr and Larz have been very close since the beginning of this series and added to the fact that Nicarr can no longer claim the title of being Blake’s baby, I was shocked that Nicarr was not up there stealing the show with the rest of his family. Like seriously, where is Nicarr I really, really want to know, which in hindsight is probably a calculated move by the author to have us so curious to find out about Nicarr that we will definitely pick up the next book which fingers crossed will be Nicarr’s story because I really want an answer.
So, initially I was talking about how Blake & Davos and Mikos & Ryan totally stole the show in this book and they totally did but these are also the best scenes in the book. I liked that Blake called out Davis on all the bullshit he spewed at the end of "Inconvenient Mate" and I am glad to see these two work it out.
Mikos, in a totally unexpected move, stole the show. I feel like this was one of the better resolutions to the baby question. In recent times in popular media we have had a lot of individuals who are couples but are on opposite sides of the baby question and there have been a lot of solutions offered but I think I liked how Mikos and Ryan went about finding their own solution and I like the answer they came to. Also, Renard talking back to Blake and finding out that Blake truly believes no one will ever be good enough for his children was so golden.
Overall, this wasn’t the best instalment in the series but it makes for an exciting read.
Cover Art by E. Keith. I really liked the cover for this book.
January 27, 2020
Very good
Considering this is book 8, the series never ran out of steam or lost its way.
Plenty of angst, which made for hard reading at times but I can definitely recommend this novel.
Considering this is book 8, the series never ran out of steam or lost its way.
Plenty of angst, which made for hard reading at times but I can definitely recommend this novel.
June 29, 2021
Good story but sometimes it was a bit confusing, but still brilliant
June 4, 2022
I liked it
I like this book it was okay I still really don't have a good feel for Larz but It was still on okay read Off to book 9
I like this book it was okay I still really don't have a good feel for Larz but It was still on okay read Off to book 9
August 17, 2019
Pretty close to a perfect story
Blake and Davos' children most certainly find very dramatic ways to meet their nobyos. It had to be one of my favorite lines in this book when Blake was complaining about it and wishing that just one of his sons could settle settle down peacefully.
Larz and Janos were a very difficult couple, in particular. While several of his brothers have basically been kidnapped by their nobyos, Larz was both kidnapped and enslaved for four years. I hate to think what might have happened if Janos hadn't been as honorable as he was; if he has used Larz as a slave, I don't think that anything could have mitigated Davos' or Mikos' wrath.
Blake and Davos' children most certainly find very dramatic ways to meet their nobyos. It had to be one of my favorite lines in this book when Blake was complaining about it and wishing that just one of his sons could settle settle down peacefully.
Larz and Janos were a very difficult couple, in particular. While several of his brothers have basically been kidnapped by their nobyos, Larz was both kidnapped and enslaved for four years. I hate to think what might have happened if Janos hadn't been as honorable as he was; if he has used Larz as a slave, I don't think that anything could have mitigated Davos' or Mikos' wrath.
August 1, 2019
Amazing! Love Larz and Janos! This book is about Larz being kidnapping and sold to be king Janos slave.
King Janos hate Tygerians and dispite hating him, He can’t help to be drawn to Larz. I love this serie and this book is a wonderful addition! Of course there’s a little intrigue, war and romance, don’t missed it! Looking forward to more of this series!
King Janos hate Tygerians and dispite hating him, He can’t help to be drawn to Larz. I love this serie and this book is a wonderful addition! Of course there’s a little intrigue, war and romance, don’t missed it! Looking forward to more of this series!
August 2, 2019
Great book series
I gave it 5 because this book did not disappoint me. It made me excited and happy in every turn of the page. There are no boring part in this book. You will be hooked and hypnotized. I'm so happy with the turn of the story and i am now waiting in anticipation with the next book.
I gave it 5 because this book did not disappoint me. It made me excited and happy in every turn of the page. There are no boring part in this book. You will be hooked and hypnotized. I'm so happy with the turn of the story and i am now waiting in anticipation with the next book.
August 24, 2019
Royal Captive (Mate of Cyber Prince book 8)
Love this book, rated five stars because I could not put it down, one intrigue lead to another throughout this amazing work. I am a fan of Shannon West and have read practically all of her books. I recommend this book and others in this series. I have re-read parts of this book over and over again, really a great book.
Love this book, rated five stars because I could not put it down, one intrigue lead to another throughout this amazing work. I am a fan of Shannon West and have read practically all of her books. I recommend this book and others in this series. I have re-read parts of this book over and over again, really a great book.
September 10, 2019
Hmmmm, I wonder what would or how would Mikos handle twins or even triplets hybrids? Would Mikol be the overprotective big brother or sibling rivalry would cause him to act out. Now that I think about it how about Haggoz not twins but a miracle for him and Kevin. Haven’t heard much from them since the bad news...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2020
Another excellent addition to the series! Watched Larz grow from boy to man, saw Janos start to The healing process as the two of the love and learn from each other. Good book from start to finish, hope there will be more!
August 7, 2019
This series always delivers
I have loved all the books in this series and this was no exception. Love the crazy space opera themes and Blake stole the show, as usual.
I have loved all the books in this series and this was no exception. Love the crazy space opera themes and Blake stole the show, as usual.
June 10, 2023
This series is simply phenomenal!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews