Lovers and Beloveds (An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom) [Kindle Edition]

MeiLin Miranda (Author)

Book Description

A novel of magic, sex and political intrigue


Prince Temmin Antremont has been sheltered from assassins and women for all his eighteen years. Now at his father Harsin's court, forces he can neither control nor understand pull at him from all sides. But none pull harder than the Lovers, the twin gods of love and sex. They want him to serve Them for two years. King Harsin believes an old prophecy: if Temmin joins the Lovers' Temple the monarchy will end. 

The gods are irresistible, and the King is implacable. Temmin must decide which is more dangerous--defying his father or defying the gods. 

Set in a Victorianesque world of magic, sexuality and empire, Lovers and Beloveds is the first book in the epic fantasy saga An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Everything I adore in high fantasy--lush worldbuilding, political intrigue, and compelling characters--combined with something I rarely find in high fantasy--intelligent, well-written, relevant sex. MeiLin Miranda's a damn fine writer and definitely one I'll be keeping my eye on in the future!" -- M.K. Hobson, author of The Native Star

"[C]aptivating - almost like an anthropological study of sex, identity, gender, relationships, power, fetish, etc. Unlike your normal smut novel or porn piece, the sex is heart-breakingly realistic, full of warts and rough edges. ... Overall Rating: 4.5 stars. Thought-provoking, well-written, emotionally powerful." -- Maria T. Violante, Write, Read, Review blog

"If George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series captures the gritty realism of medieval history, Lovers and Beloveds reveals the intimate and personal dynamics of power in aristocracies. It weaves together a rich multi-layered story that explores how sex and power shape history and individual destiny--sharing a perspective that's beyond the 'men, swords, and thrones' (capital H) history that's often seen in fantasy. ... This is an intelligent, insightful, and beautiful fantasy novel. I highly recommend Lovers and Beloveds." -- Frida Fantastic Indie Speculative Fiction Reviews blog

"If you are a fan of well-written fantasy stories with a strong sexual element, then this book comes strongly recommended." -- Grace Krispy, Mother Lode Book Reviews

"5 stars!" -- Sift Book Reviews blog

From the Author

I always find Lovers and Beloveds a hard book to describe. It's Victorianesque, but it's not steampunk. It's epic fantasy, but it's not medieval. There's a lot of sex (at least in this first book), but it's not erotica.

It is a sprawling family saga, outlining what may be the final years of an empire. Prophecies are converging, and at their center is Temmin Antremont, the crown prince. Some events are pre-ordained, but Temmin is the variable. He will be either Temmin the Liberator or Temmin the Magnificent. He doesn't know which path to take--or even how to take it.

The series An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom explores duty, responsibility, redemption, free will and sexual politics in a world where gods walk among humans, magic lurks just beneath the surface, and many don't believe in either.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 697 KB
• Print Length: 420 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Sans Culotte Press (September 6, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0043EX1S2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,692 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars history, intrigue, magic & more September 28, 2010

By A.M. Harte

Format:Kindle Edition

Prophecies, magic, curses and Gods -- Lovers and Beloveds has all the trappings of a strong coming-of-age fantasy novel. It offers an impressive depth and breadth in terms of world-building, mixing hints of Victorian aristocracy with Ancient Greek religion to create a compelling, evocative setting. But most of all it offers an intimate view into the daily lives of those who have shaped and will shape the Kingdom of Tremont, intertwining the history of Temmin's ancestors with his current experiences at court.

This dual narrative -- jumping between present times and Temmin's ancestors - is part of what makes the story so addictive. Lovers and Beloveds is in part a character study of Temmin and his formal training as Heir, but there is a larger story at play, too, which only becomes evident through the parallels between Temmin's behaviour and his ancestor's mistakes. Much of this revolves around religious, moral and sexual themes, in which Temmin is largely innocent and ignorant -- and while the story is often explicit and occasionally non-consensual, it is handled gracefully and is crucial to the plot.

But what is perhaps most striking is that both setting and cast have received equal care and attention; the Prince and his companions are as vivid in my mind as the city itself. Temmin is a believable teenager, awkward, petulant, trying hard to do what is right but often distracted by what is tempting. The strong bench of supporting characters are also well-developed, with histories of their own. My personal favourite is Teacher, a dark mysterious figure bound by magic to obey the King's commands....

