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The Tauran of Tavros #1
By the Horns
Riadne's village is starving. They think their prayers are answered when they stumble across the legendary beast. Now it's trapped in the labyrinth, and the Elders are convinced the only thing standing between the village and salvation is a sacrifice—a virgin sacrifice.
When Riadne's sister is selected for the honor, Riadne is determined to keep her from harm.
Thanks to Nan, a direct descendant of one of the labyrinth's watchmen, Riadne knows more of the caverns and the supposed beast it currently holds than anyone, and yet nothing can prepare her for what awaits her inside.
A journey of mythical, magic sprinkled proportions, one stubborn, feisty woman, and a world where beast men thrive.
This story contains steamy love scenes, violence, cursing, a plucky heroine, and bull-headed Minotaurs. This is book one of The Tauran of Tavros
When Riadne's sister is selected for the honor, Riadne is determined to keep her from harm.
Thanks to Nan, a direct descendant of one of the labyrinth's watchmen, Riadne knows more of the caverns and the supposed beast it currently holds than anyone, and yet nothing can prepare her for what awaits her inside.
A journey of mythical, magic sprinkled proportions, one stubborn, feisty woman, and a world where beast men thrive.
This story contains steamy love scenes, violence, cursing, a plucky heroine, and bull-headed Minotaurs. This is book one of The Tauran of Tavros
715 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 2018
55 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Jeanette Lynn
54 books394 followersQuirky, offbeat characters in out of this world stories. Finding love in unexpected places.
Paranormal, contemporary, fantasy, sci fi, shifters, aliens, magic and matchmaking mayhem, there's a little bit of everything.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 3, 2019
A twisting story
A maze is where Addie goes to rescue her sister from being chosen as a sacrifice to the Minotaur. But the path she follows after that has even more turns than the maze she lands in. Bonding to a bull headed male isn't easy. Being drug to another dimension, even less so. Especially since when she arrives things go pear shaped. The village is in an uproar and it isn't the short human causing the problems, but her presence sure gives a handy target. She thought escaping a maze made to kill was hard? How about dealing with a bondmate that hands her off, a village of hard headed Taurans, trees that are used to punish-forget picking a switch to be paddled with, the tree just flat out beats the flesh off your bones. Add in a degenerate despot, a maternal high priestess, spoiled sister, interfering inter-dimensional beings, possession, prophesies, empowered weapons, a budding civil war and help that can only be offered by way of nookie and things go way beyond complicated.
Trigger warnings for dubious consent in some instances. Agreements are made for assistance and abilities, via a chosen avatar (the bodies used to seal the deal). And while they are loved ones, they were shells hosting beings Addie didn't love. If this is off-putting for you, you will not enjoy this story. Also, there are threats made and some mental/emotional control/manipulation being done.
Spoilers ahead.
While resemblance to Lil is there, this story is nothing like her dimensional demon tale. There is mythology in the tale of the maze but the beings behind it are escapees of a Shakespearean nightmare on crack. It's a slow pick up. Very slow. Addie's story seems to take forever to get started. But when it takes off, it's like someone hit the NOS button. Repeatedly. There's an amazing amount of world building going on here. But I have so many more questions yet.
*Why is the village starving?
*What was this original wager about?
*We never really learn K's logic about the events occuring when they reach the village.
*Why are the other humanoid races never mentioned until the epilogue?
*What exactly is the priestess/maiden role and why is there no male equivalency?
*If the purple eyes are a Fae touch, does that mean Ker and sister are closer to their roots?
*The relationship that develops between Addie and the brothers is never really questioned but doesn't seem common either. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any real kind of bonding going on. Why?
*Vachel goes from the unmated hut to a maiden at the temple with no explanation. Was it just for safety or did she become an official maiden?
*Why did none of the other Taurans ever seem to come to the temple? Especially as things seemed to be getting rough in the village?
