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Imprisoned #4
Traded
If you commit a crime on Vaharis 6, there's more than one way to work off your sentence...
When Jase found himself in a holding cell on Vaharis 6, he lost the last shred of hope he’d been clinging to. He’d been close to regaining control of his life, but any chance of escaping to a better existence had evaporated. His looks had always been a mixed blessing, and they’d likely be a curse inside one of the vilest prisons in the system.
Abraxa was born to lead his clan and doing so had been his only focus since the death of his wife. He’s amused when one of his clansmen returns from a mission to free some of their people from Vaharis 6 with someone else in tow—someone beautiful and intriguing and very, very defiant. Jase fascinates him, but the younger man also makes Abraxa see that everyone has old wounds that need to heal. Together, they just might find a refuge from the wrongs they feel the universe has done them.
When Jase found himself in a holding cell on Vaharis 6, he lost the last shred of hope he’d been clinging to. He’d been close to regaining control of his life, but any chance of escaping to a better existence had evaporated. His looks had always been a mixed blessing, and they’d likely be a curse inside one of the vilest prisons in the system.
Abraxa was born to lead his clan and doing so had been his only focus since the death of his wife. He’s amused when one of his clansmen returns from a mission to free some of their people from Vaharis 6 with someone else in tow—someone beautiful and intriguing and very, very defiant. Jase fascinates him, but the younger man also makes Abraxa see that everyone has old wounds that need to heal. Together, they just might find a refuge from the wrongs they feel the universe has done them.
103 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 30, 2020
11 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Vallo
82 books49 followersVictoria Vallo has written under many names and ventured into almost every genre. When darker and spicier tales beckoned, she decided to follow.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 13, 2024
2.75⭐
I couldn't go to sleep, I just had to finish this one, to see how it plays out.
This story is about a beautiful young man named Jase, tall with long blonde hair, who's been a sex worker for the past year, the kind that also robs his clients, who are pretty much bad people.
He ends up in Varharis prison and an offer is made for him to go to another planet, a more primitive, but still modern planet of barbarians, a culture more open and a place more safe - in exchange for him to become the chieftain's lover.
He reluctantly agrees and when he comes there, he absolutely likes Abraxa, the big, muscled, insanely attractive chieftain with a beard , who walks around in his linen pants only. 😏
Jase slowly assimilates and grows very fond of Abraxa, with them forming a very satisfying sexual and romantic relationship with the desire for this relationship to become long-term and real.
In general, both MCs were likeable, memorable and the chemistry between them was more palpable this time, not to mention that Abraxa made perfectly clear that Jase is not a captive and if he doesn't want to pursue a relationship with Abraxa, he'll be taken care of nevertheless . Finally!
A lot of things were still left unexplained, not only about Jase, but his life in general on the planet and his life as a consort. Their romantic relationship could've been more developed, because there was an interesting idea there, a somewhat solid foundation, but again, many things left unsaid, for example how Abraxa felt completely different for Jase than he did for his late wife, which he couldn't forget and didn't pick another woman again because of her memory, and yet the author doesn't delve into what he felt and why exactly was it different , because to me their relationship seemed pretty amazing.
The writing was much improved, the cringey and impersonal dialogues have been reduced and the story's plot seemed more thought-out.
The epilogue was a true happy ending this time and I'm really hoping the author comes back one day to this story and re-writes it, because this idea needs a little more expanding and absolutely more pages.
I couldn't go to sleep, I just had to finish this one, to see how it plays out.
This story is about a beautiful young man named Jase, tall with long blonde hair, who's been a sex worker for the past year, the kind that also robs his clients, who are pretty much bad people.
He ends up in Varharis prison and an offer is made for him to go to another planet, a more primitive, but still modern planet of barbarians, a culture more open and a place more safe - in exchange for him to become the chieftain's lover.
He reluctantly agrees and when he comes there, he absolutely likes Abraxa, the big, muscled, insanely attractive chieftain with a beard , who walks around in his linen pants only. 😏
Jase slowly assimilates and grows very fond of Abraxa, with them forming a very satisfying sexual and romantic relationship with the desire for this relationship to become long-term and real.
In general, both MCs were likeable, memorable and the chemistry between them was more palpable this time, not to mention that Abraxa made perfectly clear that Jase is not a captive and if he doesn't want to pursue a relationship with Abraxa, he'll be taken care of nevertheless . Finally!
