CLOSED - #55: eBook Bundle of A DISH SERVED COLD and BONDS OF HATE by ANDREW ASHLING

AUCTION IS CLOSED

Item #55: Signed Copies of A DISH SERVED COLD and BONDS OF HATE by ANDREW ASHLING

From Goodreads:

A Dish Served Cold

There is one upside to almost getting raped. It proves that you're at least desirable to someone. Maybe Andrew Ashton is just a little bit too rational for his own good. Not however where it concerns his best friend Sean Denham, scion of a political dynasty, and like him from a privileged background. There's only one problem: Sean is straight. Of course he is.

Being born into money was up until now one of the smartest moves Andrew Nathaniel Ashton VII ever made. It keeps him free from worries about his future, earning a living and more of those trivialities, so he can dedicate himself to the really important things in life. Like getting laid.

In his society indentured servitude, commonly known as slavery, has been reintroduced for several, but mainly economical reasons. It doesn't bother him all that much. Slaves are kept on large farming corporations, in factories, in the backside of stores and such. Out of sight.

Andrew knows slavery exists, and he doesn't approve, but on the other hand, it is not as if he made the system what it is, is it? Yes, there was this one time when it touched him personally, but what could he do about it? It is not as if slavery is ever going to become a personal issue, is it?

Andrew thinks the future, all in all, looks bright and carefree. He thinks he is about to find true love. He thinks he is safe.

He is wrong.

Bonds of Hate


While the kingdom of Ximerion is threatened at its southern border by a major power, the king sends his two youngest sons, the half brothers Anaxantis and Ehandar, as Lord Governors to the Northern Marches where minor raids by wild barbarians are expected. Under the guidance of an old and trusted general, the king hopes to keep the young princes far from the major conflict in the south, while at the same time providing them with a valuable learning experience. The estranged half brothers are rivals, but soon they feel attracted to each other. As if this was not enough of a complication, they begin to suspect that they were set up by their own father. The result is a fierce struggle for power where the lines between hate and love become almost indistinguishable and where nothing is what it seems.

A long and brooding chronicle with bitterness and savage tribes and bloody battles and crowns lost and gained. It will tell about foul betrayal and fighting in desperate situations. About friendship in arms and love in bonds. About devotion against all odds and undeserved tenderness. About reversal of fortunes and growth in adversity.

Be warned: there will be scenes of domination and rape, but never random or unexplained. Of course there will be smut. There will also be incest. The graphic description of armed conflict and the sacking of villages and cities may not be to everybody's taste. Characters you might have grown to love will die and their death will not always be an easy one.

It is doubtful that at the end of the story there will be anybody left who is totally innocent.

Andrew Ashling can be found at http://www.ximerion.com/

Bid on this item by leaving your email address and bid amount in the comments below. Auction ends at 11:59 p.m. EST, Thursday, 3/24/2011.