Grade: B-
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: High Kink
Genre: Futuristic
Series: Brides of Caralon #1
Reviewed by Kate

Taking place over 1500 years in the future, in a time when it is completely acceptable for the average citizen to have multiple casual encounters but royal daughters must remain pure until marriage, this story starts off with a bang (pun definitely intended). Maven, an aforementioned royal daughter, has finally reached marrying age. Her father gifts her to Dane of Rawley, a man who is known across the land for his brutal and aggressive nature.

Dane has worked hard to earn his reputation. However, he is determined to give this marriage a chance. He knows Maven is innocent and he is looking forward to introducing her to the joys of sex. But Maven is nothing like the shy, timid virgin he was expecting. Maven is very strong willed and though she knows it is the role of a wife to be submissive, she has no intention of submitting to Dane.

While there was a lot of talk of submitting this didn’t really qualify as a BDSM read for me. There is no Dom/sub relationship between the two. No whips or chains. However, don’t doubt the inferno rating I gave the book. There is enough exhibitionism, voyeurism, and multiple partners to satisfy even the highest of heat ratings.

Incredible. Lovely. Beautiful. Marvelous. Tremendous. Majestic (my personal fave). No, I am not describing a unicorn as my husband guessed. These are some of the adjectives used to describe Dane’s *clearing throat* (as a romance reader you know what I mean). By the end of the book, I was so in awe I almost broke into song. “Oh say can you see, Dane’s magnificent…” Well, you get the picture.