An Uncommon Whore (An Uncommon Whore #1) By Belinda McBride

I didn’t read the original book by Looseid but I was told by author that this is revised with an added POV so if you are thinking if you should read the new edition, you should go ahead and read it. 😌

There are so many things to like about this book. 💚 A pleasure slave/a lost king and an one eyed captain who’s looking for his lost monarch and the background story in this one was really strong. ☺️ The political backstabbing, the intense edgy drama and a swoon-worthy romance .. what’s not to love? This is how I imagine a space operas should be and years of waiting and finally reading didn’t disappoint me at all. Plus, Helios and Griffin are so hot together! 🔥🔥🔥 I cant already wait to get my hands on the sequel because I’m dying to find out what will happen. 😉


4 first love and last, forever stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Belinda McBride

The following brief review by Mark Monday was removed by Goodreads for breaking their censorship policy, but is reposted here in accordance with the Hydra principle. Let me start by presenting the review itself:

An Uncommon Whore; Or, The Story of Goodreads' Acquisition by Amazon
by Belinda McBride (Goodreads Author)

FLAG

[I am actually quite enthusiastic about reading this one! it looks enjoyable. but I really couldn't resist using the title for my own sordid little joke.]

Mark encouraged people to flag his review, and I enjoyed doing so; I pointed out that it violated Article 2 (vii) of the ToU, since it contained incorrect information. An Uncommon Whore, I went on to say, is about someone who gets fucked up the ass for money, and has nothing to do with the acquisition of Goodreads by Amazon. Indeed, Goodreads is not even mentioned.

In case anyone missed it, that was ironic. Mark's review was funny because, at a non-literal and metaphorical level, there are indeed meaningful parallels between the acquisition of Goodreads by Amazon and getting fucked up the ass for money. I can't resist the temptation to elaborate.

The received wisdom, at the moment, is that it is wrong to treat people as sex objects. But, speaking from personal experience, it isn't always bad to be treated as a sex object; it can indeed be very gratifying to feel, briefly, that you are merely a thing that your lover is using to obtain sexual pleasure. Many people enjoy playing this kind of game, and when it is done in an intimate, consensual way I do not see that there is anything wrong with it. The problem is that it shades over into behavior that becomes more and more clearly wrong. The tension between these different ways of looking at the issues are what this book is about.

A couple of other books come to mind here. In Musical Chairs, Jen Knox gives a frank account of what it's like to be a stripper. To my surprise, she says that it is in some ways an empowering experience. The performer, taking her clothes off on stage, has an undeniable power over her audience. But Jen also shows how it is ultimately more degrading than empowering. Even though the audience may show their appreciation by putting ten dollar bills in your G-string, you feel after a while that this is a compliment you would rather not receive. Jen describes how she got out, which was difficult but worthwhile.

A still clearer example is Paul Theroux's underrated novel Doctor Slaughter. Lauren Slaughter is smart, beautiful and insolvent. She is overflowing with self-confidence and unsqueamish about sex, so, when she is offered a job as a high-priced call-girl, she takes it. She is soon making a great deal of money getting fucked, up the ass and elsewhere, by a variety of men. She thinks she can handle it; she feels nothing but contempt for the majority of her clients, she makes friends with a few, she develops a strange, almost loving relationship with one older man who uses her services frequently. But as the book progresses, she comes to understand that she has misjudged the situation. She is not able to keep her feelings outside it. She is just a whore, even if she's an unusually smart and pretty one.

So: what parallels with Goodreads/Amazon? I have worked in a Silicon Valley startup myself, and I know the system from the inside. A group of people with a common dream put something together and hope they'll make money out of it. Sometimes it works. Most often, it comes to nothing. You generally discover after a while that there aren't many options if you want to see a return on your investment. The easiest route is definitely to sell out to one of the multinationals.

