Prisoner of Fortune

Fire & Vice #1

by Nikita Slater

Sold to pay off a debt to the rich owner of a casino. He locked her up in his penthouse for his exclusive use. He held her captive, and punished her when she resisted. She knew he was a bad man, who did bad things. She had to get away before he took more than she could give.Khalid was used to taking what he wanted and walking away without regrets. Until he met Shania. Beautiful, sweet and uncorrupted by his world, he would protect her, cherish her, force her to submit. He would keep her locked away from the world and teach her to love him, in spite of her misgivings.Book one of the Fire & Vice series. All books are standalone and can be read in any order. Guaranteed HEA, NO cheating, NO cliffhanger. Just hot alpha male who knows what he wants!

Genres: Dark, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Erotica, BDSM, Crime

132 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Nikita's social media:

Website: https://www.authornikitaslater.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/slaternikita/
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/18531...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slaternikita/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nikit...

Nikita Slater is the USA Today Bestselling Author of action-packed suspenseful romance. She writes dark romance, mafia romance, MC romance, fantasy shifter romance, and post-apocalyptic dystopian romance. She lives on the beautiful Canadian prairies with her son, her awesome dog, and her partner. She has an unholy affinity for books, wine, pets and anything chocolate. Despite some of the darker themes in her books (which are pure fun and fantasy), Nikita is a staunch feminist and advocate of equal rights for all races, genders and non-gender specific persons. When she isn't writing, dreaming about writing or talking about writing, she helps others discover a love of reading and writing through literacy and social work.

Reviews

[AKA · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a hot mess and yet, I tried to stick with it. When Khalid declared her his slave, I got uncomfortable. This isn't a D/s or BDSM themed book. He "bought" her and lost his mind. I was okay with a kidnapping/ Beauty and the Beast theme but a bi racial woman as a slave? Yikes.

*** spoiler of an awful scene***

Yet, I thought maybe that's just hyperbole. Then, after she tried to escape he cut off her top with a knife, pulled off his belt and beat her like a soldier in Glory, and then they had sex.





The author tried to walk back the bat crap insane violence of the encounter by saying she only had faint lines on her back but that was just so full of no. Yeah, that made this one a DNF. I skipped to the end and they get married. *gags*

[Melluvsbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! What a great debut!

Loved this book with an aggressively jealous/possessive H. He takes the h as payment for her husbands gambling debts, but he’s had his eye one her for a while. He’s totally obsessed with keeping her and protecting her. He is rough around the edges but he has a soft spot for the h.

This book packs a lot in 86 pages. Very impressive.


Side note: the version I read was 86 pages and ended with a nice HEA at chapter 14. HOWEVER , After chatting with a friend I found out that the version she read has several more chapters, that changed the overall outcome of the book. Still an HEA, but a little more complicated, compared to the version I read. Just an FYI.



Bottom Line? I really liked it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️




⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️

- no cheating or sharing

- no OW drama

- OM drama - the H basically steals the h from her husband

- h is early 30s and married to a loser

- H is maybe late 30s, and experienced

- no condoms

- H whips the h with a belt after she runs away. He is remorseful.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (7/13/2019)! 🎁

[Jennifer McGurk Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read some reviews that said Khalid beat her after she tried to escape. First of all she's six feet tall and she punches him in the face and bites his ear so hard she draws blood and he hit her with his belt a few times. I hardly call that a beating, and she was super turned on afterwards so I'm guessing she was into it. Enough about that, now on to the actual story. Shania was separated from her POS husband, Aiden and he asked her to do him a favor. He was badly beaten in a hospital bed and he asked her to go to the casino and pay the owner $2,000. She agreed having no idea her life was about to completely change. Khalid owns the casino among other things and he doesn't like it when people owe him money. Aiden owed him $200,000, not $2,000 and he tried offering Khalid his wife instead but Khalid refused. He had no intention of taking Shania until she walked into his casino and then ... well he knew he had to have her. I really liked this book and it would've been 5 stars but Shania really irked me in the beginning. I don't give a rat's ass what anyone else thinks but I loved Khalid.

[Jos]

Dnf

Started out cheesey and when she described herself as an Amazonian woman sorry I just didn’t have a good visual I know I know but I like to envision my characters and I just was turned off!

[Bookgasms Book Blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prisoner of Fortune was another solid read from Nikita Slater. This story was shorter but no less sexy. Khalid and Shania were so delicious. He was an OTT alpha male that was obsessed with having her and she fought him at every turn.

I thought the climax of the story came out of nowhere however, as I assumed that situation was rectified. But overall, it was a nice twist. 3.5 stars! ~Ratula

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book
Couldn't put it down.
Five star
Love it
I do reccomed it to everyone.

[Maleficent · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea wasn't bad and there were some quite controversial scenes that were not for faint hearted. The book definitely could have been interesting for the dark story lovers if it weren't for bad writing. .. it was rushed and without a lot of details.. it looked more like an high school essay...

[100sweet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, wow, wow!! Extremely possessive and obsessed H. Very hot sex scenes. Great story. This is an author to follow.

[Expresso · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Not as intense as I like but a decent enough story.

[Chalice · Rating 3 out of 5]

The couple: Khalid and Shania

Romance genre: mafia (kind of)
Series: Fire and Vice
Length: 86 pages

Plot: Shania's soon-to-be ex-husband racked up a large debt with Khalid, the owner of a casino as well as many other business enterprises. Shania's ex asked her to go to the casino to drop off a payment. When she gets there and tries to do just that, though, Khalid decides he will accept her as payment instead. In fact, that was part of the original deal with her ex, although she doesn't know that. She is resistant to the idea because Khalid wants to keep her - for good. And when Shania runs away, he is not slow to punish her. Can she love such a monster, or will he have to let her go?

Commentary: I like this trope (taken for a debt), but Khalid was damaged and he took it out on Shania. Even that I could have dealt with (minus the whipping, which was not okay, obviously), but he kept saying how much he wanted her, and in his mind, he kept thinking about how she was so different from all other women he knew, but yet he was mean to her. Didn't make sense. It was part of his character though, so it made sense within the character that had been developed (it just didn't make sense for any person to behave that way). In the end, though, he was able to figure it out, although I'm sure that was more to do with Shania's influence than with any actual change. He was redeemed for her, and I like that sort of ending.

Next book in the series: Fight or Flight

[Cheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shania went to a casino to pay the money her ex-husband owed the owner. Once there she catches Khalid's eye. Little did she know, her ex owed $200,000 not $20,000 and he'd sold her to pay off his debt. After refusing and beating his ass, Khalid decides to take him up on the offer once she sees Shania.

My first read by this author was a disappointing one. The writing lacked depth. I felt very little connection to the characters and never understood why Khalid fell in love with Shania who annoyed the piss out of me with how dumb she was. Why on earth would she let her ex talk her into meeting the violent criminal who put him in the hospital? Why, when after knowing he sold her into slavery, would she refuse to sign the divorce papers Khalid presented her with? Of course Khalid got pissed off. The ending with the ex coming back for her made little sense and his insertion seemed like drama for drama sake because the third Act needed it. The only intriguing character was Ash, Shania's bodyguard. If this book wasn't a novella I would've DNF. I've got more books by the author on my shelf but I'm hesitating to read them now.

[Kim BookJunkie ~ Editor & Proofreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

”She would find the owner of this casino and hand over the $2,000 her husband still owed.” Unfortunately, he doesn’t want cash – he wants her!!