Perhaps my only nitpick is that the beginning is a little slow, but certainly history buffs would enjoy the scene-setting, and as soon as Prince Temmin arrives in the royal capital, the novel becomes highly engrossing.

In sum, the story is highly polished and delightfully told -- if you love history and strong characters, and aren't afraid of some explicit content, then this is a book for you. Read more ›

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written fantasy with the good bits left in September 25, 2010

By D. Gudlat

Format:Kindle Edition

Every once in a while, when you're lucky, you encounter a book that hits you right between the eyes and leaves you behind, happy but slightly stunned. MeiLin Miranda's first novel, and the first of hopefully many more in her Intimate History series, is such a book.

Her beautiful writing combines a coming of age story with memorable, three-dimensional characters, tight and detailed world building that never gets in the way of the story being told, magic, technology, eroticism and plenty of conflict, and it weaves all those ingredients into one of the more remarkable books I've ever read.

Lovers and Beloveds is an epic fantasy story that makes you think, with a solid helping of erotica and action to keep you excited, and I can't really recommend it enough.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the Kiddies! January 5, 2012

By Maria T. Violante

Format:Kindle Edition

First things first - for the purposes of this review, Lovers and Beloveds: (An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom, by MeiLin Miranda, will be henceforth referred to as LAB. Perhaps not the most glib of monikers, but it gets the job done, and typing out that whole title over and over would eventually kill me.

I find LAB extremely hard to describe or categorize, but I'm going to give it my best shot. While a large part of the novel in some way is devoted to sex and sexuality, I would not classify it as primarily "erotic fiction." Those words always make me think of a thinly veiled, somewhat pornographic venture in which the main goal is to either turn one on or provide spank-bank fodder. LAB strikes me as something more contemplative, almost anthropological. When boiled down to its bare-bones, one might summarize it as a fantasy novel that details a young prince's passage into adulthood, nobility, and sexuality. I will state that it is not appropriate for minors or for those who are less than comfortable with some of the more "alternative" forms of sexuality. I don't want to get too far into the details with that one, so let me say this: if the idea of "alternative" sexuality makes you uncomfortable, then you may want to research this book further before purchase.

I should also state, for those still on the fence about a possible purchase, that while the book isn't without its issues, I found it interesting, unique, well-written, and thought-provoking - the last of which is a characteristic you rarely find in a fantasy work. We've become very used to just having a great story told to us, but sometimes it's also important to think about what you are hearing (er, reading).

So, as is always my style, let me begin with what didn't work for me....

My biggest issue, by FAR, involves the way the author handles describing a scene. I think this is definitely a novel that would have benefited greatly from "rose-trimming"; visual descriptions are often jam-packed with someone redundant adjectives that leave little to the reader's imagination and stretch sentences to mammoth lengths. This clunkiness especially applies to clothing and outdoor scenes. I know that many readers have a particular love for clothes and period costumes, so we may not be in agreement here, but there are only so many descriptions of a ruffled collar that I can take before I start skipping pages. Here's an example of the style I mean:

"On the tracks, the royal train awaited, a great black locomotive at its head, its details picked out in gold, the platform round it and its coal tender behind painted the deep red called Tremontine red: the color of garnet, of a pomegranate, of a thick pool of blood."

In and of itself, it's not that bad, but when sandwiched between a description of the station and a description of the engine handrails, it kind of gave me a headache, and I found it really interrupted the flow of the story.

Happily, this tendency to over-describe seemed to peter out during the course of the novel - or maybe I just got inured to it. Either way, the novel seemed to flow better after the first 15%. It VERY quickly became a novel I didn't want to put down, and not because of a few steamy passages either.

The only other major complaint I had was with the opening itself. It felt rough, abrupt, and didn't match the rest of the book well. We find out later that it has a very good reason for being there, but I feel like the transition needed to be handled better; I spent the first ten to fiteen percent of the book upset and somewhat confused as to its purpose, only to have an a-ha moment later. So, if you read the beginning and go, whoa, I don't like that - hang in there just a little bit. This novel just blooms, expanding in both scope and emotional pull until it's another creature entirely.

So, moving on to the good, and the stuff that I really want to talk about.

