"Hot, funny, and sharp-witted story about bondage"

MERCENERIES II: THE THRALL takes place on the planet of Bedesem, founded by colonists interested in bondage, discipline, and sadomasochism. The kingdom of Rabicon's ruler hires the crew of the mercenary warship "Starunner" and specifically its executive officer, Commander Sebastian Cole, to rescue his son. The female ruler of another kingdom felt insulted by the king, and has sworn to force the prince to become a submissive.

Sebastian goes undercover as a submissive Thrall to find and rescue the son. But instead of the queen it is Zaria, her youngest daughter, who purchases Sebastian and who has captured his attention. Zaria, however, has a lot on her mind. She is working hard to prevent war between the two rulers and stop her cruel sister from killing the kidnapped prince. Complicating things are her feelings and desires for Sebastian. Zaria would just a soon be dominated by a strong handsome man than to dominate him. Such behavior is considered deviant for those of the ruling class.

THRALL is a hot, funny, and sharp-witted book full of palace intrigue, exciting fights, and wonderful sex scenes. Very few writers can make you laugh in a book about bondage; some scenes make you laugh out loud while trying to read faster at the same time. The dialogue, including internal dialogues, keeps readers engaged with the characters throughout the book. This short story puts a great deal into a small package, and at the end of the story you wish THRALL was a full-length novel.

While THE THRALL is a stand-alone story, having read its predecessor, MERCENERIES, gave the storyline more depth and more fully developed the characters, especially Sebastian's. You don't have to read MERCENARIES first, but you may want to--it is an excellent book also.

Sensuality: Rated E for explicit by the publisher. Explicit sex, bondage, spanking, oral sex only, anal sex.

Reviewed by Anya Khan for Sensual Romance.

Reviewed by Sensual Romance
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted April 18, 2004

Summary

Commander Sebastian Cole of the interstellar mercenary vessel Starrunner is a good man to have in a fight or in bed, but nobody ever accused him of being submissive. Then he's hired to go undercover as a Thrall—a male sub in a kingdom run by female dominants. His mission: to rescue a kidnapped prince from a queen who has sworn to enslave him. Sebastian's not looking forward to it, but the money's good, and anyway, there's nothing wrong with a little muff-munching between friends.

Domina Zaria Orva comes from a long, illustrious line of female dominants. Too bad all her fantasies revolve around being tied up instead of doing the tying. Still, for years she's managed to keep her submissive yearnings under wraps, hidden from her royal mother and vicious bitch of a sister.

But when Zaria finds herself the proud owner of Sebastian, she will have to find the courage to go after what she really wants. And Sebastian, well, he has to stop playing the game long enough to both rescue the prince and get the girl.