Leopard Lord

** spoiler alert ** When his soul is given up to the Dark God by his evil father and he is forced to commit atrocities against the people he's sworn to protect Varian strike a deal with the god he loathes, his people's freedom from his tyranny in exchange for the life of his virgin bride - a woman he barely knows who the Dark One sees as a threat.

What he didn't count on was falling in love with the trader girl he's married and being unable to imagine life without her in it. When he tries to back out ...more When his soul is given up to the Dark God by his evil father and he is forced to commit atrocities against the people he's sworn to protect Varian strike a deal with the god he loathes, his people's freedom from his tyranny in show more exchange for the life of his virgin bride - a woman he barely knows who the Dark One sees as a threat.

What he didn't count on was falling in love with the trader girl he's married and being unable to imagine life without her in it. When he tries to back out of his deal with the Dark God he is again faced with a difficult choice when both he and the god learn that the young boy he swore fealty to in his youth is now the King - a man he must protect with his life. The God, with higher aspirations than just a simple barony is more than willing to take the King instead of his bride, but then the entire country will be ruled by his evil and Varian can't have that either. So loathing himself with every step he takes his bride to her fate.

What he doesn't know is his bride has been schooled by the Goddess Byela and well prepared to face the evil before her or to die protecting the man and the people she's come to love. Together the two face an evil god and save a nation in this oddly twisted story of love and duty.

The story is filled with subplots galore including relationships with slaves and giving those slaves their freedom. What I didn't understand is that the author was willing to bring us into an odd sexual scene where a slave girl is first with Varian then with his best friend Corven and finally marries a man named Garek who Varian later kills under the control of the dark god while in leopard form - the final straw which pushes him to make the bargain with the Dark God, but ends the book before allowing the reader to share in the loving consummation of the marriage between Cathlin and Varian. Obviously she doesn't shy away from sex, but I feel she invites the reader into the wrong sex scenes and excludes us from the right ones.

Overall it's a thrilling read that keeps you turning the pages until the very end. Definitely worth reading. show less