Book Review: The Golden Dynasty

• Book Blurb

  Circe Quinn, the office manager of a moving company, goes to sleep at home and wakes up in a corral filled with women wearing sacrificial virgin attire—and she’s one of them.

  She figures this is not good and soon finds she’s not having a wild dream; she’s living a frightening nightmare. She’s been transported to a barren land populated by a primitive people, where she’s installed very unwillingly on her white throne of horns as their queen.

  Dax Lahn is the king of Suh Tunak, the Horde of the nation of Korwahk. With one look at Circe, he knows she will be his bride and together they will start the Golden Dynasty of legend.

  Circe and Lahn are separated by language, culture, and the small fact she’s from a parallel universe and has no idea how she got there. Or, more importantly, how to get home.

  Facing challenge after challenge, Circe finds her footing as Queen of the brutal Korwahk Horde and wife to its King.

  Then she finds herself falling in love with this primitive land, its people and especially their savage leader.

  Circe Quinn, the office manager of a moving company, goes to sleep at home and wakes up in a corral filled with women wearing sacrificial virgin attire—and she’s one of them.

  She figures this is not good and soon finds she’s not having a wild dream; she’s living a frightening nightmare. She’s been transported to a barren land populated by a primitive people, where she’s installed very unwillingly on her white throne of horns as their queen.

  Dax Lahn is the king of Suh Tunak, the Horde of the nation of Korwahk. With one look at Circe, he knows she will be his bride and together they will start the Golden Dynasty of legend.

  Circe and Lahn are separated by language, culture, and the small fact she’s from a parallel universe and has no idea how she got there. Or, more importantly, how to get home.

  Facing challenge after challenge, Circe finds her footing as Queen of the brutal Korwahk Horde and wife to its King.

  Then she finds herself falling in love with this primitive land, its people and especially their savage leader.

• My review

  The Golden Dynasty is in my hall of fame.

  That said: awful things happen to Circe at the beginning, and it’s not for everyone. This is a primitive, backwards world where women have very few rights and men hold most of the power. If themes related to consent, women’s rights, and dominance are triggering for you, this one is not a safe pick—read the content warnings and trust your limits.

  If you can get past the opening, the journey is fantastical. This book fully drops you into another world: you’re learning the words, learning the culture, and reacting along with Circe as some things feel shocking and other things feel beautiful in their simplicity. What initially reads as “primitive” also has a lot of magic, and for me it becomes pure escapism.

  To Keep in Mind (Kristen Ashley, Always)

  A few things that might not work for you:

  • Kristen Ashley’s heroines can be hyperbolic in how they speak. 
  • Her heroes tend to be controlling, morally grey, dominant alpha macho men who give orders and expect to be obeyed (not feminist dynamics). 
  • This book leans hard into themes around a harsh society, and again: consent and women’s rights are part of what makes it difficult. 
  • There are also some highly convenient / fantastical plot elements where you might think, what are the odds? (but it is a magical world). 

  If you’ve read other Kristen Ashley and you like her writing, you’re probably fine here. And if you didn’t love book 1, I think this one is way better: the writing felt stronger, and Circe’s inner monologues and reactions worked better for me.

  Romance & Characters

  The chemistry and passion in this book are a huge part of why it works for me—it’s intense, and it’s tied directly to the setting and the dynamics of this world.

  Circe is the perfect protagonist for this story. She has a big personality—vivacious, resilient, non-conforming to what’s happening to her. She’s also funny and hyperbolic in the way she speaks, and she’s very loving.

  Dax (Lahn) is… extremely questionable. He’s alpha macho man to the core: tough, dominant, and speaks in single-word orders like “sleep.” Watching his arc—how he falls for her, and how that shift plays out—was a big part of what made the journey so compelling for me.

  One important note: this book moves fast. It can feel like Circe moves on from the beginning quickly because she’s seduced by this barbarian hero. If that’s something you don’t like, this will not work for you. For me, it absolutely did.

  Spice Level

  This book is very spicy. When I first read it, I was sweating.

  What I love is how Kristen Ashley manages the pacing: when it starts to feel like the spicy scenes could become too much, she’ll sometimes skip the on-page scene so you know it happened without having to read every single moment. It kept me from feeling burnt out, and I never felt like the spice took over the story—but if you don’t like high spice, you’ll probably think this is too much.

  Also: don’t expect a slow build. Things move fast.

  The Golden Dynasty is in my hall of fame.

  That said: awful things happen to Circe at the beginning, and it’s not for everyone. This is a primitive, backwards world where women have very few rights and men hold most of the power. If themes related to consent, women’s rights, and dominance are triggering for you, this one is not a safe pick—read the content warnings and trust your limits.

  If you can get past the opening, the journey is fantastical. This book fully drops you into another world: you’re learning the words, learning the culture, and reacting along with Circe as some things feel shocking and other things feel beautiful in their simplicity. What initially reads as “primitive” also has a lot of magic, and for me it becomes pure escapism.

  To Keep in Mind (Kristen Ashley, Always)

  A few things that might not work for you:

  • Kristen Ashley’s heroines can be hyperbolic in how they speak. 
  • Her heroes tend to be controlling, morally grey, dominant alpha macho men who give orders and expect to be obeyed (not feminist dynamics). 
  • This book leans hard into themes around a harsh society, and again: consent and women’s rights are part of what makes it difficult. 
  • There are also some highly convenient / fantastical plot elements where you might think, what are the odds? (but it is a magical world). 

  If you’ve read other Kristen Ashley and you like her writing, you’re probably fine here. And if you didn’t love book 1, I think this one is way better: the writing felt stronger, and Circe’s inner monologues and reactions worked better for me.

  Romance & Characters

  The chemistry and passion in this book are a huge part of why it works for me—it’s intense, and it’s tied directly to the setting and the dynamics of this world.

  Circe is the perfect protagonist for this story. She has a big personality—vivacious, resilient, non-conforming to what’s happening to her. She’s also funny and hyperbolic in the way she speaks, and she’s very loving.

  Dax (Lahn) is… extremely questionable. He’s alpha macho man to the core: tough, dominant, and speaks in single-word orders like “sleep.” Watching his arc—how he falls for her, and how that shift plays out—was a big part of what made the journey so compelling for me.

  One important note: this book moves fast. It can feel like Circe moves on from the beginning quickly because she’s seduced by this barbarian hero. If that’s something you don’t like, this will not work for you. For me, it absolutely did.

  Spice Level

  This book is very spicy. When I first read it, I was sweating.

  What I love is how Kristen Ashley manages the pacing: when it starts to feel like the spicy scenes could become too much, she’ll sometimes skip the on-page scene so you know it happened without having to read every single moment. It kept me from feeling burnt out, and I never felt like the spice took over the story—but if you don’t like high spice, you’ll probably think this is too much.

  Also: don’t expect a slow build. Things move fast.

Character & romance details

Who will love this book

Ooops, no similar books have been added to the blog yet!