If you're approached by a big player, your first reaction is likely to be pleasure and relief. It was possible, indeed likely, that you were going to get nothing, and now you're looking at millions of dollars. Unfortunately, whatever your acquirer may say at first, it usually turns out that their idea of what to do with the startup is rather different from yours. At this point, it often dawns on people, particularly the engineers who did the grunt-work, that they have given up their dream for a financial reward which seems quite insufficient. Comparisons with stripping or prostitution don't appear completely inapposite.

So, in short, I think I was wrong to say that Mark's brief review was factually inaccurate, unless you take an extremely narrow view of what factually inaccurate means. In the language of this book, Goodreads has shown itself to be an uncommon whore.


This work by Manny is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Belinda McBride This started off VERY strong.

I have a weakness for the hidden prince theme, especially combined with space, sex slavery, or any matter of kinky interspecies action. I was immediately taken by the brisk pace, the amount of sex (hells yeah!), and the chemistry between Griffin and Helios (love that name!). I was 4-starring this book until I found myself getting... irritated.

For one, let's talk about the errors. I simply can't stand really obvious editing issues, and this hit on one of my hot button editing grievances: Prostate vs prostrate. It is simple. If you write M/M you MUST use these two words correctly. There are really no excuses when it comes to this. You can be nailing someone's prostate while prostrate, but those two words are NOT interchangeable. There were other issues, such as strange future-telling that didn't fit with the story and some grammar errors that really should have been caught by an editor.

That stuff aside, I was still REALLY into the world of this story until it started slowing down for me in the last 25% of the story. Everything seemed rushed and there were no curveballs, no surprises. The pace and the tension was dialed down, and I missed some of that from the earlier chapters.

Even with the last 25% being somewhat of a let down, I still enjoyed this book as a whole. It was exciting, and I really bought Griffin and Helios as a couple. Though the love aspect was introduced very early on between the two of them, I was totally feeling it. The sex scenes were also a delicious bonus.

**Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review** Belinda McBride 3.5 Hearts!

I can hardly resist a space opera, and I dare you to try when up for offer is an amnesiatic lost king, a piratical past lover who is desperate to find him, and a people who need their rightful ruler to lead them out of their tragic brutal circumstance.

Griffin is said piratical past lover, and he’s been searching for Helios, who’s next in line for the throne, for several long years, hoping against hope that maybe, just maybe, Helios is still alive after sacrificing himself for capture so that many others could escape. What Griffin finds is far from pleasant. Helios is a very changed man, knowing only his sex slave existence due to wiped memories and being forcibly conditioned to serve. However, what’s fully ingrained is not forever lost.

Despite the fact that these two men come together very quickly due to the undeniable magnetic connection they still have, they are both stymied by doubt, obligation, and a past that did not condone them being together. Despite that very history and the vast distance and time that has transpired, it’s obviously not enough to keep these two apart again now.

Having not read the original, I have no means to compare this to its former self. What I will say is that the author has added approximately 22K words in this newly revised edition and hopefully, that’s evident in the adventure, the romance, and the more fully realized story.

So yes, there’s action, there’s plenty of smexy, and an interesting universe that held my attention. Overall, I really enjoyed the outer space setting, and I look forward to the big payoff regarding the promised political intrigue as it’s probably safe to say, there’s gonna be some pretty good violence and lots of comeuppance on the horizon.

This ends with Helios and Griffin a strong formidable team. They make a fantastic return in starting anew, and Helios especially is on the precipice of a not yet fully realized destiny foretold in the stars that left me kinda in awe and ready to see how everything pans out. The entire series looks to be up for revision and re-release by DSP, and I will follow through to see Helios and Griffin’s well deserved win!

Thanks to the author/publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review
Belinda McBride A Science Fiction Novella of a love that transcends the Universe. 3.5 Stars.



We are told the story through Pashas eyes, it is simple in it's delivery and he seems strangely disassociated from what is happening to him...he is calm, compliant and submissive, as all slaves and whores must be, wanting only to serve their master.

