Three jaded legion, one desperate human and a world in need.
Cami will do anything to repair the harm she has caused. Even if that means being taken to Melbak, a land where the creatures who live there, legion, detest humans. Cami holds the key to save the dwindling land that has become crippled by a mysterious, dangerous poison.
The power she holds can only be released by joining a triad. But the three legion who form hers complicate everything.
Tallis, who despises her on sight, determined to punish Cami until she runs. Fenar, who treats everything like a game, and Cami, his new toy. Wellyn, who seems to embrace Cami, but hides his true self like a dark secret.
They think to break her, but these legion have never met a human like Cami, and she will never give in. But as her relationship with her triad deepens, she finds she must fight the attraction that grows. It soon becomes clear that she is in imminent danger if her blood truly holds the power they need.
3.7 stars. Review for the whole duet. This is a supernatural / fantasy RH. Itโs a good duet to read if youโre like me, and enjoyed The Bonds that Tie series by J Bree at first, and then you were disappointed when it went downhill. This has similar ingredients, but this author doesnโt drop the ball, and itโs still different enough to be its own thing. (And unlike the Bonds series, this has real grovel and apology from the guys!)
The plot: the heroine is a normal human living in our regular world, and she has no idea that anything supernatural is out there. She signs up for a mysterious trial where sheโll agree to go somewhere to donate blood on a regular basis, and not see her family again. Itโs all very vague. But in return, her family gets a life-saving amount of money. (We find out why sheโs willing to do this later on โ sheโs aware that it seems weird and sus).
Sheโs shocked to find out that she actually signed up to go through a portal that brings her to this fantasy land inhabited by Legion (supernatural beings that look like humans, but some of them have tails or horns, and X-men type of powers). Sheโs paired with 3 Legion guys to be their โfated matesโ type of thing (itโs not exactly that, but itโs this worldโs version of it. But the โfated matesโ scenario involves them drinking her blood like vampires). Two of the guys are dismayed and angry to get a lowly human, and 1 guy is into it. So, itโs got some Pack Darling: Part One vibes, too.
The rest of the story her adjusting to her new surroundings, figuring out whatโs going on and why things in this world are fucked up, and dealing with 1 guy being a dick, 1 guy being snarky/flirty but siding with the dickish one too much, and 1 being a cinnamon roll. The heroine is likeable, sheโs not a doormat and doesnโt take the dickish guy's treatment lying down. Thereโs also surprise 4th guy. So, this also has that trope I like in some RHs, where the heroine is like, โsurprise, 3 guys who didnโt treat me well โ I have a secret 4th guy whoโs better!โ
This is slightly below 4 stars because although I enjoyed it, I probably wonโt re-read it, or think about these characters much after finishing (which is my criteria for 4-5 stars). And Iโve got some nitpicks with the worldbuilding. Iโm not sure I completely get how this society works, or the structure of it. I wouldnโt say the worldbuilding is bad. Itโs inventive and interesting, and I wasn't confused enough that it threw off the momentum. It just feels a bit thin in some places. Like for example, one of the guys has to learn what coffee is from the heroineโฆbut he also somehow knows what Harry Potter is. Huh?
But my minor quibbles aside, overall, if youโre looking for a new paranormal RH that has the trope, โheroine gets placed with a group of guys who resent her,โ but with some fresh ingredients -- and some real grovel and apology after the guys treat her poorly! โ this duet is enjoyable.
Reading this book felt like someone has set a challenge "how fast can you write a story"
Everything felt rushed
The story itself was very good ๐ A girl "the chosen one" brought from the human world to be a "wet nurse" or an "energy drink" if you want to three immature boys (Huey, Dewy and Louie)
One minute they have her Then bam, they love her Then bam there is a fourth one
I didn't hate the book, but felt like it needed an extra 100 pages for the relationship to develope
The beginning was hard to get through and nothing progressed much throughout the book yet for some reason Iโm going to pick up the next book. It was juvenile, the plot was all over the place and not very clear, things werenโt happening organically and I donโt think I really liked this book yet itโs somehow addicting.
This book kept me up late - I was up until 3am, eyes blurry, and had to increase the font size to finish reading. Late! And then that cliffhangerโฆ I would like book two now, please. I canโt believe Mae kept us hanging like that!
