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Lara: Book One of the World of Hetar by Bertrice Small released on Apr 25, 2006 is available now for purchase.
For Lara, a half faerie, half human, her beauty is a blessing and a curse. Sold into a Pleasure House by her father, she commits herself to a lifetime of servitude. But even in a place where pleasure is not censured but encouraged, her otherworldly beauty proves too much for her suitors.
When Lara escapes, she is introduced to a new way of life, and an incredible man who opens her eyes to the growing unrest among their people…and the extraordinary destiny that awaits her. Lara will journey the depths of desire and despair to find a love that will last an eternity—a love that will change Hetar forever.
For Lara, a half faerie, half human, her beauty is a blessing and a curse. Sold into a Pleasure House by her father, she commits herself to a lifetime of servitude. But even in a place where pleasure is not censured but encouraged, her otherworldly beauty proves too much for her suitors.
When Lara escapes, she is introduced to a new way of life, and an incredible man who opens her eyes to the growing unrest among their people…and the extraordinary destiny that awaits her. Lara will journey the depths of desire and despair to find a love that will last an eternity—a love that will change Hetar forever.
544 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 2005
152 people are currently reading
1,204 people want to read
About the author
Bertrice Small
228Ìýbooks1,099ÌýfollowersBertrice Williams was born on December 9, 1937 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, the daughter of Doris S. and David R. Williams, both broadcasters. She studied at Attended Western College for Women and Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School. On October 5, 1963, she married George Sumner Small, a photographer and designer with a History Major at Princeton. They had a son Thomas David. She lived on eastern Long Island for over 30 years. Her greatest passions were her family; Finnegan and Sylvester, the family cats; Nicki, the elderly cockatiel who whistles the NY Mets charge call; her garden; her work, and just life in general.
Published since 1947, Bertrice Small was the author of over 50 romance novels. A New York Times bestselling author, she had also appeared on other best-seller lists including Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and the L.A. Times. She was the recipient of numerous awards including Career Achievement for Historical Romance; Best Historical Romance; Outstanding Historical Romance Series; Career Achievement for Historical Fantasy; a Golden Leaf from the New Jersey Romance Writers chapter of Romance Writers of America; an Author of the Year (2006) and Big Apple Award from the New York City Romance Writers chapter of RWA, and several Reviewers Choice awards from Romantic Times. She had a "Silver Pen" from Affair De Coeur, and an Honorable Mention from The West Coast Review of Books. In 2004 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by ROMANTIC TIMES magazine for her contributions to the Historical Romance genre. And in 2008 she was named by ROMANTIC TIMES along with her friends Jennifer Blake, Roberta Gellis and Janelle Taylor, a Pioneer of Romance.
Bertrice Small was a member of The Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, PAN, and PASIC. She was also a member of RWA's Long Island chapter, L.I.R.W., and is its easternmost member on the North Fork of Eastern Long Island.
Published since 1947, Bertrice Small was the author of over 50 romance novels. A New York Times bestselling author, she had also appeared on other best-seller lists including Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and the L.A. Times. She was the recipient of numerous awards including Career Achievement for Historical Romance; Best Historical Romance; Outstanding Historical Romance Series; Career Achievement for Historical Fantasy; a Golden Leaf from the New Jersey Romance Writers chapter of Romance Writers of America; an Author of the Year (2006) and Big Apple Award from the New York City Romance Writers chapter of RWA, and several Reviewers Choice awards from Romantic Times. She had a "Silver Pen" from Affair De Coeur, and an Honorable Mention from The West Coast Review of Books. In 2004 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by ROMANTIC TIMES magazine for her contributions to the Historical Romance genre. And in 2008 she was named by ROMANTIC TIMES along with her friends Jennifer Blake, Roberta Gellis and Janelle Taylor, a Pioneer of Romance.
Bertrice Small was a member of The Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, PAN, and PASIC. She was also a member of RWA's Long Island chapter, L.I.R.W., and is its easternmost member on the North Fork of Eastern Long Island.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
January 13, 2019
EDIT: After slogging through the next 3 books in this series, I'm sad to report that LARA is the highlight of the Hetar cycle. But I'm leaving my initial reaction as-is to honor the sheer WTFLOLz of this experience. My rec: read this one as a stand-alone, count your blessings, & move on. >__>
***original review***
WTF did I just read, & why did I enjoy it? :D
Ah well. Who cares?! I liked this book, goddammit! And I'm not ashamed to say I'll be continuing with the saga.
Lara is campy fantasy at its finest. The magic is hamfisted with little or no explanation; the dialogue is frequently stilted; the cliches wave red flags & don't bother trying to hide behind prettily-described rocks. Characters recount their histories over & over & over & over until you're ready to scream. That's not to say Ms Small is a hack -- the descriptions of scenery & brief action sequences are well-written -- but the prose has an odd flavor. Fortunately the choppiness & (sometimes) cheesy conversations don't hinder the story itself, which moves a good clip.
Lara is most definitely a Sue -- there's nothing she can't do & nobody she can't enchant -- but she's one of those rare Likable Sues that you can't help but respect for surviving. Her acceptance of fate & circumstance doesn't make her stupid or unobservant. As for the "sex without love" that seems to bother some readers -- get over it. Bad shit happens to good people, & a heroine isn't evil because she sleeps with multiple characters & acknowledges having a traitorous body. FFS. Lara is larger than life, yes. But it's only the 21st-c crop of ho-hum-diddly romances that villainize women who admit to enjoying sex even without the hero's magical man-bits. Larger than life is not a dirty concept, guys.
Regardless of squeamish readers, it's clear that Bertrice Small published the story she intended to write. This is a book that says the author was enjoying herself -- the ridiculous plot rollicks along, hauling characters in its wake, while the goofy sex leaps off the page in vivid shades of purple. The rougher edges of the story aren't prettied up, & I respect that.
