Aries

UGH. I really don't know why people are actually loving and craving for this book. None of the elements--characters, plot twists, plot designs, writing style, BDSM sex scenes, alpha male orientations--satiate my taste in books/contemporary romance. What's worse, I feel extremely nauseous throughout the whole <s>reading</s> skimming process.<br /><br />NOPE. This book and the future installments is a big no-no for me.<br /><br />Such an absolute disappointment.<br /><br />Do not recommend.

When Gemma asked if i’d like an arc of this series,i couldn’t reply quick enough,saying YES PLEASE! <br />Because,come on....it’s Gemma James we’re talking about. <br />And i LOVE everything that comes out of her pen,keypad,or whatever she uses to create her dark magic!<br />This series promises to be another one of those dark beauties,and i already love it!<br /><br />Young queen Novalee Van Buren (Love her surname! Small fact:our own royal family uses it as an alias) is orphaned at the tender age of 12,and her evil uncle decides to auction her off when she turns 18. (I already hate the uncle with a vengeance,and i have my suspicions about her parents’ death...)<br />There are 12 “houses” in the Zodiac Brotherhood,and she is to spend a month with the man of each house before the auction. They have met,briefly,when her uncle signed the contract after her parents’ death,but now they will get to know eachother intimately....without taking her virginity,that is.<br /><br />Liam Castle,Chancellor of the 12,is first as the man from the house of Aries. <br />He commands her to her knees at their first meeting,but is (as far as i know at this point) the more gentle of the 12.<br />He gives her a little insight into what to expect,and how to best behave if she wants to stay unharmed. And of all the 12,Novalee likes him most. Because of his apparent kindness. <br />And maybe because she thinks she knows him.<br />But Sebastian,of the house of Leo,does something to her....he intrigues her,and at the same time frightens her,because he awakens something in her....<br /><br />I loved this introduction to Novalee’s story,to what’s to become of her in the year to come....ánd after.<br />I can’t wait to hear how her next month with Heath Bordeaux from the house of Taurus,will be....<br />It sounds....ominous. And deliciously dark...YUM!

Can not recommend - Purchased because I was interested in how Astrology was applied to male characters. However I had to stop reading because I disliked it so much. Firstly, Heroine is disempowered and degraded, and the first sex scene I consider rape, even if she eventually consents, and eventually falls for this Male Character. Can't believe in the next book the Hero character will treat her worse. Not enough warning how dark this book is. DNF TOASTED

Yeah, no. This one is definitely 100% not for me.<br /><br />But please, the person who enjoys reading about rape and virgins, let me know <i> <b>why!?!?!</b> </i> What, pray tell, is enjoyable in reading about a girl who is stripped of all of her power, forced on her knees, blowjob-raped, punished for touching herself, and then humiliated at every turn?<br /><br />I've read my fair share of hot, well-written BDSM books, even dark ones, but this one wasn't even dark.. It was so rushed (and short) that clearly its only purpose was to "shock" the reader by making unwitty and boring men sexually assault a helpless virgin doll. Oh but she sort of liked it, so it must mean everything is fine and dandy! Uh no. None of that makes the book 'hot', it just makes everything icky and gross, and mostly lame.<br /><br />I also wanted to yell: GROW UP! To the book and its characters.<br /><br />So.. GROW UP! And stop writing about virgin characters like they're something super special.

<b>3,5 stelle</b><br /><br />L’ho scelto perché mi ha ricordato i libri della Barbagallo ? con i segni dello zodiaco. È un po’ breve come libro ma il finale sospeso incuriosisce, quindi spero presto nel seguito anche perché la trama ancora non l’ho inquadrata bene.

this book had the potential to be everything that i wanted it to be but then the first "sex scene" was rape so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The book was well-written, but so insanely short (20k words) that only a weak connection could be established between the hero and heroine. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the worldbuilding was also extraordinarily poor.<br><br>However, I liked the premise - a queen is promised to twelve men on her eighteenth birthday, they each get her for a month, at the end there's an auction and she's married to one. They can't have sex with her during their month. It's called a reverse harem, and I really really hope it lives up to that title as a REAL reverse harem, and not one where she only ends up with 2 or less of the 12 men she's spending the year with. <br><br>The sequel doesn't come out until December, which seems a long gap for what's essentially a serialised book, but I'm keen to read about the other heroes!<br><br><a href="http://www.theliteraryinvertebrate.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow noopener">[Blog]</a> - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_literary_invertebrate/" rel="nofollow noopener">[Bookstagram]</a><br><br><a href="http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/theliteraryinvertebrate/media/c%20l%20i%20m%20b%20C2A0e%20v%20e%20r%20y%20C2A0m%20o%20u%20n%20t%20a%20i%20n%202_zpsykn9gbgr.png.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1533226812i/26067187._SX540_.png" alt=" photo c l i m b C2A0e v e r y C2A0m o u n t a i n 2_zpsykn9gbgr.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a>

