Pros: Hero's struggle against his dark side is fascinating.

Cons: Major plot thread is still completely unaddressed by the end of the book.

Review book courtesy of Penguin Group

Sent to escort a prospective bride to his brother Emperor Jahn, Alix finds his hands full with not only a willful princess, but an unexpected female gift to his brother as well. Sanura, a woman trained in seeing both sexual pleasure and seeing into men's souls, is fascinated by the darkness that she sees inside of Alix. As disaster strikes and the chaos in Alix threatens to overwhelm him, Sanura must try to stop him from doing something that would break him completely.

This book was a lot of fun to read, because both the hero and heroine had aspects that really fascinate me. Sanura is a woman trained not only to see into men's souls, but also to be able to please them. She can't read their minds, but she can certainly get ideas of their feelings and motivations. Because a certain degree of cynicism exists with that kind of ability, it was fascinating to watch her relationship with Alix. His other side makes it difficult for her to fully read him, and watching her reactions as she tries to understand him help us understand more of what she was trained to do. Also interesting to watch was the shift in Sanura's approach to sex as her feelings for Alix developed. It's not often that I get to see a character in a romance novel consider love in the way that she does, and it was both refreshing and enjoyable.

Alix also fascinated me. I'm somewhat of an amateur psychology buff, and so watching both the way that his darker side works in this book, as well as the way that he has to overcome it, are absolutely fascinating. I can't tell you more without spoiling the book, but I've never seen someone's inner conflict resolved in the way that Alix's was, and I adored it.

The setting and background to this story are full of their own stories, as the setting is a fantasy one. If you're a reader that enjoys lots of lore and background, however, then this might not be an enjoyable book for you. There were several occasions where I wanted more than just a brief explanation of prior events, but that's because I'm a sucker for lore and complex backgrounds. The level of detail was certainly appropriate for a romance novel, though. I just happen to be one of those readers that loves to understand the history of a setting.

The one thing that absolutely drove me up the wall about this book, however, are the major plot threads that are left dangling after the book is done. Assassination attempts are made, along with attempts to possibly discredit the royal family. Yet no one in a position of authority seems to really be concerned about these matters, or even to want to try to get to the bottom of them. I understand that this book is the beginning of a series, and so not everything is going to be solved at the end of this book, but to have no clue about why these things are happening throughout the entire book is somewhat irritating, but to see that no one seems to take much interest is simply maddening.

This book also has a second storyline running through it, centered around another of the Emperor's potential brides. The deeper I got into her story, the more I started to wonder why she didn't merit her own book. I liked her as a character in her own right, but her story isn't a part of Alix and Sanura's at all and just felt out of place because of that. I spent a good portion of the book trying to find a connection between the two stories that turned out to be non-existent, and so I couldn't help feeling like it was filler.

Because I loved Sanura and Alix's characters so much, I wanted to give this book a 4, but the non-related plot and loose ends had me leaning towards a 2.5. I wound up settling at a three, but only because of how much the characters and their dynamics fascinated me. Fantasy fans may be left looking for more, but the book works quite well as a romance. ( )

This was a really enjoyable fantasy romance. It takes place within the universe created in a couple of Jones's other series, so I occasionally felt like I was missing some backstory while reading this one, but Jones does a great job of fleshing out the 'verse and the history without degenerating into expository dumps.The main characters, Prince Alixandyr and Sanura, are both interesting and likable. Alix is much more developed and deep as far as characterization goes; his internal battle between good and his shadow self was really intriguing. Sanura is great, but I feel like Jones just skimmed the surface with her. I get her motivations, but I just wish there had been a bit more.This book touches on something that I find kind of controversial in romances, the idea of women as possessions. Sanura was born and raised to be a man's prized possession. And while Jones does make sure the reader knows that Alix and eventually Sanura know that ownership of another human being is wrong, there's also a heavy element of sexual/romantic possession in the story. Though he may not own her as a slave, I was still left feeling like he owned her sexually. I won't go any deeper into this, because I can't without spoiling the end, but I'm really on the fence about that. And I like it. I like being torn between feeling uncomfortable and being turned on by it, heh.I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for more of Jones's novels, because I really like her writing style and her solid worldbuilding. ( )

For the Emperor of Colymbyana, no bride can compare to Sanura, an exotic slave with the power to see into men's souls. To touch her brings incredible pleasure - and certain death. Even for his brother, who loves her ardently. This is their story.

In Jones' Fyne Witches trilogy a pair of twin sons are born to Emperor Sebestyen of Columbyana. Now adults, Emperor Jahn and his moments-younger twin, Prince Alixandyr begin an adventure to find a bride for the Emperor. There is to be a contest, six women of worth from varying lands are to be brought to the palace to be offered the chance to be Empress. Messengers are sent to the far places at the height of the Spring Festival to return with the ladies in time for the Summer Festival where Jahn will choose his bride.

Princess Edlyn of Tryfyn's father is noted to not want his daughter traveling with just anyone so Alix is sent to retrieve her. While at the King of Tryfyn's court the new Queen demands that Alix bring a gift back to the Emperor along with the princess. Painted blue and scantily clad, Sanura is a woman of the Agnese. Gifted with the ability to see into the hearts of those around her she must never be touched by anyone save the man who owns her. One small touch and the blue which covers her skin will mark anyone who dares touch her for death. When Alix hesitates to take the pleasure slave the Queen makes it known she will kill Sanura instead so he takes her with them on their journey.

Through her gift Sanura can see that Alix is a good man, but there is a darkness within him she doesn't understand. His attraction to Sanura goes denied for much of their long journey until his dark side breaks free. When one of their traveling party is murdered and Alix and Sanura are blamed it is his dark side that saves them. But will the darkness ever go away? Can Alix desire and love Sanura without risking his very soul? Can Sanura save Alix from himself?

Fans of Jones' writing will love this first in a new trilogy. It has all the great elements she's come to be known for- epic storytelling, sensuality, strong character development and while she focuses on Sanura and Alix, she still takes time to tell more of the overall story of the trilogy. Tying into her Fyne Witches trilogy and the Children of the Sun trilogy you can enjoy the continued world building. But if you haven't read them, this story can stand alone well enough that you can easily go back and enjoy them later if you like.

My only complaint with this book was how abruptly it ended but due to this being about the Emperor finding a bride too many details of what the future holds for Alix and Sanura would have required giving away the rest of the story. We will just have to wait for 22 Nights (the second book in this trilogy) to find out. I personally can't wait! ( )