Publication date: November 10th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Thriller
Where society’s elite go to explore their darkest desires. And where promises of freedom are just manipulative lies.
For a price, the world’s most powerful people can have their darkest desires. On a private island hidden in the ocean, they may hunt humans for game, attend gladiator-style fights, participate in elaborate orgies, and freely indulge in all the deadly sins within the cosplay of ancient times.
Abducted from their life in Miami, Valoria and her younger sister wake up in this secret society, wherein Valoria is condemned to the fights and her sister is taken away to become a sex slave.
Now “property” of a sadistic tyrant, Valoria joins other men and women captives who are forced to fight and maim for others’ enjoyment, to run in their hunts, and participate in deviant fantasies. And she’s under the cold, watchful eye of Alexior, a hired trainer with his own agenda for being involved in the twisted decadence.
After surviving several near-death ordeals, a defiant Valoria focuses on her training and against all odds soon becomes a favorite. But she fights for one thing and one thing only—to be reunited with her sister and to be freed.
But promises of freedom are sometimes just manipulative lies . . .
My Review:
If I were to add head line to my review, it would be something in the range of: „I don’t know”. I mean, I liked the book, I enjoyed it even! But to me, something is missing or something is too much. While the plot is intriguing, I struggled to understand how so many twisted people could gather in one point and create some sort of „society” with slaves, fights and money.
Valoria fought to earn the respect of the others, but at the same time tried to impress the one who bought her so she could find her sister. In my opinion, her courage was a bit exaggerated and her demeanor too bold from the very start.
Something that caught my attention was how the rich people treated well the slaves (fed them, kept them clean and dressed), but at the same time humiliated them. Also, most of them did not like at all the place they were in, but still they remained there. For whatever reason, I cannot manage to understand why they still decided to stay.
Not to be too negative about the book, the story is quite well built. There is a constant action, so you cannot get bored while reading it. Towards the ending I started understanding better the stakes and probably I started to see the characters without judging so much. The human side (with good and bad) is something very well illustrated. For that I decided not to go ahead with 3, but 4 stars.
Overall, it is a great story with great action that will keep you in it for some time. I would have liked some more details regarding how the group was built, a little bit of history if I can say that. Also I would have liked to see more of the fragile Valoria, not only Valoria – the fighter. Still, I would recommend it as a great read.
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