Pasha a slave and a whore, is owned by an alien of reptilian form, Ushma. Pasha has no memories of his life beyond this time, but somewhere in the depths of his mind he believes Ushma may be his third owner, but with only occasional flashbacks surfacing of his brutal training he cannot be sure.

Ushma, short of money and wanting to feed his gambling addiction, takes Pasha to the Trell 57 Tavern where he intends to pimp him to the surly minors and unhappy travellers visiting the dusty and oppressively hot planet of Whorlon. Through his veil, unnoticed, he sees a man who is both familiar and gives him a feeling of comfort. He somehow feels safe to him, although he is unsure as to why, but desperate to escape he manipulates an encounter.

Our other MC, Captain Griffin Hawke, is searching the universe for his Prince who was captured and disappeared when the people of the planet Arash were displaced to a barren yet to be colonised planet, because of war. Griffin is a strong character and determined in his quest to find not only his best friend but also the future King of his people. Racked with guilt for feeling responsible and bound by honour he will never stop searching.

This is a quick smexy, easy read which was just what I needed, it is a D/s relationship but not BDSM in nature. I did feel that the story ended too soon but there is a second novella in the tale of these two characters and I will definitely be reading it. Belinda McBride

As a general rule, you won't find the love of your life while you're on your knees under a table. -- Helios Dayspring

Pasha is a slave, whoring for travelers at the most dangerous bar on Warlan. He has no memory, no future of his own, yet deep inside Pasha knows that that he is meant for better things. The day that Pasha spots the dangerous pirate in the bar, he knows that he mustn't let the stranger slip away, regardless of what he must do to attract his attention.

Captain Griffin Hawke spent the greater part of a decade searching for his lost king, only to find Helios Dayspring crouched between his knees, swathed in the robes and shackles of a whore. Though he is appalled by the downfall of his king, the hardened officer finds himself falling for the allure of the sensual creature who has taken his place. Returning Helios to his position on the throne is the only right thing to do, yet Griffin knows that in doing so, he risks losing his lover forever.

A whore is a whore is a whore, unless he's something else completely. I guess I must be an uncommon whore. -- Helios Dayspring An Uncommon Whore (An Uncommon Whore #1)

2.5 Needed More Chastity Stars



Space opera. The ultimate space opera was the only place my head went only in this rendition Han and Luke would get it on. It started off so good. We meet Pasha and he's a slave to U'shma. Slave boys don't get to have erections. They are to serve the customers so you know what that means. Chastity!!!!



In case you don't know, I'm a fan of chastity. A big un.

Pasha's working one night when the rakish Captain Griffin Hawke. He looks like a pirate with the eye patch/all black/leather outfit thing going and he's not very… verbal.



I'm dig dig digging it. There's some sort of strange connection between the two and the pirate enters into a wager with U'shma to win Pasha for 24 hrs. Turns out they know each other and Pasha has an odd case of retrograde amnesia. About two whole seconds later the chastity came off. *pause* Why is the chastity ALWAYS the first to go? WHY??? I will say the chastity got replaced by quite a bit of frottage so I can't be too fussy. Still… *huffs*

The space opera begins and there is a ton of world building. Several characters are introduced and I've since learned this is a book one in a series-the foundation book. Many of the characters seem promising, but I found myself getting increasingly bored as the story progressed. Honestly, I think it's a me problem rather than a book problem. The writing's good as the story of Helios/Pasha unfolds and he gradually regains bits and pieces of his memory. Ordinarily, I like anything even remotely having to do with Star Wars but this just didn't resonate with me as much as I was hoping it would.

Belinda McBride *3,5 stars*

First of all - don't judge this book by the title or by its cover. :)

This jumps straight into the action and just keeps going. Considering the short length a LOT of things happen, and I just allowed myself to get swept away with it all.

A prince is rescued, old love is rekindled, new friendships are forged and a kingdom lost in space finds their king again. In an interesting mixture of Star Wars and Game of Thrones the author takes us to a different universe where wars are brutal, whoring seems the norm and grouchy aliens are plentiful.