It’s hard to write a thorough, complete book in under 100 pages so I was skeptical yet open minded when I read this, my first book by Ms. Slater. I was actually grateful for a lot of what she bypassed. Specifically, I was glad she bypassed giving a lot of detail about the main character’s husband, instead summarizing what could have been drawn out into unnecessary pages of filler. However, in the end, I think I would have found the captor/captive relationship more believable and plausible if there had been more build up (aka more pages). I just didn’t feel the emotional connection between the two or believe that the female main character succumbed as quickly as she did. It’s not a terrible book – it’s obvious that Slater has talent- but I didn’t grab me like I had hoped.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is difficult for me to rate. I tend to see the positive aspects of books more than the negative ones because it takes work and courage to get out there. So I always try to keep that in my mind.

Some parts of this book I like and some were simply wrong and made me seriously uncomfortable. It had potential but the execution was lacking and left me disappointed I guess.

But the writing style was ok so I'll try to give another book from this author a chance. But all in all this one was a miss from me.

[Carena Uluocha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hmmm, what can I say? This was a nice, entertaining short read. I wish there was more about this couple that we could see. But it was great! If you want a quick dark mafia fix, Prisoner of Fortune is the book to read. I loved it and can’t stop be coming addicted to your books Nikita!

[Laterseen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Nikita's books but this is not good enough

I read the description and I was ready for a steamy short novella but this was really painful to read. He calls her a slave, beats her, tears her top with a knife then rapes her. Even if she has an orgasm, that was rape. I'm okay with dubious consent in books but this was not okay. The ML was an ass from beginning to end.

The description says no cheating but she's married and sleeping with the boss (let's pretend that it's not rape as the author wants us to believe). He has sex with her and then makes her sign her divorce papers. I had struggled on but at that point I knew I was just wasting my time reading the book.

I'm all for shock value but this was not cool at all. The ending was not a HEA as far as I'm concerned. If this was the first book I read from this author, I would never read any of her books again and miss out on gems like the Queen series.

One thing that still feels like it was left out was that she's not into illegal stuff, she's a do-gooder. There's no way she can enjoy spending money made from ruining hardworking families as she mentioned in the earlier part. But all that was swept under the rug of sexual attraction that morphed into Stockholm's Syndrome.

[Nicole Aminah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well that was disappointing. It’s so upsetting when the premise of a book is better than the actual book.

I will say I genuinely enjoyed the beginning. The hero was dark and intriguing just like I like them. His backstory is really interesting and I wish there was more of that - how he fought after losing his family, coming to the States, becoming a self made millionaire - but what I just summarized is all you get.

The heroine was...meh at best. Yeah she’s beautiful and works at a shelter so I guess a good person but she’s also dumb. She expects to pay off her gambling husbands debt and end up being sold to the casino owner. I honestly didn’t get what made her so desirable but isn’t that usually the case with most of these books. I call if the Bella Swan syndrome.

All in all this was a free book that I’m glad I didn’t pay for. It was a quick, easy read but like sex i prefer something that isn’t just quick and easy.

[sammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hmm soo when my insomnia decided to join me in bed tonight, I was hoping to find a short smut- fest book to lull me into a blissful sleep.

What I found instead was Miss Slater's perfect combination of OTT hero Khalid and a strong willful heroine Shania!


Khalid is pretty much a caveman who occasionally manhandles Shania. He is the epitome of alpha, dominant, and possessive alpha.


Loved it all! Definite Reread!

[Kathyjacks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice start

This is the first book that I’ve read by this writer. It was recommended to me because of the hero, Khalid, being jealous and possessive. He ran a casino and Shania’s husband had a gambling addiction . When he was in debt to Khalid he sold his wife to pay that debt. This is another captive story but I really liked the hero . He was a bad guy that wasn’t so bad when it came to this woman. It wasn’t long and easily finished in a couple of hours . I would have liked more depth to the characters but the alpha-ness of Khalid made it a really good read .

[Rachel Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too Unrealistic

***Slight spoiler alert*** I love dark romances and bad boys as much as the next person, but actually violently whipping the h and her then enjoying sex with him minutes later was just too far fetched for me. I've read books where the hero starts out a monster and over time redeems himself somehow. Here he was just cruel and she was fine with it. I'm glad it was a kindle unlimited

[Teinevi · Rating 3 out of 5]

16 November 2017

2.5 - 3

Bought this book last year, thought it was a book I had not read so I started reading it, quarter way through I remembered it, so I thought I'd do a review on current date but for last year's read. Hope that makes sense.