Also, the running dialogue of Addie kept things humorous, even during darker times, but I'd have liked a bit more of a look into her leaps of logic. Some of it comes out of left field and is rather jarring. I am very excited by this new world, though, and the mention of the demon dimension in the forest of portals. Maybe there will be a tie in? Please! I was always hoping that book would have a sequel or spin off. This book could have been just a hair longer and fleshed out a few bits more and I'd have been ok with it. Even could have made it a 2 part or trilogy, in order to beef up a couple scenes I felt were rushed or fragmented story lines I felt deserved more attention. But all in all, it's another hit for Ms Lynn and I really hope the tease at the end wasn't just that but Kore a promise to revisit this world and build on it.
A maze is where Addie goes to rescue her sister from being chosen as a sacrifice to the Minotaur. But the path she follows after that has even more turns than the maze she lands in. Bonding to a bull headed male isn't easy. Being drug to another dimension, even less so. Especially since when she arrives things go pear shaped. The village is in an uproar and it isn't the short human causing the problems, but her presence sure gives a handy target. She thought escaping a maze made to kill was hard? How about dealing with a bondmate that hands her off, a village of hard headed Taurans, trees that are used to punish-forget picking a switch to be paddled with, the tree just flat out beats the flesh off your bones. Add in a degenerate despot, a maternal high priestess, spoiled sister, interfering inter-dimensional beings, possession, prophesies, empowered weapons, a budding civil war and help that can only be offered by way of nookie and things go way beyond complicated.
Trigger warnings for dubious consent in some instances. Agreements are made for assistance and abilities, via a chosen avatar (the bodies used to seal the deal). And while they are loved ones, they were shells hosting beings Addie didn't love. If this is off-putting for you, you will not enjoy this story. Also, there are threats made and some mental/emotional control/manipulation being done.
Spoilers ahead.
While resemblance to Lil is there, this story is nothing like her dimensional demon tale. There is mythology in the tale of the maze but the beings behind it are escapees of a Shakespearean nightmare on crack. It's a slow pick up. Very slow. Addie's story seems to take forever to get started. But when it takes off, it's like someone hit the NOS button. Repeatedly. There's an amazing amount of world building going on here. But I have so many more questions yet.
*Why is the village starving?
*What was this original wager about?
*We never really learn K's logic about the events occuring when they reach the village.
*Why are the other humanoid races never mentioned until the epilogue?
*What exactly is the priestess/maiden role and why is there no male equivalency?
*If the purple eyes are a Fae touch, does that mean Ker and sister are closer to their roots?
*The relationship that develops between Addie and the brothers is never really questioned but doesn't seem common either. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any real kind of bonding going on. Why?
*Vachel goes from the unmated hut to a maiden at the temple with no explanation. Was it just for safety or did she become an official maiden?
*Why did none of the other Taurans ever seem to come to the temple? Especially as things seemed to be getting rough in the village?
Also, the running dialogue of Addie kept things humorous, even during darker times, but I'd have liked a bit more of a look into her leaps of logic. Some of it comes out of left field and is rather jarring. I am very excited by this new world, though, and the mention of the demon dimension in the forest of portals. Maybe there will be a tie in? Please! I was always hoping that book would have a sequel or spin off. This book could have been just a hair longer and fleshed out a few bits more and I'd have been ok with it. Even could have made it a 2 part or trilogy, in order to beef up a couple scenes I felt were rushed or fragmented story lines I felt deserved more attention. But all in all, it's another hit for Ms Lynn and I really hope the tease at the end wasn't just that but Kore a promise to revisit this world and build on it.
December 31, 2018
My god if you read one Jeanette Lynn story, make damm sure it’s this one.. because it has everything!
A plucky courageous heroine descended filled with a destined purpose ✔️
A journey of hobbit worth proportions ✔️
A village full of idiots and a sacrificial sister ✔️
A smexcy bull headed beastie trapped in a labyrinth ✔️
A gaggle of mischievous Fae ✔️
A smexcy bull headed beastie warrior in a skirt ✔️
A broken heart that won’t quit on the ones she loves ✔️
An absolutely fantastic Tale of adventure that just gave and gave with humour, heartache and an ass kicking story 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
a smorgasboard of emotions that left me feeling like I had been on an emotional rollercoaster and questioning why I don’t have a Tauran in my life!
