Stealing the Wind
Title : Stealing the Wind
Series : Merman of Ea, Book #1
Author : Shira Anthony
Publisher : Dreamspinner Press (BUY HERE)
Genre : M/M/M, Fantasy
Length : 214 pages (e-book)
Published : August 12, 2013
Rating : ★★★★
Blurb:
Mermen of Ea: Book One
Taren Laxley has never known anything but life as a slave. When a lusty pirate kidnaps him and holds him prisoner on his ship, Taren embraces the chance to realize his dream of a seagoing life. Not only does the pirate captain offer him freedom in exchange for three years of labor and sexual servitude, but the pleasures Taren finds when he joins the captain and first mate in bed far surpass his greatest fantasies.
Then, during a storm, Taren dives overboard to save another sailor and is lost at sea. He’s rescued by Ian Dunaidh, the enigmatic and seemingly ageless captain of a rival ship, the Phantom, and Taren feels an overwhelming attraction to Ian that Ian appears to share. Soon Taren learns a secret that will change his life forever: Ian and his people are Ea, shape-shifting merfolk… and Taren is one of them too. Bound to each other by a fierce passion neither can explain or deny, Taren and Ian are soon embroiled in a war and forced to fight for a future—not only for themselves but for all their kind.
Note: Although the romantic pairing in “Stealing the Wind” is strictly MM, the book contains scenes of MMM menage
Review:
This author was another new for me. Many of my friends love her work, and I have a few of her books on the never ending TBR pile, but haven’t read any until this one. When I saw this one up at DSP I thought it was a perfect time to try her. AND it’s mermen! I had to know anatomically how mermen had sex. You know, with the tails? I’m not telling you how she did it but she did. You’ll have to read for yourselves!
Taren has lived his life as the slave boy to a rigger after being sold to him as a baby. Taren has accepted his place and is happy enough with his simple, hard working life. One night guards descend upon his owner who gives Taren away to pay his gambling debts. Taren doesn’t like working for his new owner and the hurt at being given away by someone he thought cared for him doesn’t ever really go away, but he resigns himself to a life of servitude. He grows into a young man and visitors one night take notice. Pirates. When Taren’s owner refuses to sell him to the pirates, they kidnap him. Taren awakes and he’s given a choice by the leader, who he learns is named Rider, be his pleasure slave for three years, and then be released as a free man or be returned to his previous owner immediately. Taren has never been with a man but Rider makes him lust like nobody he’s ever met before. The prospect of gaining his freedom as a young man and not an old one is enough of a reason to take the offer. He’s always longed to be at sea. Plus, Taren finds he likes the idea of being Rider’s pleasure slave even if he’s scared at the same time. Rider has a lover and Taren will be the third. They awaken a strong sexual appetite in Taren and he loves every minute of it. This is where the menage comes in. It’s pretty hot and I’m not usually a fan of them. Taren understands the other two are in love and he’ll never be what they are to each other.
Two years of bliss go by. One day during a storm, Taren disappears under the ocean after rescuing the ship’s boy who fell overboard. He should be dead but wakes up on another ship where he has been made a prisoner. Taren soon learns he’s aboard the ship of Rider’s enemy and infamous evil man, Ian. Ian plays his part to get answers from Taren but Taren won’t budge. Both men seem to have a strong attraction to each other. An actual physical pull to each that neither understands but being prisoner and captor they really shouldn’t act on it. Some nice tension builds here. An escape attempt by Taren forces Ian to come clean about what he knows about Taren’s dual nature. Taren is a Merman. A mage had bound his transformation until he found his kind. As you can imagine Taren has a hard time accepting it but once he and Ian shift into Mermen form there’s no denying it. The two fall in love but Taren is Ian’s his prisoner and must deliver him to the council of Eu for questioning. Ian hopes they’ll believe and accept Taren isn’t a spy that somehow made it through their magical borders.
Very quickly, the Mermen people are an ancient species of half man half sea creature. When humans attacked them the group was split on how to keep their people safe. Out of fear and a need to protect from all humans a civil war is born. One group chooses to continue to live free and mix with humans while the other cuts off all ties with those that don’t agree with them. And won’t let the Eu who want to leave their island leave. For their safety or so they tell themselves. They form a council of elders whoh rule. They are extremely suspicious and persecute and torture for very little reason at all becoming monsters themselves.
Ian hands over the man he loves to people he knows in heart will not accept the truth and possibly torture him. What else can he do? Ian survived their torture and he tells himself Taren will, too. It’s the hardest thing he’s ever had to do but if he helps Taren, when the council doesn’t even trust him after years of service, he’ll be hunted and killed as a traitor. But he can’t live with himself if he leaves Taren in that dungeon.
The first few chapters of this had lots of sex and it was hot. The sex tapers off a bit in the rest of the book. Lots of heated moments but nothing quite as heated as the three way with the pirate couple. Ian and Taren do NOT communicate well. Each wants the other to choose to be together of their own free will. No obligation or duty should be involved in love kind of thing. It was frustrating but understandable given their situations. There’s a lot of intrigue going on in this book. I figured out some of it as I read but most of it is slowly answered as the book goes along. That and large portions of the book with the couple apart seemed to slow the pace.
The underwater imagery was beautiful. I wanted the couple to be together and hated the bad guy. This was a majestic read and I’d recommend it to fantasy lovers.
Rated 4 stars by Whit
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