This was a short read, it's a story about a bi-racial woman named Shania, who goes to the casino to pay off her husband's debt, she's curious about Khalid, the casino owner. She wants to know why they beat up her husband so badly over a few thousand dollars, after he had already paid 20 thousand.

Unbeknownst to her, Aidan (husband) pledged her as payment. He owes about two hundred thousand. Khalid, who initially wasn't interested in Shania as being payment, changes his mind when he meets her.

I thought it had a good story line but things happened so fast and I didn't really get into the finer detail of things, like when lust turned to love and all that jazz. Khalid was pretty much bossy from the beginning but showed signs of being reasonable, he was also possessive and demanding.

Then there is a scene where Shania is punished. I won't go into that other than to say, it was expected, it is described in the book but I am glad that Khalid showed remorse about it.

There's a bit of drama involving the ex-husband but nothing to twist your panties at, there's a small surprise at the end.

[Carlise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad for a first time reader

This is the first book I’ve read from this author. I must say, it was a startling read and I am still processing how I feel about the genre.

On one hand, the sex was hot and the whole Alpha male thing is definitely working. While our heroine is initially scared and timid, you quickly sees that she has a backbone and more courage than she even gives herself credit for, but regardless of that, the man did essentially keeps her prisoner and showed a propensity for violence. I can’t wrap my had around the fact that just because he can rock the sheets, she was willing to overlook how it all began.

Khalid was a complex character. He likes Shania and has an immediate connection to her and in his mind, kidnapping her and showering her with gifts should endear her to him..sure it does in the end, but the journey was wrought with tension and violence. Shania was thrust into a world she knows nothing about. Betrayed by one man and used by another. Sure, Khalid’s ultimate intentions may be somewhat honorable, but the fact is, she fell in love with the devil.

I liked the book enough to love the fact that Ash has a story of his own, but I’ll see if this flow of story writing will work for me in the long run. I enjoyed the book and for those where this fantasy bad boy, erotic romance, works..I definitely recommend it.

[Kael · Rating 1 out of 5]

well this sucked. i enjoyed it until she ran away (which was good) but then he beat her. with a belt. and not like bdsm sexy times and submission and spanking or anything like that. nope he grabbed his belt and whacked her back while she curled up in a ball on the ground. AND whats even almost worse?! they had sex afterwards were she was loving it and begging him and when she woke up she was like oh my backs kinda sore but omg the sex was amazing. and he apologised and she basically believed him and he said he’d never do that again. and then the rest was just sex sex sex and her begging for freedom and him being a controlling abusive asshole and not giving it. but then he does give it and him and his body guard go to work with her and watch her and help??! this casino and business owner and guy who does bad things but im not sure what since it wasnt told?!?!

plus he kept having sex without protection which was gross too. ugh i hated him and she just was in a i love sex with him but i also just need freedom world and i hated them both. him more though ughhhh this sucked

[Haste]

Notes:
- This book sort of irritated me. Shaina needed to make up her mind as she kept going between having sex with Khalid to screaming at him 😅 and wanting to escape, to all of a sudden falling in love with him 🤷🏻‍♀️


📕📗📘📙📕📗📘📙📕📗📘📙📕📗📘📙📕📗📘

Summary:
Badly beaten and in the hospital, Aiden sends his ex-wife Shania with a bag of cash to the casino to pay off his debt. The casino owner Khalid instantly becomes obsessed with Shania and reveals to her that the cash she brought was nowhere close to enough to pay Aiden’s debt, and that Aiden had bargained to sell Shania to Khalid. Smitten, Khalid keeps Shania and while she fights him, he learns to love her.

