Review: An Uncommon Whore (An Uncommon Whore #1) by Belinda McBride

2nd Edition

Pasha is a slave, whoring for travelers at the most treacherous bar on Warlan. The day Pasha spots the dangerous pirate in the bar, he knows he mustn’t let the stranger slip away, no matter what he must do to draw his attention.

Captain Griffin Hawke spent the better part of a decade searching for his lost king, only to find Helios Dayspring crouched between his legs, swathed in the robes and shackles of a whore. Though he is appalled by the downfall of his king, Grif falls for the sensual creature who has taken his place. After a brutal invasion stripped his people of nearly everything, they desperately need Helios to lead them. But returning him to throne means smuggling him off the planet, disabling the chip that keeps him submissive and forgetful. They will face old enemies, traitors, and greedy opportunists who’d like to strip their new planet of its wealth.

It might mean Grif losing his lover… and they’ve both lost too much already.

I can hardly resist a space opera, and I dare you to try when up for offer is an amnesiatic lost king, a piratical past lover who is desperate to find him, and a people who need their rightful ruler to lead them out of their tragic brutal circumstance.

Griffin is said piratical past lover, and he’s been searching for Helios, who’s next in line for the throne, for several long years, hoping against hope that maybe, just maybe, Helios is still alive after sacrificing himself for capture so that many others could escape. What Griffin finds is far from pleasant. Helios is a very changed man, knowing only his sex slave existence due to wiped memories and being forcibly conditioned to serve. However, what’s fully ingrained is not forever lost.

Despite the fact that these two men come together very quickly due to the undeniable magnetic connection they still have, they are both stymied by doubt, obligation, and a past that did not condone them being together. Despite that very history and the vast distance and time that has transpired, it’s obviously not enough to keep these two apart again now.

Having not read the original, I have no means to compare this to its former self. What I will say is that the author has added approximately 22K words and hopefully, that’s evident in the adventure, the romance, and the more fully realized story.

So yes, there’s action, there’s plenty of smexy, and an interesting universe that held my attention. Overall, I really enjoyed the outer space setting, and I look forward to the big payoff regarding the promised political intrigue as it’s probably safe to say, there’s gonna be some pretty good violence and lots of comeuppance on the horizon.

This ends with Helios and Griffin as a strong formidable team. They make a fantastic return in starting anew, and Helios especially is on the precipice of a not yet fully realized destiny foretold in the stars that left me kinda in awe and ready to see how everything pans out. The entire series looks to be up for revision and re-release by DSP, and I will follow through to see Helios and Griffin’s well deserved win!

Thank you to the publisher/author for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Jerricho’s Freedom by Jake C. Wallace

2nd Edition

As prince of the Anzuni demon clan, Jerricho’s entire life has been planned for him. At twenty-five, he will become the crown prince of the Anzuni, marry a man chosen by his parents, and bear his husband’s children all without choice. If that wasn’t enough, he must remain a virgin until his wedding night. To do otherwise would spark an unimaginable scandal.

With only ten months until his twenty-fifth birthday, the walls close in on Jerry, and the realization that he will lose his small apartment, his job at the library, and his freedom hits hard. But that’s nothing compared to losing the man he loves. Rex is a smart and sexy construction foreman with a keen interest in demon “mythology.” When Jerry and Rex give in to spending one night together, their indiscretion can’t be kept secret for long. But that’s only the beginning of their problems.

Someone wants to harness the power of Jerry’s bloodline and his ability to conceive—someone with designs on horrifying experiments, sex slavery, and murder. Jerry and Rex are at the mercy of power-hungry sadists. With no one left to trust, they must fight for each other, their freedom—and their unborn child.

First Edition published by Amber Quill Press/Amber Allure, 2015.

This was actually a lot darker than I expected it to be and it really threw me off. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for this kind of story so I will try my best to review it fairly.

I think this story will appeal to a lot of die-hard dark erotic romance fans. Especially if they’re a fan of Mpreg. I’ll talk about the Mpreg a little later in the review though.

This story starts off light, but as the blurb says, there is an element of capture and imprisonment, as well as rape, and forced breeding.

Jerry was a fun character in the beginning. I liked his spark and his independence. The world building around the Demon clan was well done, and I found the concept interesting and well thought out. I liked the supporting characters too. His family and the staff at his parents home. They all gave me warm fuzzies for the most part.

The sexual tension between Jerry and Rex was great. Even the short time they had together was convincing. I enjoyed their relationship building, and I found I liked them both. I wanted them to be together.

It’s going to be hard to write this without spoilers, so if I do add a minor spoiler, I’m sorry.

Where this became an issue for me was the plot around the experimentation and the sex-slavery. Interesting, since I am known to enjoy some really dark stuff. I think the problem was this whole plot centred around a pregnant male Demon and the repetition of the routine surrounding the imprisonment. My heart and head just wasn’t in it. I found myself wishing the story was over. It was too drawn out. There was too much angst. I found it really hard to follow the plot and the twists and turns of the story.

I have to say the Mpreg stuff was okay at first. It was explained well enough, and I found that satisfactory. What was missing was something probably only a few people would consider (or maybe not, I don’t know, maybe I’m weird and overly analytical, or maybe it will be obvious to everyone). How are they feeding this baby? There was nothing in the story about it. Jerry didn’t grow boobs for lactation. And you know, I’d probably go along with that, if there was another evolutionary way that the baby would be fed. It’s something that annoyed me. Petty, maybe, but it is important to me, because it is a gap in world building, and to me a pretty significant one. Men can lactate, so I’m not sure why this wasn’t used.

While it wasn’t the right time for me to read this, I still appreciated it as a well written story. I think it was a little longer than it needed to be, but that’s only my opinion, and may have more to do with how I was feeling as I read the story. If there weren’t so many plot twists, I think I would have handled it better. While a lot of the plot was explained well, some of it came out of left field and I didn’t know how to absorb it all. I can’t say all of them are good for the story. And the angst. It was a little too overwhelming for me (this is a draw for some though, so go ahead, get your angst on).

I’d recommend this only for people who are interested in dark paranormal stories with Mpreg. It may be a bit much for those who aren’t used to this element of writing.

A review copy was provided for an honest opinion

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