The Queen of Swords

Villainess Book 1

By: Alana Melos

Narrated by: Rebecca Wolfe

Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Caprice, better known as the villainess Capricious Whim....

Caprice is a woman who works hard and plays hard. She's a veteran villain of Imperial City, and what you might call a maladjusted individual. While she plots to achieve her own goals, she's forced to take whatever jobs may come along, and any unintended consequences from them!

The heroes don't always win in this world, but being a villain has its own unique set of problems.

©2015 Alana Melos (P)2015 Alana Melos

A racy anti-hero villain story, very good!

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was a racy, humorous, supervillain story centered around an engaging dark story. I really enjoyed the narrator, too. Definitely looking forward to book 2.

A Slick Look Into The Mind Of A Super Villainess

“The Queen of Swords: Villainess Book One” is a very good short story that has an interesting and slick mix of a narcissistic super villain with, I think, too many super powers as the main character, some decent action and a twist or two. Also, author Alana Melos, who I am discovering after having read three of her works, incorporates a lot of explicit erotica into her work. If that’s not your cup of tea, consider yourself warned.

Narrator Rebecca Wolfe is simply brilliant. She does an excellent job of bringing the story to life. As an added note, Ms. Wolfe also has a perfect voice for erotica.

The Queen of Swords is the first in a series of Villainess books. There are two that are currently available. Both are worth your purchase

Finally, this audio book was provided by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of Audio Book Blast.

Fun, sexy, with costumes and weapons!

This is a sexy supervillain story set in the fictional metropolis of Imperial City. Caprice (Capricious Whim) is very good at what she does but even she can be bested sometimes. In this tale, she will choose to trade certain favors for info and more. Will her evil plots be thwarted, or merely delayed as she dallies over an evening of pleasure?

This is one of the funnest sexy eroticas I have listened to in some time. I love the supervillain theme with all the costumes, super powers, and characters with loose morals. Caprice herself has the dual powers of telekinesis and telepathy, though each has it’s limits. Couple those powers with her swordsmanship, and you have a formidable foe. She’s not above a little murder and mayhem if it suits her needs or if someone tries to double cross her. I love her practical take on wearing Kevlar when needed and always going armed.

The main plot is pretty straight forward. She meets her ‘work’ associate Michael at a night club and they go meet Harry Sidowski together for this possible job. Michael is a unique villain in that his body has two souls – Michael’s and a vampire’s. After talking with Harry, they team up to take on the job, which they do but Caprice loses her sword and is injured. Later on, she will go on the hunt for her sword and more.

While the plot does move along pretty darn quickly, the author does let us linger over the sex scenes. Most of the scenes are energetic but pretty straight forward – one female, one male, various positions. Yet even though they are basic, they are written very well. In fact, I was surprised steam wasn’t coming off my audio player! There is one domination scene (with Caprice doing the dominating) that was OK for me. Caprice’s character wasn’t as excited about it as the other participant, so there wasn’t as much passion as with the other scenes. I really liked that the men in the story varied in height, weight, physical fitness, etc. Over all, it is a sexy, fun story that involves costumes, sexytimes, and a touch of violence.

I received a copy of this audiobook at no cost from the author (via Audiobook Boom) in exchange for an honest review.

The Narration: Rebecca Wolfe had the perfect voice for Caprice – certain, determined, sexy. She did a good job with the various male voices as well, keeping them distinct. She never faltered during the sexytimes scenes, sounding enthusiastic and natural.

Unexpected, in many ways.

"I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

There were several things that surprised me about this book: some good, some bad.

Let's address the elephant first. I didn't realize this was an erotica work when I requested a copy. It is. Be aware of that. There are some pretty explicit sex scenes, but they're not over the top and they're not just throw in at random places. It's like a skinemax flick; there's sex but it doesn't overshadow the story.