Triadโs Curse is about Cami, who signs herself over to Legion Co. for her blood to be used in experimental trials in exchange for all her familyโs financial woes being resolved. Instead, she finds Legion Co is actually a cover for a race of people on a different plane, Melbak, and that she will be attached to a triad of Legion, giving them her blood to boost their powers. Her joining the triad is a bit contentious, and not all members are amiable to her presence. Humans are dirty and bring disease; even if her blood makes her a strong boost, sheโs not wanted. To earn her place, she must withstand a multitude of trials, as all Legion are required as they come of age to prove their worth, but these trials came closer to abuse.
This was a great enemies-to-lovers romance. I enjoyed that the antagonism between the characters was based on real events, not some miscommunication. One from the triad believed Cami should not be his boost and was intent on trying anything short of physical harm to get her to leave. But she was stronger-willed than he expected and took the misuse. The entire triad is not against her, so she has some support, but her trust is shaken several times.
I feel it is a medium-burn romance focusing on relationship-building before s3xual satisfaction. The scenes are tastefully done and closer to romantic than bodice-ripping.
I loved this book. It is part one of a duet. I look forward to the conclusion in book two.
A mix between 'the cruel prince' and 'wintersong' set in a Jaymin Eve 's world. Yeah, it's a RH. I went in blind and i didn't knew and this is the main reason for not reading the next one in the series. I wanted to know more about their world. They were on a different planet? A different realm?
The whole new dimension is nice with good potentialโฆ if only we couldnโt guess the plot and how it will progress like a thick wool string. My heart is beating for Eyke despite my previous sentence ^^ and I will read the following book JUST for this character.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
By no means a bad duet and quite nicely developed it just I didn't fully vibe with it for some reason.
Had some good angst, world building was unique and characters were okay. I just didn't connect with them for some reason and maybe felt it was somehow predictable?
It did also have a few angsty scenes which were good. Heroine was also not a doormat.
But the reasons as for why certain characters were causing the angst just didn't make sense to me in the end.๐คทโโ๏ธ
โ DNF 56%! Honestly I did not understand a single thing in this book apart from the first 30 pages. So disappointing, had high expectation but i guess thatโs my fault. I wanted a bully romance and i in fact did not get that. the characters were so boring - no personality at all. I just know if I continue reading I will 100% get into a slump.
This book needs some serious editing. As such Iโm just going to post the notes I made as I went along, unedited. Enjoy.
Weird descriptions of relationships (my boys to refer to her brothers) Is it Ma or Mom? Make a choice before I lose my mind Real-life brands are jarring and out of place Grammar mistakes Why would a skirt squeak? How does a skirt squeak? Tone is too heavy for the first chapter, and jarring when thereโs no transition to โthis doctors a DILFโ in the very next chapter. And this tone doesnโt continue in the rest of the book, pick a mood! Confusing sentence combinations A pleasant view of something youโve been calling an apocalyptic place and somewhere youโve essentially been coerced to? itโs way too early to enjoy the view Language? They can read English for some reason but she canโt read their language? Make it make sense, theyโre supposed to hate humans and their dad was the one going to earth. Window seat for Tallis brooding? How would she know that? How do you know this woman is Nakasha? What the fuck is a ratid- why explain what a ratid is only after mentioning them a couple of times like we should know what they are โThe legionโ in reference to one person. Overused and confusing when itโs also the name of their people Sentence variation. Simple sentence after simple sentence after simple sentence; James Joyce would weep Word choice Focused really hard on Wellynโs description but all I knew about the others is bright hair and rattlesnake tail WORD CHOICE!! Never any real explanation of the reason the FMC specifically could work as a boost It felt like the author wrote the book from the authorโs POV with knowing everything before it was going to happen but hastily changed it to appease an editor, who then half assed the actual editing and the portion where it they make it make sense
Finished this book 10 mins into a 3hr flight! WHY DIDNT I DOWNLOAD BOOK2 BEFORE I LOST SIGNAL ๐ซ
Honestly this was a great fast paced story, easy to grasp world building and a harem that has your little bit of everything included( especially that one who fights the bond at all costs and deliciously and painfully hurts the FMC in the process)
I picked this up based off 2 pages I saw on a tiktok, doing this usually leads me down the path of dissapointment, but not this time!
I was so pleased with how quickly this story sucked me in, I do love a FMC who is going through some personal struggles which the harem arnt fully aware of and proceed to treat her terribly. This got me out of my holiday reading slump.
The mystery of the cursed Legion is also really intriguing, even if I have sort of guessed at were it's leading( I think ๐ค) its still fun getting all the clue pieces put together .
