Photo credits: WikiImages
Edited by Vaishali
Title: The Savage King (Lords of the Var #1)
Author: Michelle M. Pillow Genre/Themes: New Adult, Paranormal romance, Urban Sci-fi fantasy, shifters, Erotica Publisher: The Raven Books Year of Publication: 2013 Version: E-book kindle app ISBN-978145247774 R E V I E W
‘I truly pity any man who’d love you with his heart, for it’d be a weary battle to win yours."
The Lords of the Var series by Michelle M. Pillow Is a separate series interconnected in the Qurilixen Universe. I personally haven’t read any other book in this series (from the Var or Draig), but where the first series in this world trails the Draig princes, here we take a front seat in watching the passionless Var Princes swept up by a concept they never believed in, starting this odyssey of unwilling passion with King Kirill, his disbelief in love, his entanglement with a heady and heedless Ulyssa Payne, and how she holds the power to make him bow for the first time.
“Tell me to come with you.”
“Beg me to let you,” she answered, meeting the challenge in him. If he didn’t crumble in that moment, he never would. His jaw lifted with pride, and she knew that instant, no matter how badly his body burned, he wouldn’t relent. He’d never bow to her.’
HIA Agent, Ulyssa Payne, finds herself in Qurilixen atmosphere, on a planet divided by two strong, powerful races, the Var and the Draig, who happen to be peddling the precipice of war. Predominantly a male populated planet, Qurilixen is made up of male breeding shifters and warriors. Self sufficient and independent, the Var value valor, prowess, verve and a necessity to enact passionless instruction, especially where matters of the heart are involved…because the Var Princes? They’ve been bred in the atheism of love.
‘Falke gave what Kirill knew to be the closes thing he had to a smile and nodded in approval. Kirill grimaced. Trust Falke to approve of a woman acting like a harpy.’
After her target has been picked clean, her mission a failure, Ulyssa is expected to stay an extra few months with no transportation home. Camping in the forests, she wants a one way ticket home thank you very much! Unlucky for her, King Attor, warmongering ruler of the Var kidnaps her, only for her to take a place in the royal palace’s harem. When King Attor suddenly dies in battle, Prince Kirill is to take up and take on his father’s legacy as first in line, but it was a responsibility he wasn’t quite prepared for yet. What with his people on the brink of war and an image of strength and masculinity to uphold, his duty must be stronger than ever now that he has to rule a society still breathing the law of his father, because his father’s strict leadership has left behind a bequest of fortified habit and remembrance.
‘They were royalty and royalty had no time for love or weaknesses. As the late king was fond of saying, Kingdoms are only as strong as their rulers. The Draig are weak, and so the Var Empire will rise.’
When bullheaded, prickly Ulyssa crosses royal paths with the new King, she tests the value of a woman’s place in a leader’s life - “To be ruled by a woman is to be ruled by weakness” was the law of Attor, one Kirill can’t afford to lay by the wayside. But this wildcat who taunts, bites, beguiles and challenges is both a vexatious bother, but a bigger and more beautiful interest. But for Ulyssa? No, this warrior-esque, independent minded woman of no holds barred attitude rejects any notion of docility and surrender.Ulyssa thrives on danger, purpose and demand; no man, most of all a dominant King will demand when she jump and how high. And so let the royal dance of stubborn will begin!
“So, who’s a girl have to bargain with to get a little freedom around here?”
“Me.” “Oh, yeah? Why you, sweetheart?” “Because I’m King Attor’s oldest son and the future king of the var.”
As soon I set sights on ‘The Savage King’ I was excited to dive in most of all. When I actually started reading, I loved everything about the story. After the halfway mark though, the story does lose some flair for a few different reasons. The plot is interesting and the characters are promising, what with two dutiful, unrelenting wills clashing with each other just as much as they want each other. King Attor encouraged an era of disengagement, standard and rigour. Although love is not in Kirill’s future, he refuses a reign that perpetuates war and chaos, with a careful image of strength to maintain, but he soon finds his royal heart on the line.
‘Somehow, when they came together, the very savage Var King had managed to touch her soul.’
What I liked about Ulyssa and Kirill? They’re both driven, not-at-all-easily swayed, strong dominants, but of course, this will always call for a clash in character. In fact, during the beginning of the book there were parts of Ulyssa’s personality that reminded me of a certain Celaena Sardothien from the much beloved (on my part) ToG series. (*Cue cheering*) Kirill is the quiet strength to Ulyssa’s loud - he’s hard but also soft, with an endearing side that comes from his obliviousness, misunderstandings and fragile honour. Most of time between them, however, was wasted in denial, resistance and avoidance, with only a short time left for them to reconcile, but not enough for relationship development.
“You are a strange on, aren’t you? I don’t suppose you escaped from the medical ward?”
Ulyssa’s expression fell. “Guess not.”
One thing I appreciate when it comes to romance, is a real, challenging battle of wills from both characters - not the faux exchanges of wills that lasts with a brevity that easily crumples any sense of will as soon as either counterpart gives in at the first sign of temptation - a pretense to challenge and then bending for desire. I like that both characters are stubborn enough to dance some lines and not give in. Are both seduction and friction not the most attractive lures of a romance?
But still, there is balance needed, and Ulyssa and Kirill dare to cross it because my gosh are they SO so stubborn! Perhaps a bit too stubborn for the story to work at times I felt, because miscommunication becomes a huge obstructive device. They rarely communicate and talk, rather preferring for their insecurities and assumptions to furnish their rash and misdirected actions - namely Ulyssa. They do all of this without the honesty that would undeniably set them free.
‘I can’t afford weakness. I’m the highest var power on Qurilixen, just below our gods. So, you see, a king can never be subservient.’
‘What would happen if duty weren’t between them?’
Granted you’ll meet two very stubborn, duty driven characters in heady Ulyssa and dominant Kirill.
Both pressed by duty, this is absolutely a stubborn fest of stubbornness. If you enjoy stubborn character engaging in such a stubborn skirmish of stubborn proportions, jump on the stubborn bandwagon!
‘Ulyssa watched him open a cabinet and take out a bowl. She did her best not to smirk. Next, he grabbed a jar of milk from the fridge. She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. Oh, it was just too easy, kitty cat with his bowl of cream.’
This would have been a complete four star read because it was absolutely shaping up to be one, but the conclusion as well as the superfluous relationship rigors had me reduce my rating slightly.
“What it this place, hell?” Kirill interrupted.
“It’s both a place and a concept. Human sinners go there when they die and…argh! It doesn’t matter…It’s bad, very bad, It’s like being burned alive and tortured at the same time, every day, all day, for all eternity. That’s what being married to me would be like.” Kirill frowned, eyeing her as if she was insane.’
‘The Savage King’ is a story with a perky sense of humour gracing the setting of a sci-fi paranormal fantasy. And then with more humour and baiting, locking horns with temptation and the eager ache of longing is a turbulent battle of duty and love with two people so very adept at building walls. A story of clashing dominance and duty, falling for the Var King was never on any agenda for this stubborn nomad, but neither was giving up sharing his own heart with her. A leader shall never submit you say? Watch as his values spiral and his heart fill with the unassuming, as unexpected love very much takes them both from the wayside. She’ll have to fight his royal heart with her very stubborn one.
“You can never be one of a hundred because you’re one of a kind. I only want one.”
“I think it means, brothers, that our king just might have met his woman. If he’s not careful, he’ll find himself life-mated to a queen.” I gave this book 3.5 stars -
Trigger Warning: Multiple sex scenes and some swearing.
T H O U G H TS/ S O M E T H I N G S I D I D N 'T L I K E...
1) It was slightly frustrating that it took the entire length of the book for any kind of admittance of feelings- because both characters were just that stubborn. There is a serious lack of vital communication here - because both are deeply embedded in the throes of stubbornness and pride. These flaws did impact the story for me slightly because it’s very easy to see just how a bit of honesty and communication could have rectified the situation. 2) I enjoyed the plot, but I just wanted something more from it. 3) Some things about Ulyssa’s background, and her work with the Agency wasn’t made all that clear - a bit more clarity would have been nice. It took nearly the whole book to understand that Ulyssa actually worked for a secret sector of the government. 4) I preferred the first half of the book to the second because the second half mostly comprises of heady decisions made with little thought from the characters. I was expecting a bit of danger to grace the story, but I felt a bit disappointed when the plot conflict didn’t offer more. 5) Our young protagonist here does make many rash and hot headed decisions without thinking - again as a consequence of assumption and distance.
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My Rating System: ★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read ________________________________________
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