A lot of things were still left unexplained, not only about Jase, but his life in general on the planet and his life as a consort. Their romantic relationship could've been more developed, because there was an interesting idea there, a somewhat solid foundation, but again, many things left unsaid, for example how Abraxa felt completely different for Jase than he did for his late wife, which he couldn't forget and didn't pick another woman again because of her memory, and yet the author doesn't delve into what he felt and why exactly was it different , because to me their relationship seemed pretty amazing.
The writing was much improved, the cringey and impersonal dialogues have been reduced and the story's plot seemed more thought-out.
The epilogue was a true happy ending this time and I'm really hoping the author comes back one day to this story and re-writes it, because this idea needs a little more expanding and absolutely more pages.
September 25, 2022
D.N.F.
This is supposed to be a fantasy, not an abuse rationalizing training manual. The author uses a formula where she victim-blames the person who is enslaved or raped for disapproving of the sins against them and becoming depressed at the lack of their own power or coping skills to protect themselves, which is labeled self-pity. The author then uses the excuse of the victim’s self-pity to rationalize human trafficking, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, sexual coercion, and rape. Self-pity is not the ultimate crime nor is it a character flaw. Recognizing you have been abused or treated unjustly is the first step toward loving yourself enough to protect yourself and set boundaries so that you can change to build and retain enough energy, knowledge, and resources to heal and then help others in a similar situation. The appropriate response to someone’s self-pity is never to shame them for being perceptive enough to recognize injustice and it definitely isn’t acceptable to justify rape ever.
It’s like the author feels guilty about what the plot does to the victim unless there is some way to excuse the enslaving rapists. There isn’t, and victim blaming is toxic.
Further, the author uses physiological arousal to justify rape by having the rapist pretend the victim consented if they orgasm. Arousal is not consent. Orgasms are not consent.
Convincing a rape victim that their orgasm means they consented creates psychological trauma where the person may later use various methods to self-harm to punish the body that betrayed them. This does not lead to a HEA, ever. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). You cannot take someone’s self control. They must offer control, no one can take it. A rapist can punish noncompliance and overpower a victim, but he or she cannot actually take away someone’s personal agency. Understanding that ultimately control rests with each individual person is what heals PTSD trauma. The author understands that the rapist cannot take the victim’s control on some level and spends most of the narrative trying to take the victim’s control away with intimidation, lies about physiological arousal meaning consent, and other coercion tactics. She never addresses the coping skills allowing a victim to fight back by choosing to admonish sin or peacefully protest the rapists actions by refusing to cooperate or engage. The rapist threatens the victim’s noncooperation with a fistfight, but the victim has the power to refuse to fight at all and force his captor to acknowledge he would be beating the victim for noncooperation with rape and enslavement with every blow that falls uncontested.
There is a ton of emotional and verbal abuse that isn’t arousing or fun to read about. The rapist says he will take joy in continuing his verbal abuse as long as the victim admonishes it. Acknowledging injustice and admonishing sin is not a weakness to be laughed at and diminishing someone’s pain is abusive. However, 1 Cor 5:11 says a person may refuse to eat with a verbal abuser. Thus, the rapist may take joy in verbal abuse, but he’ll have to do it while the victim refuses to eat until the victim either goes to heaven & escapes or the abuser admits his abuse is wrong & delivers unwanted consequences he doesn’t control & can’t pretend are fun for him. Brain scans show that the brain can’t tell the difference between emotional & physical pain as it processes them the exact same way. People in chronic pain are a suicide risk because it’s the only available way they can control their unremitting pain. So, a verbal abuser is just as bad as a domestic abuser or wife beater, you just can’t see the bruises so they get away with it. Domestic & verbal abuse should have final consequences for any relationship, & non-violent protesting places the victim back in control even if the victim must go to heaven to escape and the abuser doesn’t face all of the consequences of his sin until the final judgment.
The author also ignores that intimidation into any sex act or any unwanted physical intimacy in front of others is coercion & thus rape. The rapist then has the gall to pretend that he hasn’t raped the victim yet. If the victim is potentially at risk for STDs during the act, it’s obviously rape. I understand that the genre is about intimacy under unideal circumstances but failing to acknowledge the basic reality of what is & is not rape is a major problem. Several other books in the series did a much better job discussing consent.
