★★★★
How would you feel to not remember anything but the present? Would it ease your mind or would you always want to know what happened in the past? Pasha knows he’s an uncommonly handsome sex slave and that there was a past. He just can’t remember it. During one of his sexual servitudes, being pimped out by his master, he spies upon a man that he desperately wants, but doesn’t know why. This man is a scarred pilot of a ship, Griffin. Griffin is a desperate man, trying to keep his people together while keeping the hope alive. His hope is to find his missing prince, who was once a beloved lover. By sheer chance, he buys the veiled Pasha for the night. Griffin’s prayers are answered; Pasha is his long lost Helios. Helios remembers nothing.
I totally enjoyed this story. Helios and Griffin are totally hot together. Learning about the terrible subjugation of Helios was sad yet kind of hot. It reminded me Joss Whedon's Dollhouse series, just a bit. Learning about this world kept my interest going. The hot sex between Helios and Griffin had me aroused quite a bit. The give and take Master/slave undercurrents really turned me on. Helios is so sexy in his submission. He’s the perfect sex slave, able to please any man or woman. He is so much more and as we learn more about Helios, it breaks my heart. To take a warrior who’s a nation’s hero and turn him into a sexual slave to be used and abused had me crying out in outrage. How dare they? I wanted to hunt down the offenders as much as Griffin.
Not all is what it seems and Ms. McBride keeps my attention riveted as each new piece of information is revealed. The conspiracy, betrayal and attempted genocide is depressing and horrific. A nation decimated by greed and hatred is sad as we see the results of tortured children. Anyone who can torture children deserves a special place in hell. I’m so involved and invested in these characters that I’m moved to tears as I read about the aftermath of destruction after Helios was captured. I learned there is a second story and I can't wait to read it. I recommend this story to m/m lovers who enjoy sci-fi slavery twist. This is a happily for now story with dark undertones.
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