The Lion Mistress: Book 2 (Lion Mistress #2)
by R.A. Steffan
My Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: Polyamory/ MMF
Blurb:
One of them is going home.
One of them is leaving the only home he’s ever known.
One of them is returning to a place that wants him dead.Kathrael, Favian, and Ithric are traveling back to Rhyth—a city in the grip of chaos and rioting, teetering on the verge of full-blown rebellion. There, they hope to make a difference by lending their unique talents to the mysterious leaders of the slave underground.
But with Favian having prophetic dreams, Ithric fighting his inner lion, and Kathrael questioning her sanity as the ghostly voices around her grow ever more consuming, can their fragile new relationship survive in a city that takes no prisoners?
* * *
Haunting and uplifting, The Lion Mistress: Book 2 explores themes of loyalty, and the ways in which love must co-exist with a broader destiny. Pick up your copy today, and get a front row seat to this sensual, inspiring adventure through exotic, magic-filled lands.
My Review
Once my thoughts started returning to the world of Eburos more often I knew it was time to pick up book 2 in the series. While book 1 was a good start I knew I would probably enjoy book 2 even more, which turned out to be the case. The second book in the Lion Mistress is such a good sequel, the romance gets deepened, the story progresses, there is character development, awesome side characters and the main characters who find themselves in the middle of a growing revolution.
The Lion Mistress Book 2 starts shortly after book 1 ended. Kathrael, Ithric and Favian are traveling back to Dreabard (Favian’s home town) with a few other side characters. The first part of the book takes place mostly in Draebard and I loved being back in this town surrounded by familiar character from the Horse Mistress series. Favian struggles with what Kathrael and Ithric are planning and he doesn’t want to leave his home. I like how the author made it clear how he struggled with this decision and how much his home town meant for him.
In the second part of the book they travel to the south and try to get in touch with the growing revolution of slaves as they want to support the slave rebellion. The focus and tone was different form the first half of the book, but no less interesting. The whole book was great. The pace was set well and it kept my attention throughout wanting to know what would happen next. I also liked reading how they made their way to Ruth and tried to get contact with the salve rebellion. And the description of their show was fun to read.
Amidst this all is the further developing romance of the three main characters, which was wonderful to see. They have their struggles and issues, things they have to figure out and deal with, but I loved the feeling of how much they cared for each other and were there for one another. They have such a loving relationship and I really enjoyed seeing the romance develop. There are a bunch of sex scenes, that are well written and as diverse as I’ve grown to expect from this author, with each scene being different and also feeling very intimate. These characters are so caring and considerate of each other, they have such a loving relationship. I really enjoyed the romance. And Ithric’s gift for Kathrael was so perfect!
There is some great character development in this book too. Each character has their own struggles, Favian who has to leave his home and keep his footing in a strange place. Ithric wants to protect his lovers, but also has to put himself in danger if they want to reach their goal. And Kathrael probably has the most character development, it is awesome to see how much she grows in confidence. She’s really growing into herself and it’s wonderful to see her become more confident and find her way. She really deserves it after all she has been through. And she has more hardships to deal with in this book as well.
There is also a great cast of side characters. Not only are there returning characters from the horse mistress series, but also new side character we meet, like the friends Ithric made when he was help captive. I also liked the role Keenan and her husband played in this book. And then there are some new side characters in Ryth as well.
To summarize: I was so happy to return to the world of Eburos and follow the three main characters as they prepare to help the slave rebellion, but also have to deal with lots of other things along the way. It’s full of character development and it’s awesome to see how much Kathrael grows in confidence in this book. I also love the romance between these three characters and the depth of their feelings an how much they care is clear. The sex scenes are also handled well with not two scenes being the same and their depth of feelings showing through in how considerate and caring they are while having sex as well. It also was great to see some familiar character from the Horse Mistress series again in this book. I enjoyed following the story and wanted to keep reading. The pacing is very well done. And I love spending time in this fantasy world of Eburos that the author created. The world really comes to life and I am glad there will be another series after this one. I hope to read book 3 soon as I am eager to see how this series gets wrapped up.
Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
You can also read my review on Goodreads, Bookbub and Amazon.
Ok that sounds like a book I might enjoy. Thanks for the great review.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Review: Rise of the Fallen by Donya Lynne
The first book in the Horse Mistress series (the series that comes before this one) is free if you want to give it a try :). I really like these series and the world the author created.
It’s great how you felt the pull to keep going and were rewarded with a great second story in the series. Sounds like they all had some hardships to overcome on their journey and its neat how they grow and stick together. Fun that there was some crossover from the earlier series, too.
Sophia Rose recently posted…Review: Sweet Wild of Mine by Laurel Kerr
This really was a great sequel and I liked how they had some hardship to overcome, but also grow and stick together. And I like books like these where you can read about people already in a relationship. I do think it’s best to start with the horse mistress series as the characters from that do make some appearances here and that’s more fun if you know them.