Seduced by the Gladiator by Lauren Hawkeye
Erotic Historical Romance
January 29, 2012
Avon Red
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “You are always safe by my side, my lady.”
Lilia is a novelty. She is a female gladiator and her skill and prowess has made her one of the most feared woman in Rome. When a former champion is sold to her ludris, she fears not only for her status…but also her heart.
Christus’s owner has died and he is sold to a new ludris. When he first meets Lilia, he defends her honor, not knowing his interest will only make her life harder. Lilia fascinates him and brings forth his long buried protective and sexual interests. In his pursuit of Lilia, they capture the attention of a very important and dangerous man. A man who will do anything to process possess Lilia, even if it destroys them all.
Lilia and Christus find themselves forced to participate in a to the death match between all the strongest gladiators in Rome. Only one gladiator can walk out of the arena alive. They will have to use all their skills if they want win their freedom to live and love.
Seduced by the Gladiator is a dark historical erotic romance. Fast pacing with engaging characters and a seductive action packed storyline makes this short 100 page novella fly by. It takes place after the events in My Wicked Gladiators. It is not necessary to read My Wicked Gladiators to enjoy or understand this story, but there are some characters that bleed over.
Lilia and Christus are both damaged individuals. Lilia was sold as a young girl to a slaver by her father and has never known any other life. Christus was a freeman until a jealous man took it all from him and forced him into slavery. Hawkeye does a good job of painting us a desolate and somewhat heartbreaking picture of what life was like for those caught under the crush of Roman rule. Slaves had no rights and were often used with cruel apathy both physically and sexually. Gladiators only had it a little better because they were considered a valuable commodity.
Character definition is crisp and clear. For all of Lilia’s problems, she doesn’t give up. I enjoyed watching her skirt the edges of propriety with her owner and other’s who could kill her on a whim. Her inner dialogue goes far in explaining her thoughts, opinions, and actions. We don’t hear much from Christus’s POV as this is told from Lilia’s POV I would have liked to have seen what it was about her that made him risk everything now. I have my own opinions but they were neither confirmed nor denied in the story. I enjoyed that we see the main protagonists from My Wicked Gladiators and what happened to them.
The chemistry between Lilia and Christus is extremely hot and well written though a little emotionally bereft. Graphic scenes leave nothing to the imagination yet they aren’t gratuitous. This star crossed couple burns up the pages with each stolen encounter. My only contention was that I never quite bought into the love aspect. I’m not big on instant love and the author failed to adequately explain what catapulted their attraction to love, for me. Lilia especially all her sexual experiences, until Christus, had been forced. The only reason I can come up with is the seriousness and utter despair of their situation. They could die at anytime, be in the arena or at the whim of their owner. I think that facilitated the speed in which the relationship went from sexual to emotional. I think if we had heard some of Christus’s thoughts about Lilia, maybe I would have felt it more.
The plot was well defined in the steps that lead up to the famed games, but the actual games were only touched upon as all energies were expanded on Lilia and Christus. I would have enjoyed actually seeing Lilia in action. The ending is a climatic affair as we learn exactly why the games were held and the reasons for certain scenes that took place early. All in all a pleasing historical erotic with some steamy, hot gladiator loving. I do feel certain storylines could have fleshed out better, but enjoyable all the same.
Overall Rating: C+
Recent Reviews:
The Book Pushers – D+
Goodreads
I have to agree, as much as I love this book, that there were things missing, like why they fell in love, and mroe about her fighting in the arena. I enjoyed the novelty of the 1st POV, but perhaps if a few chapters had been 1st POV from the hero’s end, it would have been better. Still, I really enjoyed it, as well as Hawkeye’s previous books, but they are not for everyone! (Raw, graphic, and very true to the time period)
Enjoy!
TBQ
LOL That is true. Hawkeye isn’t shy about the circumstances of this time period. I really wanted to “see” Lilla fight. I think that would have been interesting.