Louise H
The first time I tried to read this it proved too dark and non-consensual for me. It was a DNF and whilst I appreciated the quality of writing the content proved too much. However since then I've been corrupted by the writings of Addison Cain and Cari Silverwood, who both write IMO excellent dub/non-con stories but in the Sci-Fi/fantasy genre. For some reason I find it easier to accept non-con in a 'not-reality' setting. Since this series was repeatedly mentioned to me, I decided to give it a second try. This time, knowing about the story AND being fully prepared for the non-con elements, I not only read all the book but I enjoyed it. This is NOT and never will be an easy read. It has some very difficult and challenging scenes, but what makes the difference is Thalia's strength through out. You can't help but like Thalia and hope she gets a HEA of some sort. Marcus/The Guard is a complex character, obviously twisted and evil (or mentally unbalanced) to think it is ok to snatch women off the street and force them to be sex slaves. However he shows real moments of tenderness and care for Thalia too. You would need to have lived under a rock, or not have Facebook, to not know the huge twist at the end of this book. Just in case you've missed it I won't spoil things but I will say that I loved this unusual approach to resolving the story. I read this in two sittings, and that was only because I literally couldn't keep my eyes open last night to finish it then. Whilst in some ways you could read this as a stand alone, the story does continue in other books and once I finished this I read the remaining books too.
Elizabeth Jones
This was an amazing series. Logically, I should despise some one who would buy another human being, but everything about James compels the reader to love him and hope he and Thalia have a happy ending. Thalia is an incredibly strong woman and survives kidnappings and brutality without losing her ability to trust and love, and as despicable as Marcus and Anthony (especially Anthony who has no redeeming qualities and Marcus doesn't ' have many) are, without their heinous actions Thalia would not have met James so I guess they do have a very limited purpose, but no tears were shed with their departure. This series has many dark elements but it also has moments of humour and tenderness. The time at Purgatory is insightful and ocassionally humorous and the short stories the author includes in the series are equally wonderful. However, be warned there are many potential triggers in these books, but if you are not affected, they are a compelling read I would recommend to anyone who likes dark romance
Zelda Carbunkle
This is book one of Thalia's story. Thalia is going about her everyday life when she is targeted & captured by a man she refers to as “the guard” or Master for most of the story. We follow Thalia through her training, which includes torture & noncon/dubcon scenes. This is dark territory; you can feel Thalia's anger, despair, fear, and pain. There are distorted BDSM elements but nothing safe, sane, or consensual here. It's a bleak story of a woman painfully struggling for her life while her powerful, inconsistent captor has his own battles. This was a difficult story for me to read. The author has been both descriptive and graphic, not shying away from or glossing over events. It sounds like I didn’t enjoy it; I did, but felt immersed in Thalia's thoughts and feelings. I heaved a sigh of relief at the ending, and am ready to move on to the next book, Striking a Balance.