3.5 stars, rounded down for the clunky & frequent repetitions of backstory. It also needed better explanations for things like the talking horses & spirit staffs & shapeshifting -- I'm not asking for Tolkien, but a bit more background or process would have added much-needed depth to the magic.
***original review***
WTF did I just read, & why did I enjoy it? :D
Ah well. Who cares?! I liked this book, goddammit! And I'm not ashamed to say I'll be continuing with the saga.
Lara is campy fantasy at its finest. The magic is hamfisted with little or no explanation; the dialogue is frequently stilted; the cliches wave red flags & don't bother trying to hide behind prettily-described rocks. Characters recount their histories over & over & over & over until you're ready to scream. That's not to say Ms Small is a hack -- the descriptions of scenery & brief action sequences are well-written -- but the prose has an odd flavor. Fortunately the choppiness & (sometimes) cheesy conversations don't hinder the story itself, which moves a good clip.
Lara is most definitely a Sue -- there's nothing she can't do & nobody she can't enchant -- but she's one of those rare Likable Sues that you can't help but respect for surviving. Her acceptance of fate & circumstance doesn't make her stupid or unobservant. As for the "sex without love" that seems to bother some readers -- get over it. Bad shit happens to good people, & a heroine isn't evil because she sleeps with multiple characters & acknowledges having a traitorous body. FFS. Lara is larger than life, yes. But it's only the 21st-c crop of ho-hum-diddly romances that villainize women who admit to enjoying sex even without the hero's magical man-bits. Larger than life is not a dirty concept, guys.
Regardless of squeamish readers, it's clear that Bertrice Small published the story she intended to write. This is a book that says the author was enjoying herself -- the ridiculous plot rollicks along, hauling characters in its wake, while the goofy sex leaps off the page in vivid shades of purple. The rougher edges of the story aren't prettied up, & I respect that.
3.5 stars, rounded down for the clunky & frequent repetitions of backstory. It also needed better explanations for things like the talking horses & spirit staffs & shapeshifting -- I'm not asking for Tolkien, but a bit more background or process would have added much-needed depth to the magic.
December 27, 2023
Unfortunately, in this whole saga, I lost my review for this book. My apologies. Here is a summary of the main points I made in my original review.
Suffice it to say, this was a serious candidate for the worst book of all time.
Lara is a ridiculously perfect and all knowing character.
Also the sex scenes are some of the worst I have ever read: if I never read another scene with 'manroots' or other horrible euphemisms it will be too soon!
Also there is supposed to be a plot yet... precious little time is devoted to it. At the end of the book there is supposed to be a big confrontation/battle between Hetar and the Outlander forces, except the description is basically a sentence or two to the effect of:
"The good guys won! Huzzah!"
Er... How about a little more description, since this is a battle that is important to the plot? You know, that series of events that underlies the entire narrative of the story and... oh, never mind.
Bloody awful!
Suffice it to say, this was a serious candidate for the worst book of all time.
Lara is a ridiculously perfect and all knowing character.
Also the sex scenes are some of the worst I have ever read: if I never read another scene with 'manroots' or other horrible euphemisms it will be too soon!
Also there is supposed to be a plot yet... precious little time is devoted to it. At the end of the book there is supposed to be a big confrontation/battle between Hetar and the Outlander forces, except the description is basically a sentence or two to the effect of:
"The good guys won! Huzzah!"
Er... How about a little more description, since this is a battle that is important to the plot? You know, that series of events that underlies the entire narrative of the story and... oh, never mind.
Bloody awful!
April 16, 2012
This book was so awful, I can't even, oh my god
Here is a short list as to why:
-excessive use of "manroot" and other awful euphemisms
-Lara continually brought up her "destiny" to the point I wanted to shoot myself
-basically, there was no plot and it droned on and on for 500+ pages of unnecessary bullshit.
-there's no depth to the characters at all
-it's ridiculous
-Lara is what rp'ers would refer to as a "godmod" character - someone who basically has no flaws and is perfection and makes the whole damn story incredibly tiring and boring
-I will not be reading Beatrice Small again
-the dialogue and literature in general just sucks
-there's sex scenes every few pages or so, and now normally I wouldn't mind this so much it's just Small is so horrible at describing them and each one is identical to the last so nothing is new or interesting. In fact, it's all so redundant I would have to read other books in between just so that this one seemed new and different.
And as for the reason I even gave this book one star, well, that was because I actually really liked the concept of it - the beginning at least, being sold into slavery to support your family. That's nifty, but then Small crushes what could potentially be an excellent plot of escape and freedom from a pleasure house and turns it into Lara tromping pointlessly around Hetar. Ugh. Anyways, glad to have finished this one - if you're debating over reading it, I would say that there are plenty of other fantasy novels out there that are far better to spend your money and time on.
Here is a short list as to why:
-excessive use of "manroot" and other awful euphemisms
-Lara continually brought up her "destiny" to the point I wanted to shoot myself
-basically, there was no plot and it droned on and on for 500+ pages of unnecessary bullshit.
-there's no depth to the characters at all
-it's ridiculous
-Lara is what rp'ers would refer to as a "godmod" character - someone who basically has no flaws and is perfection and makes the whole damn story incredibly tiring and boring
-I will not be reading Beatrice Small again
-the dialogue and literature in general just sucks
-there's sex scenes every few pages or so, and now normally I wouldn't mind this so much it's just Small is so horrible at describing them and each one is identical to the last so nothing is new or interesting. In fact, it's all so redundant I would have to read other books in between just so that this one seemed new and different.
And as for the reason I even gave this book one star, well, that was because I actually really liked the concept of it - the beginning at least, being sold into slavery to support your family. That's nifty, but then Small crushes what could potentially be an excellent plot of escape and freedom from a pleasure house and turns it into Lara tromping pointlessly around Hetar. Ugh. Anyways, glad to have finished this one - if you're debating over reading it, I would say that there are plenty of other fantasy novels out there that are far better to spend your money and time on.
January 25, 2021
I have mixed feelings about this book. It is a fantasy romance novel with more emphasis on the "romance". Although I'm not sure that some of it really qualifies as romance. I needed to read a book set on a different planet and this book takes place on a planet called Hetar. It is a cross between a medieval world/magic world with mythical creatures. Women are treated horribly of course, and men are brutes. Lara is a half-faerie girl who's own father sells her into slavery, yet she is completely fine with this, and sees it as her destiny. If I had my guess I would say this is an early novel of this author. She repeats herself way too much, and one term that was used way too often was manroot. It was easy to read and there were parts that I enjoyed, but Lara was not really a likeable character. Many of the situations were just offensive to women and unresolved. Not my favorite book but some redeeming elements. In looking at how this novel was classified I did see historical fiction. This novel is in no way shape or form historical fiction. The only thing remotely correct was that in the Middle Ages a serf could run away from his lord and for a year and a day and be considered free. This was used in the book but in reference to a slave which would have been incorrect in the Middle Ages. Definitely NOT historical fiction.
December 21, 2012
I LOLed reading this book. Not because the author insists on calling penises manroots, or that there is cheaply depicted sex every eight pages. No, I giggled uncontrollably because the writing itself is so bad. Her phrasing, her dialogue, her word-choice, the hackneyed plot...it is all terrible. It's like the author ran the story through a Fantasy Novel Generator set to an 11 year old's writing ability and submitted it for publishing.
This is close to being the Manos, the Hands of Fate of fantasy books.
This is close to being the Manos, the Hands of Fate of fantasy books.
March 11, 2011
If you haven't read this book, then don't read this review! lol I really enjoyed this book at the beginning but later on, I started to get annoyed. Lara just kept telling everyone her story and it came off boastful and repetitive. When she enters the Outlands, she's too showy. She steps up and has the answers for everything. Things fell into place too neatly and it seemed only Lara was the one who could save everyone. Like everyone else wasn't smart enough. I was annoyed with how parts of the book was written and like I said, things were too perfect. But overall, minus parts where Lara came off too perfect and so much smarter than everyone else, I did enjoy the book, believe it or not. lol
April 13, 2021
Lara is a total Mary Sue, the plot wanders, and the writing gets pretty purple on the (copious) sex scenes. And yet I am invested and want to find out where Lara's destiny will go on to lead her. What sorcery is this?!
July 27, 2021
Pure Bertrice Small
Half fairy half human, Laura has grown up in the human world, the daughter of a poor mercenary. She is beautiful, almost too beautiful, and that beauty is also precious. When she is sold by her father, Albeit reluctantly, into slavery, she enters a world that is both sensual and savage.
As the story progresses, it is revealed that Lara has a destiny. Destiny that takes her from the great city To the towering and savage forests and to the mysterious and hot deserts and even beyond.
�
So if you’re not familiar with Bertrice Small’s writing I kind of need to warn you that it is incredibly old school romance and also incredibly off the rails. This is not your typical category romance. First off, the story is very plot and heroine driven. Yes, there is romance. Yes, there is a happy for now ending. But the person that the heroine ends up with at the end of this book is not the person that she first makes love to, nor if this book follows true to form will he be her final love. I say this is somebody who has read tons of small’s work.
So now onto some actual trigger points. There are triggers for the following: rape, sexual slavery, prostitution, violence against women, violence in general, body trauma, sexism, misogyny, and veiled racial micro aggressions.
The story takes place on a fictional world known as Hetar. A world that has four moons and is fairly medieval/Renaissance in tone that’s very high fantasy. There are different nationalities within this world the midlands which is a sort of amalgam of northern Europe and England. The city which is located in Midlands which is very medieval Paris/Rome. The forests which are very northern Europe. The desert kingdom which is very ottoman empire. And the coastal Lauren’s which Aren’t really featured much in this booking till the very end. And also the outlanders who are a very much a mix of Native American and Celtic traditions. The world is sort of interesting there’s definitely magic and sword fighting. And there are mystical creature such as elves talking animals shape shifters and giants. So if you like true high fantasy romance this definitely is for you.
As with all of small’s novels, this book is very heavily sensual. But it is not erotica. The plot is too important and there’s not nearly enough sex. But that said, there are lots of sex scenes. But not as many as I have come to expect in smalls work. However, if you are familiar with small’s work you know that the author will show rape scenes and occasionally the heroine will respond to the rape physically even as mentally she hates it. It’s actually something I appreciate about small’s writing. Since as a rape victim I can attest that sometimes your body reacts when your mind doesn’t want it to.
The characters are OK. Lara is very similar in personality to both Janet Leslie from the Kadin and Skye O’Malley. In a way, Laura is almost too perfect. And while it can be hand wave the way that her instincts guide her so perfectly and sometimes have trouble with how right and how perfectly things worked out for her.
A massively loved a couple of the other characters in this book. Particularly one of the shadow princes, Kaliq, who is likely to play a major role in future books. Her husband reminds me in many ways of Nile from the first Skye O’Malley book. He’s OK, very old-school alpha male. And I don’t love that he tricks the heroine into doing something with him.
Ultimately this is a fairly typical Bertrice Small book. I enjoyed it. But readers of modern Romance may not. And that’s OK. If you want a bonkers Journey that is old school romance but also completely off the rails. Then I really recommend you check this book out. It’s fun. But it’s also got problems. It’s not as engaging as some of her earlier works like the Kadin, Blaze Wyndham, or Skye O’Malley. It reminds me more of the love slave, the enchantress, and Adora. Additionally people may not be used to some of the old school conventions including a wholly omniscient third person POV and some now discredited tropes.
