Review - Thrown to the Lions: The Complete Series by Kim Dare

In a modern English town, there's a pride of werelions, all men and all gay. Human men from the town can volunteer to be literally thrown to the lions for a night sexual escapades. Some do it for money, some for the thrill, others are just curious about what goes on. Most of the men will return from their encounter and resume their lives, but for just a few their lives will be changed forever. This collection of four novella length stories tells the tale of four such men for whom their night with the lions is not what they expected.

In Ryland's Sacrifice, Ryland is a young man studying for his PhD, but having a hard time coming up with the money to finish his degree, as you will these days. Having exhausted all other options and unable to ask his family for help, he is left to either try to get the money from a loan shark, or volunteer to be thrown to the lions. The idea of what the lions might do makes him nervous, but that's nothing compared to finding out that the professor he's had a crush on is actually the head of the pride. Professor Arslan is very happy that the young man who has sat in on his lectures has come to him, but things don't go the way he hopes.

This first story in the series is a hot and sweet little romance. The story relies very little on the shifter aspect of the fantasy, which makes it a little more believable, within the already far-fetched concept of “being thrown to the lions” persisting to the present day. I wasn't quite convinced by Ryland's initial reluctance to start a relationship with Arslan, but as “subissive issues” in these stories go, it's not the most unbelievable.

Marrick's Promise he makes to himself is to live his life to its fullest. Getting thrown to the lions is just another thrill to check off his list. It's not an experience he expects to repeat. What he doesn't count on is meeting not one, but two lions who rock his world much more than a whip-wielding leather dom could ever hope to. But is submitting to two lion masters something he can bring himself to do?

This second episode of the series offers a bit more believable story line. Even before we get his full back story, it's not hard to understand why Merrick wouldn't want to have a relationship with even one man (or lion) who was so risk-adverse they wouldn't want him to do anything even slightly dangerous. We can also understand the lions Blaine and Luthur's point of view, although it becomes even clearer once we get the full details of their experiences.

Many subs from the local leather club have volunteered to be thrown to the lions, and they say everything is okay, but some of the Doms aren't so sure, so it becomes Ellery's Duty to check things out by getting himself thrown to the pride. Ellery may be agreeing to submit to the lions for a night, but he still exudes a dominant vibe and most of the lions aren't interested. Kefir isn't like the other lions of the pride, or any other lion he knows. He's smaller and doesn't have the slightest urge to dominate anyone, human or lion, and he's fascinated by Ellery. But lions can't be submissive, especially to a human, can they?

The first two stories of this series have driven home the “fact” that werelions are bigger and stronger than humans, and therefore it falls to the lion to protect “his” human. Kefir's suddenly clear feelings about what he wants from Ellery clash with everything he's been taught about how lions and their human mates should relate. Not only does the young lion have to battle his own inner conflicts, but he has to face the disapproving comments from the rest of the pride.

The last story in this collection is Cameron's Pride. Cameron walked out on his old pride and they didn't come after him. Since then he's been on his own, and has been earning a living as an exotic dancer and rent boy. But while Cameron may be willing to sell his body and his time, he's not willing to sell his soul. People like Franklin think that everyone and everything has a price, and he wants Cameron no matter what the cost. He's about to get a hard lesson about the limits of his wealth and the control he buys with it.

Franklin is the perfect personification of the spoiled rich man who thinks he can buy whatever, or whoever, he wants. Cameron's desire to stay in control of his own life is understandable even if he proves a bit stubborn about accepting help. The lion's attraction to a man he wants to hate is clear. I'm a tiny bit dubious about Franklin's turnaround under Cameron's attention. It's a bit of a stretch but works well enough within the confines of the story.

“Thrown to the Lions” is available from Smashwords or Amazon (commissionable link).