I picked up a copy of A.S. Etaski‘s Treasure Revealed at Savers. Since it’s the second book in a series, I ordered the first one, No Demons But Us, with the intention of reading them together.

My sister deserved to die, but I didn’t kill her. The infamous Sisterhood couldn’t care less – it’s the perfect excuse to make their move. My name is Sirana. I am a young Noble trapped in a most wretched accused of assassinating my sister, the Matron’s heir. If I take the blame, I am next on the sacrificial altar.

Dark Elves live for intrigue in our underground matriarchy. We bend the rules for the cunning and the bold. To survive, I must play the game.

Court intrigue, demonic rituals, and mind-rending trials against deadly foes surround me, pervasive webs spun by our sadistic priesthood and the Queen’s brutal enforcers.

Through it all, the Red Sisters delight in watching me. I must prove myself beneath their ravenous gazes, engage in the power play, or become the next meal for our goddess.

Another reviewer described this book as if it “was written by the Dungeon Master that lost the point of the quest in favor of just getting down with everyone and everything in the campaign.” Personally, I think it feels like sexed-up R.A. Salvatore fan fiction, which is interesting because Salvatore is not among the inspirations the author gives in her GR author blurb. But you won’t convince me that the characters and events of this book are not set in Salvatore’s world. Period.

I wouldn’t hate that in general. I’ve not read all the Dritz novels, but I’ve been fine with the ones I have read, even if I didn’t love them. But this book…Yeah, I came pretty close to hating it. In fact, I actually own the first two books. As a book hoarder, getting rid of books I’ve not yet read feels very unnatural. But I won’t be reading book two (let alone searching out the next eight). It will go straight on the gieaway stack unread.

This is basically an erotic fantasy, which I read a lot of. So, this fact alone isn’t a problem for me. What was a problem was that I found absolutely none of the sex sexy. In fact, most of it is either rape or simply shoving things in a vagina…or netherlips…or netherhole 😬 . Even non-sexy sex might not have killed it for me. But despite the book’s lack of trigger warnings, there is almost no sex that involves people who both consent and enjoy themselves. There’s plenty of sex: sex as rape, sex as dominance, sex as duty, sex as hazing, sex to ‘learn’ someone, sex as a test, sex as a sign of endurance, magically impelled sex, the list goes on. But sex because someone wants to and is enjoying it? Very little of that is on the page. And if non-con is your jam, more power to you. The book is dedicated to “…my husband and companion, who did not know on our wedding day he had married one of his favorite authors.” So, apparently, Etaski’s husband does. But it is not my jam.

Just because most of the sexual abuse is at the hands or orchestration of other women does not give me any less of an ick. In fact, it adds an additional layer for me. Like Salvatore’s dark elven Drow, Etaski’s Davrin are matriarchal. But this matriarchy feels very patriarchal. As if Etaski merely made the men women, and the women men, but did not otherwise change the power structures or social hierarchies. As such, it still feels, to me, very misogynistic. I enjoyed none of it.

What’s more, so very much of it made no sense for its stated purpose. Want to test if someone will be a good spy? Let two men and a half demon rape her. That’ll for sure give you a good idea of her spy capabilities. Want to form a bonded, loyal group of women? Allow 40 other women to do whatever they want to the new one, so long as it includes sex. That broken arm and 2 weeks of coercive sex will for sure endear her to the group. Want to assess someone’s improvement in martial skills? Pit her against two fully-trained women wearing magical phalluses, winning points earned by forcefully penetrating the novice. What? Why? What exactly is any of this training her for?

And again, no judgment if this is something others enjoy. But this is my review of my experience with the book, and I am so glad to be finished with it and relieved to not be forcing myself to commit to completing the second.

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