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The Dark Wood: Book 1
Spirited young peasant girl Mabel longs for adventure. She is also extremely curious about sex! But she has little chance for either in the dull little village of Fanny-on-Poke. So when a handsome young woodcutter named Galen offers to marry her and take her away, she jumps at the chance.
But Galen proves to be a jealous husband who is not interested in adventures in the bedroom. After an accident leaves him injured, Mabel discovers she is pregnant. With not a coin to their name, the couple is desperate. Little does Mabel know that she has a secret admirer: The dominant, sensual, and very wealthy Duke of Rutland. The Duke is willing to pay handsomely to have his way with her. But Mabel is forced to flee when Galen is driven mad by jealousy.
Now Mabel is lost–alone and naked–in the enchanted depths of the Dark Wood. There she will encounter unicorns, fairies, and werewolves… and lots of steamy, passionate sex!
But Galen proves to be a jealous husband who is not interested in adventures in the bedroom. After an accident leaves him injured, Mabel discovers she is pregnant. With not a coin to their name, the couple is desperate. Little does Mabel know that she has a secret admirer: The dominant, sensual, and very wealthy Duke of Rutland. The Duke is willing to pay handsomely to have his way with her. But Mabel is forced to flee when Galen is driven mad by jealousy.
Now Mabel is lost–alone and naked–in the enchanted depths of the Dark Wood. There she will encounter unicorns, fairies, and werewolves… and lots of steamy, passionate sex!
118 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 21, 2020
9 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Zadie Black
8 books30 followersI write Legends of Lust, a series of extremely explicit adults-only fantasy tales. Damsels should be like dungeons: dirty and damp! You can download my books just about everywhere ebooks are sold.
Follow me on Twitter! @ZadieBlack. NSFW, sweeties!
Follow me on Twitter! @ZadieBlack. NSFW, sweeties!
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 6 reviews
June 15, 2020
What a brilliant magical novel.
Zadie nails this tale of Mabel and Gallen.
This couple marry and struggle.
Their struggles are answered with the intervention of the Duke of Rutland.
A major alpha male who brings so much to their marriage.
Mabel truly loves the extra that her Duke provides her with.
Gallen realises his own shortcummings but loves the extra the Duke provides.
Then it is off to the Dark Wood.
A magical place with magical outcomes for Mabel.
However more will ruin the story.
Great plot.
Great characters.
Can’t wait for book two to see how Mabel and Gallen develop as a loving couple.
Five white hot pulsing shooting stars
Zadie nails this tale of Mabel and Gallen.
This couple marry and struggle.
Their struggles are answered with the intervention of the Duke of Rutland.
A major alpha male who brings so much to their marriage.
Mabel truly loves the extra that her Duke provides her with.
Gallen realises his own shortcummings but loves the extra the Duke provides.
Then it is off to the Dark Wood.
A magical place with magical outcomes for Mabel.
However more will ruin the story.
Great plot.
Great characters.
Can’t wait for book two to see how Mabel and Gallen develop as a loving couple.
Five white hot pulsing shooting stars
October 25, 2020
I'm more than happy to recommend this thoroughly entertaining book.
The fantasy genre is one I've rarely dipped into, although I've read a few of the classics over the years, but fantasy erotica has recently appeared on my radar, thanks largely to this author.
I will say at this stage that I did have the opportunity to read an early draft and give the author some feedback, but that hasn't affected my opinion and this review is of the final, published edition which I bought.
The opening could be that of any gentle fantasy story. A man finds himself trapped in the remote cabin of a young woman by a blizzard. They flirt amusingly, and he begins to tell her a story; the story the author wants us to hear, about a young woman named Mabel. This device continues throughout the book, as we hear how the tale affects the man's efforts to seduce the woman.
The story itself also begins calmly enough. I won't give too much away, but the author builds the pace slowly and carefully, elements of the fantasy realm beginning to pierce Mabel's reality.
