Prince of Tricks by Jane Kindred

18714334Title: Prince of Tricks
Series: Demons of Elysium, #1
Author: Jane Kindred
Genre: Angels & Demons / Alternate World / Kink & Fetish
Length: Novel (375 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-61922-089-8
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (January 7th, 2014)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
Blurb: When desire rises, angels will fall. One, by one, by one…

Over the past century, Belphagor has made a name for himself in Heaven’s Demon District as a cardsharp, thief, and charming rogue.

Though the airspirit is content with his own company, he enjoys applying the sweet sting of discipline to a willing backside. Angel, demon, even the occasional human. He’s not particular. Until a hotheaded young firespirit steals his purse—and his heart. Now he’s not sure who owns whom.

A former rent boy and cutpurse from the streets of Raqia, Vasily has never felt safer than in the arms—and at the feet—of the Prince of Tricks. He’s just not sure if Belphagor returns those feelings. There’s only one way to find out, but using a handsome, angelic duke to stir Belphagor’s jealousy backfires on them both.

When the duke frames Vasily for an attempted assassination as part of a revolutionary conspiracy, Belphagor will do whatever it takes to clear his boy’s name and expose the real traitor. Because for the first time in his life, the Prince of Tricks has something to lose.
Purchase Link: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/prince-tricks-p-73194.html
Review: This was a most refreshing book, the world it was set upon was Heaven itself, though a very intriguing and enticing view, not at all the cliché Heaven we’ve been bored out of our head off. To say I loved it would be accurate yet lacking something. Lacking the fact that this book nearly sent me spinning into fanfic mode, it was so inspiring and so enticing that you couldn’t simply read it without letting your imagination soar wild in this word.

The characters we meet in this wonderful tale are two lovely, albeit completely different from each other, demons. Set in a world where demons are the lowest form of life and angels feel more than entitled, these two characters draw you in an adventure a bit dark, a bit kinky, and way too dangerous from which you don’t want to escape.

Belphagor is a self-made character, strong and cunning, his smarts and wits are what have granted him the title Prince of Tricks. He is also a very dominant creature in bed, his inclinations being a lot on the rough and cruel side. He appears to have no weaknesses…
At least that’s what our second star of the story believes. Vasily, a rent-boy and former thief forewent his life, as he knew it when he met Belphagor. He gave himself to this seemingly uncaring airspirit, even as his heart hurts with the uncertainty that colors this relationship. Being a firespirit and a hothead, he constantly finds himself in peculiar situations until he gets in the worst predicament ever, charged with attempted murder against the very crown. Penalty is immediate death and both Belphagor and Vasily must take a wild journey through intrigues and emotions in order to survive this obstacle. For where Vasily has his life in the line, Belphagor has his heart.

I loved the tale, oh my God a fascinating one. It had action, conspiracy, a well-threaded plot put in a lovely pace that kept you always on your toes and most of all, and this damned relationship that was not just a relationship. Belphagor is a wild creature, a cruel, cruel “master” always goading and humiliating his “sub”, and as for Vasily, well the fact he’s a firespirit should give you a hint or two that while he submits it doesn’t happen easily and it’s always loaded with defiance. It is absolutely fantastic to read and damn well written too. So, you might wonder on the quotes I put for the words “master” and “sub”. It’s the fact that these words are never once worded in this book, though that’s exactly what Belphagor and Vasily are to each other. It’s the fact that there are no labels when it comes to the nature of relationships in this world, except perhaps when it comes to interactions between Angels and Demons. There are still judgments and slurs, but in a kind of different way, that makes it utterly non-Earthly, and that it made this book such a sweet and original read.

I could keep on going on and on about the nature of the dynamic between our protagonists, the fact that there were way too many lovers and non-lovers and m/f scenes and orgies, and sharing of partners, all written gloriously resulting in exquisitely hot and pant-worthy scenes, but I’m going to refrain. Because in the end you have to read it yourself and find the magic of this Hell of a tale. What I can do is recommend that jump through the rabbit-hole, or the Ascend of the stairway to Heaven, or the Fall from the Celestial… Ah, there I go and lose myself again. Damn this book stole my head.

Recommended!

 

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