Review: Slave Eternal (In His Arena #1) by Nasia Maksima

When novice gladiator Lucan is stolen from his patron house and enslaved by the wicked Stratos to be a pawn in a dark scheme, he finds himself fighting for his life in the cruel Spectacles of the arena. His only hope is to undertake training under Hektor Actaeon, the arena’s greatest champion. 

From the moment he meets Hektor, Lucan’s life is changed. He expected to be trained. He expected to win glory in the arena. He never expected to fall in love. With every challenge, Lucan rises in power and glory, and what begins as a desperate bid for survival quickly spirals into a whirlwind of lust and love as he fights--both for his life and for an impossible future with Hektor.

But Hektor is harboring his own dark secret--one that could very well keep him from loving Lucan in return. Even worse, the menace of Stratos’s plan looms over them, sending them into the arena in a final battle to the death. Against each other. 

Can Lucan and Hektor overcome Stratos's dark designs and the cruelties of the arena, or will their secrets drive them to ruin in the final battle against each other?

It's Gay Spartacus!!!


Hella raunchy smutterific Spartacus, but still. It's filled with crude language and filthy hot sex.

There's enough plowing and seeding going on in here to rival the entirety of the American breadbasket. 

There are poles and rods and loads and wads, drippy cum and needy holes and even an anal star thrown in for good measure. The essence of Slave Eternal is fucking and fighting, sex and blood. It's total brain candy. There is a weak plot that leaks like a sieve. I'm not even going to go into that for two reasons:  (1) it would be spoilery and (2) it really doesn't make any sense even if I were to try… 

Don't even worry about the plot. Plot schmot. Did I mention it's brimming with gladiator cocks who fight, fuck, fuck in public occasionally, have angry, slightly kinky sex and the biggest gladiator of them all wants to bottom? 

Still not sold?

Now?

Oh alright. Lucan is a novice gladiator for House Vulpinius. Hektor is primus palus of House Actaeon and he's charged with training Lucan to be ready for The Grand Melee (big gladiator event) that's in two months. How Stratos scores Hektor as mentor for Lucan is beyond me. There are seven houses and each house has its own "top" gladiator but, I guess, Hektor is the crème de la crème. There is decent world building with the houses and the Empress, but the fighting and fucking are the centerpiece.  

Lucan has a crush on Hektor from the start and Hektor isn't truly over his last gladiator boyfriend, Leander, who was killed under dubious circumstances and, oddly enough, looked a whole lot like Lucan. Alas, they fall in love. It wasn't instalove but it was circling the instalove block. However, there is dark magic afoot that precludes Hektor's declarations of love which, naturally, leaves Lucan bereft. 

The "I love him but I can't tell him because reasons" was the only thing that got tiresome for me. The sex and gladiating are crazy, stupid hot and rife with some of the cheesiest, most awesome verbiage ever. The arena fighting can end one of two ways-fucking or death. If the Empress decides to show mercy on the defeated then he is sent to The Claim to be chained and pounded by the victor the following morning. I really would've liked for the pounding to happen in the arena, though. I think that's only fair. If you can get killed in the arena cheered on by the bloodthirsty masses then you can get plowed in the arena.

I am just saying.

Recommend to gladiator enthusiasts and fans of copious plowing.

p.s. I will totes be reading the next installment for reasons.

A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more on Goodreads.