As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

A Token’s Worth

(Spawn of Darkness – Book 1)

by S.A. Parker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dark Fantasy, Slow Burn RH

Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited 

Down and Dirty

This one is a toss up – it’s good, but it seems to miss a lot in terms of explanation. Free on KU.

What is it about?

(Blurb from GoodReads)

They like their women barren in more ways than one, void of the bits that make them anything other than an object of male desire. A woman doesn’t need her faculties, or her body in one piece to open her legs.

Dark, brutal, and punishing – this is the world Dell was brought up in. Nothing more than a Lesser Fae female, owned by a master who sells her body to the highest bidder and takes what’s left for himself. She’s been through it all. She’s witnessed it all. She’s survived it all … so far.

Dell unwittingly binds herself to the Sun Gods – four primal, territorial High Fae males who have a taste for power, pain, and pleasure. But they want more from her than she initially expected.

They can read, control and govern her body. They can see through her lies, sense the secrets she’s been cowering from for years. For Dell, the only thing worse than trying to survive the darkness, is the prospect of being dragged back into the light.

Trigger Warnings

This is book one in the four-part Spawn of Darkness series – 38,500 words written from Dell’s perspective. It is a slow burn, reverse harem romance with sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language, sex slavery, explicit sexual content and violence – particularly as the series progresses. It contains subjective content which some readers will find triggering. Intended for an audience aged eighteen years and over. 

Thoughts on A Token’s Worth

Interesting

This was a dark read, but not nearly as dark as some and far from morbid. It borders on sadistic, but with none of those labels attributed to the main male characters, though Dell, our FMC, May mentally dub at least 2 of the quad as such. It’s the other men in her life, the ones that have control and use it, that earn that title…. and when the world becomes a little clearer, the circumstances in which they’ve earned it are horrific.

I’m not quite sure if I like this book or not, as they were parts that quite literally made me close my eyes and cringe. Dell’s constant inner dialogue was also distracting, especially when it appears as if her lady bits are a character all their own – with a voice and will. It’s weird. But good? I don’t know. I will read book 2 to see where this goes though.

Please be aware there IS RAPE IN THIS BOOK! In fact, the opening scene features a group of men raping Dell… though the construct is utilized not as a way to glorify rape, but as a vessel to showcase how mundane and fucking normal such an event is on this twisted and screwed up world. None of the main male characters rape, or even allude to, raping her, so there is that… not that it makes it any better. Just be aware of what you are getting into before you dive in.

Pros:

• Dell is amusing.
• There is something compelling about the narrative, a feeling that you have to keep reading, even if you don’t want to.
• No major transition issues.

Cons:

• FMC rambles….. and it’s not pretty.
• Dell’s lady bits basically talk…. a lot. Her vagina deserves her own name and character profile for the number of times she took over the narrative and tried to influence Dell.
• World building is sorely lacking.
• Still have no clue what is really going on.
• Too short.

Favorite Lines

Would you hate yourself if you became a monster? (3%)

Calm your labia, twat. (17%)

Perspective

First Person, Single POV

Ending Type

Cliffhanger

Rating

NC-17 (18+ only)

Romantic Dynamic

MMMMF – slow burn

Verdict

There is promise in these pages, a promise that hopefully book 2 will fulfill. It sets up well, and though the execution misses some points – and some of the content is horrific – there’s a sense that you just need to know what is going on! Free on Kindle Unlimited.

Published May 10th, 2019

144 Pages

Please note, this is a Dark Slow Burn Reverse Harem Romance with sexual scenes and themes more suited to an older audience. 18+. You have been warned. 

If you enjoyed this review of A Token’s Worth, please consider checking out a few of my other articles.

• Monster by Carmen Caine – A Book Review
• Institute of Rebels by Clara Hartley – A Book Review
• The Culling Trials – Book 3 by K.F. Breene & Shannon Mayer

Your Turn

What are you reading today? Have any great recommendations for me? Leave a comment, I would love to talk!