Her marriage to Galen, the woodcutter, seems ideal but things change when she moves to his cottage by the Dark Wood of the title. A local nobleman soon takes an interest in the woodcutter's new wife, and their lives will change beyond recognition because of it.
Their adventures in the Dark Wood involve many of the elements you'd expect in fantasy fiction: fairies, werewolves and unicorns, all surrounded by mystery and menacing darkness. And some intense sexual encounters.
The author achieves an excellent blend of fantasy and erotica, one leading to the other and coming from it. Mabel is feisty, adventurous and curious; likeable from the very beginning. Her journey through the dark wood - naked and newly pregnant - is full of twists and turns and she has to use her wit and guile to survive.
The writing style is perfect for the subject. Deliberately slightly archaic, but eminently readable and the dialogue is almost poetic at times, drawing you along with surprising speed. The author isn't afraid to make us laugh either, with some light touches, as well as some more obvious things; the village of Fanny-on-Poke being just one example. Each character has a distinct voice which tells you much about their personality.
Those characters are all well-drawn. Mabel, her husband Galen, the Duke, and Vasqua, his personal knight, all play significant parts in the story, and you feel you know them almost from first meeting. You're drawn into their lives; their history, their strengths and their weaknesses.
It's hugely entertaining, and as it's the first of a two part story, by the end you really want to pick up the sequel and devour it. If you enjoy classic fantasy elements, a cracking story, well-written characters and some highly erotic sex scenes, then you can't go wrong with this book.
The fantasy genre is one I've rarely dipped into, although I've read a few of the classics over the years, but fantasy erotica has recently appeared on my radar, thanks largely to this author.
I will say at this stage that I did have the opportunity to read an early draft and give the author some feedback, but that hasn't affected my opinion and this review is of the final, published edition which I bought.
The opening could be that of any gentle fantasy story. A man finds himself trapped in the remote cabin of a young woman by a blizzard. They flirt amusingly, and he begins to tell her a story; the story the author wants us to hear, about a young woman named Mabel. This device continues throughout the book, as we hear how the tale affects the man's efforts to seduce the woman.
The story itself also begins calmly enough. I won't give too much away, but the author builds the pace slowly and carefully, elements of the fantasy realm beginning to pierce Mabel's reality.
Her marriage to Galen, the woodcutter, seems ideal but things change when she moves to his cottage by the Dark Wood of the title. A local nobleman soon takes an interest in the woodcutter's new wife, and their lives will change beyond recognition because of it.
Their adventures in the Dark Wood involve many of the elements you'd expect in fantasy fiction: fairies, werewolves and unicorns, all surrounded by mystery and menacing darkness. And some intense sexual encounters.
The author achieves an excellent blend of fantasy and erotica, one leading to the other and coming from it. Mabel is feisty, adventurous and curious; likeable from the very beginning. Her journey through the dark wood - naked and newly pregnant - is full of twists and turns and she has to use her wit and guile to survive.
The writing style is perfect for the subject. Deliberately slightly archaic, but eminently readable and the dialogue is almost poetic at times, drawing you along with surprising speed. The author isn't afraid to make us laugh either, with some light touches, as well as some more obvious things; the village of Fanny-on-Poke being just one example. Each character has a distinct voice which tells you much about their personality.
Those characters are all well-drawn. Mabel, her husband Galen, the Duke, and Vasqua, his personal knight, all play significant parts in the story, and you feel you know them almost from first meeting. You're drawn into their lives; their history, their strengths and their weaknesses.
It's hugely entertaining, and as it's the first of a two part story, by the end you really want to pick up the sequel and devour it. If you enjoy classic fantasy elements, a cracking story, well-written characters and some highly erotic sex scenes, then you can't go wrong with this book.
