Consorts of the Red King

By: Eden Winters

Narrated by: Darcy Stark

In deepest space the ruthless Federation lays waste to one rebel colony after another, leaving comrades-in-arms Van Orskey and Tayn Kassik without family, without a home, and without hope.

With nothing left but each other, they run contraband and smuggle fugitives from the safety of their ship, the Cormorant - with the occasional clandestine mission for the rival Coalition thrown in. Their heists have not gone unnoticed, though even the bounty on their heads doesn’t prevent them from being a thorn in the enemy’s side at every opportunity.

Pissing them off? Big mistake.

From the day of his birth Prince Jorvik of Akiak learned duty, wisdom, and honor from his father, leaving him ill-equipped to withstand betrayal by his Federation-puppet uncle. He has no love for the greedy off-worlders who plunder his world’s natural resources and enslave his people. To defeat his foe, he needs the cunning, fearlessness, and touch of treachery only outlaws can offer.

Two off-world mercenaries make unlikely partners in Jorvik’s quest for vengeance, but the more he learns of them, the more common ground he discovers. In each other’s arms they find passion, heat, and maybe, a reason for living - until their common enemy threatens to tear them apart.

To survive, they must take on the corrupt Federation.

And win.

A standalone novel based in The Sentinel universe.

©2019 Eden Winters (P)2019 Eden Winters

A Hot Stellar Ride

Wait, there's plot? And it's good?? The smut, narration, and length is great. I loved this universe and hope more is to come.

Interesting

This was a interesting adventure you get a little of everything from mercenaries to royals. The storyline was interesting and keeps you interested. The characters Van and Tayn are great and the prince Jorvik has vengeance on his mind. The narrator did a great job making the characters interesting.

Fantastic narration

5 Blue Roses
4.5 Blue Flames

Narrator Darcy Stark wonderfully surprised me with 3 new voices I never heard before. This testifies about his capability to adapt to various genres. His ability to do this and the emotion he pours into his performances, guaranteed a 5 Blue Rose rating. Especially, when paired with a new and fresh science fiction romance. The world building was done extremely well. I love longer audiobooks, as they portray harder work and higher quality audiobooks, with a plot that was very well developed.

I definitely recommend this audiobook, especially if you like to be carried off to another world and experience action, magic, weird slimy aliens and beautiful erotic sex scenes.

Happy Listening

Narrator Darcy Stark is excellent in this story!

It is not often that I have the pleasure of an M/M science fiction story and they are so welcome when I gain access to one. Writer Eden Winters gave me the privilege of reviewing the audio incarnation of her book 'Consorts of the Red King' remarkably narrated by Darcy Stark whose performance was absolutely wonderful! I expected a futuristic narrative replete with robots, aliens, and space battles. What stands out most about this tale is the realistic quality of the relationship that exists between the book's main characters: Van Orskey and Tayn Kassik. They are two ordinary guys that aren't quite ready to admit they love each other deeply and sincerely! That aspect of the book just reached out and grabbed my heart with both hands!
In the novel, we encounter Van and Tayn, contraband runners who are in stasis and mind-controlling the spaceship Cormorant through their neural connection. They are alerted to the presence of marauders aboard the craft and too late to avoid Tayn body being spirited away, much to Van's disappointment. Tayn makes a tough, yet understandable decision--he decides to fire upon the raiders' space vessel, blowing up them and his body into pieces. He exists as an entity within the Cormorant's electronic nexus, leaving Van determined to purchase another living body for his friend to inhabit. The leaves Van carrying out missions alone while covering for the corporeal absence of Tayn. When the men's boss, an old commander of the Federation, requests that the men visit Akaik to see if fugitives from the royal family could be located and smuggled off the planet, Van is eager to do so as assets are needed for Tayn.
At Akaik, Prince Jorvik's uncle pulls off a successful coup on behalf of the Federation for accessing the planet's resources that were so zealously guarded by the current King's policies. He was not successful in having his nephew assassinated. As it happens, sex games resulted in a lover wearing the prince's robe so he was murdered instead. Jorvik was able to hide and later find safety among a trusted servant at the palace. The situation allows Prince Jorvik the possibility of exactly some retribution for the treachery at some time in the future.
Van Orskey poses as a merchant while visiting the palace and manages to save a kitchen servant from harassment only to discover he was the prince in disguise! Being every bit as disgusted with the Federation as Prince Jorvik, Van and his friend Tayn agrees to help him win back his kingdom against all odds and in spite of a huge betrayal. Reprisal for the uncle's betrayal means a physical transformation of Jorvik into the Red King--a monarch built for battle and destined for death when all is set to rights! But it seems love can conquer all for a battle monster, a body-less man, and the runner who dearly loves them both.
Such an original story! One would expect the science fiction excitement but prepare to be surprised by the depth of the storyline and the exceptional character development. The men grow beyond the 'not having sex' to the 'now having sex' scenario one might expect from a romance. The writer is clear to delineate stages of love that develop amongst the men, in addition to the physical changes that occur with Prince Jorvik. I got so caught up in other aspects of the narrative, I was completely blind-sided by other aspects of the book, making this a truly exceptional listening experience.

Shows the Fortitude of the "Humanoid" Spirit! ✨🚀✨

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Title: Consorts of the Red King
Author: Eden Winters
Narrator: Darcy Stark
Publisher: Eden Winters
Format: Unabridged Audio
Release Date: 12/20/2019
Genre/ Trope/ Theme(s): Gay SciFi/ Fantasy Romance; Menage; Hurt/Comfort; War; Action Violence; Explicit MM/ MMM scenes
Listening Length: 12hrs 42min
SteaMMy Swordplay: 4 out of 5⚔
Sharonica-Stars: 4 out of 5✨
GoodReads AVG: 4.04🌟

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MMy Thoughts and Review:

First things first...Confessions, I am more Fantasy than Sci-fi, unless we are talking Star Wars, but that's a religion unto itself. I am not ashamed to admit, Yoda is my Spirit Guide. 👽 Don't even attempt argument, you WILL lose! 😂

Moving on...💖

I was a bit nervous going in, especially with that first scene! I had a dubya-tee-eff moment and thought, "scuse me, I have 45 more hours of book here (really only 12 or so), so what the heck happens now?" Honestly, I think if I had read this instead of having had Darcy Stark read it for me, I would have enjoyed it less. Remember though, sci-fi isn't my thing, so that's on me, kind of.

The Story was well written, the world created (Akiak) was awesome, as were all the species of sentient life forms. I loved that the author used all three MCs' POV. I feel this helped give more weight and believability to the characters and their plight.

The reader gets to experience the backstory of two of the MCs through memories all throughout the book. However, there is an up close and personal view of the third MC's troubles as they play out in "real time." And can I just say, wowza! After that beginning and then this one chapter later, my emotions were so strung out I felt like I needed some scotch and a neck massage. But since I gave up drinking, because my body hates me, and I don't have a live in masseuse, I had to settle for extra strong coffee, my cat making biscuits on my belly and nail biting!😂

The world building takes a little time since the story begins with a "bang," but then the foundation is laid for all the events to play out, including an explanation of the first two major scenes. Once you and the book find your groove, prepare for light speed!

Even though I personally think some things could be left out so The Book isn't soooo long, die hard sci-fi fans will eat it up. I must say too because of all the action, the story does whiz by. As for the romantic side, you will fall in love with all three men. The two marauders, Van and Tayn and Prince Jorvik, with nothing in common except the same enemy. The three find solace together and bond themselves in friendship.

The journey while fraught with danger every step of the way shows, no matter your race, or species, people are constantly evolving, and changing based on time and circumstance. Some changes happen instantly, while others happen over time and are more drastic once the change has taken over completely.

The best way to handle all life's changes is to never forget who you are deep down inside. To keep that part of oneself close. Doing that will ensure no matter what life tosses at an individual, they can't be taken down...and if by some chance they are knocked over momentarily, they won't stay down.

I would definitely recommend to sci-fi fans, and to anyone who needs a nudge at something that shows the fortitude of the "humanoid" spirit.💖

The Story: 4.00🌟
The Narration: 4.5🌟
Sharonica Stars: 4.25🌟

I received an ARC audio version of this book from the author. The thoughts and opinions expressed belong solely to the reviewer.✨🚀✨

O Gods of a 1000 Worlds

I love Eden and this story brings us to a lush universe full of interesting and we'll rounded characters that I will miss.

A Unique Sci-Fi Romance

This was one of the most interesting and unique sci-fi romance books I’ve read in a while. The world-building in this book is fascinating, especially when it comes to the sentient spaceships and the human ability of moving through cyberspace. Eden Winters crafted such a fascinating romance where species, and even the physical body, doesn’t matter as much as the emotional connection between beings. This book does feature a threesome, but it is an unorthodox and unique setup. I don’t want to give away any spoilers for the book, but trust me when I say the relationship is utterly addicting.

Darcy Stark does a fantastic job with the audiobook narration. He had to narrate such unique and interesting characters set in so many different and fascinating settings. He met this challenge spectacularly well and his performance in the audiobook really does the story justice. I thoroughly enjoyed both this story and the audiobook and highly recommend it.

This story is unique and exciting!

This book starts with a bang, literally! Van and Tayn are "independent contractors" collecting various items that are very hard to come by. They live on a spaceship that is operated by their consciousness while their bodies are maintained in a pod. They have been best friends for years and share everything so when raiders steal Tayn's body and it is destroyed in an explosion Van's only thoughts are of getting Tayn a body. Jorvik is a prince and his planet is being actively pursued by both of the major galaxy players. A betrayal changes everything in his life, and he is now the King out to save his planet from destruction. It's hard to give a comprehensive description without spoilers. Long story short the three men join forces (in more ways than one) and jump through some pretty dangerous hoops to save Jorvik's people. Two other important members of their team are Stone and Connell. I just realized that The Sentinel is their story. I loved this story and hope we could visit them later to see how they fared.