Customer Reviews

King of Hearts (Wonderland)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

San Francisco native Alice O'Brien was having a crappy day...literally. After getting fired for refusing her boss's umpteenth sexual advance and being blessed by a pigeon, she comes home to find her fiancé in the midst of a ménage a trois with their landlady and another man. Fleeing to Golden Gate Park to contemplate her future, Alice decides that she's had it with men, even though she still secretly yearns for a strong, masterful man who will dominate her body and soul. But just as she is about to leave the park, Alice spots a flash of white beside a tree and, feeling a strong compulsion to investigate, finds a white, lop-eared rabbit. Just as she approaches the bunny, however, it morphs into a white tiger! (Holy Siegfried and Roy! Sorry, couldn't resist.) Reeling in shock, Alice stumbles backward, falls down a void and -- like any self-respecting heroine does in a fairy tale -- promptly passes out.

For almost two decades, King Jarronn and his brothers have sought to end the spell their evil sister Mikaela has cast on the women of Tarok, rendering them unable to conceive. Now, however, the sorceress Kalina decrees there is hope for the future -- if each of the four royal brothers chooses a bride from another world. As the Ruler of the Kingdom of Heart and High King of Tarok, Jarronn has chosen first, and now that the fair Alice has entered his realm, he looks forward to introducing her to the ways of his world.

From the moment her eyes open in this new land, Alice knows she's not in Kansas...er, San Francisco, anymore. Heck, she's not even on Earth! The clouds in the sky are green and blue, the fauna and flora are all different and, oh yeah, the natives run around naked, wearing chains and getting flogged. Then there's Jarronn, a man straight out of her wildest dream, who wants her to call him Milord as he trains her to be a good little Submissive. Trapped in a bondage fantasyland, Alice is about to fulfill every one of her innermost fantasies...and then some.

Take a dash of fairy tale, add a sprinkle of fantasy and pour on the kink and you end up in Cheyenne McCray's Wonderland, where naughty things happen to those who beg for it. The first of a series featuring the four kings of Tarok, THE KING OF HEARTS is an adult's bedtime story. A super alpha hero, a submissive-waiting-to-happen heroine and a BDSM inspired world all blend together to create a highly imaginative tale, complete with a whip-carrying dominatrix villainess. Definitely not for everyone, readers who like to explore the boundaries of eroticism (and have a high threshold for pleasure/pain) will enjoy the lush landscape and vivid sexual escapades that come to life in Ms. McCray's purple prose.

The Schemer

RT BOOKclub Best Erotic Romance & Erotica for 2003 says plenty, however, add to that the fact that McCray has a fantastic selection of offerings at Ellora's Cave and here on Amazon and is an inventive, creative and unique writer and you have yourself a true gem that should not be missed!

Wonderland: King of Hearts is the first book in a four part series [all complete] with possibilities of future stories that could spread out from this new world makes this edition a must have for your collection.

Alice is on the plump side, or so society says, the baggage that comes with not being model slim and you have yourself the heroine. Bring her over to a new world where she meets Jarronn, King of Hearts, who will do anything to make her see the woman he sees, appreciates, lusts after...well, you get the idea - this is McCray and a top Ellora's Cave author at their best.

Growth and the awareness of an individuals unique qualities and how wonderful those are feature well within the series - but Alice will speak for many with the challenges she faces, and wow, with Jarron at her side that route is quite a steamy read. Did I mention the magic, sexy weretigers, castles, special potions and, umm, a desire for being tied up and some fun sex games? Well, you will have to find those out for yourself - I refuse to give any of this unique endeavor away, it must be enjoyed by the reader!

...understand/like/be intrigued by lifestyle BDSM. This isn't a nice fantasy with a little domination, a little spanking. What the heroine and the hero want is a Master/slave relationship in a complete lifestyle manner, and that means his absolute control of all aspects of her life, including eye contact, clothing, food, where she goes, what she does, everything. They aren't playing at anything, this is complete Domination and submission, and it is intense and emotional, even a bit draining. It is a lot harder core, not pornographically speaking, but in terms of the depth of Alice's submission, than I expected to find. The author obviously did her homework, and understands a bit about the psychology of relationships like this, so it is tastefully handled. It isn't my cup of tea, really, and I don't find it erotic, but many people do.

That said, I do feel that the author developed the world and the unusual (for a romance) relationship, but didn't spend quite enough time on the characters. The King of Hearts remained distant and unreachable, and I didn't get the feeling that he really loved Alice. While there was a deep emotional connection, related to the trust of a sucessful Dom/sub relationship, I didn't sense love or actual passion for each other, just for the roles that both had always wanted filled in their lives.