๐ค๐ค๐ค
'I couldnโt school my face, not with this most personal dagger to my heart. Everything that had he had done to me before I could shut down, put in a box. But this was too much. On todays of all days. My knees buckled and I slid to the ground'๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ
๐ค๐ค๐ค
All in all I loved this book and now that I'm back in the land of WiFi I will be immediately be downloading the free book with the boys pov to the end of book1 and then straight onto book 2 ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ
TROPES ๐ค ENEMIES TO LOVERS ๐ค Bullying ๐ค Forced proximity ๐ค RH / WHY CHOOSE ๐ค Heartbreaking cliffhanger ๐ค MMC's with demonic/monster parts ( rattle snake tail/tentacle arms/fangs) ๐คBlood drinking
Iโm obsessed with this book! I loved the world, the characters, the plot; I literally loved everything. The spice, angst, tension, all of it was fucking fantastic. I devoured this book late into the night and that cliffhangerโฆ. Ugh. Mae I want to hate you so much for leaving us on that cliffhanger, but I love you just as much for this book! I donโt just want more. I NEED more like I need air to breathe!
What to expect in Triadโs Curse: ๐ค Enemies to Lovers ๐ค Bully ๐ค Forced Proximity ๐ค Why Choose ๐ค Paranormal ๐ค Cliffhanger
thank you mae for giving me an arc of this book! it was super interesting and well written. i actually really enjoyed it, even though some parts were a little cringe. but can we talk about the ending please?!?! that hurt so bad. also PLEASE RELEASE THE SECOND ONE SOON
Triadโs Curse is book 1 in the Power of Blood series. It helped me get out a major book slump. The cover is what first drew me in, but the story is what hooked me. It is a paranormal RH with bullying, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and a cliffhanger ending that will leaving you heartbroken and outraged, but it's soooooo worth it. I immediately downloaded the bonus scenes from the guys POV afterwards, because I needed more! The author did a great job balancing world building and character development. I feel like this a slow to medium burn with a little spice that is ๐ฅ.
Triadโs Curse is multiple POV that follows our FMC, Cami, a human that agrees to a contract that will to help free her family of the burdens she feels responsible for. All she is aware of is that she will take part in a particular trial that involves her blood, and if successful, she will be helping them secure the future for many. She is a very broken woman, and because of that she agrees to the arrangement, knowing she will no longer be able to have contact with her family. Cami will face any challenge or trial thrown at her to ensure her families wellbeing. Cami is so strong-willed, and you will love seeing her give it as good as she gets it. Cami is brought to Melbak, a world where the measurement of ones power determines their worth, and becoming a boost is a huge honor, however, humans are despised. We are introduced to Wellyn, Fenar, and Tallis, the triad that unknowingly got volunteered to participate in the same experiment. So, you can only guess how well it goes when Cami is introduced as the boost for their Triad. One thing is for sure, Cami awakens something different in all of them. Wellyn is undeniably hard not to fall in love with immediately. He is kind, open-minded, and accepting. Fenar takes a little warming up to because of his willingness to look the other way in situations. Tallis is something else all his own. He is so angsty, and is determined to singlehandedly break Cami at any cost, with the exception of physical harm. He believes that if she breaks, she will ask for another Triad. When he finally succeeds in breaking her, you will be left feeling as gutted and utterly broken from the betrayal as Cami. We are also introduced to a 4th character, Eyke, that only Cami can see, and I im excited to learn more about him in the next book. I have a feeling they are going to uncover some major truths in the next book, and there better be a crap ton of groveling. It is going to take a lot to mend my heart.
There were times I laughed out loud, blushed, wanted to throw my kindle, and cry, but the one thing I know for sure is that you will not want to stop reading it, or for it to end. I need book 2 NOW!
I wasnโt sure what to expect going in but I couldnโt put it down. Iโm not a huge fantasy or paranormal reader. I have a love/ hate relationship with bully romances. I like the edge but mostly authors donโt do a good job at redemption for the bullying and that is a turn off to me. When Iโve seen this one mentioned in reader groups itโs specifically that book two has a good grovel and thatโs ultimately what pulled me in here.
Tallis is foul, truly. Iโm not sure how this author is going to redeem this guy. Heโs a cruel, entitled brat. All his bullying antics to h are pathetic and extremely childish. Sheโs not even bothered by his ridiculous behavior which enrages him further. I would like to thank this author for not letting h fall to pieces at his bullying. I hate it when the h acts all tough in public and falls apart in private. This h is truly unbothered by his petty antics.
