Tempted by a Rogue Prince: Eternal Mates Romance Series

by Felicity Heaton

• ISBN10: 1909306827
• ISBN13: 9781909306820
• Publish Date: 31 July 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Felicity Heaton
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I was first introduced to Felicity Heatons work when I read Kissed by a Dark Prince and since then I have tried to read as much of her books as I possibly can. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Kissed by a Dark Prince (the first book in the Eternal Mates series) that I could not wait to see where Ms. Heaton was planning to take the series. After reading the second book I thought to myself, I need more. I was hoping the third book would have been Bleu’s story as I fell in love with him from reading the first book. When I found out it would be Vail’s story I was fascinated as I was curious to find out if this tortured soul will at last get an HEA.
What fascinated me about Vail is the daily struggles he faced in trying not to give into his dark side, which he failed at most of the time. This was due to no fault of his, as he was under the control of a dark witch. As a result of his enslavement he came to hate witches and magic. Ironically, his eternal mate is a witch, named Rosalind, which was evident from the previous stories and I was curious to see how his story would unflow.
Vail is conflicted. He is torn between his desire to kill Rosalind and his need to protect her. Rosalind is good for Vail. She is not afraid to stand up to him even when it seems he would end her life. She helped to keep him grounded and focused during his manic episodes. She had her own demons, dealing with but she is not willing to give up on him. Rosalind is willing to protect Vail even at the risk of her own life. She wants to heal his mind and subsequently his heart.
The premise of the story is good and I dived in with both feet, however, unfortunately it did not grab me the way I was expecting it to. Based on my experience with the previous installments, I was expecting a fast paced and exciting story. Well, that was not to be the case. It took me longer than normal to complete it. I guess it is because it’s a bit too dark for my taste and there were times I felt I was going around in circles due to the constant repetition.
For me this was an ok read and the least favourite of the series. Inspite of this I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

3.5 stars

[Melanie]

**Note: There are no spoilers for this book, but are slight spoilers for previous books in the series.

This is book three in the Eternal Mates series. Vail is our severally tortured hero of this story. We met him in book one where he had spent thousands of years under the control of an evil witch and was forced to be at war with his brother and the rest of the elves. This witch had tortured him and left him without much of his sanity. Needless to say, he doesn't have much use for witches now that he has finally escaped her clutches.

Our heroine was introduced in book two. Rosalind is a witch and a bit of a hermit. She especially avoids elves. It was foretold that she would die at the hands of an elf, so she has refused to spend any time around any elves to make sure she doesn't meet up with the specific elf that is supposed to kill her. Fate has something different in mind for both our hero and heroine.

When they are both captured and held together in a prison and Rosalind is forced to heal Vail, she has no choice but to be around the elf as he is forced to be around the witch. Their time in the prison, which would be enough on its own, is made much more difficult as they both deal with their hatred of the other species.

Rosalind and Vail are fated mates, so they feel a connection from the start. However, Vail doesn't take to this very well. The evil witch trapped him by convincing him that she was his fated mate. So when Rosalind shows up as his actual mate, Vail instantly feels it is another trick. As they work together to escape the prison, along with the help of an incubi, we see their relationship bloom and the mistrust between them dissipate.

This was the darkest story in series so far. Since I like dark stories and tortured heroes or heroines, this was a great story for me. I love the look into Vail's head. Heaton does a great job portraying his forays into and out of his bouts of madness. The worldbuilding is just as good as the previous books, which is wonderful. She really does a great job with the descriptions to make you feel like you are actually their.

The cast of characters in this book is really small. For the most part, the story is just Vail and Rosalind, along with the incubi that was also imprisoned with them. I'm a big fan of secondary characters. They can make or break a story for me. However, the lack of secondary characters in this book didn't make the story suffer at all. Vail is such a complex character, he and Rosalind were able to hold your attention without the extra characters in the story.

If you haven't started this series yet, I highly recommend it. Heaton brings a fresh and darker look into the Paranormal Romance genre with great world building and characters. I have yet to try books from her other series yet, but you can bet I will be trying them soon.

**Book was provided to me by the author. This review is my opinion and was not requested or provoked in anyway by the author.

[Berls]

This review appeared first on Fantasy is More Fun
Actual Rating 4.5 stars.

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

My Initial Reaction...

Tempted by a Rogue Prince was considerably darker and more emotional than the other books in the series, yet somehow equally hot and sexy. I knew Vail's story was going to be great and Felicity did not disappoint.

Note: There are some minor series spoilers in this review.

The Characters...

I've been eagerly waiting for Vail's story (and Bleu's... still waiting on that one) since I started reading this series, because Vail was instantly such a compelling character. I mean, he was tormented and held captive by a spell for FOUR THOUSAND PLUS YEARS, forced to attack the people he loves and do horrible things. And yet, somehow, we already know from the other books that he's not ENTIRELY insane. Notice I stress entirely, because he is crazy. But he does still have a moral compass and a sliver of good that cares and loves. And Felicity captured his slips in and out of sanity so well - I think what I loved most was that they made sense. It wasn't crazy for the sake of crazy, his episodes had triggers and, even when misunderstood from the outside perspective (Rosalind 's), they were clear to me as a reader who had the chance to know what's going on in his mind.

Rosalind was the perfect balance to Vail's insanity, because Rosalind is as calm and collected as I think anyone could be in her situation. I mean, she's been held captive and whipped and tortured for months and she's still so together. Add to that this prophecy she's been living with most of her life that she would meet an elf prince and die shortly thereafter - sorry, but I know I'd be a mess! Oh and did I mention that she just recently killed several people (well witches, demons, etc) for the first time in her life just before getting captured? So I really admired her strength and ability to deal with not just her own situation but the mess that is Vail. And she did so with compassion and understanding. And yet, she has attitude and she can be a total bad ass too. Yep, loving this severely damaged pair ;)

We met a new character in Tempted by a Rogue Prince - an incubi. We didn't get to know him that well because unlike the other books in the series, this book really intensely focused on just these two characters. However, what we did learn excited and intrigued me and I'm betting that's another book in the series I'll love reading.

The Story...

So Tempted by A Rogue Prince takes place a few months after the events of Claimed by a Demon King, where Rosalind was captured by the Demons of the 5th Realm and Vail did his disappearing act again. Because we're with Vail and Rosalind for 95% of this book - two characters entirely out of touch with the rest of the characters I've grown to love - we don't know what's happened on that front for the past several months and I'm dying to know all those details.

But we do know that for Vail and Rosalind the last three months have sucked. She's been imprisoned and tortured. Vail's been wandering, hardly alive and all alone - until he wonders into the fifth realm and is also held captive. So now they're both captive and thrown together when Rosalind is commanded to heal him or suffer the consequences. This is difficult because Vail hates all witches (understandable considering the four thousand years being cruelly used and abused by one) and cannot tolerate their touch without going off the deep end. This leads to some intense interactions between Vail and Rosalind - who are mates. Oh and did I mention that the witch that tortured Vail trapped him by making him believe she was his mate? Talk about an effing confusing situation for the poor guy.

Now, I'm not one for insta-love, but not one book in this series has had that feel to it at all. These characters have to work for their bonds as soul mates and these two have the hardest struggle of all. It gets intense - ranging from torture to sexual tension. You have them needing to get out of this scary as hell situation, Rosalind's prophecy, Vail's insanity and their mate bonds coming together for a seriously fantastic read.

Concluding Sentiments...

I'm crazy about this series and Tempted by a Rogue Prince was another fantastic read. I think it would work fine as a stand alone, though I can't imagine wanting to skip the other books! I can't wait to see what Felicity will do next.