I’m going to cheat a bit and write one review for all three books in this series. I don’t feel the need to recap because I’m a little late to the party and plenty of blog sites and reviewers before me have given plot breakdowns for each book. Since I’m certain anyone who picks up The Slave will be captivated from the very first page – just like I was – and I’m also certain no one will stop after reading until they’ve read all three, I think I can get away with it.
From the moment I began reading The Slave by Kate Aaron, I was sucked into a world built entirely from her brilliant mind, but because of her amazing writing ability, I could see and hear and smell that world as surely as if I lived there. (I even read the first two chapters to my husband – that’s how impressed I was at how beautifully Kate used words to create a vision.)
Each book is written from that character’s POV. The Slave is written from Tam’s POV and, while it’s hard to pick “a favorite” here, if I absolutely HAD to pick, Tam would be my choice. I’ve found it interesting that on social media, most people seem to gravitate toward Kai. Not me. Tam is the whole angsty package for me. He is beautiful, delicate, perfectly submissive and whimpers like a child when needy, but don’t ever make the mistake of thinking he’s weak or fragile. There were several times throughout this series when I wondered if perhaps the real Master wasn’t Tam. (He would never agree with me on that, however.) If Tam could have anything in the world, it would be to know his Master loves him, but he knows, as a slave, he’ll never be worthy of his Master’s love. That’s just a fact and it never stops Tam from doing whatever’s necessary to make The Master happy or giving him what he needs, which is often simply Tam’s presence.
The Soldier is told from Kai’s POV and it’s just as fantastic. Kai, as I said before, seems to be the favorite of a lot of readers. I loved him as well, and The Soldier had me in tears on his behalf more than once. Another favorite author of mine (AJ Rose) has written that it takes more strength to kneel before someone than to stand beside them and I felt that this was the overall feeling I took from The Soldier. No spoilers from me, so I can’t explain that other than to say when Kai is faced with a choice, he often chooses the one that makes him appear weak, when, in fact, it’s the tougher of the two choices, but the one with the biggest reward.
The Master is the story I was most anxious to read. I was dying to get into his head. What I found, surprised me. I was expecting – and looking forward to - the dominant personality Tam and Kai see in him, but, what I found, while a tad disappointing, was actually way more realistic. It would be easy to give spoilers here, so I’m trying to be careful, but I’ll just say that The Master is… human. He has the same doubts, fears and guilt as you and me. It took me a little time to adjust my thinking. He wasn’t at all what I expected. Once I was fully ensconced in his head, though, I felt for him. He is more fully enslaved than the men who wear his collar, and, unlike them, his options are few. It’s amazing to me how his future so often depended upon Tam and Kai’s choices. Ironic – and well played by Ms. Aaron.
The writing is phenomenal – even the sex scenes are hot as heck, and I’m one who is growing tired of them – and the editing made for a flawless reading experience, which is becoming rare.
If you enjoy MM (or MMM) and like angst in your story, get all three books now, because you WILL want the next one in your hand immediately. Trust me… you will not even want to have to spend time going to your book site and one-clicking.
This is an epic series and I’ve added them to my ‘if stranded on an island, which books would you want’ list. Until now, that list only contained the Cut & Run series (Abi Roux), the Power Exchange series (AJ Rose), The Original Sinners series (Tiffany Reisz) and The Lost & Found series (Edmond Manning). Even the drool-worthy covers will make a nice addition to my island bookshelf.
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Top reviews from other countries
Annie - QueerBooksUnbound.com
Perfect start to a series!
Reviewed in Germany on June 2, 2015