NOW - he does finally get to her in the end. I have a feeling heโs going to be the one deeply regretting his actions. Iโm ready for a grovel. Spoiler below ๐ . . . . . . . . The h feels responsible for her familyโs troubles. Obviously, she isnโt really, but guilt is a bitch. She happily accepted all this crap knowing her family was benefiting. She only had a few pictures she was treasuring. Suspecting the man child in charge would act like a giant infant if he found them she did everything she could to protect them.
In his desperate throws of bratty behavior he ends up locating them and then setting up an elaborate plot up destroy them and devastate h. This is his betrayal.
There are some spicy scenes here. Like 2 of them. They are ok but not overly spicy. If I understood them correctly it was all foreplay. I donโt really count those personally because they seem unsatisfying to me as a reader. Itโs better than no spice at all though ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ.
There is an OW who Tallis wanted as his boost. Unfortunately for the man child sheโs not a boost and if she was she definitely didnโt want him. He was like a brother to her. She was actually pretty friendly to h.
โTriads Curseโ is hands down one of the best books Iโve read this year.
โTriads Curseโ is about a human woman, Cali, who ends up unknowingly sacrificing herself to give her family a better life. Once taken from earth, she ends up on another plane where sheโs assigned a group of men (hence the term: triad) to be their Boost. A Boost is, in other words, their own personal blood bank.
At this point, youโre probably wondering if this is just another vampire reverse harem. If youโre thinking that, youโd be completely wrong as this is even better. The three men are called Legions, and while they live in a dying plane, theyโre absolutely not demons. Part of their life means that they need powerful blood to grow powerful themselves. Cali is the most powerful Boost that theyโve seen in a while, and the story that ensues is Cali navigating her feelings for these three men, while slowly realizing that not everything in this deal is as it seems. Of course, this is also a bully romance, so you can expect that not all members of the triad are welcoming to the idea of human blood.
This book has so many of my favorite tropes, all with a side of organic harem building. I flew through book one and I canโt wait to start seeing teasers for book two. While I canโt stand reading unfinished series, I actually look forward to revisiting this world in the future, and I canโt wait to see how Cali makes the men grovel in book two.
I received a free copy of this book from The Smuthood in exchange for an honest review.
Non-spoiler review - This book was super refreshing for me. While it definitely had some common troupe themes (the shy guy, the charassmic guy, and then the a-hole), I felt like it was unique in a lot of the story line compared to some of the recent books I have read.
FMC Cami signs up to give her blood for a large payout for her family. Little does she know, this means being taken to a different world where she will become the Boost in a Triad. Too bad her Triad isn't excited to have her.
Spice ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ.5/5
Plot 4/5
Pace 4/5
Character Personality 3/5
Character Growth 2/5 (I am hoping the next books will delve more into some of this)
This book does end on a cliff hanger and I absolutely cannot wait until the next book!
Slight spoiler below ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ I normally love the morally grey character. Unfortunately this is one of those books where it is going to take a LOT for me to forgive this one and like them. I just don't like Tallis and think he's a spoiled brat. But omg, Wellyn is the cutest!!!
I didn't like any of the guys at first, but Wellyn grew on me when he decided to grow some backbone and push back against Tallis and then I loved him. As for Fenar, he initially was just Tallis' bitch who was sooo irrelevant, but then he became likeable and present by the end. I liked how he was jealous. Tallis, on the other hand, was just dick. He was mad a girl he apparently loved didn't love him back (YES, HE WAS IN LOVE WITH ANOTHER WOMEN). But don't worry, it wasn't true love. Eyke is my #2. He's better than Fenar and Tallis and we barely saw him.
I REALLY REALLY liked Cami. She held her own and was strong. She was immune to the guys' 'usual charms' and made them grovel.
Also, did I understand anything beyond what was happening with Cami and that the world was failing and covered in black goo? No. The politics confused me (probably a me thing ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ). New names were thrown in so often I couldn't keep track.
I liked the ending and betrayal because it means more grovelling, which I love.
I read this in a day. I couldn't stop! I'm addicted.
Cami's character is so well written and multi layered, the triads characters were amazing. Each so different yet have such a bond and protectiveness about each other.
Wellyn is just a cinnamon roll who blooms into a MAN... and the tentacles. Did not see that coming.
Eyke was a surprise that I didn't see coming, I would like alot more of shadow daddy please!
Fenar at first was a little 2 dimensional but damn you changed my mind, I thought eugh hot guy who knows he is hot but in a bad way, but he had a redemption moment and I fell for it!
Tallis on the other hand can go sink in a mud hole or go swim in the lake with cement shoes on. Bad bad tallis.
And to leave me on a cliff hanger!!!!
Cami is going to ruin them for destroying those photos and im here for it.