Alderic has been enrolled into the Bubbles The Book Pimp reverse harem alongside Oberon... 🐮🧝🏼♂️
As for K...( without going into too much detail ) I felt Riadne’s pain and heartbreak so hard that for the majority of this book I truly felt wounded. If he hadn’t been put through the ringer so much I would have defo spanked his arse ( verbally ) if I had been her postition.
I was so engrossed in the story and the world created so artistically in this book that I devoured it in one go... I literally finished it and thought.. MORE!!!
I will be watching ( IMPATIENTLY )with my eyes peeled for further releases in this series,
A plucky courageous heroine descended filled with a destined purpose ✔️
A journey of hobbit worth proportions ✔️
A village full of idiots and a sacrificial sister ✔️
A smexcy bull headed beastie trapped in a labyrinth ✔️
A gaggle of mischievous Fae ✔️
A smexcy bull headed beastie warrior in a skirt ✔️
A broken heart that won’t quit on the ones she loves ✔️
An absolutely fantastic Tale of adventure that just gave and gave with humour, heartache and an ass kicking story 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
a smorgasboard of emotions that left me feeling like I had been on an emotional rollercoaster and questioning why I don’t have a Tauran in my life!
Alderic has been enrolled into the Bubbles The Book Pimp reverse harem alongside Oberon... 🐮🧝🏼♂️
As for K...( without going into too much detail ) I felt Riadne’s pain and heartbreak so hard that for the majority of this book I truly felt wounded. If he hadn’t been put through the ringer so much I would have defo spanked his arse ( verbally ) if I had been her postition.
I was so engrossed in the story and the world created so artistically in this book that I devoured it in one go... I literally finished it and thought.. MORE!!!
I will be watching ( IMPATIENTLY )with my eyes peeled for further releases in this series,
January 5, 2019
Super original, not your “same old” by any means!
So very original in both plot and characters! Very glad to have found Lynn! Her fantasy stories take on “familiar” creatures and present them in a fresh new way.
Some of her books are too “fluffy, silly” for my tastes, so I am steering clear of the shorter books in favour of the longer, more in depth stories. Her writing style is more satisfying for me in that format. The Toll was great, and now By the Horns very satisfying as well. I am reading Of Another Dimension next, hoping it will be just as good!
So very original in both plot and characters! Very glad to have found Lynn! Her fantasy stories take on “familiar” creatures and present them in a fresh new way.
Some of her books are too “fluffy, silly” for my tastes, so I am steering clear of the shorter books in favour of the longer, more in depth stories. Her writing style is more satisfying for me in that format. The Toll was great, and now By the Horns very satisfying as well. I am reading Of Another Dimension next, hoping it will be just as good!
September 8, 2019
This is a full length book. I liked that. It had plenty of everything AND makes you want more. I was sorry when I finished it. It is definitely only for mature readers who aren’t prudish, uh-hem... Very frisky story.
Spoiler Following?
I felt a little, tiny bit bad for Puck, but MOSTLY heartbroken for Oberon. Both fell in love with h. I think the girl twin is one of their daughters if not a mix of the two. Hope the book that follows is as good as this one.
Spoiler Following?