But because this was fun and it brought me back to when I was in high school and reading all of the Romance novels I could get my hands on this gets�
Four stars
Half fairy half human, Laura has grown up in the human world, the daughter of a poor mercenary. She is beautiful, almost too beautiful, and that beauty is also precious. When she is sold by her father, Albeit reluctantly, into slavery, she enters a world that is both sensual and savage.
As the story progresses, it is revealed that Lara has a destiny. Destiny that takes her from the great city To the towering and savage forests and to the mysterious and hot deserts and even beyond.
�
So if you’re not familiar with Bertrice Small’s writing I kind of need to warn you that it is incredibly old school romance and also incredibly off the rails. This is not your typical category romance. First off, the story is very plot and heroine driven. Yes, there is romance. Yes, there is a happy for now ending. But the person that the heroine ends up with at the end of this book is not the person that she first makes love to, nor if this book follows true to form will he be her final love. I say this is somebody who has read tons of small’s work.
So now onto some actual trigger points. There are triggers for the following: rape, sexual slavery, prostitution, violence against women, violence in general, body trauma, sexism, misogyny, and veiled racial micro aggressions.
The story takes place on a fictional world known as Hetar. A world that has four moons and is fairly medieval/Renaissance in tone that’s very high fantasy. There are different nationalities within this world the midlands which is a sort of amalgam of northern Europe and England. The city which is located in Midlands which is very medieval Paris/Rome. The forests which are very northern Europe. The desert kingdom which is very ottoman empire. And the coastal Lauren’s which Aren’t really featured much in this booking till the very end. And also the outlanders who are a very much a mix of Native American and Celtic traditions. The world is sort of interesting there’s definitely magic and sword fighting. And there are mystical creature such as elves talking animals shape shifters and giants. So if you like true high fantasy romance this definitely is for you.
As with all of small’s novels, this book is very heavily sensual. But it is not erotica. The plot is too important and there’s not nearly enough sex. But that said, there are lots of sex scenes. But not as many as I have come to expect in smalls work. However, if you are familiar with small’s work you know that the author will show rape scenes and occasionally the heroine will respond to the rape physically even as mentally she hates it. It’s actually something I appreciate about small’s writing. Since as a rape victim I can attest that sometimes your body reacts when your mind doesn’t want it to.
The characters are OK. Lara is very similar in personality to both Janet Leslie from the Kadin and Skye O’Malley. In a way, Laura is almost too perfect. And while it can be hand wave the way that her instincts guide her so perfectly and sometimes have trouble with how right and how perfectly things worked out for her.
A massively loved a couple of the other characters in this book. Particularly one of the shadow princes, Kaliq, who is likely to play a major role in future books. Her husband reminds me in many ways of Nile from the first Skye O’Malley book. He’s OK, very old-school alpha male. And I don’t love that he tricks the heroine into doing something with him.
Ultimately this is a fairly typical Bertrice Small book. I enjoyed it. But readers of modern Romance may not. And that’s OK. If you want a bonkers Journey that is old school romance but also completely off the rails. Then I really recommend you check this book out. It’s fun. But it’s also got problems. It’s not as engaging as some of her earlier works like the Kadin, Blaze Wyndham, or Skye O’Malley. It reminds me more of the love slave, the enchantress, and Adora. Additionally people may not be used to some of the old school conventions including a wholly omniscient third person POV and some now discredited tropes.
But because this was fun and it brought me back to when I was in high school and reading all of the Romance novels I could get my hands on this gets�
Four stars
June 15, 2018
I didn't hate this and really there were some aspects that were really nice (like the world building), but overall this was one of the weakest books I've read this year.
Lara is the daughter of a faerie mother and human father. Her faerie mother leaves her and her father (for reasons that become apparent later in the story) and the father eventually remarries. Lara grows into a lovely young woman and the stepmother eventually convinces the father to sell her for service in the Pleasure Houses so that he can get the money and supplies that he needs to be accepted into what amounts to knight training. Lara is not sold to the Houses but given to a trader for transport to the coastal lands for sale as a Pleasure slave. This is the start of many adventures involving Forest Lords, Shadow Princes, and Outlanders among others.
There were several annoying aspects to the story. First, it was overlong - it took me 2 months to read this. So am I a slow reader? Not if it's good. I read in less than a week and it was longer than this, but the writing excelled. Here there were quite a few parts that dragged and would have improved with some judicious editing. This was 600 pages that could have easily been told in 400-450. Secondly, there is soooo much emphasis on Destiny. Give me a break. I get it already. Why does absolutely everyone hit me over the head with this?!? Next, I get bored when the MC is so damn perfect. Lara is a teenager and can negotiate with merchants better than her stepmother. She is so calming on her trek to the coastal lands. In fact, her only flaw that I see is the fact that she 'does not believe in love'. Yawn. Finally, there's a huge build-up to a confrontation between the Outlanders and the Hetarians, and then...pffft. Wha??? I'm done - done with the book and done with the series although there are loads of unanswered questions and unresolved plotlines.
Lara is the daughter of a faerie mother and human father. Her faerie mother leaves her and her father (for reasons that become apparent later in the story) and the father eventually remarries. Lara grows into a lovely young woman and the stepmother eventually convinces the father to sell her for service in the Pleasure Houses so that he can get the money and supplies that he needs to be accepted into what amounts to knight training. Lara is not sold to the Houses but given to a trader for transport to the coastal lands for sale as a Pleasure slave. This is the start of many adventures involving Forest Lords, Shadow Princes, and Outlanders among others.
There were several annoying aspects to the story. First, it was overlong - it took me 2 months to read this. So am I a slow reader? Not if it's good. I read in less than a week and it was longer than this, but the writing excelled. Here there were quite a few parts that dragged and would have improved with some judicious editing. This was 600 pages that could have easily been told in 400-450. Secondly, there is soooo much emphasis on Destiny. Give me a break. I get it already. Why does absolutely everyone hit me over the head with this?!? Next, I get bored when the MC is so damn perfect. Lara is a teenager and can negotiate with merchants better than her stepmother. She is so calming on her trek to the coastal lands. In fact, her only flaw that I see is the fact that she 'does not believe in love'. Yawn. Finally, there's a huge build-up to a confrontation between the Outlanders and the Hetarians, and then...pffft. Wha??? I'm done - done with the book and done with the series although there are loads of unanswered questions and unresolved plotlines.
August 29, 2012
Why did I hate this book so much? One word sums it up: manroot. Possibly the worst euphemism that I have ever been unlucky enough to read. I swear the sex scenes are so unsexy, it almost ruined my actual sex life.
A little plot summary: Lara's father and stepmother sell her into slavery so he can buy nice clothes and armor so he can try out to be a knight. Lara is cool with this, because they are poor and she is the only thing of value that her dad has. Lara's mother is a fairy, who seduced her dad and then abandoned them. Lara will probably become a "pleasure woman" (uh, prostitute) but things don't work out that way. She can't be sold, since she's so perfect that everyone will fight over her and she'll ruin business for everyone. (apparently, on this world everyone has exactly the same sexual taste, they all prefer blonds.) Lara ends up going on a journey to be sold somewhere else, and other stuff happens. Really, who cares? This book begins with some characterization, but then gets bored with that and describes what happens. No one is really sketched out with much detail, and the world building is haphazard, at best.
Lara is also one of the worst Mary Sues I have seen in a while. She perfect in every way, beautiful, smart, wise (beyond her years), diplomatic, a shrewd bargainer and has perfect fashion sense. She masters every skill with ease: Innate fairy birth control? Check. Expert swordswoman? Check. Shape-shifting? Easy. Starting fires by pointing at wood? Child's play. I could go on...
Don't read this book. If you want to read a fantasy with a strong female protagonist, try Jacqueline Carey's "Kushiel's Dart" or Lois Bujold's "Paladin of Souls" or P.C. Hodgell's "Godstalk." Just don't waste your time with this book.
A little plot summary: Lara's father and stepmother sell her into slavery so he can buy nice clothes and armor so he can try out to be a knight. Lara is cool with this, because they are poor and she is the only thing of value that her dad has. Lara's mother is a fairy, who seduced her dad and then abandoned them. Lara will probably become a "pleasure woman" (uh, prostitute) but things don't work out that way. She can't be sold, since she's so perfect that everyone will fight over her and she'll ruin business for everyone. (apparently, on this world everyone has exactly the same sexual taste, they all prefer blonds.) Lara ends up going on a journey to be sold somewhere else, and other stuff happens. Really, who cares? This book begins with some characterization, but then gets bored with that and describes what happens. No one is really sketched out with much detail, and the world building is haphazard, at best.
Lara is also one of the worst Mary Sues I have seen in a while. She perfect in every way, beautiful, smart, wise (beyond her years), diplomatic, a shrewd bargainer and has perfect fashion sense. She masters every skill with ease: Innate fairy birth control? Check. Expert swordswoman? Check. Shape-shifting? Easy. Starting fires by pointing at wood? Child's play. I could go on...
Don't read this book. If you want to read a fantasy with a strong female protagonist, try Jacqueline Carey's "Kushiel's Dart" or Lois Bujold's "Paladin of Souls" or P.C. Hodgell's "Godstalk." Just don't waste your time with this book.
April 19, 2015
I could pretty much sum this book up in one word- manroot
I couldn't even finish the whole book because of the sexual assault or lust over a fifteen year old girl that was described in disturbing detail on almost every page. As much as I tried to get past this and enjoy the main plot, (young half faerie girl is sold into slavery to support her family) I couldn't because of strange and gross ideas such as rouged nipples, naked teenage girls on silver dishes and a main character that strips naked every time a man asks to see her- in fact, she seems to spend the majority of her time completely naked with people looking at and commenting on her body- something which I was uncomfortable reading about.
The writing itself in this book was also pretty average which didn't help at all and I found most of the characters pretty boring.
To those of you who managed to finish this book- you are a stronger person than me.
I couldn't even finish the whole book because of the sexual assault or lust over a fifteen year old girl that was described in disturbing detail on almost every page. As much as I tried to get past this and enjoy the main plot, (young half faerie girl is sold into slavery to support her family) I couldn't because of strange and gross ideas such as rouged nipples, naked teenage girls on silver dishes and a main character that strips naked every time a man asks to see her- in fact, she seems to spend the majority of her time completely naked with people looking at and commenting on her body- something which I was uncomfortable reading about.
The writing itself in this book was also pretty average which didn't help at all and I found most of the characters pretty boring.
To those of you who managed to finish this book- you are a stronger person than me.
August 27, 2011
I liked this book although I found that the author kept repeating the SAME STORY OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER regarding the main character and it was annoying. Aside from that it was interesting.
Read
April 10, 2008Even though I love this author this story was a little to far fetched for me. I like to stick more to her historical romances.
July 8, 2017
This book was wild from start to finish and I enjoyed every second of it. You can tell Bertie had fun writing this one. Lol
February 8, 2018
Now that I've slogged my way through all 6 books in the series (more or less - you can't blame me for skipping through patches just to keep my large intestine from leaping up to strangle my brain, a la Grunthos the Flatulent), I feel I can give a better review, based on the perspective of the whole. Or do I mean hole ?