February 21, 2021
Pretty much all the erotic moments were fetishized and and the writing was lack luster for me- and I read a lot of fantasy smut. I DO like how the story is unfolding and it definitely kept me reading to see what happens next but I don't like the way the sex is written. I could swear it is written by a man- it seems rushed, crude, and what a horny old man would want to see and that just grossed me out. The sapphic scene was the best by far. I also hate Galen so if the author tries to make him redeemable I'll be furious. That being said, I did buy the second book to see what happens because the story was good enough to keep me wanting more
September 3, 2022
This was such a surreal read, such a seamless blend of fairy tale and fetish, that it does indeed feel almost magical. In leading us into The Dark Wood for the first time, Zadie Black puts a darker, more erotic spin on familiar tropes, and does so with an endearing heroine and an amusing storytelling device.
From that framing device to the language and dialogue, this whole story sounds and feels like a lost fairy tale. It has that narrative power to it, that ability to engage and entertain the reader, to draw us in and surround us with the mundane village of Fanny-on-Poke and the enchanted forest of The Dark Wood. It’s because of that narrative power that the erotic elements feel more naughty than nasty, somehow managing to be scandalous without being shocking. Right from the opening scenes, when we read of young Mabel and her fascination with sex, it’s not the unspeakable taboos that speak loudest but the naive wonder.
Mabel and Galen are everything you’d expect of a fairy tale couple – for good and bad. By the time the Duke swoops in with his indecent proposal for beautiful (and very pregnant) Mabel, we’re able to appreciate the dilemma it poses for the couple, to hope for the best because we know her motives, and yet fear for the worst because we know Galen’s. It seems like one fairy tale romance stepping into another, but then we get to know more about the Duke and suddenly it’s the reader with the dilemma.
Even when they’re base and animalistic, the erotic scenes here are beautiful, but it’s when they’re heartfelt and tender that the story is strongest – except, of course, this is a fairy tale, and sometimes the darkest of horrors are hidden beneath the brightest of joys. I loved how the story kept growing, evolving deeper into the fantastic, with unicorns and werewolves rhyming tricksters coloring the tale. With the promise of dragon harems in Book 2, I am eager to continue Mabel’s journey.
https://femledfantasy.home.blog/2020/...
From that framing device to the language and dialogue, this whole story sounds and feels like a lost fairy tale. It has that narrative power to it, that ability to engage and entertain the reader, to draw us in and surround us with the mundane village of Fanny-on-Poke and the enchanted forest of The Dark Wood. It’s because of that narrative power that the erotic elements feel more naughty than nasty, somehow managing to be scandalous without being shocking. Right from the opening scenes, when we read of young Mabel and her fascination with sex, it’s not the unspeakable taboos that speak loudest but the naive wonder.
Mabel and Galen are everything you’d expect of a fairy tale couple – for good and bad. By the time the Duke swoops in with his indecent proposal for beautiful (and very pregnant) Mabel, we’re able to appreciate the dilemma it poses for the couple, to hope for the best because we know her motives, and yet fear for the worst because we know Galen’s. It seems like one fairy tale romance stepping into another, but then we get to know more about the Duke and suddenly it’s the reader with the dilemma.
Even when they’re base and animalistic, the erotic scenes here are beautiful, but it’s when they’re heartfelt and tender that the story is strongest – except, of course, this is a fairy tale, and sometimes the darkest of horrors are hidden beneath the brightest of joys. I loved how the story kept growing, evolving deeper into the fantastic, with unicorns and werewolves rhyming tricksters coloring the tale. With the promise of dragon harems in Book 2, I am eager to continue Mabel’s journey.
https://femledfantasy.home.blog/2020/...
May 1, 2021
A truly delightful read
The story is well written with an intriguing storyline. Character development proceeds at a good pace with excellent attention to detail. It is easy to read, a light story but extremely arousing. Anyone looking to get into erotica or just enjoy the sensual exhilirating of a well written sexual tale will find great satisfaction when reading this book. I look forward to the other books in the series.
The story is well written with an intriguing storyline. Character development proceeds at a good pace with excellent attention to detail. It is easy to read, a light story but extremely arousing. Anyone looking to get into erotica or just enjoy the sensual exhilirating of a well written sexual tale will find great satisfaction when reading this book. I look forward to the other books in the series.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 6 reviews