Speaking of story, it's not bad but it's not really anything new: there's a heist and repercussions thereof. What is new and interesting is the setting and the main character. It's a superhero novel with a twist - the protagonist is one of the bad guys. Not like a bond villain, but not like an incarnation of the devil, either. She just doesn't seem to have any "normal" morals. Anyone who gets in her way dies and she won't feel bad about it. She's still human, though, with human needs, and somehow still relatable, despite her heinous acts.

One last thing to note - the book is pretty short. More a novella or a longish short story. While it doesn't exactly end on a cliffhanger, per se, it doesn't really feel like a conclusion, either. I guess it's a setup for the rest of the series, but the ending just felt a bit abrupt.

The Queen of Swords

Any additional comments?

It is a very fast moving story.. Caprice is a villain, and she has no care at killing anyone who gets in her way, even when those killings are not necessary. This is not a story of an antihero but an anti villain. Totally enjoyed the story

The Queen of Swords

This is the first in a series that features Caprice, a total "black hat" who kicks butt, looks out for number one, has no conscience and is as ruthless and unemotional as she is strong and capable. There are elements of paranormal intrigue, action and erotica, all of which are very nicely done and tied together in a way that made the whole experience pretty unique. I don't know that you will find many erotica shorts that actually deliver such a perfect balance of writing and narration in a short period of time along with a great story with just the right amount of sizzle. I loved this and look forward to more.

Rebecca Wolfe gives an excellent performance. Her male and female voices are good, and her ability to express the right tones, inflection and individual character voices is impressive. I would listen to her again any time.

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an unbiased review. The number of stars I award in the 5-star rating system is based on where I believe this audiobook rates with other audiobooks of the same type, length and general feel-- not where it rates in comparison to all audiobooks of all time.

A Great Plot

I signed up for this book because the description showed a different type of plot where you got to look through the eyes of an unapologetic villain. I missed that this was an Erotic Novel but did notice the sex and adult content warnings. I don't read Erotica generally so I'm coming at this from a different point of view. The plot for the first few chapters was really compelling. So compelling that I was disappointed when it devolved into mostly just sex that was connected to the plot but that is erotica, so I can't really complain about that. I want to point out that as somebody who was surprised by this, my biggest regret is that the plot was so compelling that I wanted to read more and learn more and see how Caprice's adventures continued.

As I understand it, that is not the norm for erotica so Metos is to be congratulated for nailing her genre so much that even a non erotica reader couldn't put it down.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review

A super villain story with Erotica elements

Caprice, or Capricious Whim as she is known as a supervillain, is a thug for hire. not interested in being top dog, she likes to have fun and make money as super powered muscle. Since she has pretty strong Telekinesis and Telepathy, as well as wicked sword skills, she's very good at this. This is no tale of an anti hero or grey area type. She is more than willing to kill and maim to et the job done. In fact, she admits to being a sociopath. That said, it is a very entertining story of what happens when a setup goes bad, and how someone with the morals of an alleycat handles betrayal. Lets just say it doesnt end with sorry and a hug. Caprice is an interesting character, amoral, carnal and flippant. She will do what needs to be done to get the job done. The plot is fast moving, with well written action scenes, as well as explicit sex scenes. This is not a comic book villain. The setting is interesting and original, and I wwill enjoy reading the next book in the series. Rebecca Wolfe does a great job of narrating, really bringing the characters to life.

I wasa given a copy of this book free by the Author in return for an honest review throught Audiobookboom.

Suspensful short listen

My first read/listen from author Alana Melos. Suspense/erotica. The suspense held my attention but was so short that the story needed further development. The narrator did a very good job with her varied voice inflections.

Great view into the Villain world

I love how this book is unconventional and instead of a hero its about a villain. What a villain she is too. Caprice is hot and sexy and bada**. She kicks butt and makes no excuses. Rebecca does an amazing hob narrating and giving Caprice such an attitude its really awesome. I love how this story is sexy and evil but to me it really doesn't come off as dark just actiony.