Slave Girl by Lisa Cach

I think I might have gotten a copy of this as a Netgalley ARC years and years ago, but now the whole series is out so I thought I'd buy all the books for fun. Lisa Cach was a bodice-ripper author for Love Spell in the 90s so it was such a fun surprise to see that she was not only still writing, she'd also turned her hand to writing spicy Roman erotica, about a half-Celt, half-Asian slave who's a prisoner to a Roman.

The writing and political intrigue in this book are really well done and even though it's a novella, I feel like the pacing is tight and doesn't feel rushed or uneven. Most of the smut is also great, too. My only qualm is that the book feels uncomfortable at times because her master (who is NOT the love interest by the way) got her when she was young, and he's been grooming her for like nine years in preparation for taking her virginity, and some of his lessons felt very icky (I think they were supposed to). Interestingly, the heroine's hypersexuality and fondness for her master feel more like a matter of survival than titillation, because when she's presented with an alternative future that offers freedom and knowledge, her disgust for him is a revelation.

I'd recommend this to people who liked Game of Thrones and Kushiel's Dart, as I feel like this book has similar vibes, only it feels less exploitative than both of those. The elements of Greek and Roman mythology and geo-politics give this more oomph than it would have had if it were just spice (not that there's anything wrong with that, just that spice for spice's sake doesn't do much for me). I'm glad that I have all of the other books in the series because SLAVE GIRL ends on a wicked cliffhanger.

4 to 4.5 out of 5 stars