Dark One's Mistress
Genre: NA Gothic Romance
Release Date: October 31st 2016
Thardrandian Publications
Summary from Goodreads:
For centuries, the people have lived under the protection of their so-called Dark Lord. Now, with news of his death reaching the quiet village of Everdark, rumour whispers that his son, Lucias, is hunting for a mistress to beget him an heir.
Clara doesn't put much stock in village gossip, until she finds herself forcibly taken to the Lord's fortress. Escape is not easy. She has no way out and, against a man with magic, little chance of fighting back. But the Lords are still men and the death of Lucias' father is proof that they die just the same. And yet, if Lucias dies heirless, his army will be free to terrorise the land.
Such is the goal of Lenora of Ne'ermore, an old enemy and ex-prisoner of the kingdom. She is sending a man to slaughter Lucias and, to ensure there's no chance of an heir, his mistress must die as well.
Caught between regaining her freedom or losing it for the good of the kingdom, Clara struggles to decide her path before certain death breaches the gates.
Clara doesn't put much stock in village gossip, until she finds herself forcibly taken to the Lord's fortress. Escape is not easy. She has no way out and, against a man with magic, little chance of fighting back. But the Lords are still men and the death of Lucias' father is proof that they die just the same. And yet, if Lucias dies heirless, his army will be free to terrorise the land.
Such is the goal of Lenora of Ne'ermore, an old enemy and ex-prisoner of the kingdom. She is sending a man to slaughter Lucias and, to ensure there's no chance of an heir, his mistress must die as well.
Caught between regaining her freedom or losing it for the good of the kingdom, Clara struggles to decide her path before certain death breaches the gates.
Book Trailer:
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review!
What I say: Dark's One's Mistress definitely taught me a lesson in not judging a book by it's title. Despite the rather raunchy title, the book focuses on drama and romance. I was expecting another repetitive smut-fest (not that there's anything wrong with smutty fiction) but was pleasantly surprised by the relatively clean fantasy romance.
Clara finds herself an unwilling captive mistress of the new Great Lord of Everdark. Lord Lucias needs an heir and has decided Clara is the best candidate to provide him one. Clara who hates the castle and Lucias, just wants her freedom.
The story reads like a historical fantasy crossover rather than a straight fantasy. I enjoyed the world building and would love to see certain characters travel outside the castle more in the future.
The dynamic between Clara and Lucias is particularly interesting. I was expecting a small amount of resistance from Clara, but I loved her dedication towards her goal and how she selflessly fought for her friends. Lucias has a hard task ahead of him if he's ever going to prove Clara wrong and win her over.
The big bad in the story wasn't at all who I would have expected. I really enjoyed the shift from the norm. Aldrea Alien certainly does a great job creating strong and independent women.
4 Stars in my Sky!
Author Spotlight:
Mother. Animal lover. Vampire. Fangirl.
Aldrea Alien is a New Zealand author of romantic speculative fiction of varying heat levels.
She grew up on a small farm out the back blocks of a place known as Wainuiomata alongside a menagerie of animals, who are all convinced they're just as human as the next person (especially the cats). She spent a great deal of her childhood riding horses, whilst the rest of her time was consumed with reading every fantasy book she could get her hands on and concocting ideas about a little planet known as Thardrandia. This would prove to be the start of The Rogue King Saga as, come her twelfth year, she discovered there was a book inside her.
Aldrea now lives in Upper Hutt, on yet another small farm with a less hectic, but still egotistical, group of animals (cats will be cats). She still hasn't yet found an off switch to give her an ounce of peace from the characters plaguing her mind, a list that grows bigger every year with all of them clamouring for her to tell their story first. It's a lot of people for one head.
Aldrea Alien is a New Zealand author of romantic speculative fiction of varying heat levels.
She grew up on a small farm out the back blocks of a place known as Wainuiomata alongside a menagerie of animals, who are all convinced they're just as human as the next person (especially the cats). She spent a great deal of her childhood riding horses, whilst the rest of her time was consumed with reading every fantasy book she could get her hands on and concocting ideas about a little planet known as Thardrandia. This would prove to be the start of The Rogue King Saga as, come her twelfth year, she discovered there was a book inside her.
Aldrea now lives in Upper Hutt, on yet another small farm with a less hectic, but still egotistical, group of animals (cats will be cats). She still hasn't yet found an off switch to give her an ounce of peace from the characters plaguing her mind, a list that grows bigger every year with all of them clamouring for her to tell their story first. It's a lot of people for one head.
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