I made it 36% of the way through & decided I’m reclaiming my time because having an evil person discover love & empathy might lead to a HEA, but victim-blaming and verbal abuse never will.
This is supposed to be a fantasy, not an abuse rationalizing training manual. The author uses a formula where she victim-blames the person who is enslaved or raped for disapproving of the sins against them and becoming depressed at the lack of their own power or coping skills to protect themselves, which is labeled self-pity. The author then uses the excuse of the victim’s self-pity to rationalize human trafficking, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, sexual coercion, and rape. Self-pity is not the ultimate crime nor is it a character flaw. Recognizing you have been abused or treated unjustly is the first step toward loving yourself enough to protect yourself and set boundaries so that you can change to build and retain enough energy, knowledge, and resources to heal and then help others in a similar situation. The appropriate response to someone’s self-pity is never to shame them for being perceptive enough to recognize injustice and it definitely isn’t acceptable to justify rape ever.
It’s like the author feels guilty about what the plot does to the victim unless there is some way to excuse the enslaving rapists. There isn’t, and victim blaming is toxic.
Further, the author uses physiological arousal to justify rape by having the rapist pretend the victim consented if they orgasm. Arousal is not consent. Orgasms are not consent.
Convincing a rape victim that their orgasm means they consented creates psychological trauma where the person may later use various methods to self-harm to punish the body that betrayed them. This does not lead to a HEA, ever. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). You cannot take someone’s self control. They must offer control, no one can take it. A rapist can punish noncompliance and overpower a victim, but he or she cannot actually take away someone’s personal agency. Understanding that ultimately control rests with each individual person is what heals PTSD trauma. The author understands that the rapist cannot take the victim’s control on some level and spends most of the narrative trying to take the victim’s control away with intimidation, lies about physiological arousal meaning consent, and other coercion tactics. She never addresses the coping skills allowing a victim to fight back by choosing to admonish sin or peacefully protest the rapists actions by refusing to cooperate or engage. The rapist threatens the victim’s noncooperation with a fistfight, but the victim has the power to refuse to fight at all and force his captor to acknowledge he would be beating the victim for noncooperation with rape and enslavement with every blow that falls uncontested.
There is a ton of emotional and verbal abuse that isn’t arousing or fun to read about. The rapist says he will take joy in continuing his verbal abuse as long as the victim admonishes it. Acknowledging injustice and admonishing sin is not a weakness to be laughed at and diminishing someone’s pain is abusive. However, 1 Cor 5:11 says a person may refuse to eat with a verbal abuser. Thus, the rapist may take joy in verbal abuse, but he’ll have to do it while the victim refuses to eat until the victim either goes to heaven & escapes or the abuser admits his abuse is wrong & delivers unwanted consequences he doesn’t control & can’t pretend are fun for him. Brain scans show that the brain can’t tell the difference between emotional & physical pain as it processes them the exact same way. People in chronic pain are a suicide risk because it’s the only available way they can control their unremitting pain. So, a verbal abuser is just as bad as a domestic abuser or wife beater, you just can’t see the bruises so they get away with it. Domestic & verbal abuse should have final consequences for any relationship, & non-violent protesting places the victim back in control even if the victim must go to heaven to escape and the abuser doesn’t face all of the consequences of his sin until the final judgment.
The author also ignores that intimidation into any sex act or any unwanted physical intimacy in front of others is coercion & thus rape. The rapist then has the gall to pretend that he hasn’t raped the victim yet. If the victim is potentially at risk for STDs during the act, it’s obviously rape. I understand that the genre is about intimacy under unideal circumstances but failing to acknowledge the basic reality of what is & is not rape is a major problem. Several other books in the series did a much better job discussing consent.
I made it 36% of the way through & decided I’m reclaiming my time because having an evil person discover love & empathy might lead to a HEA, but victim-blaming and verbal abuse never will.
December 22, 2020
An amazing addition......
Another amazing addition to the series. It was a very sweet and romantic story, that ended well, with a HEA. I really enjoyed reading this series and would recommend it. I'm looking forward to reading more.
Another amazing addition to the series. It was a very sweet and romantic story, that ended well, with a HEA. I really enjoyed reading this series and would recommend it. I'm looking forward to reading more.
May 4, 2023
one if my faves of the seriee so far
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews