A King Undone by Cooper Davis (Noble Pleasures #1)
M/M Historical/Fantasy
Released: December 9, 2014
Samhain
Reviewed by Mandi
I was really excited when I started this book. Our King, Arend, fell in love with a man at the age of 18. Deeply in love – but his father demanded he give up his love, and marry a woman to produce heirs. His father goes so far as to destroy the boy Arend loved and he dies an early death. Now many years later, Arend is 41 and has produced heirs and his wife is dead. Now it’s Arend’s turn to find satisfaction and happiness – and he wants it in the form of a concubine. Oh. A virgin King (in the sense he has never been with another man) and a concubine. I got excited. The beginning of the book is all about Arend and how he can’t wait to explore passion and sex with his concubine. He is so nervous and anxious about the entire thing. He goes to this secret temple full of gay men just waiting to be chosen by someone. Again – great excitement.
Arend finds the perfect man for him, named Julian. Exotic looking with cat-like eyes, tall and masculine but with a feminan voice. They have immediate lust for each other and tightening in their breaches. I love a tightened breach. Arend buys him and brings him back to his palace. Let the smexy times begin!!!
Except they don’t.
And don’t get me wrong. I don’t need 20 sex scenes to enjoy a book. But when a book is so focused on a king exploring his sexuality and having sex, and instead they dance around the subject for page after page, it feels like a let down. I liked both Arend and Julian. Julian was a slave of sorts at the temple for ten years. While treated well, for ten years he went on display but was never chosen by anyone. When Arend finally picks him, you can feel his elation and his anxiety for wanting to please Arend as much as he can. Julian has been trained in sex and sexual pleasure for ten years. I would have loved for this to have been put on display! But instead, Arend won’t let him. For page after page. I get that Arend is nervous and wants to take this slow. But at least take something.
I also had a problem with Arend not acting like a king. It’s more we are told he is a king, but we never really see that in action. I think it would have added a lot to the story if he acted in charge and in control.
I don’t know what else to say about this one. The book is basically just Arend and Julian talking about their situation, and what they want to do to each other and getting to know one another. They fall in love pretty fast, even though Julian is still scared Arend could send him away at anytime. There is a tiny bit of conflict introduced when the council is worried that Arend let his son marry another man, therefore not having an heir.
For such an erotic feeling book, it lacked in sexy and was disappointing.
Rating: C-
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