Since this is a review that looks at the series in a general, over-arcing way, I will try to hide spoilers for the rest of the books, for those that insist on subjecting yourselves to the pain of continuing onward. I'm not judging you - I did it myself, mainly because I thought the other books had to get better - but I give you fair warning.
When I first started the series, I was intrigued by the premise: half-faerie girl sold into slavery, escapes, and goes on an epic journey. But the story quick deteriorated from there. Small was no Tolkien. Or Burroughs. Or Jordan. Or - oh, you get the picture! I found myself actually feeling embarrassed for the author at various stages of the series. Although I enjoyed some of her historical romance books, due to the feeling of period and atmosphere she was capable of creating, here I felt she struggled with trying to create an entire fantasy world, with its own interior logic. Clearly drawing from existing fantasy works, and leaning strongly on faerie folklore and Norse mythology, Small appeared to get tangled up in what to keep or discard from her sources of inspiration. There is either too much scope (she might have done better to keep it to a trilogy) or too little scope - for as Lara traipses from one locale to the next, despite the change of landscape, the characters end up feeling much the same. Small's foreshadowing is heavy - every major character gets a good dose, to the point where I, as a reader, just lost interest. Lara's "destiny" being one example - at some point, you just want the author to fish or cut bait, already.
Since a lot has been said here of Lara's irritating perfections - I'd like to laughingly point out that, as someone who is pretty damn clueless about her supposed destiny, and what exactly the hell that entails, she's basically the Forrest Gump of the Hetar series.
I'm not hyper-sensitive to the many, many sex scenes (I can see "manroot" has triggered a lot of reviewers) Small included. However, I did get really tired of the over-emphasized mantra of "that's all the women are here for" repeated in most of the kingdoms throughout, which, of course, meant that Lara had to show everyone in the series how much butt she could kick - while also "taking pleasures" (honestly, that was the repeated phrase that made me start to twitch) with whoever she wants to bonk. The borrowed bits of faerie folklore used to manufacture Lara's character were a handy "out" in most cases; Frankly, it made Lara a less sympathetic character than she might have been. And there is a sameness to the sexual encounters overall in the series - you could switch the names out at any given time and for the most part you wouldn't know which characters were at it. I found myself wondering if Small actually had a quota for how many sex scenes to include per book - that gave me a bit of a giggle.
I will say, the "light" and "dark" issue was a burr under my butt that just didn't go away, over all 6 books. Over-simplification, anyone? I'm not disparaging the depiction of evil as real, but Lara's judgement was really suspect, as someone supposedly "of the light", who won't acknowledge the possibility that a good person can do something bad, and a bad person can do something good. That just wrecks a character's insight and foresight.
As a side comment - how many "d'oh!" moments are they allowed in this series? The main characters would've had permanent marks on their foreheads for all the times they needed to smack themselves and say, "Oh shoot - I should've thought of that!". Bad plot device to get around previous resolutions.
There are a couple of positives to admit to: I liked some of the lesser characters,
For those that are curious about the great "destiny" of Lara, I will end with a little spoiler rant, which I will hide, so you other intrepid souls can ignore it and go back to your reading of the series.
Since this is a review that looks at the series in a general, over-arcing way, I will try to hide spoilers for the rest of the books, for those that insist on subjecting yourselves to the pain of continuing onward. I'm not judging you - I did it myself, mainly because I thought the other books had to get better - but I give you fair warning.
When I first started the series, I was intrigued by the premise: half-faerie girl sold into slavery, escapes, and goes on an epic journey. But the story quick deteriorated from there. Small was no Tolkien. Or Burroughs. Or Jordan. Or - oh, you get the picture! I found myself actually feeling embarrassed for the author at various stages of the series. Although I enjoyed some of her historical romance books, due to the feeling of period and atmosphere she was capable of creating, here I felt she struggled with trying to create an entire fantasy world, with its own interior logic. Clearly drawing from existing fantasy works, and leaning strongly on faerie folklore and Norse mythology, Small appeared to get tangled up in what to keep or discard from her sources of inspiration. There is either too much scope (she might have done better to keep it to a trilogy) or too little scope - for as Lara traipses from one locale to the next, despite the change of landscape, the characters end up feeling much the same. Small's foreshadowing is heavy - every major character gets a good dose, to the point where I, as a reader, just lost interest. Lara's "destiny" being one example - at some point, you just want the author to fish or cut bait, already.
Since a lot has been said here of Lara's irritating perfections - I'd like to laughingly point out that, as someone who is pretty damn clueless about her supposed destiny, and what exactly the hell that entails, she's basically the Forrest Gump of the Hetar series.
I'm not hyper-sensitive to the many, many sex scenes (I can see "manroot" has triggered a lot of reviewers) Small included. However, I did get really tired of the over-emphasized mantra of "that's all the women are here for" repeated in most of the kingdoms throughout, which, of course, meant that Lara had to show everyone in the series how much butt she could kick - while also "taking pleasures" (honestly, that was the repeated phrase that made me start to twitch) with whoever she wants to bonk. The borrowed bits of faerie folklore used to manufacture Lara's character were a handy "out" in most cases; Frankly, it made Lara a less sympathetic character than she might have been. And there is a sameness to the sexual encounters overall in the series - you could switch the names out at any given time and for the most part you wouldn't know which characters were at it. I found myself wondering if Small actually had a quota for how many sex scenes to include per book - that gave me a bit of a giggle.
I will say, the "light" and "dark" issue was a burr under my butt that just didn't go away, over all 6 books. Over-simplification, anyone? I'm not disparaging the depiction of evil as real, but Lara's judgement was really suspect, as someone supposedly "of the light", who won't acknowledge the possibility that a good person can do something bad, and a bad person can do something good. That just wrecks a character's insight and foresight.