Shania is at work when Aiden kidnaps her and explains his crazed idea to pawn off the expensive gifts Khalid gave to Shania so that the two of them could start a life together. Khalid and his bodyguard Ash find them, with Aiden shooting Shania in the arm before he is killed by Ash.

Last chapter shows Khalid and Shania three months pregnant.



𝕳𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊 .

[JBKM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when it was first released and didn't realize I hadn't left a feedback. If you are a fan of Ms. Slater you already know how awesome her books are. If you haven't read her books, give them a try, just pick one, you wouldn't be disappointed. I have read thousands of romance novels from all Genres and Ms. Slater is one of my top 5 Authors. Her novels are a little bit more than your typical romance, but after reading the same kind of novels over and over you want something different and she certainly doesn't fail to disappoint. They are all unique in their own way with Alpha Heroes and Bad Ass Women who keep them on their toes....Enjoy! I know I did...lol.

RE: The Fire and Vice series are all standalone novels but still linked by the Characters as most of her books are. I love that, gives you a chance to find out what the other characters are up to. It's a must read series for anyone who loves Mafia Romance or Just Romance with an edge...lol.

[Mills · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 57%

I guess Sanctuary's Warlord was the exception, not the rule, because this made me ANGRY. Yes, in capital letters. The difference, I suppose, is that the protagonists in Warlord were both trying to do what they thought was the right thing. I may not have always agreed with their actions but I liked both of them.

In Prisoner of Fortune, I hate both of them. She's a moron with a sob story, desperate for the slightest bit of affection. He has no redeeming features. And no, money is not a redeeming feature.

I was already becoming angrier by the page, when he made things profoundly clear: "your second mistake... assuming... your consent would ever be important to me."

WELL FUCK YOU, YOU COLOSSAL PRICK.

Over and out.

[Missjayd · Rating 1 out of 5]

EDIT: I just realize that this book is written before Silence Empire. I’ll see this as work in progress then.
Still don’t like it though

It’s started out okay. The story was a little bit Mua but I was holding on. I could even kinda see the anti hero in the belt beating scene.

But after he gets her het divorce paper and this girl, because ain’t no way this is a 30 yo, refused to sign them.
Why you may ask, since she was already planning on divorcing husband, the one that tried to sold her and was cheating on her?
Because she “wasn’t ready” and “didn’t want to fail at marriage”
Woman you just had an othe guy d*VK in you last night!!

Talking about she wants to talk it out with him first!
I threw my kindle on the bed, then picked it back up and deleted that book. Wasting my money!

I don’t understand how this is the same writer that wrote sinner’s Empire.

[Laverne Brewster · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.00 Stars. (BW/AM). Kindle Unlimited Edition 131 page novella e-book. Captor/ captive romance. Stockholm Syndrome. Obsessive overbearing captor. The naive submissive heroine, Shania Galveston, comes to the hero's casino to pay her husband's gambling debt but decides to spend $50 at the casino in order to work up the courage to face Khalid, the hero and holder of her husband's debt. Unbeknownst to Shania, she has been offered to Khalid as payment for his $200,000.00 debt. Khalid is an American Arab from Kabul, Afghanistan, who has suffered abuse and tragedy prior to coming to America, Khalid and Shania bond over the death of family. By the end of this twisted story, Khalid and Shania are in love and happily married.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Giving this the round up because I was expecting it to be less than satisfying. Thankfully, it exceeded my expectations, and I really liked it. Not only did it have favorite tropes of mine with the mafia and debt repayment, but there was also depth to the Hero, and realistic reactions by the heroine. I was a bit put off by how controlling, unrelenting and almost brutal Khalid was with Shania, but I think the explanation (background) and remorse that he showed made up for it. Overall a good book, and I'd read more by this author.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found a new author to stalk!

Loved this erotic tale with captive noncon aspects .Kahlid ,a powerful possessive alpha male and casino owner in sin city,while extracting punishment for an unpaid debt ,is offered something he didn't know he needed . So sweet,sexy and fulfilling. That is all for now as I am off to read the next in Nikita's series!