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Apprenticed To Pleasure (2012)

by Brandon Fox(Favorite Author)

3.68 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1613723660 (ISBN13: 9781613723661)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Dreamspinner Press

series

Pledged to Magic

review 1: Hmmmm, what to say about this one…. The story started out promisingly enough, but not long after the adventure begins the “sex magic” element entered the plot and I’m afraid I was rolling my eyes a bit. Okay, the existence of a magical system that relies on sexual activity to power all spells and incantations and whatnot, admittedly gives the author a good excuse to include a fair amount of sexual content in the book. And of course since Ander is learning to be a mage, he necessarily has to have a lot of sex in the process of his studies. Groan…. For me it was a case of “familiarity breeds contempt” because after a while I was thinking, okay, great, they’re going to have sex yet again?I’m not sure why I have such an issue with this. Because I’ve read li... moreterally hundreds, if not thousands, of other fantasy stories in my life which describe in detail a wide variety of magical systems. Systems that work in any number of a variety of ways---though waving a wand, or muttering words from an old book, or brewing potions---the lot. So why does the idea of sex-powered magic seem so, well, silly to me? (Quite apart from the fact that it’s kind of messy and time-consuming.)Another thing that was an issue for me is that the characters are rather free with their favours, here. While we do see some committed couples, they aren’t sexually exclusive, and only too willing to invite others to participate in a little “fun.” Well---the whole point of the story is that Ander has sex with a variety of people in the course of his training. And frankly, I am SO not into threesomes or foursomes or whatever. If this had been a contemporary drama, with this sort of content, I probably wouldn’t have even bothered to finish the book. But since this novel falls into classic fantasy territory (in a place “far away and long ago” and all that), I was willing to give it some slack. But still---this just isn’t my thing at all.The bare bones of this fantasy story aren’t bad. And I think if the sexual aspect of the plot was toned down, and the relationship between Ander and Thane better developed (with those two being exclusive and monogamous), I could have really liked this one. But as it is---eh, I’m afraid the general tone of the story isn’t a good fit with my personality in general.This is the first in the "Pledged to Magic" series; I believe the story concludes in two follow-up volumes. And I’d really have to think about it, before deciding to continue on with the series, because (working with a limited budget) there are so many other books on my wish list that I’d probably buy before spending money on the sequels. As I said, the book isn’t bad necessarily, but it simply strays too far from my comfort zone and it wasn’t a good fit for me. But for others here, it may be a perfect sort of read.
review 2: Okay, the cover is awful. Really awful. It makes the book seem like ordinary porn, when in fact it is actually extraordinary porn! This fantasy-based erotica is extremely well-written. "Apprenticed to Pleasure" is the first in a trilogy. There is frequent hot, explicit sex in the series. A lot. However, the author has also created a detailed and unique world in which to showcase that sex - magic can be created and manipulated during sex. The hitch is, it only works for same-sex pairings (or threesomes!) But, magic can also be fueled by blood, violence and death. This is where the evil villain comes in, of course.If you are looking for hot gay fantasy romance, with a story, then this trilogy is for you. The sex is frequent, inventive and quite steamy. Fox spent some time developing the world his characters inhabit, so the novel never felt like porn without plot. The characters were developed; there was a villain, and our heroes must work together to overthrow him. Secondary characters are also developed, and play a part in the action. Sadly, the trilogy is out of print, but worth fnding on the second hand market. Highly recommended! less

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