Posts Tagged With: royalty

Book Review: In Despair by Megan Derr

Reviewed by Nikyta

19162088Title: In Despair
Author: Megan Derr
Series: Princes of Blood #3
Heroes: Telmé/Korin
Genre: M/M Historical Fantasy
Length: 221 Pages
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Release Date: July 9, 2014
Available at: Less Than Three Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Prince Telmé Guldbrandsen has been groomed since childhood to become a Prince of the Blood and Commander of the Legion. He will be the youngest person to ever take the Blooding—if he can behave long enough to prove he can be trusted with the responsibility. But behaving is difficult when he is constantly forced to endure Korin: heir to the Reach of the House and the Temple of the Sacred Three, and the snotty brat Telmé is expected to someday marry.

Then the unthinkable happens, leaving Castle Guldbrandsen—and the Legion—in pieces. Overwhelmed by fear and grief, Telmé convinces Korin to help him attempt the impossible. But rather than relief, Telmé’s triumph is met with anger and rejection …
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Prince, The Thief, & The Shadow Emperor by M.J. Willow

Reviewed by Nikyta

21893569Title: The Prince, The Thief, & The Shadow Emperor
Author: M.J. Willow
Series: That Famous Happy End Anthology
Heroes: Ilya/Soloyev
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 25,000 Words
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Release Date: June 18, 2014
Available at: Less Than Three Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Traveling home by way of the Black Forest, Ilya is accosted by a highwayman who unexpectedly breaks free of his magic by dissolving into smoke. Not a highwayman, he learns later, but rumored to be the malcontent spirit of a despised dead emperor killed centuries ago.

Ilya dismisses the tale as superstition and clever shadow magic … until he sees the thief again in the very last place he expected.

Note: This story was originally published in the That Famous Happy End anthology.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Debut Author Review: Dark Side of the Sun by Belinda Burke

Reviewed by Nikyta

The Dark Side of the Sun (Eight Kingdoms #1)Title: Dark Side of the Sun
Author: Belinda Burke
Series: Eight Kingdoms #1
Heroes: Bran & Macsen
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 53k words
Publisher: Totally Bound
Release Date: April 11, 2014
Available at: Totally Bound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: An ancient pact was once broken by the theft of Summer’s Prince. Now, the Red King has found him. To live, to love, they seek the dark side of the sun…

A thousand years ago, Milesian invaders gained ownership of Ireland from Summer’s Queen through trickery. Since that day, the green isle’s native sidhe have been imprisoned in their hidden kingdom, bound by their ancient pact with the Milesians.

Now, the treaty has been violated. The Milesians have stolen Bran Fionnan, the son of Summer’s Queen. Trapped in the human world with no way of returning home, Bran is held under a death threat that forces him to work for his captors. He must forge weapons the Milesian huntresses can use to slay their new foe: the Red King. 

The Red King is Macsen Cadoc, a vampire—a hunter who cannot stand being hunted. He seeks vengeance for the Milesian attacks in spilled blood—Milesian blood, and the blood of the sidhe traitor who has forged their weapons. 

When the one he finds is a victim, not a traitor, everything changes. 

Bran Fionnan is the Milesian’s most valuable prize, but from the moment Macsen sees him, he wants him…and the Red King is not accustomed to being denied—by anyone. What begins with desire may end in extraordinary ways, but first there are questions that must be answered.

What is love? Can it help Bran overcome lost ties and a lifetime’s worth of anger? Can it help the Red King gain more than the satisfaction of his lusts?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, Debut Authors, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Blades of the Old Empire by Anna Kashina

Reviewed by Nikyta

Blades of the Old Empire (Majat Code #1)Title: Blades of the Old Empire
Author: Anna Kashina
Series: Majat Code #1
Heroes/Heroines: Kythar, Ellah, Evan, Egey (main POVs)
Genre: M/F Fantasy
Length: 496 pages (or thereabouts)
Publisher: Angry Robot
Release Date: February 25, 2014
Available at: Angry Robot, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Kara is a mercenary – a Diamond warrior, the best of the best, and a member of the notorious Majat Guild. When her tenure as protector to Prince Kythar comes to an end, custom dictates he accompany her back to her Guild to negotiate her continued protection.

But when they arrive they discover that the Prince’s sworn enemy, the Kaddim, have already paid the Guild to engage her services – to capture and hand over Kythar, himself.

A warrior brought up to respect both duty and honour, what happens when her sworn duty proves dishonourable? Continue reading

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Reivew: The Mark of the Tala by Jeffe Kennedy

Reviewed by Nikyta

The Mark of the Tala (Twelve Kingdoms, #1)Title: The Mark of the Tala
Author: Jeffe Kennedy
Series: The Twelve Kingdoms #1
Hero/Heroine: Andi & Rayfe
Genre: M/F Fantasy
Length: 353 pages
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Release Date: May 27, 2014
Available at: Kensington Publishing, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Queen Of The Unknown

The tales tell of three sisters, daughters of the high king. The eldest, a valiant warrior-woman, heir to the kingdom. The youngest, the sweet beauty with her Prince Charming. No one says much about the middle princess, Andromeda. Andi, the other one.

Andi doesn’t mind being invisible. She enjoys the company of her horse more than court, and she has a way of blending into the shadows. Until the day she meets a strange man riding, who keeps company with wolves and ravens, who rules a land of shapeshifters and demons. A country she’d thought was no more than legend–until he claims her as its queen.

In a moment everything changes: Her father, the wise king, becomes a warlord, suspicious and strategic. Whispers call her dead mother a traitor and a witch. Andi doesn’t know if her own instincts can be trusted, as visions appear to her and her body begins to rebel.

For Andi, the time to learn her true nature has come. . . Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Branded by Bru Baker

Reviewed by Nikyta

Branded by Bru Baker eBookTitle: Branded
Author: Bru Baker
Series: 2014 Daily Dose – Mended
Heroes: Coren & Bran
Genre: M/M Historical
Length: 36 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: June 1, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon & All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When a would-be assassin sneaks into the citadel disguised as a servant, the king requires that all servants who work in the castle be branded with the royal crest for easy identification. Prince Coren is powerless to fight the edict, but he refuses to allow his personal advisor and secret lover Brannir to suffer alone. Coren shows his devotion by wielding the brand to mark Brannir himself, even though he fears it will change their relationship. He’s prepared for resentment, hurt, and anger–every outcome but the one he receives: unconditional love.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Winter Lord by Jaye Edgerton

Reviewed by Nikyta

The Winter Lord by Jaye Edgerton eBookTitle: The Winter Lord
Author: Jaye Edgerton
Heroes: Erik & Therial
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 78 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: April 23, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When Erik, a human scholar and amateur mage, sets out to find Alfheim, the legendary home of the light-elves, he has nothing to lose. His village suffers under a mysterious Unending Winter, and his lover died in a hunting accident while trying to find food. Erik wants to find a way to end the cold, but he doesn’t expect a beautiful but Winter-cursed fey lord who wants him for his champion—and his bedmate.

Lord Therial is an elemental creature, tied to the land, and the elves of his kingdom revere him like a spoiled but rightful ruler. A spell cast by a rival fey locks him and his little corner of Alfheim into a perpetual Winter that seems connected to the one afflicting Erik’s home. If Erik fails to defeat the enemy, both realms will remain trapped forever. Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Review: With Pride by Megan Derr

Reviewed by Nikyta

With Pride (Princes of the Blood #2)Title: With Pride
Author: Megan Derr
Series: Princes of the Blood #2
Heroes: Kristof & Håkon
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Length: 65,000 words
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Release Date: April 16, 2014
Available at: Less Than Three Press
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When his sister falls ill, Kristof is ordered to assume a duty never meant for him: become the Duke of Stehlmore and marry a notorious Prince of the Blood. It is one of the oldest honors and duties undertaken by his family, but Kristof feels only resentment that he must leave behind all he knows to serve an arrogant half-demon.

His resentment must be set aside, however, when evil is found lurking far too close to the castle—an evil that has many pieces, controlled by someone they cannot find and who always seems one step ahead of them. Someone who seems to think that demons are little more than toys …

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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Review: Union by Annabelle Jacobs

Reviewed by Nikyta

UnionTitle: Union
Author: Annabelle Jacobs
Series: Torsere #2
Heroes: Nykin & Ryneq
Genre: M/M High Fantasy
Length: 230 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: April 11, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: After the defeat of the Lowland Army at Torsere and with King Seran on the run, King Ryneq and his sister, Cerylea, continue their journey to the Elven City of Alel to proceed with the union of the two realms. Fully recovered from his injuries and newly announced as King Ryneq’s Consort, Nykin returns to his duty as a Dragon Rider in the King’s army. He and Ryneq have little opportunity to celebrate their union, but make the most of their time together before leaving for Alel. Since the ambush at Neest River destroyed the main bridge, traveling by ship is the only option. An unusual storm threatens their crossing, making Ryneq wonder if some new magic is rising against them.

As the wedding between Cerylea and the Elven prince Morkryn approaches, the dragons sense a malevolent presence. To protect the young couple’s fragile bond, Nykin and his dragon, Fimor, take to the skies, setting up a patrol along the border of the magical city. But as the evil grows more potent, the enchanted boundary grows weaker. Ryneq and Nykin must combine their strength to protect their people from Seran’s extreme plot for revenge.

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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Ophelia Prophecy by Sharon Lynn Fisher

Reviewed by Nikyta

The Ophelia ProphecyTitle: The Ophelia Prophecy
Author: Sharon Lynn Fisher
Hero/Heroine: Asha & Pax
Genre: M/F Post Apocalyptic/Sci-Fi
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Available at: Tor Books, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Our world is no longer our own. We engineered a race of superior fighters — the Manti, mutant humans with insect-like abilities. Twenty-five years ago they all but destroyed us. In Sanctuary, some of us survive. Eking out our existence. Clinging to the past. 

Some of us intend to do more than survive. 

Asha and Pax — strangers and enemies — find themselves stranded together on the border of the last human city, neither with a memory of how they got there.

Asha is an archivist working to preserve humanity’s most valuable resource — information — viewed as the only means of resurrecting their society.

Pax is Manti, his Scarab ship a menacing presence in the skies over Sanctuary, keeping the last dregs of humanity in check.

Neither of them is really what they seem, and what humanity believes about the Manti is a lie.

With their hearts and fates on a collision course, they must unlock each other’s secrets and forge a bond of trust before a rekindled conflict pushes their two races into repeating the mistakes of the past.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, M/F, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment