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Eldritch Legacy #1
Secrets Revealed
Lord Eldritch hides his face behind an iron mask, and his tortured past beneath a hardened soul. When the dark knight investigates rumors of a medicine woman practicing the forbidden art of magick, he finds Inga, a strong-willed maiden who ignites his passion and stirs memories of a love long lost. Sensing her mutual desire, he imprisons Inga in the castle dungeon where he may possess and keep her forever. In time, his seemingly hapless prisoner learns that, even in submission, she wields power over her captor. Can Inga break past the hard shell of Eldritch's heart while she, herself, resists the seductive lure of dark magick?
143 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
65 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 5, 2010
Secrets Revealed is dark, strong, powerful romance. Definitely not your mom's paranormal. It has magick, violence and BDSM galore. The sex is primarily m/f with some f/f and f/f/m for good measure. I'll admit that until now, all the f/f I had read had left me indifferent. It didn't bother me, but it didn't get my blood pumping. Katrina made Inga and Thelise a pleasure to read. Hell, I wanted a spot in that bathtub.
I really want to put this book in the hands of a few readers that are always whining about the "complete" lack of strong heroines in m/f. Because...dayuuuuuum. Inga is one strong, smart and fabulous woman. Unfortunately, I don't think Inga's brand of power is what said people had in mind. Shame! Inga has strength of character, magical power and self confidence from the start, but as the book develops she begins to understand and then crave the dynamics of power exchange. Through her relationship with Eldritch, Inga evolves from "good woman" to fabulous, somewhat selfish, arguably evil, BITCH. I love it!
At first, one may think this book is really about Lord Eldritch. He enters the story as a character larger than life, and proceeds to take command of every scene for a while. Yet it is part of the beauty of this story that the dynamic changes, the captor will be captivated and the captive will rise above all others. And in a wonderful twist we find the invincible warrior is not what he appears. His ultimate weakness and strength existing not in the hands of the enemy or the love of his woman but his own perception. Did I mention I LOVE IT!
I have always loved the classic "Beauty and the Beast" storyline. Katrina's take on the classic reinforces that love while adding a whole new dimension and a number of twists. The plot is creative and fast paced. The characters are engaging, full of life and evolving constantly throughout the story in such a way as to provide plenty of food for thought for those inclined to analyze while enabling a fast exciting read for those who want to enjoy the ride without further ado.
Those searching for a stereotypical romance or even typical Male Dom D/s may not find what they expect in this book. However, open minded souls with a penchant for erotic stories and a willingness to be taken on a dark, bumpy, yet thoroughly exhilarating ride will enjoy every page of this book. Very highly recommended!!!
Thank You Mistress Strauss. May I have another?
I really want to put this book in the hands of a few readers that are always whining about the "complete" lack of strong heroines in m/f. Because...dayuuuuuum. Inga is one strong, smart and fabulous woman. Unfortunately, I don't think Inga's brand of power is what said people had in mind. Shame! Inga has strength of character, magical power and self confidence from the start, but as the book develops she begins to understand and then crave the dynamics of power exchange. Through her relationship with Eldritch, Inga evolves from "good woman" to fabulous, somewhat selfish, arguably evil, BITCH. I love it!
At first, one may think this book is really about Lord Eldritch. He enters the story as a character larger than life, and proceeds to take command of every scene for a while. Yet it is part of the beauty of this story that the dynamic changes, the captor will be captivated and the captive will rise above all others. And in a wonderful twist we find the invincible warrior is not what he appears. His ultimate weakness and strength existing not in the hands of the enemy or the love of his woman but his own perception. Did I mention I LOVE IT!
I have always loved the classic "Beauty and the Beast" storyline. Katrina's take on the classic reinforces that love while adding a whole new dimension and a number of twists. The plot is creative and fast paced. The characters are engaging, full of life and evolving constantly throughout the story in such a way as to provide plenty of food for thought for those inclined to analyze while enabling a fast exciting read for those who want to enjoy the ride without further ado.
Those searching for a stereotypical romance or even typical Male Dom D/s may not find what they expect in this book. However, open minded souls with a penchant for erotic stories and a willingness to be taken on a dark, bumpy, yet thoroughly exhilarating ride will enjoy every page of this book. Very highly recommended!!!
Thank You Mistress Strauss. May I have another?
March 5, 2011
Wow, this story grabbed me right from the get-go and was good to the last page. I’ve mentioned before that I often use the bookmark feature on my eBookwise to highlight passages that are off to me or that I want to review later. The bigger the mess, the more the bookmarks. I read this book with nary a book mark. It means that for me, the writing and story-telling were very clean, engaging and lacking in any issues that bog down a book for me.
I will also admit that I didn’t know that this book contained some f/f in it. That was a huge bonus! I bought this book because I happened to enjoy Katrina Strauss’ writing and wanted to try one of her m/f stories as I’ve only read her m/m stories. The same crisp, evocative writing, complex character development, and imaginative story-telling that I’ve experienced in the past was very present in this book as well. This book was just a pleasure to read all around.
Right, to the story. Basically, the blurb is very accurate, so I’ll go from there. The characters: all of them are so rich and compelling, especially, of course, the two main ones, Lord Eldritch and Inga.
Lord Eldritch is one of those tortured heroes, but not in that over the top “oh puleeze, get over yourself” way. In the beginning of the book, he’s cruel and powerful; he takes what he wants without consequence and he wants Inga. He puts her in a dungeon straight away and keeps her there chained to the bed around her ankle. For more than a year it’s like that even though he loves her and they have sex all the time. There’s a vibe about him that is so intense and dark, and yet, there’s a spark of something else in there that comes through once in a while, hinting at something deeper, but less sinister in him.
He wears a mask at all times because he’s been cursed; his face severely disfigured from it. This is part of his vulnerability and we learn that while he’s a dominant with Inga and the most feared knight in the kingdom, he’s kept in his place by the current evil King who uses it against him.
Inga is one of the most real characters I’ve read in a while. She’s riddled with contradictions. I really got off on her willingness to go into her dark side and be real in every moment. She calls that part of her “the snake,” that part of her that allows her baser instincts and desires to rule her. I loved it. Absolutely loved it as she goes with it without personal judgment. No Mary Sue’s in this book.
Inga starts out by becoming rebellious and using her magik abilities to heal. She stopped caring that it’s against the king and that she can be killed for it because she sees her people suffering needlessly. So right from the beginning we see her strength and inner goodness. Inga also cannot get enough of Lord Eldritch. She readily becomes his submissive sexually even as she wonders why she is so attracted and doing such things.
As the story progresses, she is asked to do things, to make moral decisions that could end up getting people killed and yet, she does so without flinching, like a samurai sword coming down swift and hard. And she easily takes the position of being a domme with Thelise, the captured daughter of a rebel leader, who plays a role in Inga and Lord Eldritch’s lives. Inga’s only vulnerability is her love for Lord Eldritch and the passion of that relationship consumes her.
The story itself is also so provocative. There are several things going on that all mesh together that create a lot of tension and mystery as fiery emotions and power shifts erupt constantly . At its core, this is a story of passion and what it makes people do.
The title of this book, Secrets Revealed, is very apropos. There are secrets within secrets and as the story unfolds, shocking truths reveal themselves. This kept the story moving along at a nice pace with just the perfect amount of revelation to keep the reader guessing and intrigued at the same time.
The fantasy part of this story is complex and intricately woven throughout the story. Many people of this time have magic abilities but not all have the same kind. One that plays a huge role in this is the ability to read another’s thoughts. This leads to quite a bit of power play and intrigue between the characters as they often have to deal with trying to keep secrets. Inga also has dreaming abilities and as things progress, she sees past events in dreams, which causes her to disobey Lord Eldritch at a certain point, creating even more edginess to this story.
OK, now for the BDSM part. I’ve said before, I’m not too much a fan of BDSM. Much of what I read in this particular genre is more or less power tripping faux BDSM written by people who are clueless just for the titillation factor, which is a huge turn off for me. However, Katrina Strauss is one of the very few authors who can take me into this world and I get it. There’s nothing offensive at all about her way of writing BDSM. Not only that, I enjoyed reading it.
I also got off on the fact that while these characters all have qualities about them that are offensive and despicable to some degree and it’s tied in to some degree with the BDSM sexual aspect to it, Katrina Strauss never crosses the line that implies that BDSM and negative character traits go hand in hand. Really, it’s amazing writing when your characters can have evil characteristics and yet, the reader can easily fall in love with them, admire them as strong, powerful beings.
The only negative thing I can say about this book is that I would have liked more character development on Thelise. She’s a fascinating character, who, like Inga, acts on pure passion, but is incredibly selfless, selfish and vulnerable. I guess the story is pretty much perfect as it is and to develop her more would have maybe even cost the story some. But she was someone whom I wanted to know more about why she ticked.
All in all, Secrets Revealed is a well written intense and passionate story set in a violent but colorful world. For any person who is into fantasy, dark m/f love, BDSM, and medieval stories, this a definite recommend. But I also recommend this book to people who like f/f and or those who are normally not into BDSM.
Sex rating: hot- while there are graphic sexual situations, the language used is more sensual and soft around the edges. There are many sexual scenes though and of all combinations. BDSM, flogging, anal, lots of m/f, some f/f, f/f/m, very minor m/m, and minor m/f/m.
Grade: A-
I will also admit that I didn’t know that this book contained some f/f in it. That was a huge bonus! I bought this book because I happened to enjoy Katrina Strauss’ writing and wanted to try one of her m/f stories as I’ve only read her m/m stories. The same crisp, evocative writing, complex character development, and imaginative story-telling that I’ve experienced in the past was very present in this book as well. This book was just a pleasure to read all around.
Right, to the story. Basically, the blurb is very accurate, so I’ll go from there. The characters: all of them are so rich and compelling, especially, of course, the two main ones, Lord Eldritch and Inga.
Lord Eldritch is one of those tortured heroes, but not in that over the top “oh puleeze, get over yourself” way. In the beginning of the book, he’s cruel and powerful; he takes what he wants without consequence and he wants Inga. He puts her in a dungeon straight away and keeps her there chained to the bed around her ankle. For more than a year it’s like that even though he loves her and they have sex all the time. There’s a vibe about him that is so intense and dark, and yet, there’s a spark of something else in there that comes through once in a while, hinting at something deeper, but less sinister in him.
He wears a mask at all times because he’s been cursed; his face severely disfigured from it. This is part of his vulnerability and we learn that while he’s a dominant with Inga and the most feared knight in the kingdom, he’s kept in his place by the current evil King who uses it against him.
Inga is one of the most real characters I’ve read in a while. She’s riddled with contradictions. I really got off on her willingness to go into her dark side and be real in every moment. She calls that part of her “the snake,” that part of her that allows her baser instincts and desires to rule her. I loved it. Absolutely loved it as she goes with it without personal judgment. No Mary Sue’s in this book.
Inga starts out by becoming rebellious and using her magik abilities to heal. She stopped caring that it’s against the king and that she can be killed for it because she sees her people suffering needlessly. So right from the beginning we see her strength and inner goodness. Inga also cannot get enough of Lord Eldritch. She readily becomes his submissive sexually even as she wonders why she is so attracted and doing such things.
As the story progresses, she is asked to do things, to make moral decisions that could end up getting people killed and yet, she does so without flinching, like a samurai sword coming down swift and hard. And she easily takes the position of being a domme with Thelise, the captured daughter of a rebel leader, who plays a role in Inga and Lord Eldritch’s lives. Inga’s only vulnerability is her love for Lord Eldritch and the passion of that relationship consumes her.
The story itself is also so provocative. There are several things going on that all mesh together that create a lot of tension and mystery as fiery emotions and power shifts erupt constantly . At its core, this is a story of passion and what it makes people do.
The title of this book, Secrets Revealed, is very apropos. There are secrets within secrets and as the story unfolds, shocking truths reveal themselves. This kept the story moving along at a nice pace with just the perfect amount of revelation to keep the reader guessing and intrigued at the same time.
The fantasy part of this story is complex and intricately woven throughout the story. Many people of this time have magic abilities but not all have the same kind. One that plays a huge role in this is the ability to read another’s thoughts. This leads to quite a bit of power play and intrigue between the characters as they often have to deal with trying to keep secrets. Inga also has dreaming abilities and as things progress, she sees past events in dreams, which causes her to disobey Lord Eldritch at a certain point, creating even more edginess to this story.
OK, now for the BDSM part. I’ve said before, I’m not too much a fan of BDSM. Much of what I read in this particular genre is more or less power tripping faux BDSM written by people who are clueless just for the titillation factor, which is a huge turn off for me. However, Katrina Strauss is one of the very few authors who can take me into this world and I get it. There’s nothing offensive at all about her way of writing BDSM. Not only that, I enjoyed reading it.
I also got off on the fact that while these characters all have qualities about them that are offensive and despicable to some degree and it’s tied in to some degree with the BDSM sexual aspect to it, Katrina Strauss never crosses the line that implies that BDSM and negative character traits go hand in hand. Really, it’s amazing writing when your characters can have evil characteristics and yet, the reader can easily fall in love with them, admire them as strong, powerful beings.
The only negative thing I can say about this book is that I would have liked more character development on Thelise. She’s a fascinating character, who, like Inga, acts on pure passion, but is incredibly selfless, selfish and vulnerable. I guess the story is pretty much perfect as it is and to develop her more would have maybe even cost the story some. But she was someone whom I wanted to know more about why she ticked.
All in all, Secrets Revealed is a well written intense and passionate story set in a violent but colorful world. For any person who is into fantasy, dark m/f love, BDSM, and medieval stories, this a definite recommend. But I also recommend this book to people who like f/f and or those who are normally not into BDSM.
Sex rating: hot- while there are graphic sexual situations, the language used is more sensual and soft around the edges. There are many sexual scenes though and of all combinations. BDSM, flogging, anal, lots of m/f, some f/f, f/f/m, very minor m/m, and minor m/f/m.
Grade: A-
May 23, 2013
After growing up with her aunt in a poor village, Inga is taught to never use or reveal her Magi powers. She rebels against this rule after her aunt’s death by healing a mother giving birth and saves her from dying.
She uses her magical gift regularly establishing a reputation among the villagers as being a healer. The regular use of her powers instigates a visit from the Lord Eldritch, the king’s knight who enforces the law that forbids use of magic. He haunts her dreams and has awakened her inner sexual desires, despite the horrors he has inflicted upon innocents, which she desperately tries to suppress. He senses her sexual thoughts and desires by reading her mind and instead of execution he whisks her away to the castle dungeon.
There in the dungeon he inflicts sexual torments and tortures upon her that reach beyond her imagination and fantasies. The torture soon gives way to pleasure and she succumbs to his control and begins to desire his visits. Their relationship grows, meanwhile she still has visions that shows her bits and pieces of the past but never truly revealing the entire puzzle.
Her love and growing desire reach beyond the physical and grows within her heart and soul extracting the good left deep within Eldritch’s soul to resurface and breaking the curse upon Eldritch.
Secrets are revealed solving the puzzle and Inga and Eldritch must face the evil king together conquering his reign and bringing forth peace and freedom among the people.
Katrina Strauss has created a medieval fantasy tale that is sure to bring out your inner emotions and desires. I rate this book a 5 for great talent in showing the reader how to love and hate through the act of sexual desire and through the depths of one’s mind and heart
She uses her magical gift regularly establishing a reputation among the villagers as being a healer. The regular use of her powers instigates a visit from the Lord Eldritch, the king’s knight who enforces the law that forbids use of magic. He haunts her dreams and has awakened her inner sexual desires, despite the horrors he has inflicted upon innocents, which she desperately tries to suppress. He senses her sexual thoughts and desires by reading her mind and instead of execution he whisks her away to the castle dungeon.
There in the dungeon he inflicts sexual torments and tortures upon her that reach beyond her imagination and fantasies. The torture soon gives way to pleasure and she succumbs to his control and begins to desire his visits. Their relationship grows, meanwhile she still has visions that shows her bits and pieces of the past but never truly revealing the entire puzzle.
Her love and growing desire reach beyond the physical and grows within her heart and soul extracting the good left deep within Eldritch’s soul to resurface and breaking the curse upon Eldritch.
Secrets are revealed solving the puzzle and Inga and Eldritch must face the evil king together conquering his reign and bringing forth peace and freedom among the people.
Katrina Strauss has created a medieval fantasy tale that is sure to bring out your inner emotions and desires. I rate this book a 5 for great talent in showing the reader how to love and hate through the act of sexual desire and through the depths of one’s mind and heart
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2014
Actual Rating 3.5 Stars
*Some spoilers ahead
The cover made me do it! It's so pretty!
The story started out strong. We have the good-hearted simple born Inga who was bestowed with magic and helped her village who was ridden with disease. Then after she was captured by Lord Eldritch she turned into a wanton and indulged in her base desires. It was a complete turn about.
Don't get me wrong, I like how they explored her dark side but I didn't care for her torture session with Thelise. Also, her and Inga's interludes were unnecessary and disappointing. The story didn't benefited from it. I hate that she did that to Eldritch, I could have truly done without it. I felt like it ruined the story and the chemistry between Eldritch and Inga. It made what she had with Eldritch felt fickle. I didn't like it at ALL. The story won't feel incomplete if that whole thing was just omitted.
The ending was not as satisfying as I hoped it would be, if only it stopped when they've won and got back the kingdom. I didn't need to know that Inga was looking for a replacement for Thelise. Why and what for? Can't she not be satisfied with Eldritch? If that is how the second book is going to roll, I won't be continuing with the series anymore. :(
November 26, 2009
This is the 1st of the ELDRITCH LEGACY SERIES I accidently purchased the second book first (LESSONS LEARNED)so I ended up reading them out of order but it was ok because things that were mentioned in it made me think "OH YES OF COURSE"... so it was just in reverse order they are both able to stand alone but why would you want to do that when they are both great fun reads! This book has it all from graphic sex (this is not a steamy romance people it's not for the faint of heart nothing is left to the imagination) that being said, there is still soul consuming love between the main characters complete understanding and devotion which is what makes all the graphic sex ok to me... I need the romance in my HR! but as with the other in the series plenty of plot some magic some thrills it's was really a fun book! If a 3rd is ever done I'll definitely get it!
June 6, 2012
Not sure what I think about this. It's kind of fabulous, kind of squicky.
Watching the heroine go from Disney princess good to a (highly sexualized) mix of good and evil, and trying to understand and negotiate her own actions and impulses was the fabulous part.
The dungeon and capture stuff... eh, I tend to find that more on the squicky side, although it didn't go so far over the edge I couldn't deal with it.
It ends with the heroine searching for a replacement for her lover Thelise. I'm honestly not sure whether or not I'm going to continue with the series. While it was very interesting and different from a lot of other stuff I've read, I never really felt much of an emotional tie to any of the characters.
Watching the heroine go from Disney princess good to a (highly sexualized) mix of good and evil, and trying to understand and negotiate her own actions and impulses was the fabulous part.
The dungeon and capture stuff... eh, I tend to find that more on the squicky side, although it didn't go so far over the edge I couldn't deal with it.
It ends with the heroine searching for a replacement for her lover Thelise. I'm honestly not sure whether or not I'm going to continue with the series. While it was very interesting and different from a lot of other stuff I've read, I never really felt much of an emotional tie to any of the characters.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews