BERTRICE
SMALL
Synopsis
from back cover: Welcome, dear reader, to the world of
Hetar, a realm of Forest Lords, of Shadow Princes and Coastal Kings.
A land of passions, both civilized and savage. Where the social
classes know their place, but where anyone can, under the right
conditions, advance to the highest pinnacle. This is a place where
pleasure is never censured, but encouraged, and where deception and
desire may be intertwined. The orderly, elegant veneer of refined
Hetar can no longer ignore the rebellion brewing in the Outlands, a
dangerous place of both magic and mystery.
From
the city that is the very center of Hetar, Lara, the beautiful
half-faerie daughter of John Swiftsword, ventures forth on a journey
that will awaken her, both body and soul, as she learns the true
meaning of love that will last an eternity – and a searing passion
that will change the destiny of Hetar forever.
Creating
Hetar and it's many characters has been a great challenge for me, but
a wonderful ad creative endeavor. I hope you will enjoy Lara's tale.
Stats
for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Harlequin
Enterprises Limited, 2005.
How
acquired: Received
from a Book
Mooch member.
First
line: She was naked.
My
thoughts: While this book was published by Harlequin, I
would not classify it as a romance, but rather as fantasy, with a
little romance thrown in.
At
the age of fourteen, Lara, who is half human, half faerie, is sold
into slavery by her father, a mercenary, so that he can afford to
outfit himself properly to apply to become a member of the Crusader
Knights. Lara is meant to be auctioned off to the Pleasure Houses,
but her beauty is so great that the owners of the Pleasure Houses
begin to fight amongst themselves and so much dissension is caused,
that avenue is forbidden. She winds up being sold to the Head
Forester and his brother, who believe that if they can impregnate her
and she gives them a child, a curse put on their race by the Queen of
the faeries will be lifted. And that's just the beginning of Lara's
journey, for she has a destiny to fulfill. She doesn't know what it
is or where it will eventually lead her, but follow it she must.
The
story unfortunately became a little tiresome after awhile. I didn't
find many of the characters very engaging, other than the young slave
girl Noss, who Lara takes beneath her wing, and the giant Og, who
helps Lara escape the Forest Lands. There wasn't a lot of depth to
any of the characters. Lara is just so perfect. Her beauty is
apparently due to her faerie heritage, and while traveling she has to
hide it, as all the men she meets are mesmerized. That got old also,
and I would have liked a little more explanation of why being half
faerie made her so enticing. Are the faeries just really so much more
beautiful than humans? Does faerie magic make them appear so to
humans?
The
books spans two years, during which time Lara also becomes a very
skilled lover. Which when I thought about her being just sixteen,
seemed a little over the top, and even at times a little yucky. Sex
between the characters flows pretty freely and without inhibitions,
but the sex scenes aren’t very…sexy. They’re more just a
non-graphic recitation of what happened between the people involved.
There are many mentions of the male characters' “manroots”, an
almost quaint term that didn’t particularly bother me - until Lara
and the Shadow Prince are watching his horses mate, and reference is
made to seeing the stallion’s penis. After that it began to
irritate me that on a horse it’s called by what it is, but on a man
it’s called a manroot. And then when Lara and the Shadow Prince
fall to it themselves, Lara faints from the pleasure. Ugh, please. I
had to set the book down and take a break at that point.
What
I loved was the world building. Learning about the different races,
the different peoples, and the mythologies behind their cultures,
particularly the giants and the forest people. And that is why I will
eventually read the next book in the series, and hope the plot
improves.
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