Review: Plunder

Plunder by Kari Gregg

My rating: 3 of 5 stars





When a Prince who is a master only wants to be the slave, how does the slave respond?

Micah is still reeling from all the changes. Roughly a fortnight ago, he's been liberated from Xerxes' torturous raping hands. Micah owns Eli yet he knows Eli is much more than just a slave. To Micah, Eli is his Master and savior. How is it that no one else but Micah acknowledges this? Could it be because Micah is back to being a mute?

This book is frustrating for the majority of the first half. The point of view from Micah will drive many a reader crazy. Micah is headstrong and deliberately cuts his own nose off to spite himself. His memory of being a Prince is slowly coming back to him. What he learns makes him angrier, yet he doesn't do anything about it. Or rather, he does do something about it. He does exactly the wrong thing. Every faux pas he could make and he knows it too, he does it. He says he does it because he is so frightened and doesn't know any better. I think it's because he is a dumbass and needs some sense knocked into him. This is a victim who is so stuck in victim mode that the first half of the book is an exercise in patience.

It appears this is purposely written in this manner because it is revealed that Eli knows full well Micah needs a kick in the pants. In order to "knock" some sense into Micah, Eli employs some Machiavellian methods. When Micah becomes upset with the truth, I want to smack Micah. I have no patience or empathy for this child. His irrational logic is beyond my comprehension. Ms. Gregg creates a character that seems to have no redeeming qualities. I'm about ready to kill the boy myself.

Finally well past the halfway mark, PLUNDER becomes more riveting. It isn't that Micah is growing up or becoming better; it's because his memories are coming back. And with his memory returning, he suddenly finds a purpose to life. This child sees the world in only black and white. There is no in between for him. If this were a poker game, he'd be sitting out every single hand and whining the entire time with some pathetic non-verbal words. Then out of the blue, he would play one hand, just one. This hand, he would go all in. Micah is this kind of extremist. Is it admirable? Perhaps for some, but for me, I can't stand it.

Eli is the one who makes it for me. He's loving, supportive and sacrifices everything for Micah. The amount of sacrifice is beyond measure and once Micah realizes all the ramifications, he too is blown away. I don't think Micah deserves it. Micah seems to feel the same. Why does everyone want Micah so badly?

This is when Ms. Gregg introduces more of the world she's built. The reader learns a smidge more about this medieval type world where there are witches and special elusive Northern people. Exactly what these Northern people are, the reader is never told. Will it be revealed in the next book? One can only hope.

PLUNDER ends with a Ms. Gregg trademark – unresolved. She leaves us hanging and wanting more. While the conflict in each book is concluded, she does not leave us with a happily ever after. There IS an impending sense of something else yet to come and the reader IS left clueless. We will have to wait with abated breath for her to grant us a glimpse into this world. My only comment to Ms. Gregg is – writer faster. This m/m romance story is recommended for those who enjoy brow-beating angst.



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