Title: The Golden Dynasty
Author: Kristen Ashley
Series: Fantasyland #2
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 5 stars
Source: self purchase
from Goodreads…
Circe Quinn goes to sleep at home and wakes up in a corral filled with women wearing sacrificial virgin attire – and she is one of them. She soon finds out that she’s not having a wild dream, she’s living a frightening nightmare where she’s been transported to a barren land populated by a primitive people and in short order, she’s installed very unwillingly on her white throne of horns as their Queen.
Dax Lahn is the king of Suh Tunak, The Horde of the nation of Korwahk and with one look at Circe, he knows she will be his bride and together they will start The Golden Dynasty of legend.
Circe and Lahn are separated by language, culture and the small fact she’s from a parallel universe and has no idea how she got there or how to get home. But facing challenge after challenge, Circe finds her footing as Queen of the brutal Korwahk Horde and wife to its King, then she makes friends then she finds herself falling in love with this primitive land, its people and especially their savage leader.
Holy shit guys. I am not supposed to like a book that has rape and abusive husbands. I am most certainly not supposed to like a hero who rapes and abuses his wife…that’s no hero…is it? How can this be? Real men don’t go all Chris Brown up on a woman’s face. And I don’t forgive that shit, ever…I still won’t buy that bastard’s music. And the Chris Brown shit is minor league compared to how this relationship starts. What the fuck? Rape and Chris Browning is worse than cheating and you know how I feel about a fucking cheater. Fuck. I am not supposed to like Lahn and actually root for him when it comes to his relationship with Circe. I’m not, I’m not, I’m not. Then why do I have these feelings for Lahn? Damn you Kristen Ashley ***shakes fist in mock rage***!
“What has been has been but what will be is what we make of it”
Where to begin? I feel like we could devote a whole month to this book, breaking it down and sorting shit out. First off, the Korwahk language…well done Ms. Ashley. That shit is more difficult than Klingon…it’s like Klingon on crack AND bath salts. The Korwahk language and culture pretty much just straight up eat your face off. The language barrier is just another way this book demands your complete attention. There is no multitasking while reading The Golden Dynasty. Lahn won’t stand for anything except your undivided attention. On so many levels, this book is brutal on your senses. Seriously, this is onion shit right here, the more I peeled back the harder I cried. I cried out of frustration, anger, sweet, horror and I’m pretty sure my mouth was agape the entire book.
Kristen Ashley is a master of many things. She writes the hell out of some funny dialogue – her sense of humor is spot on. She also does sweet like nobody’s business. She develops plots and builds universes that completely draw you in and make even the magical seem possible. She describes clothes and dwellings better than any author I’ve ever read. She writes sex so hot, My Guy is considering getting her name tattooed on his chest as a thank you for all the action he gets when I read her books. She writes broken heroes that are flawed and dangerous but vulnerable and romantic. She does all of those things and makes it look easy. The one thing she does better than all that, the thing that blows me away with every single book she writes is, she creates heroines who are the embodiment of girl power with their strength, cunning, fortitude, loyalty and bravery. No shit…she creates women we should all aspire to emulate. These women might stumble from time to time, they’re not super heroes, but they always recover and are so much stronger in the end. Circe Quinn is fucking badass. Imagine landing in her situation. In a fucking pen full of women about to be hunted. And she handles it. Imagine being hunted and raped…repeatedly. And she handles it, she doesn’t want to but she does. Imagine handling all that shit and not being able to communicate with the other people around you. Circe Quinn is fucking badass. She finds her footing, recovers, gets out of her own head, digs deep and ends up standing up to her brute of a husband. The women Kristen Ashley writes are proof of that Betty White quote, “Why do people say grow some balls? Balls are weak and sensitive, if you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding.” Amiright?!!? Circe Quinn is fucking badass and might just be my favorite heroine of all time.
Now let’s move on to Dax Lahn. I honestly don’t know where to begin. He’s Dax fucking Lahn. I want to hate him but I can’t. I realize the mantra at the beginning of this book is, but it’s their way, always has been, always will be, they know no different. I get this is supposed to soften the blow of what goes down. I don’t wanna like it, not one bit but I get it. One would think Circe would end up being the character who changes the most. She certainly encounters the most challenges, both physical and mental but I think Lahn goes through the biggest transformation. He’s the brutal king of a marauding band of warriors. He knows no mercy, he’s been trained from his youth to know no mercy. His ways are in his DNA. Everything about him is rough, brutal and completely unapologetic. Until Circe sets him straight-ish. This man has never known love. At least not love of anything except his country and even that isn’t a love he chose, it’s more like it’s ingrained. Yes, Lahn demonstrates the highest level of change. Circe adapts like a mother fucker but Lahn changes.