As a side comment - how many "d'oh!" moments are they allowed in this series? The main characters would've had permanent marks on their foreheads for all the times they needed to smack themselves and say, "Oh shoot - I should've thought of that!". Bad plot device to get around previous resolutions.
There are a couple of positives to admit to: I liked some of the lesser characters,
For those that are curious about the great "destiny" of Lara, I will end with a little spoiler rant, which I will hide, so you other intrepid souls can ignore it and go back to your reading of the series.
January 18, 2021
I've always enjoyed highlander novels by Bertrice Smalls but have not lately read any of her current works. This is an audiobook that I selected for a big listen challenge. Where to start...this was a very slow listen and very dull. The story was descriptive and sometimes hard to follow. The other drawback that I had with this listen was that the story was not more in line to a historical romance but hinged more on erotica...too much in some places. I did like the world development at the end and how the book ended.
As this was an audiobook listen, Chrstine Rendel is a new narrator to this reader and her narration was good. For me, this wasn't the best from Bertrice Smalls and I give this a 2.5 Stars (rounded to 3 Stars).
As this was an audiobook listen, Chrstine Rendel is a new narrator to this reader and her narration was good. For me, this wasn't the best from Bertrice Smalls and I give this a 2.5 Stars (rounded to 3 Stars).
November 7, 2024
Don’t know what to make of this book, it was definitely on a crazy side; entertaining but deeply disturbing at the same time�
April 20, 2015
I don't know what I was expecting with this book as I haven't read a Small novel in years but I was pleasantly surprised. The world is Hetar. Lara is a half faerie/half human born to a mercenary father who aspires to greater things. Her mother had left her when she was an infant but left her with a spirit guardian. Her father, desperately needing money, decides to to sell his beautiful daughter to one of the Pleasure Houses where she can be trained as a courtesan. But the Pleasure Houses start fighting over her and ultimately her beauty is a distraction and she is sold to the Forest Lords who want her to break an ancient faery curse. But Lara has a destiny and the Forest Lords are not it. Instead she finds a way to escape the. And begins her travels with the Shadow Lords and then to the Outlands. During her travels she discovers pleasure, happiness and love but this is only book 1, she's only begun to find her destiny. If I haven't made it seem that interesting, that was not my intention, but it was unexpected. It's not full of wild sex the way Skye O'Malley was but neither is it full of rich world building. But it is entertaining. Lara is a strong character. And she makes other women stronger by her presence. I'm not going to rush to read book 2 but I am happy that I read book 1.
March 20, 2015
Porn. This really doesn’t fall in the romance category; romance requires relationship and there are no romantic relationships here until page 377. I was about to totally dismiss this book when I noticed an odd little something: the inner voice the heroine hears. In 50 Shades of Gray (a comparable book) the inner goddess seems to be a symbol for listening to your gut. This inner voice (Ethne) is instead the inner God, saying “You are loved, you do not need to be afraid, no matter how bad it is, I am with you, I have a plan for your life, you are chosen, you are blessed, you are on a journey.�
The story line takes for granted a curious lack of bonding. Not romance, no. And it was so boring, I confess to skimming for ideas. That was not as inane as it sounds. There were some generalized ideas stated baldly: women find power in sex, men are soothed by sex.
The story line takes for granted a curious lack of bonding. Not romance, no. And it was so boring, I confess to skimming for ideas. That was not as inane as it sounds. There were some generalized ideas stated baldly: women find power in sex, men are soothed by sex.
May 13, 2016
Mrs. Small wrote these kind of books before: the innocent female lead gets raped first by someone, but she puts this experience quite fast behind, and moves on with her life. This girl might even fall for her rapist. Nothing new here.
Small always had some cheesy parts like, peculiar words for private parts (manroot/sword/etc.) or one scene per book where characters get high during their sex by comparing themselves with horses/cows/whatever_big_animal having sex. But previous books had at least interesting historical setting and/or plot. This one is a fantasy book, and Mrs. Small has definitely lost the only element that made her books a bit interesting. Shame.
Small always had some cheesy parts like, peculiar words for private parts (manroot/sword/etc.) or one scene per book where characters get high during their sex by comparing themselves with horses/cows/whatever_big_animal having sex. But previous books had at least interesting historical setting and/or plot. This one is a fantasy book, and Mrs. Small has definitely lost the only element that made her books a bit interesting. Shame.
February 17, 2021
This book is pretty close to atrocious, honestly. That being said - it's simple. There's nice world-building. It's a good mental escape. Other than that, Lara is as exhausting as every teenager, and super repetitive about her *** DESTINY *** and where it will take her.
June 21, 2011
Possibly, the worst book I have ever read, although 50 Shades is riiiiiiiiiiiiiight up there.
Why did I finish? I am still not sure. Stubbornness, I suppose.
Why did I finish? I am still not sure. Stubbornness, I suppose.
August 8, 2011
Small was one of the first romance authors I fell for but her newer stuff - and the fantasy business - just falls flat for me --- couldn't finish
Read
December 27, 2014Miniseries: The World of Hetar
Category: Fantasy
Category: Fantasy
April 20, 2012
Slow and over complicated.
August 30, 2015
4.5 stars I really enjoy every time I enter hetar
December 13, 2019
Picked this up on the cheap as a nostalgia buy to see how the favorite romance author of my extreme youth had updated herself in the millennium. The answer is, she hadn’t. And romances written about ‘strong women� by second wave feminist authors are often fairly awful in the full light of new millennium day.
In this case, it’s noncon with bells on. The heroine is sold into sexual slavery by her (loving!) father to further his career. Then she’s raped by couthless forest men who buy slaves to serve as pregnancy vessels and then kill them. Next she meets a super handsome immortal guy who teaches her ‘trust� via group sex with his male pals (no swords cross because queer people don’t exist.) Finally, there’s the prince of the plains who forces her into an unwanted marriage.
Oddly, the sex itself is dull and pro-rata. The early Bertrice Small was erotic AF and constantly pushing the envelope. But this was phoning it in, with a lot of ‘manroot� thrusting not even worth skimming.
The heroine was the only strong, smart, leadery woman (aside from one other she winds up having to speak up for.) Sorry, but a lone strong, powerful woman isn’t a feminist story. ‘You’re not like other girls� is misogyny.
The story in the end turned out to be a preachy retro �70s allegory of capitalist colonizers (the men who sold the heroine into sexual slavery) versus peaceful indigenous people living in tune with the land (when not busy forcing women passing by into marriage.) With some random fae you barely see thrown in. Meh.
Lastly, omg did it need a solid edit. For example, the heroine repeats her backstory to every single person she meets, so, we have to read it over and again because she meets a lot of people. 30% of this noncon fest could have been cut without losing a thing.
I’ll always have a soft spot for the classic Bertrice Small books, which were also noncon as hell but at least sexy with it. However, I shouldn’t have followed her into the 21st century.
In this case, it’s noncon with bells on. The heroine is sold into sexual slavery by her (loving!) father to further his career. Then she’s raped by couthless forest men who buy slaves to serve as pregnancy vessels and then kill them. Next she meets a super handsome immortal guy who teaches her ‘trust� via group sex with his male pals (no swords cross because queer people don’t exist.) Finally, there’s the prince of the plains who forces her into an unwanted marriage.
Oddly, the sex itself is dull and pro-rata. The early Bertrice Small was erotic AF and constantly pushing the envelope. But this was phoning it in, with a lot of ‘manroot� thrusting not even worth skimming.
The heroine was the only strong, smart, leadery woman (aside from one other she winds up having to speak up for.) Sorry, but a lone strong, powerful woman isn’t a feminist story. ‘You’re not like other girls� is misogyny.
The story in the end turned out to be a preachy retro �70s allegory of capitalist colonizers (the men who sold the heroine into sexual slavery) versus peaceful indigenous people living in tune with the land (when not busy forcing women passing by into marriage.) With some random fae you barely see thrown in. Meh.
Lastly, omg did it need a solid edit. For example, the heroine repeats her backstory to every single person she meets, so, we have to read it over and again because she meets a lot of people. 30% of this noncon fest could have been cut without losing a thing.
I’ll always have a soft spot for the classic Bertrice Small books, which were also noncon as hell but at least sexy with it. However, I shouldn’t have followed her into the 21st century.
February 4, 2019
I've read some of negative reviews on here and I agree with the sentiment that how Lara is treated at first is appalling but it is presented as appalling. The other reviewers seemed to miss that point.
So here is the basic story line. Lara is a half fairy girl who learns both what love and sex can be at their best and at their worst. If you arent comfortable with the idea that rough sex play can be enjoyed by some then you probably won't enjoy this book. In her travels Lara meets a bunch of magical creatures and learns to be a strong independent woman through all the ups and downs life throws at her. Lara goes from an innocent virgin teenager to an experienced strong wife and mother.
I enjoyed this book as well as the rest of the series. But I will be the first to admit these books arent for everyone.
So here is the basic story line. Lara is a half fairy girl who learns both what love and sex can be at their best and at their worst. If you arent comfortable with the idea that rough sex play can be enjoyed by some then you probably won't enjoy this book. In her travels Lara meets a bunch of magical creatures and learns to be a strong independent woman through all the ups and downs life throws at her. Lara goes from an innocent virgin teenager to an experienced strong wife and mother.
I enjoyed this book as well as the rest of the series. But I will be the first to admit these books arent for everyone.
September 26, 2021
This book was absolutely awful and couldn't even redeem itself with the few "sexy" bits. I kept reading out of obligation but when my digital library loan ended, I didn't feel compelled to finish the book because it was seriously just so so so bad. It doesn't even deserve 1 star.
The characters were poorly developed and shallow, the main character just goes along with everything following her "destiny".
Don't waste your time on this book. Definitely don't pay for it. You're better off reading fanfic because the plots and writing will be a million times better.
And if you take a look at my reading. History, you'll notice I dont often bother writing a review, and am usually really easy to please. So to rate this so low, not be able to finish the book, and take the time to write about how awful this book was, really says something.
The characters were poorly developed and shallow, the main character just goes along with everything following her "destiny".
Don't waste your time on this book. Definitely don't pay for it. You're better off reading fanfic because the plots and writing will be a million times better.
And if you take a look at my reading. History, you'll notice I dont often bother writing a review, and am usually really easy to please. So to rate this so low, not be able to finish the book, and take the time to write about how awful this book was, really says something.
May 17, 2022
Strange book. I thought it would be a fun fantasy, but it was pretty much erotica with a fantasy backdrop. It seems an odd choice to do all that world building, but then have everything else be shallow. A lot of telling and not showing.
Also, often characters would just go along with odd decisions and there would be no real consequences. Like, her husband tricks her into marriage after knowing her for a day and she's just fine with it??? What?! It's well established that the MC has a distrust of men. Then the supposed love of her life, who she barely knows, manipulates her in a horrible fashion to essentially possess her and she just goes with it? Wth.
I'm giving it two stars instead of one solely because of the interesting world building.
Also, often characters would just go along with odd decisions and there would be no real consequences. Like, her husband tricks her into marriage after knowing her for a day and she's just fine with it??? What?! It's well established that the MC has a distrust of men. Then the supposed love of her life, who she barely knows, manipulates her in a horrible fashion to essentially possess her and she just goes with it? Wth.
I'm giving it two stars instead of one solely because of the interesting world building.
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