Pride

by Julia Payton

He took her against her will… Now they’re on the run. Maxim, the Colonel and leader of the eastern states of the old United States, and Iolanthe, the Pure he wants for his own, must leave the Citadel after a Resistance attack. Forced together by circumstance, the tumultuous battle of lust that started long ago can’t be ignored any longer. Tiberius, second in command to the Colonel, is faced with restoring civility to the battle-torn Citadel. Instead he finds complication in the form of a woman from the Resistance. Sophie drives him wild. She may also be a spy. But when her children go missing, Tiberius steps in to help, as he is unable to let Sophie go. As the tension between the two nations heat up, so do the passions between the Pure and the men that want them. Does giving into their demands mean losing everything? Is freedom worth the price of passion? Both Pure must face new decisions, and as the battle around them darkens, will they let choice sway them? Or limitation hold them back? This is book two in the Colonel’s Conquest series and does not include a HEA. Although, there will be a HEA by the series conclusion. Publisher’s This dark dystopian romance is not a wine and flowers romance. The men are warriors and the women are owned. Take the ride if you dare, you’ll be glad you did. This sci-fi story contains elements of danger, suspense, mystery, power exchange, non-consent, adult themes and possible triggers.

Kindle Edition

Published July 14, 2020

About the author

Author of dystopian erotic romance, laden with alpha males and feisty submissives. Hoarder of books, coffee drinker, and fan of praying to the late night Muse. Ambivert; INFP. Fan-fiction aficionado. Wanderer of the forest. Storm-spy and eternal child. Gluttonous for writing, and reading, and painting oils. Lover of all things romantic, passionate, and a bit dirty. Naughty novels are what I live for!

Reviews

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series and for best enjoyment, I do recommend reading them in order. Maxim and Iolanthe are on the run. Tiberius is Maxim’s second in command and in charge of restoring the Citadel after an attack. Sophie is from the Resistance and may be a spy but sparks fly between them. This is a fast-paced dark dystopian read with loads of drama, suspense and twists and turns. The chemistry is steamy and the story entertaining. I liked it.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing and editing was fairly clean, with occasional typos in the ARC version of the manuscript but awkward sentence structure. The world building was not especially well done, with this dystopian world and society not being well described at all. The characterization was flat and clumsy, which is especially problematic in a dark romance where the author needs to make the romantic hero/villain compelling enough that the reader first hates him and then slowly falls in love with him and buys into an HEA where the heroine ends up in a committed relationship with him. The development of the romantic relationship was very poorly done, with me the reader not witnessing these protagonists going through the process of falling in love. Especially since the romantic hero is still a flat, one dimensional evil villain by the end of the second book in what I assume will be a trilogy? The plot and pacing were awkward and uneven, with the introduction of the secondary relationship half way through this novel. There was very high angst, which is typical for a dark romance, and very high stakes, which I typically enjoy in my romance novels. This novel used the Earth Needs Fertile Women trope common to dystopian and post-apocalyptic romances. It also used the Enemies to Lovers trope and the Partner in Trouble trope. The world building was two stars. The plot and pacing were both two stars. The characterization and development of the romantic relationship were also two stars. This novel also ended on a cliffhanger, on top of being poorly written, so that is a negative. I do not recommend this novel to fans of dystopian dark romance, since there are so many other trilogies that are considerably better written. I will not read the last book in the trilogy, and I do not plan to buy myself a keeper copy of this novel.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Stacey Rankin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fantastic gripping dark dystopian read, great follow on from book one, amazing storyline, well written with brilliant and interesting characters having fabulous chemistry. The story is filled with action, intrigue, twisted plots, mental games, dark themes, sexual chemistry and plenty of twists and turns. Looking forward to book three, cannot wait to find out what happens next. Looking forward to more books by Julia Payton, amazing author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colonel's Conquest is a brilliantly written and gripping dystopian romance. My attention was grabbed from the very start to end. The storyline is highly engaging, dark, suspenseful, passionate, and riveting. Julia Payton's world-building is fascinating with intriguing characters. I was thoroughly engrossed.

Graham Mack did an outstanding job with the narration, capturing the intensity and the characters' personalities, breathing life into the story. This was a fantastic listen, one I'll highly recommend.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book was imaginative - creating a world that horrifying yet seemingly real or at least the possibility of it becoming real. I really enjoyed the first book and couldn’t wait to read this book. While I liked this book, it didn’t feel as complete or as compelling to me. The story didn’t progress like I thought it would and I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I had in the previous book. It was still a good story but not as captivating as the first book.

[Elvira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every turn of the pages of this book. The characters are well developed and engaging and the chemistry is undeniable. The storyline had me turning the pages.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kathleen Bradbury (Bulfon) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It was fast paced and flowed nicely. The turn of events were done beautifully and the ending was terrific!