Until the Sun Falls from the Sky The Three Series Book 1 edition by Kristen Ashley Paranormal Romance eBooks
Download As PDF : Until the Sun Falls from the Sky The Three Series Book 1 edition by Kristen Ashley Paranormal Romance eBooks
Until the Sun Falls from the Sky The Three Series Book 1 edition by Kristen Ashley Paranormal Romance eBooks
3.5 Stars. This was a really hard book to write a review for. This is the first book in Kristen Ashley's The Three Series. It was a little like a train wreck for me - you want to look away but you just can't seem too. I didn't like either of the two main characters but the book was still compelling.The concept of this book is interesting and the part about that I really did enjoy was the world building. It was fairly simple and yet compelling. Vampires do not hunt, they instead secure their blood through concubines (mortals who agree to donate their blood to a vampire in return for being taken care of for the rest of their lives). The position of concubine is one of great honor and they volunteer for this. Concubines are usually for 1 to 3 years but some have been in the position for as long as 7 years. Their is a class disparity between vampires and humans with vampires being looked up to and respected above humans in this world. Leah, the main character comes from a family that was one of the first concubine families and is greatly respected for their duty; however Leah has no desire to be a a concubine. However, when she is 40 she is sent to a "Choosing" where she is FORCED to accept a contract with an 800 year old vampire.
This is where the story starts to get dark. Leah is indeed forced even though she is supposed to be able to declaim. Lucien takes control of her mind and forces her to sign the contract. He has also changed the contract so that it states that not only will she give him blood but sex as well. Leah for some reason doesn't know this isn't standard in a contract. (For a women raised in a family of concubines she knows nothing about the duties of a concubine or really anything about vampires.) This is just the beginning to what amounts to a lot of degradation, mental and physical domination and what some might call rape scenes. Yes, Leah is turned on, but forcing some by not allowing them to speak or move and then bringing them close to orgasm but stopping as a form of punishment was not for me.
Lucien, the 800 year old vampire is doing what they call "taming" or sometimes the word "breaking" was used. I had a very hard time with this concept. The idea as I understand it is that the vampire "gentles" a strong willed concubine until she is a respectful, obedient servant. Lucien claims that he wanted Leah exactly the way she was and yet all of his "taming" techniques were designed to change her behavior and break her spirit. It made no sense that if he truly wanted Leah the way she was and enjoyed her candor and spirit that he would want to break her. Lucien's behavior was unforgivable to me and I couldn't get past this. Not only is he cruel but he continually lies to Leah. He also completely dominated her to the point where he wouldn't let her exert her own free will to move to fight him or to scream or say no.
Leah was the most immature 40 year old I've ever read about. I was so sure this was a misprint the first time I read it but no she is actually 40 years old. She flunks out of concubine school by throwing spitballs and passing notes. Not only is the behavior ridiculous but even if you don't want to be a concubine you would think you would at least want to learn everything about the life you were being forced into and the vampires so that you could intelligently fight against it. She is incredibly emotional and changes her moods so fast I couldn't keep up. She was argumentative, had a quick temper and tended to be petulant. I felt sorry for Leah in the first half of the book but I was still rolling my eyes at her behavior. Once Leah was "broken" and she and Lucien got together, it was even more annoying. I didn't understand why she forgave Lucien so easily. Leah apparently comes to some sort of epiphany but the explanation provided made no sense to me. Allowing herself to be broken just came across as weak. So now she was an immature, weak heroine.
Lucien also does a 180 in this book that didn't make sense. One minute he is "taming" her and the next he's in love with her so much that he will love her "until the sun falls from the sky". This is an amazingly beautiful concept that makes me sigh however it just didn't ring true. The Lucien in the beginning of the book just didn't resonate with the Lucien at the end and their was no explanation for his change in behavior unless he could only love Leah after he "Tamed" her which he claimed wasn't the case.
The whole taming thing just bothered me. It was explained that taming meant to teach a concubine to trust the vampire and to break through their preconceived notions of what a vampire is. However, I don't see how Lucien's behavior did any of that. He was more about making Leah into an obedient servant who would cater to him. His behavior cannot possible build trust!
So most of the things I've said are negative, however I did enjoy the book in a way. It definitely got a reaction from me. Sometimes the reaction wasn't a positive one, but it was visceral. The story was compelling and I couldn't put it down. I wanted to hate it but I didn't. This is a book I thought about for quite awhile after finishing and I also dived right in to the next book in the series. I struggled about the rating. I can't say I really liked it but bottom line I finished reading it in one sitting and that's saying a lot for a 500 page book.
Tags : Until the Sun Falls from the Sky (The Three Series Book 1) - Kindle edition by Kristen Ashley. Paranormal Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.,ebook,Kristen Ashley,Until the Sun Falls from the Sky (The Three Series Book 1),FICTION Romance Paranormal,FICTION Romance Contemporary
Until the Sun Falls from the Sky The Three Series Book 1 edition by Kristen Ashley Paranormal Romance eBooks Reviews
I read and re-read a few of this author's books, and when I saw she had written a story for her best friend about vampires, I read the sample and then bought it. A vampire world either takes almost no world building (one book) or extensive world-building (several books in a series), but this single book tries to do it all answer every detail about how the vampires live, and, unfold a romance between two species. As I have come to expect, the world building details are only slightly more abundant than the lingerie details. If you love those, this is the book for you. Otherwise, the plot bogs down. Working through the vampire world elements is a slog. Look forward to more books in her newest series (The Hookup, It's Complicated), which is based in reality.
Well, Kristen Ashley hooked me again. Yep, I fell prey to another of her series. This is the first of three, and it was quite good. So not to summarize what has been summarized a lot, I will simply note likes and dislikes.
What I liked Leah's humor, strength, stubbornness, and wits. What I didn't like Lucien's unremitting arrogance.
What I liked The larger plot that was not revealed until much later in the book. What I didn't like Lucien keeping so much from Leah. Leah giving into family pressure and going to the Selection. Lucien always getting his way. What I liked a different take on vampires (but still arrogant jerks).
What I liked Ms. Ashley's writing -- so very good -- always. Which overrides any of my objections to her characters' bad behaviors (at least the ones I don't like). I do have a tendency to get lost in Ms. Ashley's worlds. This one is no exception. BTW Lots of sexuality. Easy to skip over. I am off to book two.
3-3.5 stars
This was a good story. I liked Leah and the story between her and Lucien was certainly not boring but I had some trouble getting in to it in the beginning mostly due to Lucien.
Leah is a 40 year old woman who is a member of a family of women with an unusual heritage. Her family have (for centuries) become concubines to Vampires. Leah has no interest in being "selected" so she's done her best to constantly be involved in a relationship (something that will keep her from having to go to a selection) even if the men haven't always been the best.
Lucien is a very old and skilled vampire. Because of his past actions, he's something of a celebrity in the rest of the vampire community but isn't too thrilled with it. Lucien has been interested in having Leah as his concubine for over 20 years and when she gets called up for a selection he's determined to have her.
Leah doesn't want to be a Vampire concubine and isn't interested in going to a "selection" but her family is very insistent. It's a matter of the family honor and all that and Leah gets pushed in to it regardless of her feelings. She goes to the selection party and there are some indications right off that Leah's selection isn't normal. It seems known that Lucien will select Leah but when he's late some other vampires try to cause problems. Lucien gets Leah to the contract room but she's really unsure how good of an idea this is now and decides she doesn't want to do this after all. Lucien isn't to be denied though and basically forces Leah to sign the contract and manages things so she has no one to back her in getting out of the contract he forced on her. Leah (through fault of her own) enters in to things not knowing hardly anything about the Vampire culture and Lucien revels in this because it gives him more leeway in his manipulations of Leah. Lucien is domineering, autocratic and behaves like a real alpha-hole to Leah. She doesn't like it and since she has a spine she fights him but Lucien actually likes her fire and loves getting her angry.
There is a lot of back and forth in the book as Lucien tries to "tame" Leah. To be honest, I felt badly for Leah because Lucien showed next to no caring for her feelings...he just wraps her up in a beautiful house and gives her lots of cloths but cuts her off from almost everything else. Lucien himself runs so hot and cold I thought I'd get whiplash. One minute he'll be nice to Leah and then the next he's being mean and then gets frustrated with her when she doesn't act in the way he wants. Leah I actually liked. She didn't always make the best decisions but overall I liked her and felt for what she was going through. I had more problems believing the love between Leah and Lucien because of his actions. Things do clear up as the story progresses and we do learn more that helps show that Lucien does have feelings for Leah. I liked seeing it but there was drama that was being dealt with until the end so we didn't get to see much of them solidly together. Regardless of this, Leah and Lucien do end up together and end the story with a HEA.
I enjoyed this story overall. I liked Leah but Lucien was a real jerk so be warned. The world building was a bit slow for me. There were things that I was confused about that didn't get explained until much later (basic things that shouldn't have been a secret) which I found a bit distracting. As noted above, I think my main issue with the story was not being able to completely get in to the story due to Lucien being a jerk but I did find it interesting and liked it more as I went. The romantic story line between Lucien and Leah is set but there is series story line that will continue through the next 2 books. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. D
3.5 Stars. This was a really hard book to write a review for. This is the first book in Kristen Ashley's The Three Series. It was a little like a train wreck for me - you want to look away but you just can't seem too. I didn't like either of the two main characters but the book was still compelling.
The concept of this book is interesting and the part about that I really did enjoy was the world building. It was fairly simple and yet compelling. Vampires do not hunt, they instead secure their blood through concubines (mortals who agree to donate their blood to a vampire in return for being taken care of for the rest of their lives). The position of concubine is one of great honor and they volunteer for this. Concubines are usually for 1 to 3 years but some have been in the position for as long as 7 years. Their is a class disparity between vampires and humans with vampires being looked up to and respected above humans in this world. Leah, the main character comes from a family that was one of the first concubine families and is greatly respected for their duty; however Leah has no desire to be a a concubine. However, when she is 40 she is sent to a "Choosing" where she is FORCED to accept a contract with an 800 year old vampire.
This is where the story starts to get dark. Leah is indeed forced even though she is supposed to be able to declaim. Lucien takes control of her mind and forces her to sign the contract. He has also changed the contract so that it states that not only will she give him blood but sex as well. Leah for some reason doesn't know this isn't standard in a contract. (For a women raised in a family of concubines she knows nothing about the duties of a concubine or really anything about vampires.) This is just the beginning to what amounts to a lot of degradation, mental and physical domination and what some might call rape scenes. Yes, Leah is turned on, but forcing some by not allowing them to speak or move and then bringing them close to orgasm but stopping as a form of punishment was not for me.
Lucien, the 800 year old vampire is doing what they call "taming" or sometimes the word "breaking" was used. I had a very hard time with this concept. The idea as I understand it is that the vampire "gentles" a strong willed concubine until she is a respectful, obedient servant. Lucien claims that he wanted Leah exactly the way she was and yet all of his "taming" techniques were designed to change her behavior and break her spirit. It made no sense that if he truly wanted Leah the way she was and enjoyed her candor and spirit that he would want to break her. Lucien's behavior was unforgivable to me and I couldn't get past this. Not only is he cruel but he continually lies to Leah. He also completely dominated her to the point where he wouldn't let her exert her own free will to move to fight him or to scream or say no.
Leah was the most immature 40 year old I've ever read about. I was so sure this was a misprint the first time I read it but no she is actually 40 years old. She flunks out of concubine school by throwing spitballs and passing notes. Not only is the behavior ridiculous but even if you don't want to be a concubine you would think you would at least want to learn everything about the life you were being forced into and the vampires so that you could intelligently fight against it. She is incredibly emotional and changes her moods so fast I couldn't keep up. She was argumentative, had a quick temper and tended to be petulant. I felt sorry for Leah in the first half of the book but I was still rolling my eyes at her behavior. Once Leah was "broken" and she and Lucien got together, it was even more annoying. I didn't understand why she forgave Lucien so easily. Leah apparently comes to some sort of epiphany but the explanation provided made no sense to me. Allowing herself to be broken just came across as weak. So now she was an immature, weak heroine.
Lucien also does a 180 in this book that didn't make sense. One minute he is "taming" her and the next he's in love with her so much that he will love her "until the sun falls from the sky". This is an amazingly beautiful concept that makes me sigh however it just didn't ring true. The Lucien in the beginning of the book just didn't resonate with the Lucien at the end and their was no explanation for his change in behavior unless he could only love Leah after he "Tamed" her which he claimed wasn't the case.
The whole taming thing just bothered me. It was explained that taming meant to teach a concubine to trust the vampire and to break through their preconceived notions of what a vampire is. However, I don't see how Lucien's behavior did any of that. He was more about making Leah into an obedient servant who would cater to him. His behavior cannot possible build trust!
So most of the things I've said are negative, however I did enjoy the book in a way. It definitely got a reaction from me. Sometimes the reaction wasn't a positive one, but it was visceral. The story was compelling and I couldn't put it down. I wanted to hate it but I didn't. This is a book I thought about for quite awhile after finishing and I also dived right in to the next book in the series. I struggled about the rating. I can't say I really liked it but bottom line I finished reading it in one sitting and that's saying a lot for a 500 page book.
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