Bondage, strong alpha males, full figured submissive women, group sex, soulmate. If any of those adjectives spark your attention, then you'll love this book. The scenes were HOT! The strong alpha males and the bondage took some getting used to, but by the end I was hooked. I will be reading the second book in this series. If you're looking for a book filled with romance (while this book does have romance in it), you will not be happy with Wonderland. If you're looking for a book with the right amount of romance and sex, then you'll love it.

This story is a fun twist on with the old Alice in Wonderland theme. Alice is an insecure full-figured woman who is transported to Wonderland to meet and marry the king.

Wonderland is a land of sexually dominant men and submissive women. Alice is "sexually trained" out of her insecurity and into loing her king.

Sounds rough or abusive? Not at all. It is a fairly well done bit of S/m fantasy. If anything, the sex scenes are thinner and less fleshed out than I would like. All in all not a bad read.

Enjoy!

This book was dissapointing for me. I don't think we learned enough about all of the characters to make me care what happened to them.
Alice was OK, i just think it is lame that her whole life and self esteem revolved around being a size 16. Maybe to a size 2 author who can't imagine being that fat(!) a 16 would be an important number, but there are thousands of women out there who are 12,14,16 and up and don't totally think they are crap because of it. Not everyone lives in a "Sex in the City" world.
Jarron was completey blank as a character. we didn't know why, how, what he as feeling and that just make him boring. Like the white tiger he turned in to (and there could have been alot more of that in this book. why even have it in there if you don't go anywhere with it!), you look at it a while and them move on, not really connecting with the animal behind the glass.
It was also pretty short- it could have happened over a week or so, and the various "plot" twists were cheesy and obvious- there wasn't much of a plot at all, just training scenes broken up with a couple of "oh no!" bits.
I didn't mind all the bondage and submissive "training". i thoght it was interesting- i haven't been exposed to much of that before- but it just seemed like this is what the book was all about- not actually two people and their relationship. this book wasn't "Romatica"- it didn't combine the feeling-stuff and the sex-stuff together, it was just a short BSDM story padded out to 196 pages.

I would have given anything to be in Alice's shoes. This novel is erotic beyond words, and the fantasy aspect of it gives it a creative twist. And the best part is that it is centered on BDSM -- something that I find quite insatiable. Alice O'Brien is having a bad day. She is sexually harassed at her job, gets fired and finds her fiancé in a rather kinky sexual encounter with the landlady and a, uh, strange fellow. But she hadn't anticipated just how strange her life would become thereafter. After being attacked by a white tiger in a park in San Francisco, she wakes up in a strange, surreal, albeit beautiful land. Then she meets King Jarronn -- the King of Hearts and high leader of Tarok. What transpires is a deliciously explicit training process in which Alice has to submit to Jarronn and obey him and is in turn taken to erotic heights she had never envisaged. But Jarronn has some worries regarding the future of his people in Tarok, things that could well destroy his union with Alice. There are various twists throughout the novel.

I devoured this novel in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down. The fantasy aspects -- the alternate universe Alice lands on, the kings shape-shifting into white tigers, and the constant references to Alice in Wonderland -- make this more than just a BDSM novel. I liked the fact that the heroine is a plump, voluptuous woman. That somehow made her more real. And the concept of the kings' names taken from poker cards (is it poker? I actually have no idea, not being much of a card player) is quite unique and original. This is one great piece of work. I loved Cheyenne McCray's first installment of the Seraphine Chronicles and I cannot wait till the other parts come out in paperback, and this Wonderland series is one that I will enjoy reading as well. I cannot wait to pick up The King of Spades. Cheyenne McCray is now on my list of not-to-be-missed authors. If you love romantica, fantasy and delectable BDSM, then you will love this novel. I cannot recommend King of Hearts enough!

This has to be one of my favorite erotic series that I have ever read. There are four novels in the series so far but I hope that McCray writes at least one more about the sister. This is the first in the series and it was probably my favorite. The series is very erotic and the sex is absolutly breathtaking. It does have what I would consider light bondage, nothing too risque. The whole plot of the series is about four brothers who have to find their mate from another realm so that there kingdoms can prosper once again and hopefully break the curse that was bestowed upon them from their evil sister. There are a lot of male/female/male and some female/female scenes. It has a variety of sex scenes and everytime there is something more that makes you go mmmmm...

