Review: The Golden Dynasty by Kristen Ashley
♥♥♥ 6 Amazing and Emotional Stars ♥♥♥
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'I went to bed in my bed in a world I understood and I woke up here in a world that was entirely foreign to me, everything about it, and not one thing about it was good. And now I was running for my life.'
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Wow...seriously this book was like...WOW. Why on freaking earth did I not reading this book sooner?!? I just don't know why. I am totally kicking myself for putting this book off. Now, I am SO glad that I did. Holy mother of golden doe, this was so good!!
It was a rough start. Not because it was bad or anything, well, the events that took place were. It begins with Circe, a young woman from modern Seattle waking up in a pen with other women in an unknown world. She has no idea how she got there, all she knows is that some of the other women look as terrified as she feels. When she asks what is happening, she learns that the Wife Hunt will shortly begin. The Korwahk warriors will hunt them down to claim as their wife. From that moment on I was completely hooked to this story. I was as scared as Circe was. Yes, there was a rape scene in this book that happens during the Wife Hunt. It was tough to get through and it made me hurt for Circe. But, I was captivated by this foreign world that Circe found herself in.
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"You are my golden queen. You are my tigress. You are my Circe. Always, Circe. Always. Never will I allow your gold to be taken from me. Never."
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After going through the terrible claiming part of the hunt, Circe is now the wife of the King, Dax 'King' Lahn. Circe has become the Golden Queen of the Korwahk people. Lahn is a savage warrior. The differences in culture and language were vast but it was interesting to see how these two work to slowly understand each other. The way Lahn behaved was totally different to any man of today. They have a way of doing things that seemed cruel and unfair but "it is their way" as it is mentioned in the book. It doesn't excuse the brutal things Circe went through at the start, but it does help to understand why it happened. They are both from completely different worlds and I loved reading about them coming together. They didn't always see eye to eye and they argued a lot, but somehow they managed to compromise.
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“He is my king, he is a warrior, he is my husband and I am proud to say above all... he is mine.”
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I absolutely LOVED that despite how savage Lahn appeared to be on the outside--or when he was in 'King mode', he was über sweet and kind when he was at home with Circe. Their home became the place where he could freely show Circe how he felt about her. He was the perfect Alpha. The things that this man said *sigh*. I loved this man so hard, he made me swoon like crazy. Sure, he wasn't perfect, but he tried so hard to be a good man for Circe and that is how he stole my heart. He is probably my all time favourite KA male character. I just love him so freaking much!
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"A better wife, a better queen. Not even in a dream could I create better than you."
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The story was a beautiful and emotional one. I enjoyed the bit of action, although it was kind of brutal, and the bit of angst we get. It was so amazingly well written. I was hooked to this story, the language, the culture, the secondary characters, and of course the romance between Lahn and Circe. I enjoyed every moment. I felt anger, hurt, frustration, sad, happy and love. Like I mentioned before, Lahn made me swoon so hard that he turned me into a big pile of goo. My heart melted with his sweetness. Circe was feisty, strong and kind. She was an awesome heroine, one I actually loved as well. I loved that she could challenge Lahn and be just as possessive as he was. Seriously, I can't tell you enough how good this was. It is definitely a book I would read again and again. It was long, yet it felt like it wasn't long enough. I didn't want it to end. I absolutely recommend this book. If you have yet to read this book, then I would say that you go read it right freaking now.
***WARNING*** Book contains a scene with rape.
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