First off, the mythology is great. While not completely original in structure, the take is fresh, inventive, and well-crafted. To me, it echoed the pantheons held by the Greeks and Romans. People pledge to the temples of different Gods, each of which has influence in different spheres. Additionally, we see the use of "embodiments" - gods coming to earth to possess living beings for certain amounts of time. One of my absolute favorite details it the way people treat their own religion, in the novel, just as in real life, people believe and worship in differing degrees - some not at all.

Adding further flavor is a back-story that adds in strips of magic. Magic is difficult; give people too little power, and it has no reason for being there, but too much power, and it overwhelms everything else. I found the author's system to be a real winner, powerful without being overly invasive or cutting into the integrity of the non-magicked. I was especially fascinated by Teacher and his powers - without giving away too many details, I will say that I avidly follow the way authors examine the spatial/communicative restrictions present in a world without internet, airplanes, and radios.

The book very much centers around sexuality, and as such, would probably be considered by many to be a work of erotic fiction. Note: I do not read erotic fiction, but I still found LAB to be captivating - almost like an anthropological study of sex, identify, gender, relationships, power, fetish, etc. Unlike your normal smut novel or porn piece, the sex is heart-breakingly realistic, full of warts and rough edges. People are attracted to individuals that fall outside of their mold - without really knowing why - and are uncomfortable with it. People have sex, not just because they are "in love" or "horny", but for many of the reasons they do in real life - loneliness, compensation for a bruised ego, the need to feel included or cared for. One motivation touched on is power - the need to possess it, to punish, or conversely, the need to yield to it, to be forgiven. We are shown a full spectrum of relationships that crosses lines of age, of gender, of occupation. At the same time, it isn't romanticized - Tremontine sex has as many consequences as in real-life. One of my favorite moments was the reaction of a mother whose husband had engaged in a few too many dalliances, and as a result, sired a daughter. The author could have presented the situation in many ways, but I think that with anyone, there's a definite wish to give your opinion on the matter - to either condemn or condone - but instead, Miranda was adept enough to instead offer us the observer's window into both the wife's anger and resentment, and the husbands confused mixture of pride, apathy, even reminiscence - without making us feel pushed into either judging or forgiving. Without a skilled hand or a perceptive eye, the scene wouldn't have worked; Miranda pulls it off beautifully.

As I mentioned before, the book gets better as you go through it. Descriptions improve, to the point where some of them are just wonderful -

Her screams sent fat bubbles up through the foulness until her lungs contained nothing but water.

- but I think another part of it involves the general structure. Each passing chapter peels back further layers of intrigue, moving us from the "more normal" to the "more fantastic", including a story-within-a-story that just really well done. There is enough action to keep things exciting, but not so much we are overwhelmed.

Overall Rating: 4.5 stars. Thought-provoking, well-written, emotionally powerful - but definitely not for the kiddies! Read more ›

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovers and Beloveds: you'll get your money's worth with this one. September 26, 2010

By Erinn M. Streeter

Format:Kindle Edition

I purchased Lovers and Beloveds as an impulse buy - and I was surprised by how good it turned out to be. More than just erotic fantasy, MeiLin Miranda's novel about a young man's first steps toward kinghood in a world full of magic, intrigue and sex was also funny, entertaining, suspenseful and thought provoking. This one's definitely a book I'll read more than once. And I'm looking forward to book two!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything I love in high fantasy--and more! December 5, 2011

By M.K. Hobson

Format:Paperback

Lovers and Beloveds: An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom has everything I adore in high fantasy--lush worldbuilding, political intrigue, and compelling characters--combined with something I rarely (to be honest, almost never) find in high fantasy--intelligent, well-written, relevant sex. The story's explicit content (and it is substantial) is masterfully handled with grace and elegance. Most importantly, it is always in service of the book's sweeping, dramatic narrative. Author MeiLin Miranda deploys her erotic charges in the best possible way: to reveal character, explore power dynamics, and further disclose the unique structure of the rich and fascinating society she has created. She's a damn fine writer and definitely one I'll be keeping my eye on in the future!

More About the Author

MeiLin Miranda writes Victorianesque fantasy and science fiction from her 130-year-old house in Portland, Oregon. Her love of all things 19th century (except for the pesky parts like cholera, child labor, slavery and no rights for women) has consumed her since childhood, when she fell in a stack of Louisa May Alcott and never got up.

MeiLin has been a professional writer for most of the last 35 years, focusing on nonfiction until a cardiac arrest and near death experience in 2006 convinced her she'd better get moving if she meant to write fiction.