Luckily I’ve never had that level of violence in my life, not directly at least. I do have friends and family who’ve experienced the horrors of rape and abuse. I’m curious to hear what people who have had that experience think of this book. What did you think of Circe? And more importantly, were you able to forgive Lahn? I think your opinion on this subject if far more important than mine. I don’t consider this to be some sort of Stockholm syndrome, I think Circe honestly forgave Lahn and moved forward with their future. She didn’t have much choice with the being civil aspect of it in the beginning but she did eventually fall in love with him, and he with her.
Have you read this series? If not, you really need to. I’m starting Fantastical today. I’m sad to say this will have me all caught up in the world of Kristen Ashley…I’m now at the mercy of her publishers. I’m not feeling so fine about that. Kristen Ashley does magic beautifully. She transports you to a place and time you’d rather not be but you won’t be able to tear yourself away. She creates characters you’ll love to hate and hate to love. She makes small women so much bigger than the big ass, towering alpha men in their lives. She makes horrible, impossible circumstances come to life right before your eyes. And in some whacked out Klingon on crack language, she makes those horrible and impossible situations, beautiful. Hats off to you Kristen Ashley.
Fantasyland Series Reading Order
The Golden Dynasty
Fantastical
Fantasyland #4 – coming soon
The Golden Dynasty
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Kristen Ashley
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“No shit…she creates women we should all aspire to emulate. ”
I could not agree with you more! I LOVE her heroines. They seem so true to life that I have to tell myself they are not real. lol I see myself in so many of her heroines…their challenges, the way they dress, their faults… I really love them. (FYI Faye and Jet are most like me.) I know KA is known for her alphas, but I love her for her heroines.
Golden Dynasty is not one of my favorites, but I still really liked it. I cried so hard!
Hope, this one was insanely tough to read but so worth it. Circe is my favorite heroine now
Just curious….how would you pronounce Circe? I went back and forth thru the whole book on how to pronounce her name.
I read Circe as sear-see – like seared tuna, sear-see how about you? I have no idea if that’s correct, it’s just what I had in my head
I pronounced it 2 ways…Sir-ce and Cirque. ???
i wonder what KA had in her head when she wrote it…we should ask
Couldn’t agree with you more, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed going on a Fantasyland reading frenzy with you! Cannot wait for the next book!
I know…that Fantastical epilogue opens a lot of doors…a lot a lot of doors!! I can’t wait to see where she takes us next! Thanks for reading along with me!!
You know how hard this book was for me to read. I had to put it up several times to get through it. Honestly, though, the rape did not bother me as bad as him hitting her. He raped her before he knew her. She was not a person to him then, just a thing to be hunted down, conquered and possessed. He had feelings for her, though, when he hit her. That scene where he’s giving her Zephyr and she’s answering him inside her head…..so heartbreaking.
I did not forgive Lahn. That last scene where he’s bitching about how long he’s been without a woman…..uh, seriously, motherfucker? He almost had me before that.
Tor is my favorite. Enjoy him. Red velvet cake was my favorite before I read this book. Now I’ll never look at it the same way again…..
are you kidding me with Tor…and red velvet which has always been my favorite…and seriously, Noc ain’t to shabby either.
Mmmmmm……Tor….. Seriously, he broke my heart. But then he fixed it so all was ok.
mmmmmm Tor – he’s delicious…so’s Noc
I think because the rape was handled with so little detail, my brain was able to gloss over it easier than the Chris Brown thing. Like you, that one really stuck with me. I do appreciate how she dealt with the fact that yet again this was “of his nature” but still, she stuck true to Circe and told him exactly what she thought of his “nature”
“…it’s like Klingon on crack AND bath salts.” That cracked me up. And it’s totally true.
I commented on your review of Wildest Dreams that Lahn is a hard hero for me to take. I wanted to hate him SO BAD. I tried to. I tried to so freaking hard. But when I read I tried to put myself in the world itself. And in this series, the world is SO different and has such messed up rules/morals. I don’t agree with them (of course!) but I felt wrong faulting Lahn for believing what he had been raised and taught to believe. He believed it all, until Circe. It was her, that showed him difference and effected some change, or tried to. And I also think that for a man like Lahn who did not know love before and had these whacked out morals, just falling in love with a strong woman like Circe was HUGE. (It seemed that throughout the book, the strength of women was not something most of the men/society wanted. But when Lahn saw Circe and saw that in her, he began to fall in love. He did try and like you said, he changed. I think that helped me be okay with him, in the end.
As for the forgiveness thing over the hitting. I am conflicted with that too. I wouldn’t EVER let a guy hit me. I would go ninja on him. However, I also understand that some people CAN forgive that. It didn’t seem like sustained abuse (i.e. over and over, every day, etc etc). He hit her, she reacted the way he did, and he learned to not do it again. (And it seemed that his society told him hitting a women to get her back in line was okay; but then he changed, after the incident with Circe.) Don’t get me wrong: hitting a woman is not okay. For me. However, I watched my sister forgive her other half who IS a good man, for smacking her once when they were both ridiculously drunk and being stupid. She found it in her heart to forgive him, and he still, to do this day, years later, works hard as hell to make up for it. (it haunts him. I know this because he TOLD me it does.) So I do not condone it at all. But I can’t condemn anyone (my sister, any other person , or in the case of the book, Circe) for doing what she felt was right and forgiving him. Personally I wouldn’t; but still, I can understand why someone else (clearly someone more forgiving than me), would.
Bottom line, of all of KA’s worlds and heroes, this one is the hardest one for me to get my head around. But the fact that she has me so conflicted I think is proof that she is a kick ass freaking writer. There are usually no grey areas for me with this sort of thing; but holy hell, she proved me wrong. I need a re-read (after I finish Laceybourne Manor, which I’m re-reading. I love Colin! )
This book sticks in your brain like freaking glue…I can’t shake it free! Like Linnik said, when the rape happened it was before he knew her but the Chris Brown shit, he knew her and was falling in love with her, if not already there so that one was harder to process. But like you said, I would never judge a women in her shoes as far as forgiveness is concerned – that’s her deal, not mine. And since I’ve never encountered anything like that…I can get on my high horse and say I’d never forgive it but really, since I have no touchstone, I can only say I don’t THINK i’d ever be able to forgive that. I suppose there could be grey circumstances…god, I sound like I’m defending Lahn…I’m not, I’m just saying, I don’t know what I’d do. Let’s just hope we never have to make a decision like that.
Yeah he was falling in love with her, but it’s like, he was brought up to believe that it was okay to behave like that. God, now I sound like I’M defending him! LOL *flails* But I think that’s how I make sense of it. He believed it was okay to do that because of his society and then, when he saw that it was in fact NOT okay to do that, he changed. (Course, that doesn’t stop him from hurting her emotionally, but like another comment, so many of KA’s heroes do that at some point. Like Tate. God I hated him in the beginning. Sometimes the words seem so much worse than a fist. Or I’m just overly sensitive lol)
Someone mentioned Stockholm Syndrome. I would have agreed with that IF Circe didn’t go toe to toe with Lahn over and over again. Even when he did the Chris Brown thing, she still, after that, didn’t back down from him. If it was SS, I think she would have capitulated to all his wants and needs instead of making her own choices. (Like helping the other women when that was something that didn’t seem to be done often.)
As for their kids, I kind of saw some of Lahn’s civilization changing as the book progressed. Often only in little ways, but still it was change. It didn’t seem to have the same rigidity at the end as it did in the beginning. It just didn’t seem as savage at the end. So I have to think, had the book continued (and with Lahn having experienced the pain of losing Circe), slowly his society would have changed to. I guess I saw her as sort of a transformational figure for both Lahn AND his people.
Yeah, these heroes tend to pull some serious douchenozzle moves emotionally on these women…luckily the women are strong enough to stand up to them. I think you might be right with the SS thing…she did stand up to him, repeatedly – even when she knew she probably shouldn’t and she never seemed to be afraid of him – once she got over the initial shock that is
Circe and Baby Girl have definitely been agents of change in Lahn’s society – I have to believe that.
Great review and use of analogies! Okay! before I get booed of this page, I will admit I haven’t added any of KA’s paranormal books to my TBR list. I just haven’t been able to get into the genre. In your opinion would this be a good series to pop my cherry? I love KA and I just feel by ignoring this genre I am be missing out on some KA goodness.
We won’t boo you, babe. I like this series better than the Ghost books. I had a hard time getting in to those. It’s farily typical KA–badass alpha males (except they can do awesome, paranormal shit like command DRAGONS), sweet heroines (who have to master not only the bossy hero but also an alternate reality) and a kickass supporting cast (that includes elves, pirates and royalty). They rock, and you’d seriously be missing out if you skipped them.
Sorry, Scandal. Please feel free to add to my ramblings…..
Awh! Thanks Linnik, I think you’ve convinced me. I will add this one to my TBR list. Just reading all the dialogue and opinions being thrown around with this particular book, I am sure I will be in for a treat. I just love the way KA makes you feel the entire emotional spectrum in her books.
Lola, I think this is an excellent and gentle cherry popper so far as the paranormal stuff goes…the subject matter is not gentle at fucking all so be ready for that. But trust KA to do you right. The alphas are beyond badass alpha and the heroines are seriously some of the best in the business (right there with Cole’s Immortals After Dark heroines – they kick fucking ass and take names!)
What I love about Kristen Ashley’s books is that even though I don’t like Lahn and I absolutely hate the premise behind the book with the rapes and abuse, it is a book that sticks with you and you will not be able to get this shit out of your head! Is Lahn charismatic? Yes. Is he hot? Yes. Does that make up for everything he does? No, no, no! I know that he lives is a universe that she’s created that accepts and expects this type of behavior, but I have a really hard time seeing a woman who is as strong willed as Circe is and who is a product of our time and society as accepting of this behavior. I totally feel this is Stockholm Syndrom.
I’m re-reading this one right now but I remember it as Circe did NOT want to return to Lahn’s world when she made it back to hers in Seattle, even though she missed Lahn and did have feelings for him. She was pulled back into that shit against her will. She was ready to raise those babies in her world with the second Circe and her father.
And what about the babies? This is where I have a problem. She is condemning her daughter to go through this same ritual claiming when she’s grown. I know other blogs and boards when I’ve expressed this opinion, I’ve gotten back that she’s a princess and she’ll not have to do that or that Lahn and Circe will choose someone for her. That’s bullshit! You can’t do that and keep the integrity of the story! If you don’t make her go through the same claiming, then you’re saying that the princess is not worthy of being fought over like the other women, including her mother, the queen, was. If you choose a mate for the princess you have just nutted that male. You might as well say that he isn’t strong enough to win his princess and you’ve just signed him up for a lifetime of beatings and/or humiliation and abuse. As a mother, I can’t see Circe accepting that for her daughter, regardless of whether that’s “just the way things are.”
So, that’s my opinion. I liked the book, it’s a story that will draw you in and then sucker punch you a few times just for good measure, but again you will think about it forever, which is what makes KA such a good writer. You may hate the subject matter but you still can’t tear yourself away. It’s like a train wreck, sad and tragic, but you just can’t fucking look away.
You are right, she did not want to return, originally because she didn’t think she could handle Lahn breaking her heart anymore. He crushed her spirit when he doubted her – it seems like that emotional blow did far more damage than the physical shit he pulled on her – as is usually the case,no? I think there was an element of fear that made her acquiesce in the beginning but I think she grew to care for him deeply and his people – I wonder if there’s a spectrum to Stockholm Syndrome. I think all of this had to happen to Circe and Lahn so changes could be made when baby girl hits the scene. There is no fucking way Lahn is going to allow any man to rape/claim his daughter, she already has him wrapped around his little finger. I really think that’s why KA made such a point of showing how Lahn was so gentle with her. I think Lahn seeing the turmoil Circe whom he loves dearly and the other women who struggled with the claiming/rape is all a part of Lahn’s journey. I hope KA hits on this in later books and we learn Circe lays down the mother fucking law with that shit.
She kicks ass with the “sticks with you tragic, can’t fucking look away” books – dammit!
Fantastic review as ever Scandal….. Gotta get a handle on my TBR list, get some stuff cleared and get started on Wildest Dreams so I can get to TGD… Can’t wait to read it!!
Love, love, love KAs books, she puts you through the wringer emotionally……. she’s a master at writing awesome kick-ass heroines in all of her books – it can take me a little to warm to some of her main men (can’t always think of them as heroes!) but I usually get there – not sure how I’m gonna feel about Lahn!!!! :-\
get to it Tracy, I’m so pissed at myself for waiting this long but I swear, I just couldn’t allow myself to get completely caught up…now I’m at the hands of her publishers…me no likey!!
Come back and tell me what you think of Lahn, iti’s impossible to read that book and not a have a strong opinion of him and the situation.
Scandal you make a really good point. How would a person that has experienced abuse and rape take this book? Would they see how the Korwahk don’t view it for what our society would label”abuse” “rape”? Would they be able to appreciate the relationship that develops between Lahn and Circe? This was the second KA book I read (did not realize it was a series) and no one had introduced me to her books so I did not have the warnings of what I was about to read so my reaction was “WTF am I reading?”. I don’t even watch movies that have rape in them and like you I do not enjoy books about cheaters. Only a great writer will make you see things in a whole new perspective. I get what KA was trying to show us. The Korwahk society was not barbaric to me. They valued family, tradition, loyalty, honor and were educated. They took are of their own. I don’t agree with some of their traditions but I can say that about any other society that is foreign to me. So was a torn about my feelings towards this story like everyone else? Definitely! It is what I soooo love about KA stories. It is always way more than sex. You can find sex with any other book but you will not find the amazing characters and situations (hilariously, heart warming, tear jerking) that KA creates.