I felt a little, tiny bit bad for Puck, but MOSTLY heartbroken for Oberon. Both fell in love with h. I think the girl twin is one of their daughters if not a mix of the two. Hope the book that follows is as good as this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2020
Exquisitely tasty
OMG I could not put this book down! I needed to know what happened next! My heart was in my throat in my stomach or pounding wildly in my chest the whole time. I felt for the characters so much. The world and characters were so vivid and Wonderful. I wanted to rush on in the story to see what was next but I also wanted to savor the story. I ached for Oberon and Robin ( even though he was an arrogant pompous ass most of the times) I felt for their pain and heart ache. Addie was a beautiful and strong woman. Then he Minotaurs one were strong and beautiful loyal warrior and young and reckless with heart. I would love to hear more from this world
OMG I could not put this book down! I needed to know what happened next! My heart was in my throat in my stomach or pounding wildly in my chest the whole time. I felt for the characters so much. The world and characters were so vivid and Wonderful. I wanted to rush on in the story to see what was next but I also wanted to savor the story. I ached for Oberon and Robin ( even though he was an arrogant pompous ass most of the times) I felt for their pain and heart ache. Addie was a beautiful and strong woman. Then he Minotaurs one were strong and beautiful loyal warrior and young and reckless with heart. I would love to hear more from this world
August 27, 2019
Man let me start off by saying that I normally like a Jeanette Lynn but I HATED this book and only powered through because I thought it’d get better.
Now for the spoiler that I wish I knew before starting.
Now for the spoiler that I wish I knew before starting.
January 11, 2019
Creative but long in parts that had me skimming. Ms Lynn’s heroines are often beat-down, literally and emotionally, and sometimes it is a bit much. The fae machinations were drawn out and the world building fell flat in places and in others was interesting.
January 18, 2019
Very unique
5 stars for the details and the many twist and turns you had to pay attention too to keep up with the tricks going on. Definitely different. Be open minded to some different species and sex sscenes.
5 stars for the details and the many twist and turns you had to pay attention too to keep up with the tricks going on. Definitely different. Be open minded to some different species and sex sscenes.
February 18, 2020
Addie has to save her sister before they sacrificed her to the Minotaur. She savers her sister but labyrinth has answers to her questions. She knows she's different will the Minotaur helper with this if she helps him. But there's more play here.
February 10, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyable.
It was a long and fantastic read.
A bit slow in the beginning, but once it got interesting you can't put it down.
It was a long and fantastic read.
A bit slow in the beginning, but once it got interesting you can't put it down.
June 17, 2019
Very enjoyable
Original, unique take on the Labyrinth and the minotaurs. The story was interesting and so hard to put down! Loved it!
Original, unique take on the Labyrinth and the minotaurs. The story was interesting and so hard to put down! Loved it!
December 18, 2020
It's very much like other J.L. books. It's not great, it's not horrible.
August 28, 2024
Lots of smut but also a lot of story. I found myself angry at the males in this often. She kept sassing them to do and be better.
May 7, 2021
Another great book by Jeanette Lynn. It's a unique story that starts with a bull like Minotaur man in a Labyrinth, and then they go through a portal back to Tavros where he came from.
Read
December 31, 2018Ms. Lynn simply has a magical way with words. Her worldbuilding and character development immerses the reader into a fantasy land that comes to life in the imagination. This story takes a darker turn at times, but it is simply the road the characters have to travel on to initiate that growth that makes us empathise with. To put it plainly...she gives us characters WE can relate to. From inner dialog, to jumping to conclusions, to the happily ever after, her characters can draw parallels with us, the reader.
Yes, this book is a little darker. Yes, the heroine talks to herself quite a bit. Yes, the hero can be a bit, pardon the pun, bull headed. That is called relatability to the reader. If it's not your cup of tea, then don't drink the espresso that is By The Horns. And don't leave a poor review when there are all kinds of stories out there that are fluffy. Feel good with no conflict. Some of us prefer a little more realism, with a touch of magic. There's all that, and more, in this latest book of Ms. Lynn's. Consider yourself warned, because bulls have pointy horns and aren't afraid to use them. I highly recommend any and all of her books.
Yes, this book is a little darker. Yes, the heroine talks to herself quite a bit. Yes, the hero can be a bit, pardon the pun, bull headed. That is called relatability to the reader. If it's not your cup of tea, then don't drink the espresso that is By The Horns. And don't leave a poor review when there are all kinds of stories out there that are fluffy. Feel good with no conflict. Some of us prefer a little more realism, with a touch of magic. There's all that, and more, in this latest book of Ms. Lynn's. Consider yourself warned, because bulls have pointy horns and aren't afraid to use them. I highly recommend any and all of her books.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews