Meredith is a hot mess’s Reviews > The Viking's Runaway Concubine > Status Update

God, I read those reviews & wanted to throw up from the sanctimonious ‘tude about “not using safe words!!!” or the full consent crap. What part of CONQUEROR or SLAVERY in the Dark Ages do these people not get? 🙄 The play between her non-consent & the desires it invokes *despite* her non-consent is part of the tension of the story. But having read several other “Viking” harleys wherein the backdrop is nothing important & the “conquerors” expect consent from slaves before they even kiss them, I shouldn’t be surprised. CC is a veteran with the harley crowd; no doubt she expected this reaction from some readers.

Sarah Mac wrote: " The play between her non-consent & the desires it invokes *despite* her non-consent is part of the tension of the story. But having read several other “Viking” harleys wherein the backdrop is nothing important & the “conquerors” expect consent from slaves before they even kiss them, I shouldn’t be surprised. CC is a veteran with the harley crowd; no doubt she expected this reaction from some readers...."

Yeah, I'm going to address this in my review. Tbf I think those reviews have a place. There is a readership that wants ethical bdsm with full consent and those reviews will tip off that readership that this book may not be for them. I do roll my eyes reading some of them ~ expecting a Viking to follow RACK guidelines in historical erotica is absurd. And consent was addressed by the end.

I looked at this author's website and find her interesting. She seems smart and like she has a good attitude about reviews. I like to think she's amused at the wide range of reviews this book is getting. Unlike most dark romance indie authors (& small pub houses that focus on bdsm) she included no warnings about the content in her author's note. I'm wondering if that would've helped at all. A newsletter tipping her fanbase off or a warning might have helped reader expectations. Sarah, you've read more harley's than I, is bdsm ever in harleys?

Speaking as someone who reads very little bdsm fic (& even those are probably not hardcore; this was easily the most graphic I’ve read aside from Kushiel books), I’m all for showing the responsible side of that kink in modern-set fiction. But yes, expecting a Viking to follow those rules in historical romance/erotica is ridiculous. I also hate reading about condoms in romance—I mean, yes, in RL it’s a must-address issue, but I want to ignore the tedium of these topics in fiction, esp romantic fantasies. 🙄

Tbh, I’ve not read any actual bdsm in Harley before this & the two Millie Adams regencies. Crews & Adams are both younger authors in their stable (though CC has a ton of books already under her belt), so I figured it was because they were more willing to risk having a bit of fun kinkiness in their subject matter. *shrug* There is a new imprint called Harlequin Dare, which looks to be more edgy than their other imprints; from what I can tell by the blurbs (never read any to say for sure), they look to include more kink or pseudo-kink in the stories. But traditionally? No way. They did have dub-con in some of the older Presents titles—authors like Robyn Donald, Sara Craven, Violet Winspear, & a few others—but the sex has always been fade to black or implication only. The more detailed sex scenes didn’t start until, I dunno, early 2000s? Maybe the 1990s; I haven’t read any of that era.

I'm a bit confused as to why BDSM and all its attributes were expected? The blurb doesn't mention it. And, as you both say, given the time setting, characters, etc, BDSM as we know it would be ahistorical.

Also -- and this is a general comment -- my problem with the use/expectation of BDSM is that it's a real-life, codified practice that is based on consent (even dictionary definitions include some version of the word "consent"). Thus, if I saw the word in a blurb, I would expect it to be consensual. If I then find that it isn't, I feel misled. This, to me, is the mistake Dark Romance authors often make: write what you want, but you don't get to take a clearly-defined word, misrepresent it, and then expect your readers not to take you to task for it.

@Sarah I agree about condoms lol. I figured there wasn't that much bdsm in harlequins. I'm glad harlequin decided to publish this and they weren't prudes...but yeah, I wonder what they thought the readership of this line would think if they're not used to these bdsm themes in romance.

@JD it was the opposite. No one was expecting any bdsm themes at all. Imo warnings for this book should have included that this has total power exchange, noncon, and dubcon. There are bdsm themes in that the MMC likes to be called 'master,' he likes having control over the heroine in and out of the tent, he likes giving her pain & pleasure via tying her up with ropes & spanking her. He never calls this 'bdsm' himself. Though he does not ask for her consent the first few years of their relationship, this is the central driving conflict (emotionally, for both characters) and his character arc centers on him realizing he would be more fulfilled if he had her consent in the relationship.

A fair criticism imo is that the dynamic came across as rather modern for the historical setting, but who knows? People have been perverted for centuries, I'm sure there was some kinkiness going on in some form back in the Viking age.

Ah, I see.

Actually and even earlier, the Classical era was very kinky :).

And so Sorry about the hiatus! I thought you were trying for semi-hiatus? For me, things are now getting very busy again since I've started Fall teaching.

JD wrote: "And so Sorry about the hiatus! I thought you were trying for semi-hiatus? For me, things are now getting very busy again since I've started Fall teaching...."

I don't think Harlequin, as a publisher, ever provides their readers warnings in the blurb or front of the book. They don't usually publish stories with this content, so this book is def going to get a few outraged reviews from readers expecting something a bit more mild.

Thanks about the hiatus :) The plan was for it to extend into a full hiatus with limited internet access for the last part of August going into September. I was really looking forward to it. My dog had an acute arthritis flare up for the first time (difficulty even standing up) and was diagnosed with spondylosis. Vet said he could go with us if he responds to meds, but so far he's not responding and still struggling with pain. There's no way he can travel right now, and we're not going without him. I'm sad for him too, he would've loved the trip if he was healthy.

Oh, I'm so sorry about your dog! My mother's dogs get arthritis, but they're huge (Pyrs). I hope he feels better soon.

JD wrote: "Oh, I'm so sorry about your dog! My mother's dogs get arthritis, but they're huge (Pyrs). I hope he feels better soon."

Thanks ❤️ I'm not going to fully age myself here, but I've had him since I was 18. He's really, really old. He's always been healthy, but something like this was inevitable. I'm hoping he feels better soon too.

@JD - I’ve had 3 pyrs during my life (including one right now!) & they are a special breed. Love them.

@Meredith - I recently lost my beagle that I had for 13 years, so you have my sympathies. ❤️💔 She had heart problems & liver problems both; probably would’ve kept going longer if it was just the heart, as she responded well to the heart meds, but her liver was final stage cancer. No getting around that. I haven’t felt right since she passed…it’ll be awhile before that pain fades. *sigh*

Sarah Mac wrote: "if it was just the heart, as she responded well to the heart meds, but her liver was final stage cancer. No getting around that. I haven’t felt right since she passed…it’ll be awhile before that pain fades. *sigh*..."

❤️❤️❤️ It's hard seeing pets age & go through illness. When they're part of your daily life for years it's unbalancing to lose them. Right now is just a wait and see period to determine if he's going to respond to treatment. It's been difficult because improvements have been so marginal.

@Sarah: For such large dogs, they're very gentle: never once have they hurt my mother's cats -- even accidentally!

And to you both: yes, there are few things worse than seeing your animal suffer (particularly since they don't understand it). I lost my last cat (of 4) 8 years ago and just haven't had the heart to get another.

So sorry about both you guys' losses. I understand not being able to get another, JD. My dog has been with me through so many life transitions, I'm going to be devasted when I lose him. I enjoy the lifestyle of having a dog (there's always motivation to get exercise by walking them), but I'm not going to be able to replace him right away. I won't be able to get attached to another dog the same way.

I find there’s always room in my heart for another dog, as the past love just squeezes over to make room. ^__^ But sometimes it takes longer to be ready for the next. This one is gonna take me awhile. She was very special to me for many reasons. I love my pyr, but she can’t replace my beagle…they’re so different in personality. This is a hole that’ll be there a long time. 😔☹️ I’m so sorry to hear about yours, Meredith…I hope things get better for him.

I'll definitely get another dog, it just won't be the same for a while. I'll want to wait a bit. I actually just let him out to use the bathroom and his gait was better, he didn't whine from pain. His appetite has been up, all good signs. I'm hopeful he'll stick around a bit longer, but he is officially an old man.