Now,as a have shared before, KA has become my most favorite romance author (and to date all fall shrort) and you, Miss Scandal, are my most favorite book reviewer. Your reviews are spot on! I have been waiting a long time to see how you would review this story and you did not disappoint. It is great to know that you (and all of those who posted about this book) experienced the same reactions and are not embarrassed to admit at being in love with the wonderful characters and lives that come out of KA.
Thanks Ingrid. It didn’t feel right, writing too much about things I luckily know absolutely nothing about…but what I’m seeing is the Chris Brown shit seems to be lingering longer and harder to get past than the rape…which is kind of amazing if you think about it…but if you dig a little deeper, it was his emotional blow that really gutted Circe, she seemed to bounce back from all of the physical pain. You are right, the Korwahk are not savage but their lifestyle is brutal, perhaps it has to do with the terrain the inhabit? Maybe? They have all of those good qualities you listed, they’re just a bit rough around the edges!
I have read that KA hesitated leaving both the rape scene and the Chris Brown scene in but she felt she had to be honest to the story and to the characters. All of those alphas of hers have a journey they have to go on – Tate was nasty to Laurie, Hawk to Gwen, Tack to Tyra – granted, they didn’t physically abuse them but as we’ve stated, the emotional shit tends to leave just as deep a scar. That KA, always making us think…not just steamy sex…but leaves us thinking!!
Ok..So I have not read any of this series.
Having said that KA is one of my very Fav authors regardless of the genre. My question to you Scandal, and anyone else who wishes you advise me, do I read this series?
Please remember that I struggled greatly with ‘Consequences’ and ‘Truth’ -AR, also “Undeniable’ -MS ( so much so that I will not be reading the sequel unless you tell me my life will end without doing so!).
I do not want KA to lose her current standing….not when Raid is soooo close!
Here’s the break down for you Teena. It’s an excellent series and I highly recommend it. Here’s the breakdown for you…
Wildest Dreams – you’re good to go with it not being anything like “Undeniable” – totally safe there so read away…
This one, Golden Dynasty – is tough but it is not as in your face, in my opinion, as Undenialbe…you know the rape happens but you feel her being chased and literally fighting for her life but the rape itself is not described – it is simply referred to as “I was violated” so you’re safe in that regard. The hitting incident, is very difficult, it’s one strike, across her face – i think it’s done more out of fear than anything else…he lost his temper because he couldn’t find her and there was a threat to her life that she was unaware of but he was terrified something horrible had happened to her…you know I’m not making excuses, I’m just saying, it’s not a prolonged or habitual form of abuse, it’s a one off event that leaves both of them marked, it’s just Circe’s mark is on her cheek…again, there’s some emotional shit that goes on that sticks with Circe longer, trust/doubt issues. While this is an exceptionally difficult storyline, anytime rape or abuse is discussed it’s difficult but this is not as graphic as Undeniable…well, except for this one warrior who’s a dick and does horrible things to his new bride, unmentionable things but you must know he gets his before the end. Again, it’s all part of a journey, one that I think will bring change to the Korwahk horde.
And I just finished #3 – Fantastical today, also you’re good to go there rape/ChrisBrown -wise! Tor is pretty hot
I think you’ll be fine to read this series and when you finish you’ll have Hanna on her pink bike and Raid to guide you through…but fyi, Raid is an ex- soldier who’s lost pretty much his entire troop -that has potential to leave a PTSD style mark, no?!!?
I’ll be sure to be honest with you when Unbeautifully comes out from MS – gotta look out for my girl!
Oh, I forgot to mention, I’ve not read AR’s Consequences/Truth yet but I hear it’s a real mind fuck…Fantasyland is not a mind fuck.
Ok….I will start the series then! Hubby away til end of next week so even less sleep for me!
Yeah, Raid doesn’t concern me, figured that there had to be some PTSD in there with that kind of trauma mentioned in the working chapters. I come from a long family history ( over 100years – every generation) of Service in the military including Japanese POWs and Nam Vets so PSTD part of my growing up!
Yes well those three, ‘Consequences/Truth’ and ‘Undeniable’, total Mind Fucks but ‘Consequences’ more than ‘Truth’ and BOTH of those were worse than ‘Undeniable’. I think most likely because ‘C/T’ is personal but ‘Undeniable’ is more cultural.
I will take your advice when ‘ Unbeautifully’ becomes available!
I trust you!