This is 80% sex, 10% thinking about sex, 5% perusing for sex, 3% passing the girl to one another as if she is a toy, 2% talking about sex, .5% regretting for passing the girl cuz if the dude didnt then they would have having what? Yes sex. .5% plot/story that is not sex.

Trust me even porn has a better story line, plot, chemistry than this. 30 s Whimsey (is in a major book slump.)126 13

DNF at 5%

CONTENT WARNING: Rape.

I don’t want anyone else to be blindsided I was. And the book description gives no indication, and has no warnings listed, about triggering content or just how terrible the characters and their actions are.

All of the men mentioned up to the point where I stopped reading, aside from the FL's deceased relatives and a single male farmhand, are (without exaggeration) sexual predators and serial rapists.
One of the MLs upon first meeting the FL, immediately gives her the ‘choice’ of either being raped by him, or refusing and being given to his troops to be gang raped. And it’s made clear in the story that he and his troops have previously raped/gang raped multiple women as they've made their way through the country destroying peoples lands, homes, and lives. So this is not an empty threat or bluff on his part.

At that point, the FL makes the least terrible choice available to her, after which there is a multiple page scene of the previously mentioned ML raping her.

Just absolutely appalling. And this is passing itself off as a romance novel?
Kinks and fetishes are one thing, but to normalize and literally romanticize rape and brutality towards women is not what I want to see when I start a romance novel.

Also, how is it that we're living in the year 2023 and there are still authors that don't provide adequate content warnings in their book blurbs so that readers can make informed decisions and avoid potentially triggering content?absolute-trash19 s4 comments Namera [The Literary Invertebrate]1,285 3,372

Really excellent, well-written fantasy reverse harem romance novel.

23-year-old Lady Lumen Fenn is the last of her family, all of whom have been decimated by the decade-long war with Stalor. But when the Stalor army comes to commandeer her house, she agrees to join the bed of its general, 36-year-old Dominic Westbrook. Matters mean that she eventually ends up being passed to his lieutenants Finley Brink and Gideon Jones as well.

I d all the characters here, and I loved the relationship development. No OW drama or unnecessary angst. The book does need a LOT more worldbuilding, because this is sorely lacking, but hopefully things will be fleshed out more in the sequel.

[Blog] - [Bookstagram]

genre-high-fantasy hero-aged-30s hero-alpha ...more11 s Rachael*Caribbean*girl*bibliophile1,800 408

Spoilers ahead, 2.5*

This review covers both books


23 year old Lumen is the last of her family due to war with Salor, she's managed to hold on to her family's home and continues the healer work of her mother for the tenants she has left until General Westbrook and his army aerive at her door. He gives her a choice of running to most ly be captured by his men or sharing his bed. Thus begins a heartbreaking journey as Lumen finds strength and faith sge didn't know she had.

*******
This will make it my third RH book and all from this author and I've got to admit this was my least favorite and one I found very difficult.

Our H's are General Westbrook, his second Gideon and their healer Brinkley. They've been fighting in the war for years and we're told that when they occupy homes they generally sleep with the woman of the household, Westbrook eventually tires of the woman and passes her on to Gideon and Brinkley,so I was immediately grossed out.o

Lumen was a virgin before Westbrook and though things started off badly between them she eventually finds pleasure in his arms. The thing that made this book difficult for me was that the author had the h with Westbrook for a while, building something between them that softened a war hard General and had me convinced this would be a M/F relationship. Until he got angry at her and passed her on to Brinkley

Now Brinkley and Gideon were both waiting their turns and again the author had the h with Brinkley for a while until he made a choice she saw as a betrayal and she was passed on to Gideon.

I absolutely hated the way it was is done, the h deserved so much better and she suffered emotionally through all the back and forth. Brinkley was the worst choice of H as he was weak and acted a coward

Gideon was the best of the lot, he genuinely loved her and I would've been quite pleased with a HEA just for the two of them.

Now much is happening in the background as well as the h attempted to escape and was captured. She eventually makes her way to a convent and we get a lot about her faith that I honestly just did not understand

Eventually she goes back to her home, stronger and more powerful than before. I d that she took a while before forgiving Westbrook but by that point I was rooting for just her and Gideon. She was hurt by these men too much though it's clear Westbrook felt deeply for her.

