Ravyn Wilde

I must say I enjoyed "Zylar's Moons" which consists of Ravyn Wilde's first two books in her Zylar's Moons series very, very much. It wasn't quite five stars for me, but very close and I just ordered the next book in the series to find out what's happening next! This series a an erotic futuristic/science fiction fantasy mix that has plenty of hot sex, but also an ongoing story line that's very fantasy oriented. It's a mix that I found fascinating and sexy at the same time.

"Zylan show more Captive"-Nyssa had a bad day yesterday. She lost her job and although she didn't drink to excess last night, she can't quite figure out what the HELL is going on? She wakes up in a strange place, with an incredibly sexy, but still a stranger, man standing over her with CHAINS running from some very sensitive areas of her body. Ooookay. Now Mr. Hottie is explaining that he's an alien, she's on a different planet, can't go home, and oh by the way, she's now some kind of SEX TOY?! Well, if he thinks she's just going to become Mrs. Submissive, he's got another thing comin'!

Tar is the ruler of Zylar. It's time for him to find his Companion and raise some little future rulers. With a little help from his high priest, his Companion is located on Earth. Now he'll just run get her and give her the training she'll need to become a proper, submissive mate and Companion. No problem, right?

I found myself snorting and laughing and sighing and getting just a tad overheated while reading this story. I found myself cheering for Nyssa as she turns the tables on Tar and tries to bring a little equality for the sexes to Zylar. There are a couple of subplots that kept me flipping the pages and hoping the author writes quickly.

"Selven Refuge"-Mica is the high priest of Zylar and he's known that Tar's sister Tala is his Companion for many years now. In his infinite wisdom, he's graciously given her an extra five years of freedom in an effort to mellow her views on submissive Companions and the requirements of her future. Maybe those extra years were a wee bit of a mistake?

Tala is sick and tired of loving Mica. If she were his Companion, surely he would have picked up on her hints before now and she has no intention of hanging around to watch him with some other woman. So she decides to join the order of Selven Goddesses and have her Companion chains removed forever which will give her sexual freedom and a place to refine her psychic talents. But what will Tala do when Mica finally shows up to claim her?

Even good guys can be a bit thick sometimes. Mica is the kind of hero you just want to lap up with a spoon. The interactions between these two weren't as humorous as the first book, but the continuing storyline and subplots had me enjoying this one just as much. Now I have to wait for the postman to bring me book three! show less

I have to say I am completely blown away that some people say this book's premise is too out-there, too unrealistic. All I can guess is that these people have never or very rarely read science fiction or fantasy novels. And this is a sci-fi romance novel, not just a romance novel.

Here are some of its strengths. The main character is likeable enough; she is no pushover, no doormat, but neither is she some unbelievably tough, annoyingly strong woman. And one thing that I in particular liked show more was that she wasn't some amazing beauty; too often in romance books, the female character's flaws are presented as something she's insecure about, but that are actually all in her imagination. Nyssa's looks aren't actually a major part of the book or really touched on much after she is initially described.

I like the idea of the chains. I am surprised more people don't. And I wonder how they are "unbelievable" when I'm sure many humans would love something that would show them their soul mate, and let them share emotions and thoughts with them. As it is we can never really, truly know what goes through another person's head, or what they feel in their heart.

I find the world of Zylar to be an interesting one. I hope it is explored and developed more in the rest of the series. Because that is where some of the book's weakness's come in. The book is pretty fast-paced as far as plot-development goes, but it suits it well in the beginning. After that the book's plot seems to go a little too fast. If the author slowed down and lingered over the second half of the book a little more, developing scenes more, the book would have felt a lot more complete and rounded. It would have built up and maintained suspense longer as well.

The development of Nyssa's character is fairly complete and adequate; I wish Tar's had been developed a little more. Some more backstory/history of him and his planet, more details, would have helped.

As for the sex/erotic scenes, they are some of the better one's I have read (and I read a lot. 300 novels a year is my average). If you're so unimaginative that you can't get past the chains or the use of psychic powers, then you may be disappointed, but that is the only way I can see that you would. They are a bit lengthy, so if you don't like sex-scenes, fair warning, they do take up a fair amount of the book. But you could honestly skip past them and the story is still worth reading.

All in all it's a decent fast-paced book with many good characters in an interesting world that has a lot of potential. I am definitely going to read the second book (and then the third, if the second is as good as the first) show less

Got "Zylan Rebellion" in the mail today and dropped what I was reading to head back to Ravyn Wilde's world of Zylar. Enjoyed this one just as much, if not more, than the first. The erotic relationship between the lead characters was smoking hot and the further exploration of the abilities and changes in Wilde's world kept me glued to the pages.

Ahnika was a naive nineteen year old when she was kidnapped by men wearing government uniforms and taken to another planet where she was imprisoned show more and beaten for her continued resistance to her captors degrading demands. Now she's learned that tomorrow she's to be auctioned off to a master for a lifetime of the same so she decides she either escapes tonight or dies in the attempt.

Raj is one of the best trackers on Zylar. But when he's called in to track the 'daughter' of a Zylan lord, something just seems 'off' about the whole assignment. And that's not all that's odd about this assignment. He seems to have a strange connection to the essence of the woman he's tracking.

Suffering, rescue, cruelty, redemption, survival, and smoking hot sex. "Zylan Rebellion" has all these things wrapped in non-stop action, sizzling attraction and a wonderful happy ending. Good erotica from Ravyn Wilde. show less

I've read several Ellora's Cave anthologies over the years and quite enjoyed most of them, but this was not my favorite book. For some reason, the stories didn't seem to go together for me. (I prefer anthologies where the stories are similar genres.) That's not to say that I didn't enjoy a couple of them. I did. It's just that on a whole they were so different that I had trouble getting into the anthology. If you don't mind different genres/themes, then check this one out.