Helios, Lio, is at the centre of the book. It is his journey of finding out who he really is, what he was before and did, and what his future holds for him.



I kind of liked his snarky style of telling his story. I liked HIM because he felt genuine and honest - particularly with his feelings for Grif - the man who finds him. The immediate bond between them, right from the beginning, should have felt off, but it didn't. Of course we find out later why, but I never doubted the love and sexual chemistry between Grif and Lio.



The writing style could be criticised for a lack of finesse, but somehow it fitted the story and supported the fast paced action. And I enjoyed this fun mixture of science fiction and myths and the idea of a remote-controlled cock ring had my mind boggling *g* enough to go and read book #2 now.

(Thanks Katerina! ;) )


Belinda McBride Don’t judge a book by its cover (and its title), because this one harbors a surprisingly sweet and engaging story.

Pasha is a sex slave with no recollection of his past. He doesn’t know who he was, who he is or who he is going to be, but he does feel there’s something more for him out there. And when a stranger walks into a bar, he knows not to let him slip away.
And so begins the story of Pasha/Helios and Griffin.

I liked the world McBride created and the plot was engaging and layered. The sex was hot and romantic. Plus it served a deeper meaning in establishing the roles in the characters' new relationship.
The best part of the book, however, were the characters themselves. Griffin was a great secondary: his internal turmoil was palpable and I felt (and fell) for him. But Helios… oh my…. His matter-of-fact tone in which he relayed his thoughts and actions were fantastic. I found him to be very endearing and loved him instantly.

A well written and sweet little story. I’m hoping for a sequel. Belinda McBride I've seen this around a lot and because I really like these yaoi style illustrated covers, have been drawn to reading it but because of the usual ' Ive got so many books to read before I get round to this problem, Its taken me a heck of long time and now Im wondering why because I really liked this.

A tale of lost kings and treachery, it is has touches of fantasy but the Space Opera comes from its word building, planet hopping and Space Cruisers ... the bar scene at the beginning made me think of Star Wars and all the other space epics, so its roots are firmly sci/fi.

Pasha or Helios Dayspring, his true identity and the gorgeous Space Pirate Griffin Hawke his old lover and friend who he has forgotten, because of his forced memory loss when enslaved as a whore, generate some fantastic chemistry together and it's also one heck of a sexy book without being too porntastic. The ongoing story of Griffins long search to find his lost king, then their subsequent escape and journey back to Helios' people to reinstate him as king is really attention grabbing and I'm definitely going to carry on with book two When I Fall because even though its not a cliffhanger ending there's great promise of more trials an tribulations in the wind for these two fantastic guys and their plan to unite their people once more whilst starting life on a new planet.

Loved it and another definite keeper. I'm having a good run at the moment with my choices of book, hope it continues. Belinda McBride 3.5 stars
First part of the series and can’t be read as a standalone

This book was recommended by Ariana and I don’t regret it : it was a good surprise as I’m not usually into sci-fi romance. And as Ariana mentioned : don’t judge this book by the title or by its cover. The plot is solid and interesting, the sex scenes are hot but not porny and the MCs are reliable.

A planet has been pillaged, its inhabitants wounded, tortured or killed, taking refuge on another planet where they barely survive. During the war, Helios, the heir of the King, was captured and enslaved.
And then starts for Griffin a long quest to find and rescue Helios, his past lover. And he finally finds him in a brothel, his memory gone and having sometimes to whore himself for his Master.
Thus begin the long journey for Griffin and Helios.
In this first part, they get reunited and have to fight back to get home. All the while reestablishing their relationship under stressing circumstances.

This part really captivated me and even though I had a few niggles, it did not prevent to keep going on because I really wanted to follow Griffin and Helios in this journey and I was right to do so, because the second installment really delivered. Belinda McBride

characters ✓ eBook, PDF or Kindle ePUB ↠ Belinda McBride