Anthelion (EBOOK, LGBT)
Anthelion (EBOOK, LGBT)
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LOVE AND WAR BOOK FOUR—PART OF A COMPLETED SCI-FI ROMANCE SERIES (EBOOK, LGBT).
Ash is dead.
Okay, that’s a lie. He’s not. Not really.
Somehow, that doesn’t make things any better.
After reports of a fatal hovercar accident outside the Capital—complete with a charred body and DNA identification—it seems at first that all is lost in the Shadow Wing’s quest to infiltrate the Premiere’s inner circle.
But one member of the vigilante group refuses to accept the evidence of his human comrade’s death. Draven knows Ash. He knows that devious mind, and more importantly, he knows the martyr complex that lies beneath it.
He should know. Draven is also a master at hiding. He’s done it for most of his life. Now, though, he’s done living in the shadows.
Can Draven track down a man who is so intent on not being found that he would stage his own death to prevent it? And if he does succeed in finding Ash, what then?
No one ever said that emerging from the darkness of the past was easy. No one ever said that forbidden love was painless.
Especially when the object of that love is convinced he’s damaged goods.
* * *
From USA Today bestselling author R. A. Steffan comes a sizzling sci-fi romance series, perfect for readers who want complex characters and lots of plot with their spice. Strap in tight, because all's fair in LOVE AND WAR.
Author’s note: Ash and Draven are gay. This is their story. If that’s an issue for you, please don’t purchase it. While this book is part of a series with an overarching plot, it may be read as a standalone with a satisfying conclusion for the two main characters. If you do not intend to continue the series, you may wish to avoid the epilogue.
- Publication date: May 3, 2019
- Language: English
- Print length: 227 pages
- File size: 332 KB
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PRESUMABLY, THERE EXISTED a time—buried somewhere in the murky past—when Ash’s life had not been a raging dumpster fire. It only stood to reason. He’d been a normal enough child, with a normal enough family. Friends. School. Hobbies. Days passing in a neat row without the constant, pulse-pounding sense that everything was poised to come crashing down at any moment.
Scenery slid past the tinted window of the posh hovercar that would transport him to the estate belonging to the Adjunct to the Premiere’s Clandestine Operations Office. The property was located outside of the Capital—the seat of government on the colony planet of Ilarius. Ash gazed at his surroundings with unfocused eyes, trying not to think too closely about what the coming weeks would hold for him. The stiff new leather of the collar around his neck squeezed his flesh like unforgiving fingers, but he resisted the urge to tug at it.
For some time now, Ash had known that of all the members of the small vigilante resistance group that called itself the Shadow Wing, he alone held the best chance of gaining a powerful off-planet ally for their cause of overthrowing the planet’s corrupt ruling party. The ragtag collection of human and Vithi would-be revolutionaries was determined to stand against the Vithii-led Regime, a xenophobic coalition that seemed intent on grinding the human population of Ilarius into the dirt. But despite a handful of small victories dragged from the jaws of defeat—usually at great cost—the last couple of months had brimmed with the sense of time running out… of walls closing in around them.
That was why Ash had decided to act.
After months of stringing along the Adjunct—a Vithii by the name of Denrir Lusivian—Ash had finally accepted his slave collar. And may all the gods and prophets have mercy on Ash’s battered excuse for a soul now that he’d taken that final, irrevocable step.
As a veelaht—the human body-slave of a male Vithii—Ash was trading his personhood for money. At least, that was what anyone on the outside would assume. In reality, he’d traded his personhood for something else entirely. Namely, a chance to cozy up to his target in private surroundings. And that target was not, as most people might have assumed, the Adjunct himself.
It was true that as a higher-up in the Regime, Denrir had let slip some useful nuggets of information in the past. The Clandestine Operations Office was often at the leading edge of new attacks aimed at the human population—assassinations of key figures… infiltration into anti-Regime groups… even the development of secret bioweapons. But the intelligence gained from the Adjunct was merely a secondary benefit, not the main objective.
No, Ash’s real target was the Adjunct’s bondmate, Jontalyss Lusivian. To get the access to her that he needed, Ash had just sold himself body and soul to a sadist.
Oddly enough, that wasn’t even the part that had his heart racing and his palms sweating beneath the cool exterior he presented to the world. It should have been, to be sure… but it wasn’t. The only silver lining of the situation was that Ash probably wouldn’t live long enough to reap the consequences of the other decision he’d made in the past few days.
But he couldn’t allow himself to think about any of that right now. Ash focused his attention more firmly on the scenery beyond the window, his eyes falling on a billboard for one of the more popular investment services in the Ilarian Capital. An instant later, a bark of inappropriate laughter almost choked him. He ruthlessly swallowed it down before it could escape past the constriction of the collar.
“RELAX,” the sign blared in flashing neon lettering. “AND LET US WORRY ABOUT EVERYTHING.”
Sure thing. I’ll get right on that, he thought, the words bearing a faintly hysterical undertone within the privacy of his own mind. What a pity there wasn’t a handy company he and his friends could hire to make sure that the corrupt government of Ilarius fell before it could successfully commit genocide against half the colony’s population, right? It certainly would make things simpler if there were. But even back on Old Earth before the Diaspora, the humans had a saying—‘If you want something done right, do it yourself.’
Or, perhaps more apropos in the current circumstances—‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ Ash had been privileged, these past few years, to dwell among a group of good men and women who knew better than to wait for someone else to step up and oppose the Regime. With his current actions, he hoped he might give his companions a better chance at surviving the coming civil war than they would otherwise have had.
For that chance, he would take whatever punishment Denrir Lusivian could dish out.
The clear barrier separating the hovercar’s back seat from the driver’s area lowered with a faint hum, startling him out of his reverie. Jumpy, Ash. You’ll need to keep a tight lid on that.
The chauffeur—an elderly Vithii in a smart black suit and billed cap—met Ash’s eyes in the rearview mirror. He had the two-meter frame, bronze skin, and rough-carved features common to his race, but his spiky hair was nearly white where it poked out from beneath the cap, and the passage of time seemed to have softened his sharp edges rather than honing them.
“I just wanted to inform you that there’s a disturbance of some sort up ahead,” he said. “It appears our arrival may be delayed.”
Ash caught a glimpse of flashing lights through the front windshield, along with smoke and flames indicating a major accident of some kind.
“Thank you for letting me know,” he said absently. Sometimes it could be oddly jarring to interact with Vithii who weren’t xenophobic arseholes. The Adjunct’s driver had been nothing but polite to Ash since picking him up, despite the leather collar advertising his status as a non-person—as property—for anyone and everyone to see. If Ash had been able to feel much of anything at all these days, he probably would have felt bad that the sweet old bloke was probably going to end up dead soon.
“What the—?” exclaimed the sweet old bloke in question.
Instinctively, Ash braced against the front seat with both hands as the hovercar braked hard and slewed sideways, machinery screeching in protest as the stabilizers tried to kick in. He closed his eyes. The impact of metal against metal an instant later should have been shocking.
It wasn’t, though. If anything, it had a distinct air of inevitability about it.
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- 5 stars: 10 (63%)
- 4 stars: 4 (25%)
- 3 stars: 2 (13%)
- 2 stars: 0 (0%)
- 1 star: 0 (0%)
I’m also not very good at computer stuff. I’ve put my comment in the headline space 😳 I’m sorry I don’t know how to fix it .
Great
I loved it! The narration was great as always. The author always does a great job with the character builds and plot. This story is a M/M relationship which enhanced the entertainment. This series has been the typical F/M couples so I found it to be a great change of pace. I really enjoy this author's style of writing and look forward to reading more of her books. I was given a free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
I got this along with the rest of the series and found them all to be un put downable - I gorged on the stories which were engaging, clever, and with great characters, about whom you really care before the end of the first book.Sci_fi isn't everyones cup of tea, but these are not a bad way to dip your toe into the genre if you feel like trying, but for the seasemed reader there is planty to enjoy too.
I enjoyed reading this book 📚, not my usual type, but it has a good storyline. The book is entertaining and filled with action and intrigue. The chemistry and interaction between the characters is wonderful. I can't wait for more from this author. I received this book as a FREE copy to read and I voluntarily leave this review.
This one is not my favorite, but it was good to finally see these two together and overall I did enjoy the book. I didn't like how Ash set himself up for a solo mission with very little safety net by faking his death. That seemed idiotic and although it is explained in the book, I read it not really believing the excuse. I did not like how Draven and Ash came together on the ship. I did like how Ash rescued himself and Draven and Jontalyss all out of the house. GO HUMANS! And it was satisfying to see Ash and Draven eventually resolve their issues and successfully accomplish their goal to get the Terran ambassador's support.This was a really enjoyable and well-written series. This series is definitely at the higher end of KU options. Each book ends happily for now while contributing to a greater story arc with a satisfying conclusion. The characters are consistent, editing is good, world-building is adequate for a romance genre series.The merry band of misfits made up of Vithii aliens with a stray human and cyborg added into the mix. Each book focuses on one person (in one book it focuses on two) in the group of renegades. Their relationships develops as they fight against a genocidal regime. These books have plots. The plots are the reason for the book, not connectors between **** scenes. I appreciate that.Steffan is a generous author with free peaks available on her website. She also has links to a secret prologue at the end of the books. I look forward to seeing how she develops. I'm hoping for more books with a sci-fi / urban bent with even more character development and detail in the worlds.Hey, if you found this helpful, click that button below. It gives me an odd sense of satisfaction to know that someone actually read this.
Not a bad fourth book in this series. There is a little action when the rescue goes down, and a little adventure when the get to their destination. Revelations happen on the freighter between Draven and Ash, and then later while on Terra Nova. If that seems cryptic, you'll have to read the book.This book isn't as long as the others, and is really a quick read. All the characters were only mentioned at the beginning of the book. The POV's were Draven and Ash. Kade was the only other Shadow Wing member to make a longer appearance in this book.Overall, not bad for a short read about Draven and Ash. I'm not a MM reader, but felt I needed to continue this series. I do have to say, it was done pretty well, that it didn't make me quit reading.
I don't read many M/M romances, not because I don't like them...I do!...it's that there's not a lot of good ones out there. In my opinion, this is one of the best ones I've read, ever. Period.
Love the characters. Lots of action and romance.
I really enjoyed this book, having read it as a standalone. I'm sure I would have picked up on more of the references and side characters had I read the previous books, but there's enough context that it really didn't detract from my experience. I prefer MM books, so this is the only one I've picked up so far, but the story was interesting enough that I may go back and read books 1-3, and I definitely want to find out more about Kade's story in book 5.There is an alien and a human main character, and Steffan did a good job of making them culturally distinct despite having known each other and worked together for a long time and thus not having a lot of the first contact barriers we sometimes see in alien romance. There's a lot to like here, from the political plot to the details on the world and cultures, unrequited love, trauma and enslavement. RA Steffan is the queen of hurt/comfort, so readers of hers won't be surprised that's a major theme in this book. And of course the ****. Without giving too much away, those of us who read alien books looking for a truly non-human anatomy and mentality in the **** scenes will not be disappointed!
The book was a great read ,I had to finish it in one setting. As for the m/m part it was so much just part of these people that it was just natural and done in away I believe even if you are not in to m/m you could still be able to read and enjoy this book.
Draven and Ash have been dancing around each other, never truly accepting their feelings for each other. When the news of Ash’s death reach the Shadow Wing Draven refuses to believe it. After so long living a double and dangerous life it seems Ash’s luck ran out. I was looking forward for this story to be told and it didn’t disappoint.
I’m a reader of all kinds of romance, so I was not at all concerned that this series got an M/M one (actually, I’m quite happy, especially since the series as a whole was already avoiding being too formulaic and this only helps it stand out positively). It’s really about the characters’ journeys and the plot arc of the series as well as the actual romantic scenes. It’s not natural or realistic to have a group of friends where no one is gay, and I applaud Steffan for building real characters I’d love to meet in person and hang out with. This story shows a careful treatment of trauma and asks important questions about the rights of sentient beings without the politics seeming forced upon you. Check out this series!!
I want to first point out I am a straight woman who has never read a M/M romance before, it never occurred to me I might be interested in doing so. But I have loooooved the first 3 books of this series (especially Pax and Nahleene) and there’s no way I’d have missed a single one— and more importantly, the love story between these two characters has been so carefully and lovingly set up along the way that I have been literally counting the days to this release— not kidding, I have a countdown app on my phone and this was on the top of my countdowns!It was absolutely worth the wait. This author’s writing is so... POLISHED is the best adjective I can come up with. I love indie sci-fi romance and as such I have waded through a lot of mediocre writing. Not so with RA Steffan. You can’t get better execution of interesting worlds and ideas than RAS.I am glad she included a M/M story in an otherwise M/F series. It was interesting and different to me and the truth is I was so emotionally invested in the characters themselves that their sexual identity/preferences didn’t even matter. What a pair, these two!Now off to go set a countdown on my app for Kade’s book! Squeeeee I can’t wait!!
Anthelion had high points and low points for me and overall, it just felt like things were rushed between Ash and Draven. Ash is sure that he can handle the long term abuse he'll suffer as a veelhat (human body slave) to the Adjunct in order to get information but as time goes by, he begins to lose himself to the pain and suffering. My heart was breaking for what Ash has put himself through and I can't imagine the mental, emotional, and physical pain he's suffered. In the Vithii world, homosexuality is reviled -- unless you're wealthy or important -- and as such, Draven has repressed his feelings for men and kept his crush on Ash a secret. Draven has the best of intentions and his care for Ash is so clear but boy, does he go about it the wrong way. I know everyone handles trauma differently but things just felt so rushed between Draven and Ash. Their first few sexual interactions are aggressive and more about proving a point and this just seemed so unhealthy after everything Ash has been through. I just wanted Ash to be happy and to heal so maybe this was what he needed. Overall, I liked the progression of the series arc but I wanted more for Draven and Ash.
As a fan of Steffan's work I have to say this was just a little rushed for me. We, who have been reading this series from the beginning, knew these two would finally have to get together. Quickly I will explain, Ash is a human and openly gay and Draven is a Vithii where homosexuality is VERY frowned upon if not totally unacceptable. Draven is a closeted, gay male who actually has not even been able to accept his own desires never mind act upon them. He has secretly wanted Ash for as long as they have worked together. Spoilers: Ash, who is a tech genius and is trying to infiltrate the Regime's inner circle has volunteered to be a "human slave" for one of the highest ranked officials in the regime in order to get secret information for their group of revolutionaries. The problem is this guy is a **** and continually hurts/harms Ash on a regular basis. This just fries Draven, so when Ash declares himself dead in a very public accident, Draven doesn't believe it and against all of his mates, goes after Ash to save him or to find out for sure if he really is dead. This complicates Ash's very intricate plan and all **** breaks loose. They end up escaping barely with their lives along with the bad guy's bondmate who was Ash's original target. They use one of Kade's freighters but that gets messed up as well. On that ship is when Draven comes out and tells Ash how he feels and that he wants them to be a couple. Ash is a mess; both pshycically and mentally and the encounter does not go as Draven plans. The ensuing coupling is harsh and rough and not at all what Draven intended and considering it was his first time was very hard on him as well as Ash. The mental anguish for each of them was hard to read but necessary for the storyline. Steffan did a very good job encapsulating that and the aftermath of the two of them. I wish that had been more in depth because here is where I think it was rushed and could have been more sensitive and descriptive. It was a quick togetherness that I think should have been more considering how long it took for them to find each other. That being said, it was a great addition to the series and I liked the story as a whole. Now we wait for the one we have been waiting for since the beginning: Kade; Mr. Mysterious, He has been in all the books whether in the forefront or the background. He is the rock of the group and the one with the darkest past. Can hardly wait. 4 1/2 ****