Review: I humbly put my hand up to be a BETA reader!!!!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 12, 2013
I came across this story whilst perusing Amazon.  The premise intrigued me and I absolutely ADORE anything remotely like a Beauty and the Beast story.  BUT, after reading all the positive reviews, one thing kept jumping out at me, spelling and grammar issues with this book!  That is my top pet peeve!  So my finger hesitated over the click to buy button.  All of a sudden, my finger pressed the add to 'wish list'.  I was going to wait in the hopes that the author would correct the mistakes so it could be read smoothly.  Sadly, I couldn't wait and 'clicked to buy' fairly soon after putting it on my list.Thus began the adventure!  I won't rehash the plot as many other reviewers have done better than I could.  I LOVED Grim!  The whole Tornian world was so engaging and interesting!  The customs that the men developed, the intrigue going on between the 'Houses' for supremacy to becoming the Emperor!  The males reactions to the children that Lisa brought with her. How they treated 'females'. What a ride!There were fundamental questions that I felt weren't answered though.  How did the 'females' from earth get chosen?  Was it just a case of being alone, 'unprotected' as the Tornians called it?  Or were they nabbed when they were in a quiet moment?  Maybe they were taken whilst at work during a smoke or coffee break?  Where did the women come from?  Were they all abducted from English speaking countries?  or did they come from all over Earth? There was mention of Grim recognising that all the women were different looking but it brought out the hair colour and eye colour of a few of the women only.  It seemed like red heads and blonds got nabbed.  We only got to meet a few of the women, but their information was basic at best.What caused the 'plague' or disease that prevented Tornian females from giving birth to girls?  How did the disease come to be in the first place?  It seemed to be the general explanation that 'The Goddess' was punishing the Tornian males?  But that question was never answered fully.I also had difficulty with the age of Lisa.  She had two children under the age of 5 and her husband died at age 27.  She met him at age 15, WHEN SHE WAS DRIVING AND SHE HAD PROBLEMS WITH HER CAR!  Mark was 18 at the time.  In what state in America is it allowed to legally drive at 15?  Nowhere did it mention her parents were with her as well!  Only that they didn't agree with the match and tried to discourage the two love birds from getting together so young.  Lisa was also taken almost a year after Mark died, making her current age when she meets Grim, 24. The age just doesn't add up for me.  And I am one of those annoying readers that get hung up on stuff like that! They must have gotten married and preggers right after Lisa graduated from High school.  So she married when she was 18 and Mark was 21, started studying design, had Carly at 19 and Miki at 22, when Carly was 3 and her husband was sick.  Mark dies when Lisa is 23.  Then it mentions she was taking an interior decorating course and she only had 2 years left of study.  Yet she had her oldest child starting kindergarten in the autumn!  That would put Carly around age 5.  When her husband got sick, it was 4 years since she had 'relief' of the sexual kind.  It just doesn't seem plausible that all that could happen in such a short time to someone that young.  Plus the maturity displayed by her was someone far beyond her years.  I don't know of any 24 year old with THAT much wisdom!  I do realise that one matures with ones experiences, but I had to suspend my disbelief a couple of times.When Lisa did leave, there was no mention of leaving her parents or any other family members behind.  With the exception of her a**hole brother in law Peter.  Whom I would want to leave too!The sex could have been explored a whole lot more!  There was mention of some kind of a 'blow up doll' toy that Tornians use to find 'relief' because of the shortage of females.  Lisa mentions that with earth women, that 'toy' knowledge wouldn't help them much!  I was waiting for Lisa to explore her mate more than she did.  It was focused on what Grim did to and for her.  But there was no detail of her exploring his body, or oral pleasure for him!  I was hoping she would blow his mind in a physical way, and not just emotional!  Given that the society revolves around women and satisfying their needs, I was waiting in vain for Lisa to unleash her 4 years of frustrations!  It never happened.Now on to the positive.....The world created was in my mind, to be quite medieval.  Grim lives in a castle.  Even the assembly to a certain degree reminded me of 'The House of Lords' in the way it was situated.  There was no 'Speaker of the House' that role belonged to the Emperor.  Each house had their own colour assigned as well.I loved how Lisa asserted herself amongst the males of that world.  She really put them on their posteriors!  It was really fun to watch.  I liked how she challenged their ways and encouraged change for the better.This was an awesome book.  BUT....EDIT, EDIT, EDIT!This is a keeper!I await for the next instalment in the series!