Aries is fascinatingly new dark story that’s shrouded in mystery, betrayal and uncertainty. Novalee is a reluctant queen who is being forced to bow before twelve angry kings. This first story is a rigid look into what’s sure to be one heck of a twisted fairytale. <br /><br />In Aries, we get an in-depth look at Liam and the budding relationship that him and Novalee are slowly building. It’s both interesting and frustrating, the chemistry between the two is explosive but time does them no favors. She only has one month with him before she’s forced to start the rounds with his brothers. He can be cruel and distant, but he also seems to be the more compassionate one of the bunch. I am curious to see if the intrigue surrounding Liam lasts through the others stories, of if she’ll fall a bit for each one of them along the way. <br /><br />I really enjoyed this book, it’s definitely a fresh premise and I look forward to getting to know each one of the zodiac kings in the very near future.

<blockquote> <b> Afferra il mio mento con le dita calde e delicate e mi solleva il viso, perché lo guardi negli occhi.<br>-Quando compirete diciott’anni, vostra maestà, apparterrete a noi. </b> </blockquote><br><br>Ipnotico. Nessun aggettivo può definire meglio questo libro, queste poche pagine e questa prima puntata (passatemi il termine) della serie La Regina dello Zodiaco.<br><br>Valgono sempre le solite raccomandazioni di non affrontare questo tipo di lettura se non piacciono gli erotic romance, se non si è di mente aperta e bendisposti a conoscere e rimanere affascinati da usi e scene assolutamente fuori dall’ordinario. Non sono libri per qualunque tipo di lettore.<br><br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1607347054i/30486004._SX540_.gif" width="400" height="200" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Non ci sono i cuori e i fiori che affascinano tanti di noi (me compresa), c’è oscurità, violenza, sottomissione e possesso, spinti sempre fino al limite dell’accettabile ma che tuttavia a mio parere non lo superano mai.<br><br><blockquote> <b> Così innocente, eppure così rapida ad imparare. Voi siete una vera sorpresa, Novalee, un’orchidea brillante in pieno inverno. </b> </blockquote><br><br>Novalee è la Regina dello Zodiaco, ha solo diciotto anni e due sole amiche (le sue dame di compagnia), un regno di cui non si sa nulla e un gruppo di dodici uomini che vogliono possedere lei, il regno, il potere, qualunque cosa. Ognuno di loro ha doti e caratteristiche differenti, nessuno poco personalità. I Dodici la possederanno a turno per un mese ciascuno e la “cambieranno”, rendendola consapevole di sé, del proprio potere, del proprio piacere e delle proprie scelte. Ricordiamo infatti che il vero potere viene esercitato sempre dalla sottomessa e solo in apparenza dal Dominatore, che sia uno o dodici non cambia le cose.<br><br>Non posso spoilerarvi nulla, ma se vi ho incuriosito anche solo un po’, lasciatevi ipnotizzare dalla scrittura di Gemma James, perché lo farà. Oh se lo farà!<br><br>Playlist: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4EvLLNSSivaDgAZCWJc9Je?si=PGtaDSk2Tri6smDEixNvug&amp;utm_source=embed_v2&amp;go=1&amp;play=1">https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Ev...</a><br><br>Navillus.<br><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.thedirtyclubofbooks.it/aries-di-gemma-james/">https://www.thedirtyclubofbooks.it/ar...</a>

This isn't a book for everyone. It's full of taboo topics, dubious consent and alpha males... However, I am an avid reader when it comes to these.<br /><br />Novalee is set to marry one of the twelve leaders of the Brotherhood but before that, she must spend a month with each of them; during so, they can have her in whatever way they please, as long as her 'purity' remains intact. <br /><br />This book 'Aries', follows Novalee's first month with the head of Aries, Liam Castle. Although firm, Liam shows he has a softer side for Novalee and claims that he is only occasionally cruel in order to prepare her for the hands of his harsher brothers.<br /><br />This is a very short book (only around 90 pages) so you don't get a lot of world-building, but I'm hoping that will be developed within the rest of the series.<br /><br />This book isn't particularly 'spicy' and only has a few scenes. Most of which are more as a form of control/dominance rather than for passion. <br /><br />Definitely check the trigger warnings for this book!