Alice OBrien was having a bad day. Before noon, she had been fired from her job for not giving her boss a little pleasure, fell into a puddle, shredded her best and most expensive pair of stockings and had been pooped on by a pigeon. Could the day get any worse? Unfortunately for Alice, yes. She arrives home and finds her fiancee in the middle of some BDSM sex adventure with their landlady...and another man! After leaving her fiancee in the clutches of his lovers, Alice takes a walk to a park, feeling anger and confusion. While Alice contemplates her life, she sees a white rabbit within the trees and approaches it, only to have it turn into a white tiger...right before her eyes! Alice feels the world shift beneath her feet and then knows only darkness. Alice awakens to the most incredible sensations and to a world like she has never known before.

Jarronn, High King of Tarok, must draw a card which will show his lifemate from one of the other worlds. Jarronn has no desire to do so, but his people are dying. No child had been born to Tarok women for nearly two decades. Even though the women are fertile, none have been able to conceive due to a spell put upon them by Mikaela, a relative to the Kings who was overlooked years ago for the throne. New hope for the Tarok people springs eternal with the knowledge that the Tarok men could choose their mates with the sorceress cards. But, if they choose the wrong women, there would be no heirs to the kingdom. Jarronn is pleased with Alice, the future Queen to his kingdom. He sees fire and spirit within her, but he also sees her self-doubt, that she doesnt believe her own beauty, her bodys worth or the love in her heart and soul. Jarronn sees her desire to be dominated and vows to show her how desirable she is, for if she cant love herself first, she cant love him or his people.

What fantasies and desires will Alice find with Jarron? Can Alice, a woman from Earth really accept Jarronn and his brothers, shapeshifting felines that are nothing like what she has ever known before? Is Alice the Queen of Hearts?

Four cards, four Kings, four mates. A WONDERLAND like no other....

KING OF HEARTS is the first outstanding tale in the Wonderland Series by Cheyenne McCray. It is delicious, exciting, explosive and thrilling. Alice is a charming, full-figured woman who has always felt pale in comparison to her twin sister Alexi and has never really loved herself. King Jarronn teaches Alice a lot of things about herself and his compassion to show Alice her true potential and who she really is, endeared him to me very early on in the story. Jarronns teaching Alice to love herself, to accept her desires and fantasies and showing Alice how much he desired her, one thought that kept popping into my head was a song that I kept hearing, that brought this story even more close to my heart. As corny as it may be, the song also fits into the series as well. The song is Your Body is a Wonderland by John Mayer. Jarronns compassion, his worshipping Alice and his determination to show Alice everything that he sees within her, brought this song to mind and it continued to play over and over in my head throughout the story. Not only is KING OF HEARTS hot, steamy and explosive, it is also touching and endearing.

The brothers, Jarronn, Darronn, Ty and Karn, all Kings of Tarok, are exemplary Alpha men who know what they want, go after it and get it. The brothers are dynamic, strong, exhilarating and a womans every fantasy fulfilled. (And this is only the first~three more tales to come!) Many women may identify with Alice. Her self-doubts, her secret desires of being dominated by a man. She is todays kind of woman who really only wishes for love, fulfilment and a connection with that one man that can make all of her dreams come true.

I was hesitant at first when I learned that KING OF HEARTS was classed as a BDSM tale. Not for the fact that I didnt think that Cheyenne McCray could do a great job with it, but because I felt it would be vastly different from what I was used to with one of her books, and I didnt want to be disappointed. But in NO WAY at all was I disappointed in KING OF HEARTS. Ms. McCray writes with continual taste, class, heart-felt emotions, passion and a sure hand. In fact, KING OF HEARTS exceeded every expectation I had and I was totally blown away that Ms. McCray could get even better with her stories and her writing. Cheyenne McCray raises the limits and exceeds them in one fell swoop, readers wont know what hit them! KING OF HEARTS has it all for readers; love, passion, lust, strong and in-depth characters, electrifying sex and no-holds barred sensational writing. Cheyenne McCray creates fantasy worlds that fill me with the desire to move! This lady could tell me the sky is green and I would believe her.

Reviewed by Tracey West (Road to Romance *Ms. McCray received Reviewer's Choice Award*)

This is one sexy tale of bondage, with our hero being both dominant and considerate. Alice, our heroine, transitions in this book from an unsure, rather insecure woman to a sexy, confidant female, all because of Jarronn's tender ministrations. Be prepared for LOTS of kink, but also lots of emotion. A very good introduction to Ellora's Cave Publications.