Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Genres: urban fantasy, paranormal romance
Synopsis: It might sound like a man's favourite fantasy - to live forever, destined to be the lover of thousands of women. But for Julian of Macedon, it's a nightmare. Once he was a proud Spartan general, now he's a love-slave, his essence magically held captive in a book, cursed to spend all eternity pleasing women. Then, one day, Grace Alexander summons Julian to fulfill her passionate dreams - and sees beyond the fantasy to the man himself. Long years as a sex therapist, listening to other people's bedroom problems, has taken a lot of the fun out of the physical side of love for Grace. She's remarkably understanding about Julian's situation - and that's disconcerting for all concerned. With or without sex, the rules of the enchantment cannot be changed. Julian is hers for the next month. And, as their time together slips by, Julian and Grace find more to share than sympathy and conversation -- and they begin to wonder if love might be within their grasp. That leaves only one question. Is love enough to break a 2,000-year-old curse?
Sequels: Long list - see the author's website. Part of the "Dark-Hunter" series.
Audiobook: Available to download from Audible, though I haven't bought it yet.
Review:
I very rarely read romance novels, but I bought this one partly because I'd read a fanfiction based on the Dark-Hunter series and enjoyed it, and partly because I liked the idea about reading novels featuring Greek gods in the modern era. I actually really liked the book. It doesn't actually feature any Dark-Hunters, they appear for the first time in book 2.
Julian of Macedon is the son of Aphrodite, and pretty much every woman's dream guy. He's also a somewhat tragic hero; he was raised by the abusive, warrior Spartans, never knowing his mother; he lost his wife and children; and he was condemned by an angry god to spend eternity as a sex slave (and remain sane). His trauma is a strong theme of the novel, although it's never so overpowering as to take away from the romance; and he and Grace really do feel like a perfect match.
Sometimes the sex is a little too frequent, and I'd have liked to see more appearances by Aphrodite, but on the whole I thought it was pretty good. I certainly fell for Julian; and what point would there being in reading a romance if I didn't fall for the hero?
I also highly recommend the rest of the series. Okay, there's a couple that aren't as enjoyable as the rest, but on the whole they're really good. Each novel is about a different central pairing, so they can easily be read as stand-alones, but there's an ongoing arc too. There's a disparate group of characters, including gods (not all of them Greek), were-animals, Dark-Hunters (who are kind of like immortal vampire slayers) and normal humans. Some of the books can be quite dark in places (especially "Acheron") but the romances keep them from getting too depressing. It's long, gripping series, and I'm really eager for the next book to come out.
Synopsis: It might sound like a man's favourite fantasy - to live forever, destined to be the lover of thousands of women. But for Julian of Macedon, it's a nightmare. Once he was a proud Spartan general, now he's a love-slave, his essence magically held captive in a book, cursed to spend all eternity pleasing women. Then, one day, Grace Alexander summons Julian to fulfill her passionate dreams - and sees beyond the fantasy to the man himself. Long years as a sex therapist, listening to other people's bedroom problems, has taken a lot of the fun out of the physical side of love for Grace. She's remarkably understanding about Julian's situation - and that's disconcerting for all concerned. With or without sex, the rules of the enchantment cannot be changed. Julian is hers for the next month. And, as their time together slips by, Julian and Grace find more to share than sympathy and conversation -- and they begin to wonder if love might be within their grasp. That leaves only one question. Is love enough to break a 2,000-year-old curse?
Sequels: Long list - see the author's website. Part of the "Dark-Hunter" series.
Audiobook: Available to download from Audible, though I haven't bought it yet.
Review:
I very rarely read romance novels, but I bought this one partly because I'd read a fanfiction based on the Dark-Hunter series and enjoyed it, and partly because I liked the idea about reading novels featuring Greek gods in the modern era. I actually really liked the book. It doesn't actually feature any Dark-Hunters, they appear for the first time in book 2.
Julian of Macedon is the son of Aphrodite, and pretty much every woman's dream guy. He's also a somewhat tragic hero; he was raised by the abusive, warrior Spartans, never knowing his mother; he lost his wife and children; and he was condemned by an angry god to spend eternity as a sex slave (and remain sane). His trauma is a strong theme of the novel, although it's never so overpowering as to take away from the romance; and he and Grace really do feel like a perfect match.
Sometimes the sex is a little too frequent, and I'd have liked to see more appearances by Aphrodite, but on the whole I thought it was pretty good. I certainly fell for Julian; and what point would there being in reading a romance if I didn't fall for the hero?
I also highly recommend the rest of the series. Okay, there's a couple that aren't as enjoyable as the rest, but on the whole they're really good. Each novel is about a different central pairing, so they can easily be read as stand-alones, but there's an ongoing arc too. There's a disparate group of characters, including gods (not all of them Greek), were-animals, Dark-Hunters (who are kind of like immortal vampire slayers) and normal humans. Some of the books can be quite dark in places (especially "Acheron") but the romances keep them from getting too depressing. It's long, gripping series, and I'm really eager for the next book to come out.