2015 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: The Harem Master by Megan Derr

[reviews_and_ramblings]

The Harem Master (Tavamara) by Megan Derr
Bisexual Fantasy Romance
Paperback: 456 pages
Publisher: Less Than Three Press (May 13, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1620044137
ISBN-13: 978-1620044131
Amazon: The Harem Master (Tavamara)
Amazon Kindle: The Harem Master (Tavamara)

Lord Demir has spent his life trying to appease a brutal, selfish king, and keep the concubines under his care alive-and now he is on the verge of losing everything. The council wants to abolish the harems, there are no heirs to the throne, and the foreigners control the Steward. One wrong move will tip tensions into civil war. Crown Prince Ihsan returns to find his home in turmoil, and the royal court so full of vipers it's impossible to say which of them will strike first. Removing his father from the throne, one way or another, should be a simple matter. Staying alive and proving himself a worthy king will be far more difficult. Crown Princess Euren has spent the last five years in hiding so that she could not be used against her father or Ihsan. But she is the daughter of a soldier, never meant to wear a crown, never trained to fight battles where words are the weapon of choice. If she hopes to keep herself and her loved ones alive, she'll have to learn fast.


I'm normally pretty tough on the setting score. It's hard to me to give a book a solid 10 in that category but this book was well done.

Beautiful plot, I love these oriental atmospheres. Really well-written, great descriptions, charming and engaging. One of the best books I read. Now I need to read the first two ones.

The society in which a harem is considered sacred was beautifully drawn. Lots of intrigue and fighting. The third in a series—I hadn’t read any of the others but I didn’t feel lost reading this title.

Here's an inspirational comment: Preconceptions about stories set within a harem should definitely be cast aside. Prince Ihsan's harem is portrayed as a socially acceptable, sacred and honorable tradition with a proud history, and it's made up of seasoned warriors rather than soft nobles. Each character in the story is fully fleshed out and his own man, and you fall in love with all of them as these men form friendships and bonds of devotions. Court intrigue mixed with a polyamorous romance in a fantasy setting? Brilliantly done.