Ragús

by Marishka Grayson

The gods have many names. But only two laws.

‘It is forbidden for a God to destroy a God’

‘It is forbidden for a God to lay with a mortal’

He ignores both laws.

He's the original bad boy— and king of the gods. She’s a chaste warrior priestess—sworn to protect her goddess queen.

A single kiss can change everything.

It did.

Blistering hot grimdark fantasy romance! It’s ancient Greece after a war that nearly destroyed the universe. Queen Danu rules the earth, a supreme goddess without remorse, surrounded by a squad of virgin warriors. Her palace is a religious fortress in the highlands of ancient Crete, which few dare to breach.

When the king of gods infiltrates the palace to confront Danu, he never expected to fall for Epona, a proud, fierce virgin warrior. Unfortunately his possessive and insatiable feelings burn furiously threatening the fragile peace that has reigned between the gods for eons.

Inspired by Greek and Celtic myth, this grimdark tangled tale of love is filled with graphic sexual violence, dangerous gods who desire nothing but to full-fill their own sinister fantasies stuck in a remote highland fortress ... What could possibly go wrong?

Ragús is book 4 in Marishka Grayson’s dark epic Fae-Tales, but it can also be read as a stand-alone.

341 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2020

About the author

I write books that I've always wanted to read. They're complex, filled with symbolism and bizarre characters, but in the end, they're entertaining, and very brazenly so...

My stories are dark, steamy fantasy infused with elements of fairy tales, historical fiction, science fiction and classical gothic literature. It’s unusual, but I think once you get a taste for it, you’ll enjoy the wildness of exploring something different with me.

Reviews

[Andrew Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the author has reached her stride with this story. It's funny, dark at times and some scenes are genuinely disturbing, but if you understand the source of the material (Greek myth) that shouldn't come as a surprise. Greek mythology is filled with irreverent gods who do nasty things that we humans find objectionable, but they tell us something about our own psyche and why we invent amusing tales about bad people which are often morality plays. I'm not sure what the morality of this story is except maybe "don't mess with the gods." If they are in fact portrayals of nature, then the message is even clearer, "don't mess with forces you can't control." I've read all the books in this series and feel this book is probably my favorite and can be read without knowing anything about the characters beforehand.

[Shivani McFarland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though this is considered a dark fae read this was a fun one for me. Its a romp through Greece with two gods Lugos and Eochaid in human skins who want to infiltrate a sacred initiation of young virginal attendants of the goddess Danu. The two god in disguise are a hoot and their banter back and forth is witty funny and very snarky. Similar to Ms. Grayson's last book Dearthaireacha, about the fae brothers, here we also have two brothers who just happen to be Gods. Eochaid is smitten by Epona a young human initiate under the goddess Danu. This becomes an obsession with Eochaid he wants to have her because she is resisting his advances so Eochaid enlist Lugos help. Oh what trouble occurs! Like one big happy narcissistic family there is bickering, one-upmanship, bothers and sisters choosing side then switching camps all played out on the large screen of creation. Plays of Divine Father vrs Divine Mother, goddess of summer p.o.'s goddess of winter, brother of the oceans ply's brother of underworld deceitful promises and who's screwing who. Plus there are cults that humans create just to get a chance to serve the gods, and gods who want power over humans and certainly power over their Higher Siblings. This all may sound confusing but it's really not, it's a lovely Greek drama with power, lust yes lots of lust, backstabbing and vengeance. I love this book because I became emotionally invested in the characters especially Eochaid who I actually felt sorry for who gets a raw deal at the end. As a side note it took me a bit to figure out if the Lugos and Eochiad were fae or gods until I realized that the gods will have fae qualities and god powers. My old school mythology neatly separated each god culturally but when one looks at all cultures there is a blending or crossover of all old beliefs with the goddesses and gods through old folklore. Ms. Grayson's story skips around from Celtic gods and back to Greek gods and everyone in between with their interrelations. Last thank you Ms. Grayson for including the Ancestor Gods chart in the back of the book that I found quite helpful of keeping track of everyone. If you enjoy Ms. Grayson's writings you will have fun with this book, each reads as a stand alone yet there are tie ins to each book in this series. I was given a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Bunni ❤️‘S monkey&woo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing story!! Not only is it very well written, it’s utterly engrossing! I couldn’t put it down! If you like Greek mythology and myth- like tales I highly recommend this amazing story.
Please note, no HEA ending ‘yet’ (🤞🏻) but hoping there will be one…🤷🏼‍♀️
but I enjoyed the story regardless! And that’s saying something. 🙂

[Nicole Deanne Veracruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I've never been one to really dive into Greek mythology. There's quite a few funny parts but I'm more drawn to the dark. I would recommend this book.

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