Before I get started, I need to say that my K button is misbehaving. For someone reason, it keeps wanting to put multiple Ks instead of just one, so if you notice extra letters, it’s because either I or Grammarly missed them.
Anyway, let’s talk about Sophie and her latest book. I’ve missed Sophie’s stories, so I’m glad that she’s back. Tribute is fucking hot, and has a lot of hot fucking. It’s a very Sophie book, because you have non-con, darkness, and hot aliens. So, let’s get into the gig, shall we?
Mena is a human woman. She’s been on a ship for the last 10 of her years. She is one of what is probably the last human beings alive. The Earth was falling apart, and her ship and shipmates got launched quickly out to a planet that they had already sent colonists to. They are pretty sure that the planet is either completely unpopulated or the native beings are so primitive, they can be conquered. Well, they are wrong. The humans are headed to the planet Kazir, which is inhabited by an advanced alien species. And, oh, BTW, the previous human colonists are all dead.
Mik’kal is a senator on Kazir. He’s not just a senator, he’s the second highest senator. He’s been working with other senators to figure out what to do with the humans who are on their way. There are 3 choices. Blow them all out oof the sky, enslave them all, or put them all on a secluded island, after taking some of the humans, both male and female, as a tribute. The 3rd decision is the one that gets chosen. The human captain lets the Senate know who can be taken as tribute. The humans are all going to be put up on auction, but the leader of the planet wants Mik’kal to take one of them.
Of course, Mena is one of the tributes. And she doesn’t like the way that he and another male are talking over her. In fact, I love the comment that Mik’kal says to her about the fact he wouldn’t talk to his furniture before buying it, so why would he talk to her. Well, this pisses Mena all the way off, and she manages to kick him right in the balls. Hard. Which prompts Mik’kal to choose her.
One aspect of this planet is that it has something called nirza. It’s like the force, kinda. It’s an energy that ties the people and the planet together. The natives have to test themselves against the nirza in adolescence to learn to control it. As adults, they have to bleed off that nirza, or things turn ugly. Usually, that’s through violence, so society has created battle simulators and blood sports. Anyone who spends significant time on the planet has to deal with the nirza, not just the native species.
Anyway. Mik’kal is an asshole of huge proportions. He didn’t want a slave, and it’s very obvious. He wanted to just be done with the humans. He doesn’t want to worry about the humans infecting his world. The previous humans were all enslaved, and the rose up and killed themselves, and sometimes their children. He doesn’t want to see that happen again, so just be done with them before that can happen. He’s also a very dominating and domineering asshole. He has a huge dose of nirza and a lot of darkness, which he works very hard to keep controlled, at least before Mena. But for all that he’s an asshole, he’s an honorable man. He really wants the best for his world and his people. He makes the hard choices because it’s his duty, and he willing serves his people.
Mena is in a really hard place. She’s now a slave. She may have spent a lot of time reading hard core kinky books, and playing slap and tickle and spank with her friends, but fantasy is a lot different than what she is dealing with right now. For one thing, in her fantasies, there was the chance that the Master had some feelings for the woman and her needs were being met. That’s not how Mena feels. She feels like she’s just a piece of furniture and that she is going to be in pain for the rest of her life, and she really wants everything to be done if that’s all it’s going to be. She spends a lot of time fighting with herself. Part of her likes parts of what Mik’kal does, and part of her hates it all, and hates him too.
One of the things that makes this so Sophie is that we get to see Mena’s struggle to accept what is happening to her, if she can accept it. That struggle shows up in a lot of Sophie’s books, and it’s a struggle that I really like to watch.
Ugh, the human captain. At least he’s not the worst person in this book, but I will argue that he’s the second worst.
OK, that’s all for this one. Go check it out! Happy reading!
In Between the Pages 