Format: Kindle, 347 pages
Release Date: October 31st 2022
Publisher: Hijinks Ink Publishing
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
Plucked out of the Collector’s Pens, auctioned
off to a vampire contingent, and sent across the ocean to the Alpha
Territories was not exactly how I planned to spend my week.
Actually, scratch that. I had
planned the first bit. But I was supposed to be sold to the werewolves
so I could save my friend from a fate worse than death. Instead, the
bloodsuckers have me and so far? It's not going great. I've been shoved
into a corset and made to look like an extra on the cast of Bridgerton,
all to take part in the Harvest Games—think The Bachelor set in the
1800s, but the men are all vampires, and then add a decidedly terrifying
Squid Games element to the mix.
No problem.
My
goal—besides keeping the number of holes in my body to the current
norm—is more than surviving. It is escaping the inescapable, finding my
way to the werewolf territory, and getting Jordan back.
Cue the political strife.
Armed
with nothing more than a super sharp hairpin, my questionable charm,
and an irrational amount of optimism plans to get both me and my bestie
out alive are in full swing.
Until the General of the Vampire
Army and his molten eyes light me on fire and leave me wondering if
escape is what I want after all.
Maybe one extra set of holes wouldn’t be the worst thing ever...
Taken by Fate is the first installment in author Shannon Mayer's The Alpha Territories series. Apparently, inn this world, "The Veil" fell 15 years ago which allowed supernatural creatures such as vampires, werewolves, angels and demons to appear. These creatures are no longer hiding in secret, but showing humans that they apex predators. Thanks to an exchange system, a few lives are sacrificed in order to save millions of lives. Sienna's friend Jordan was captured by werewolves, so she intentionally allows herself to be caught so that she can find a way to save him.
Except for the fact that Sienna gains the attention of certain vampires like the Earl of Dumont, and Dominic, who is the General of the Crown Prince's Army. In this world, humans are used as food, servants, and entertainment. After Sienna is sold to Dominic, she soon finds out that she is expected to take part in a games called The Harvest Games. Upon her arrival at the vampire castle she quickly finds out she will be competing with a number of young and beautiful women to either catch the eye of one of the wealthy males or become part of the royal staff.
She decides to bide her time until she could escape and continue with her plan to rescue her dear friend. Sienna has some secrets about that are slowly revealed. What she didn’t count on was the pull she has to Dominic, General of the Crown Prince's Army, and be bastard son of the King. Dominic is dealing with his own internal vampire politics. He adores his younger brother William, but his older brother Edmund is playing a dangerous game and anyone who stands in his way, including innocent women participating in the Harvest Game, are open game.
It is fair to say that this story tends to lean on the extremely dark side with human trafficking, and women being raped, and killed by beings that appear like dragons. Sienna plays a dangerous game herself by getting the wrong attention from a certain Earl, and then learning that her friend may be closer than she thinks. The only problem is avoiding the Duchess who rules the games, the diabolical Crown Prince Edmund, and the mysterious Dominic who feels Sienna's pull, but is afraid of losing emotions for fear that his brother will make Sienna his play toy.
Sienna is a scrappy, resourceful, animal lover, who tames a wild horse, and maybe its owner, but struggles to conform. She's the "most likely to fail" contender, but I personally think that the author is intentionally keeping secrets about her background and why her friend was really caught. Also, where are the alleged vampire hunters who are causing problems? They don't show up once in this book so why mention them at all. Also, Dominic's relationship with one of the werewolves needs to be explored in further depth. Which, alas, is why this book ends on a cliffhanger!
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