Chain Of Thorns

It happened so quickly. Riven McDaniel was on his way to class with graded essays and the next moment, he was being taken on a spaceship. Thousands of humans were taken. Then he saw it happen; a battle of the two alien ships, which ended with Earth blowing up. On the ship where he is being held, he is trained when to eat, sleep or exercise.

Eventually the men and women are divided up with colored bands marking them either slave or warrior. When one of the aliens approaches him, it pauses. The alien realizes that not only is Riven a homosexual, but deep down inside, he desires to be dominated. He is given to Master Phoenix as a reward. Master Phoenix, out of kindness, takes an image from Riven's mind of his first love. The mixed emotions are havoc on Riven. For that image is of Eduardo. His first love and almost his demise. Master Phoenix will have to prove to Riven that a good master would never hurt his slave. This will be a long road for the both of them.

In Chain of Thorns Willa Okati has told the story of a broken young man. This man, Riven will grip the reader from paragraph one. He is strong, intelligent and brave. Even though he has lost his homeland, he moves forward. I found myself fascinated with the flashbacks Riven has of his relationship with Eduardo. I must warn the future readers of this story that Eduardo has many facets of personality. Some I really hated and felt very sorry for the innocent Riven. After being reintroduced to Master Phoenix, I can see that he will be a different kind of master. Even though he is of a difference species, he shows more humanity then Eduardo ever did. I would highly recommend this tale of dominance, submission and redemption.

Reviewed by: Anita