The Complete Horse Mistress Collection

Publisher's Summary

Carivel was born female, but she has been secretly living as a boy for years in her adoptive village of Draebard. The last thing she needs is to fall for not one, but two unattainable men—a fierce warrior and a reluctant wolf-shifter with a horrific past. Now, the Alyrion Empire is poised to invade, and Carivel must choose whether to keep her secret or reveal it—not only to the men she loves, but also to the powerful female ruler whose army could help protect Draebard during the coming war.

Steamy and spellbinding, The Complete Horse Mistress Collection combines detailed world-building and a heartfelt romance between three noble, damaged people who have no one to turn to but each other.

The Complete Horse Mistress boxset contains Books 1 -4, as well as an exclusive series epilogue not available anywhere else—"Return of the Wolf". That's four full-length novels and a bonus short story for the price of a single audiobook.

Author's note: This series contains descriptions of violence and graphic sex, including sex between men, sex with multiple partners (MMF), and elements of fully consensual BDSM within an established, loving relationship. Additionally, it deals with issues of gender identity and gender fluidity. It is intended for a mature audience.

©2016 R. A. Steffan (P)2016 R. A. Steffan

Exciting fantasy well told!

The world of the Horse Mistress is vivid and engaging. It is set in a world similar to Britain of the Druids at the time of the Roman invasion. It concerns three main characters who find each other, and against all odds fall in love and become the best versions of themselves.

Our characters are Carivel, the titular Horse Mistress, who has been living as a man so she can do the job she loves. It’s not just a story of cross dressing as she has always felt that she was born in the wrong body. Andoc is the warrior, who contrary to many warrior stereotypes, is kind and nurturing. Senovo is the eunuch priest who resents his forced castration at the hand of slavers and fears the wolf that is the other side of him that comes out in times of stress.

As the collection begins, our characters are thrown together because of a devastating attack on their village that leaves them in positions of new authority. Through the set of four novels, they must learn to cooperate both personally and professionally with each other. They do everything they can to make sure they invading empire doesn’t take over their island. They also navigate the tricky waters of having a three-person relationship built on communication and true feelings for each other.

I was very impressed with Steffan’s writing because the quality is consistent and very good. She writes about a poly trio that is believable. This isn’t about a ménage that is sex just for sex’s sake. The sex that is one the page (and, yes, there is a lot of it) or the BDSM serves a character-based purpose and propels the story forward. It also happens to be really hot.

The fantasy setting for this story is very approachable. The characters feel real and familiar without being directly from out history. It would be kind to those readers who aren’t yet sure if they want to give the fantasy genre a shot.

As for the narration, Gwendolyn Druyor is wonderfully gifted. I do most of my book consumption through audiobooks, so I have heard many performances from big name narrators to those with only a few indie titles. Druyor did a few things with this 1st person narration that I just hadn’t heard other performers do. For example, when Carivel finds things funny even in her narrative bits, Druyor’s voice subtly shifts so we imagine a laugh could follow at any second. When recounting a different character’s dialogue, if the person is yawning, we hear that. If the person is eating or has something in his mouth, we hear that, too. Druyor brings the sounds of life to this audio and makes it compelling and engaging because of it.

I definitely recommend both this author and this narrator. The series was an unexpected find that is full of action, adventure, humor, pathos, and blistering scenes of intimacy. The audio performance makes it that much better. I plan on seeking out their individual works in the future, and I suspect they may work together again on the connected Lion Mistress series set in the same world.

A content note: This complete collection has an epilogue short story that isn’t available anywhere else. If you are going to go through the trouble of reading or listening to any of the novels in this set, do yourself a favor and buy the complete collection. You save money and get more content. Win-win for all.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Different exciting well written and read

This will not be everyone's cup of tea. If you are open minded and you can really get to know and understand these characters. The entire book was written well. While there is graphic sex that sex is not the point of the book. Even with all sex was removed or played down this is an unusual and beautiful story of love and self acceptance.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

prepare for sperm

so the story is ok, the narrator is good. but oh my gawd does the writer have an obsession with sperm. It completely ruins the sex scenes. unless you like hearing about cum guzzling in every single sex scene. it takes so much away from everything else. disgusting!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

10 STARS!! FANTASTIC SERIES!!

Any additional comments?

This is my first book by the author and certainly won't be my last. The Horse Mistress Series is a fantastic listen. You will get swept up in the world of the main characters Carivel-the horst mistress , Andoc-the warrior, and Senovo-the priest. I could not stop listening to this audiobook and did not want it to end. The book does contain some hot steamy sex scenes, BDSM and bisexual lovers but it is all done in a good way. The author creates a world that is captivating, entertaining and most engaging. Narrator did an excellent job bringing all the characters to life. You will not be disappointed in this audiobook, so do yourself a favor and get it now.

This audiobook was provided to me by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchanged for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Just wonderful

I'm so glad I tripped across this collection. Beautifully created world and characters. Very well written, these books flow smoothly and kept me interested from start to finish. The characters felt authentic and real as did the somewhat unique relationship. The books are pretty character driven, though never boring. There's lots of steamy sex and the BDSM is just plain fun. Oh and throw in a shape shifter just for kicks. I highly recommend this one.

The narrator gave a wonderful performance and was perfect for these books.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great book!

Love the different voices Gwendolyn uses for each character. The sex is amazing and doesn't take away from the story!

Another chaser of a "hot selling genre"

I really tried to give this book a chance but it completely missed the mark on what gender fluidity is and how to convey it. The fact it is marketed as such is why my review score is so low.

One of Best Threesome Stories ever!

Would you listen to The Complete Horse Mistress Collection again? Why?

I rarely listen to stories more than once since there are so many that I want to listen to... however, the nuance in this one might might be go back to this one day because I have a feeling there was much that I missed first time through.

What did you like best about this story?

What blew me away is that it's so rare to read a book with a threesome which works on the level that this one does! Two of these three together are just not complete, they all need each other to make sense.

Which character – as performed by Gwendolyn Druyor – was your favorite?

Senovo, no contest on that. But I was not disappointed with any of the voices. They were perfect and added even more nuance to a great story.

Who was the most memorable character of The Complete Horse Mistress Collection and why?

Senovo for a lot of reasons, some of which are rather spoiler-ish and can't be shared here. But overall, I loved watching him come to accept all of himself and realize himself worthy.

Any additional comments?

Story was very well-written and excellent world building that I could totally lose myself in.

Excellent Collection!

I loved The Complete Horsemistress Collection. Mainstream taboos are overcome to allow the relationship between the three main characters to grow and bloom. Although the sexual relationship between the Horsemistress, the High Priest, and the Chief is a frequent topic, the author creates a very strong storyline throughout. The imagination and ingenuity R.A. Steffen puts into the plot of the story contributed greatly to my enjoyment of the entire collection.

A Story To Listen To

I LOVED this audiobook, the story, the narration, the voice acting, I LOVED IT!!! I didn't want to stop listening and just finish the whole story in one sitting, but I couldn't. The story flowed very well and the narrator gave an added sense to characters that I originally read on paper.