All in all this one had me deeply conflicted as the story was interesting though book 2 bored me to tears with the religious aspects. I didn't the direction the romance took but I also never skimmed or put the books down10 s Laura102 69 Read

DNF at 63%

Yeah, No.7 s Tanja307 23

This was not what I expected at all, but I enjoyed it so much regardless.
The book covers roughly four months during a war that has been raging for the past several decades. There’s not much of a world-building and yet we get more than just a general sense of the history of the war and the characters themselves. It’s set in a period resembling the 1800s (sword fighting, and healing with herbs) and as such is more realistic than most things I have read in this genre.
I get that some readers are triggered by the relationship between our heroine and the General (an enemy’s army General) who commandeered her home for his tropes, but it might just be the most unrealistic thing in the novel. The reality of the war and what the conquering soldiers did to the man, women, and children in the territory they occupied was so much worse, this almost seemed the kindness the writer has intended it to seem .
There wasn’t much happening through the book plot vise, it was more of the emotional rollercoaster covering every emotion possible, and doing it so well. Through it all, we get to know our characters pretty well and, at least in my case, love each one of them differently.
The book does not have a happy ending, but it’s realistic, even if it is heartbreaking. There is a second book, so the story does go on. But the author wrote it intentionally this, this story finished, and if you chose to, you could stop just at this book. I that a lot.20227 s Stephanie769 1,094

Wow, this book threw me for a loop. It was much darker than I anticipated, and the "heroes" start off as true villains.

First of all, the setting: it feels an old time-y setting (no guns/tech) and the world is in the middle of a brutal war between two countries, one that follows the god of sun (Sol) and the goddess of moon (Lune). The war has been raging for decades, and most young and able bodied men are at war or dead. Women are left at home unprotected, and as different troops travel to gain ground on their enemy they take over villages and homes.

Lumen, the Lady of Fenn Manor now that she's the only one left, refuses to abandon her home and the few mainly elderly tenants who live in the village. An enemy army arrive and take up home in the manor, ransacking it for items to sell to feed their army. The general, Dominick Westbrook, says that she will warm his bed. And here lies the big problematic part of the book: consent cannot be given if it's coerced. While Lumen enjoys hooking up with the general, she isn't given a choice - at least at first. And the way he behaves is truly despicable, threatening to pass her around to his two friends. (And it's stated that he's done this before in every home/village they overtake.)

Lumen is a strong heroine not in physical strength but in intelligence and compassion. She refuses to abandon her home and her tenants, she helps and teaches the army's healer, she makes sacrifices so her tenants may get food and mercy.

My favorite character was the 10 year old boy, Colin, who acts as a spy for the army and takes a liking to Lumen.

TW: coerced sex, implied rape/past rape, child abuse, violence, (accidental) domestic violence2021 forced-proximity kindle-unlimited ...more5 s Vienna30 1 follower

honestly I should have known from the synopsis but I really loved Moon's Lola & the Millionaires so I thought I'd give it a try and see if it was better than than what I was expecting.
Here's the deal: treating a woman property, no matter WHEN, WHERE or in a fictional land, is an immediate NOPE from me. Why would you romanticize this? I don't get it.
It gave major YIKES. Basically this woman is left alone in her manor after her mom passes and a General and his men come and basically "own" her. General Westbrook gives her the option to try and run away or be expected to be used in his bed chamber (which WAS her room before he took it from her). She's a virgin, dudes NOT NICE ABOUT IT. THEN WHEN HE GETS SICK OF HER HE PASSES HER OFF TO HIS MEN. basically treating her garbage, property and not human at all.
I DNF'd pretty fast.
absolutely-not5 s Jami Kehr996 13

This story is flawless. The world that Moon has created is narrated so precise. You will feel you've been thrown into a war torn town. The fluidity in the writing makes every word flow water.

The characters are brilliant. They will give you no choice but to feel everything, every detail is perfectly described. From the hunger to the lust. One moment you will be thinking your toes are going to fall off from frost bite and then the next you're gonna want to change panties.

This is probably my favorite read from this author and that's saying something because she's so crazy talented. If you haven't had the chance to read her work, this is a perfect place to start.4 s Cece171 1 follower

I have to DNF this. Not only is the first “relationship” Lumen gets into with the general super disgusting and coercive, but there is no plot whatsoever. I have no idea what’s coming next, and not in a good way.

There is no anticipation of anything possibly happening that will drive the story forward, even this war they’re supposed to have been in for ten years, which btw is never explained. why are they at war? It’s only about the relationships the FMC establishes with the general and two of his men and that’s so underdeveloped I have to wonder what the overall intent of the story is.
At the 60% mark, she’s already slept with two of them and has had sexual contact with all three, and the sex scenes were… blah. someone else said, for a book that’s mostly sex scenes this is utterly unsexy. So dry and weird. The scenes are explicit, but they are underdeveloped and go from 0-100 in a half a page and sometimes the author would end the scene in the middle of sex? … why?

Lumen is really stupid but I did love her relationship with Colin (a child). He was by far the best part of the book for me.
Dominic (the general) is a cardboard cutout of a person. No personality other than his men listen to him for… reasons… and that’s it. He’s also a fucking rapist. I hate him so much.
Finley I was curious about but there is zero character development. You get some idea of his past in passing but even though he had a POV, you don’t get a sense of who he is. All he thinks about is Lumen— why? She’s just waking around being white and quiet.
Gideon is the same. He was surprising in some ways because you think he’ll suck immediately but he is actually kind of sweet at times. Also underdeveloped though.

The sex scenes
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