Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Bound to the Beast
SERIES: Bound for the Forest #2
AUTHOR: Kay Berrisford
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 198 Pages
RELEASE DATE: August 29, 2018
BLURB:
England, 1588. When a fairy betrothal ritual goes wrong, Tam finds himself bonded to Herne the Hunter. Warrior, legend, and Greenwood spirit, Herne once led the terrifying Wild Hunt, an army of the undead who rode as harbingers of doom.
Herne could be the dominant lover Tam secretly craves, but his past makes Tam fear Herne will only enslave or kill him. But all Herne wants is solitude, which means breaking the unwanted betrothal. But to do so, the pair must travel deep into the dangerous Greenwood, where mutual desire grows increasingly difficult to ignore, and the Wild Hunt bays for blood…
REVIEW:
I don’t know why but I expected this book to be much darker than it was. I love that cover picture of Herne, he looks like a murderous badass, but that wasn’t really the case at all. Or rather, he was a murderous badass with the world in general but when it came to Tam he was more of an awkward grump.
Fifteen hundred years ago Herne was chosen by The Goddess to become the leader of the Wild Hunt, a group of murderous spirits who were evil in both life and death. At first Herne almost reveled in his task as it allowed him to unleash all of the pain from his mortal life on the world. But after so long he simply wants to be left alone to roam England’s forests in peace and seclusion. However a summoning from the Goddess can’t be ignored, and he is pulled back to enchanted Greenwood and finds himself accidently betrothed to a human, Tam.
I really liked the character of Tam, a bit of a victim in a sixteenth century kind of way, a little too-stupid-to-live, but adorable with it rather than irritating. I even liked Herne once I got past my disappointment that he wasn’t a bit more homicidal. They went together perfectly as a couple and I’d like to read the fourth book in the series when it’s re-released which can be read as a sequel to this one and features Tam and Herne as an already established couple. My favourite characters though were the other mystical folk. The fairies who were simply assholes who liked to torture butterflies and the Wild Hunt who had that homicidal flavor I was missing with Herne.
To be totally honest I felt like these two men took too long to give in to their desire. It made the story feel as though it dragged slightly. Having said that, the build up is delicious. The signs and hints that Tam tosses out about his submissive desires, and the dominant Herne who feels he must hold Tam at bay for his own good. When they finally do come together the author ignites the page with some graphically explosive passion that sees Tam fellating Herne’s antlers before being tied over a barrel for a spanking. The sex scenes get all the points!
While this is book number two in the series it can absolutely be read as a standalone. In fact, chronologically, this story comes first. Definitely an interesting read for those that like a bit of violent fantasy.
RATING: 
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