GET THEM GIRL!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
๐๐๐๐๐๐/๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: I read both of these back to back and my review will be for both books as a whole.
This was definitely a good read. Overall I give it a 3.5 โ rating. (3 stars for me is good. Not as great as 4, or as amazing as 5, but good.) However, it didn't quite live up to expectations, it felt a little too YA, college kids, for me during the first book. But that's just a personal preference. If you're looking for something like that, also with bully romance (first book) then you'll love this!
I did expect this to be a bit more monster romance but it leaned more towards fantasy. Very adult though and extra hot! Lots of dirty talk. Not all of the dirty talk was my jam, but alot of it was good. We do get one knot in the group as well. ๐ Slow burn, takes awhile to really get down and dirty. But trust me, it does.
The heroine was a bit repetitive in how she mistrusted the heroes over anything. I did get a bit antsy and annoyed from it, but she sorts her sh*t out and even admits to herself some of her own hypocrisy at the end. So I felt appeased.
The redemption and growth of the relationship with Cami and Tallis, the bully of the group, was handled well. Nothing was rushed and it concluded perfectly between them. I appreciated that.
Not all of the bullying aspect I was a fan of. I enjoy the drama of a good bully romance as much as the next person, but like I said, it was a bit too college kids for me and it didn't quite hit right for me. The bullying took a more degrading turn sometimes, and even a little physical pain allowed to happen by others, so it was more of a turn off for me. But Cami handled it perfectly and there was a lot of laughs for me throughout because of her so it didn't feel too dark. And the groveling and healing process between them afterwards was good.
Overall this was a good read. It's not a favorite but there are aspects that I fully enjoyed and will easily recall later on. It's definitely a book I will keep in mind for suggestions to certain readers looking for something in this category. It was by no means bad, just not a favorite overall. And I actually really loved the quad-poly relationship that was a one-way. They were a family unit, but the men were only intimate with Cami, and her with them. I find polys like this unique and love seeing them sometimes. Outside of the more often seen poly relationships where the men and women are all intimate with each other equally. As I enjoy when the heroine or MC has the love/ devotion of all partners and is returned to them. I love it!
โญ3,2 Para empezar, aclarar que a mi no me gustan los harems inversos o los libros de poliamor, pero estoy buscando uno que me haga querer cambiar mi percepciรณn, lamentablemente este no ha sido la excepciรณn a la regla ni me ha hecho ver este gรฉnero de otra manea, no me ha terminado de gustar. Lo que es el argumento de la historia, asรญ como la forma en la que estรก escrita, siento que es mejorable en muchos aspectos. He sentido que era un libro muy predecible y con poca construcciรณn del mundo. Ademรกs, a medida que iba avanzando en la historia, habรญa muchas cosas que hacรญan cero sentido, o sea, me puedes explicar por quรฉ para ser parte de la Legiรณn, o para ser aceptados por ellos, tienes que pasar pruebas como llevar una mรกscara porque es "humilllante", llevar una capa negra y comer comida que huele y sabe fatal? La verdad no lo entiendo, cuando mencionaron que Cami tenia que ganarse su respeto me imaginaba que serรญa mediante su inteligencia o su fuerza...en fin....
Otra cosa a comentar, sus personajes, bastante predecibles la verdad. Desde la primera vez que presentan a Cami con su triada ya sabรญa como iba a interaccionar con ellos y como se iba a desarrollar su relaciรณn, y efectivamente, pasa asรญ. La verdad sea dicha, Cami no me ha gustado, he sentido que no hace absolutamente nada para ganarse el respeto de nadie y sigue la lรญnea argumental de ser la "elegida" sin desarrollar nada su personaje. Tambiรฉn me ha parecido un poco exagerada su reacciรณn .
El personaje de Fernar es probablemente el que mรกs me ha gustado; el de Wellyn aunque no estรก mal he de confesar que algo de cringe me ha dado; el personaje de Eyke ni fu ni fa, me es es indiferente; y Tallis nefasto, bรกsicamente su personalidad es la de un niรฑo teniendo berrinches constantemente. Y es lo que he dicho un poco antes, Cami realmente no hace nada para ganarse la confianza o respeto o amor de ninguno de los personajes, lo รบnico que la hace especial es su sangre y ya. No hay personaje que mรกs odie que al que es inรบtil y no intenta cambiar o hacerse fuerte para luchar por la adversidades, simplemente respire y le den todo hecho.
La verdad es que dudo que me lea el siguiente libro, probablemente me vaya directamente al final para saber como acaba esta bilogรญa y ya.