Customer Reviews

The MPire: In Search of the Lost

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The MPire: In Search of the Lost by author TL James is an intriguing tale of a man who must choose between the life he knows and the one he has long forgotten. Mallory Towneson has everything a man could want: a successful business, a sexy physique and plenty of women. But those things never last forever and Mallory must take up his position in the family business. The only problem is that he hasn't been apart of the family for the last fourteen years. To make matters worse, the family business isn't just your average everyday company. Mallory is expected to take his role as Death, which should be an easy transition since it is his destiny but he has blocked out all early memories of it.

The MPire: In Search of the Lost is definitely a book that requires you to think outside of the box and pushes on the typical boundaries accepted by society. If the reader is able to look beyond some of the situations in the book, I believe they will enjoy the struggles the characters must face.

This book does contain very strong sexual themes in both M/F and M/M scenarios so it should only be read by mature adult audiences. Also, there were some grammatical errors that forced me to stop and re-read parts until I figured out what was intended. Even with the grammatical errors, The MPire: In Search of the Lost will keep the reader enchanted on Mallory's journey of self discovery.

The MPIRE: In Search of the Lost by T.L. James is a fascinating look at the light and darkness that live inside of man. Mallory Towneson Haulm is a wealthy, handsome, very sexy businessman who resides inside his own world. He has beautiful women at his beck and call and every expensive toy a man can dream of. However, he is haunted by his dreams and demons. How could a man with everything have such internal struggles?

Mallory has been estranged from his family for fourteen years and is called home to join the family business. He has already proven with his personal business that he is a financial wizard and only he can turn around the slowly deteriorating business. What Mallory does not know is that there are spiritual and supernatural motives at play and that he is in for the battle of his very life. The added component of an old lover reappearing only adds to his struggles. The question becomes with all Mallory has going for him, will he be able to conquer the ultimate battle, death?

The MPIRE: In Search of the Lost stretched me in ways that a book had not done in a long time. I had to stay focused on all the mysterious occurrences and the motivations of all the characters. There were many twists and surprises, but I was never left wanting. The mystery always came to a satisfying conclusion. There were times when I wanted to rush things but was ultimately grateful that the author took her time, allowing me to go where she was taking me.

I recommend The MPIRE to all readers who enjoy novels that can stretch them and take them on a satisfying literary journey filled with the mystical, spiritual and even a bit of the romantic.

Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub

This book was a little different for me. Not my particular genre of preference. I have to be honest there were some things about this book that I couldn't stomach. That just being my opinion and I don't want to give the book away but there's a huge secret that lies within the family. The main character in a battle between his true love and his family brings us a strong confident background of someone definitely in search of the lost. It's an action packed story that really makes the reader go WOW, no matter what your genre preference is.

I give this book 3 1/12 stars mostly because it's not really my taste. But definitely 5 starts on how this author was able to create this story out of her imagination and bring it right to our eyes. The quality of the story was pretty good and of course the ending makes you wonder what happens next?

If you are looking to read something out of the box, this book is for you!

This book has been in my to-read pile, and I was so glad to finally get reading it! I will be reviewing the second book in this Mpire trilogy in the next few weeks as well.

Mallory Towneson Haulm had been away from his family for 14 years. He finally comes back and places a bet wherein if he loses, he has to run the family company for a week. You have to read to find out what happens, but let me tell you about Mallory. He definitely was a different character! When he was shaving and hydrating his body at the beginning of the story, I really started to wonder about him. The way he prepped himself just didn't seem like something the average guy would be doing. He did have sex with women a lot though, so I wasn't too sure. Maybe he was just a very neat and clean guy. After all, he did gargle vodka and then spit it out to take ...well certain odors from when he was with a woman... out of his mouth. The dance that he did with Amanda, when he lifted her up and his face disappeared under her dress...whew--HOT!

Mallory had a brother named Matthew. I was kind of surprised when Mallory and his brother Matthew saw each other. This is definitely a different twist. You will have to read to find out who Matthew and Mallory really are!

I loved this first book in the MPire trilogy! The majority of the book I read while I was at the beach! I really was drawn in to the story to see what was going to happen next! I highly recommend this book! It really wasn't what I expected at all! I can't wait to read the next book in this trilogy, called Death Cometh!.

I have never read a book like this one before. All of the characters in the Haulm family were unique and each had a hidden agenda that is revealed throughout the book. I have not read the precursor of the book, The Chronicles of the Haulm Boys and I wish I had. I had some difficulty figuring out who the brothers unique qualities were until the middle of the book. Then it all fell into place and the book came alive. The relationship between Mallory and Matthew was sweet as well as troubled. Mallory was a sexy, wealthy and intriguing individual who has to make a choice between life and death. He has to live up to his destiny of being the Forth Horseman (Death) and continue the family legacy. Throughout the book, there were supernatural beings and images surrounding Michael that kept me thinking. Who were these spirits and why are they after Michael? I guess you have to read the book to find out the answers. The author's descriptions of the supernatural was fantastic and the ending was unpredictable. I did not want the book to end and I wanted more. I look forward to reading the all of the books in the series. I have to warn you that this book is only suitable for the adult reader due to the erotic and sometimes violent scenes in the novel. (Reviewed by Eileen, Melissa's Mom)

". . .the bad guys must win some of the fights so the battle can go on. No one wants the battle to end, especially the good guys. After the battle, there is nothing else." (p. 298)


I don't think you will ever read another fascinating book like The M pire by T. L. James . . . that is, unless she continues with a series! I, for one, would love to see that happen!

This extremely sexy, fantasy drama surrounds the family of Haulm; however, the main character is Mallory Towneson. Mallory is the youngest son of the Haulm family, but he was sent away from his family for fourteen years. During that time, he received an extensive education and started his own business, using the name of Towneson, his mother's maiden name.

Now Mallory had come back home, somewhat under duress. Even when he moves and establishes a branch of his business, he did not contact his family until his uncle forced it upon him.

Mallory's mother died as a result of his birth. During Mallory's childhood, his father physically, mentally and emotionally abused him so badly that, to escape, Mallory forgot much of what he knew during those years, except one thing--he was still very afraid of his father!

With wealth to buy anything he wants, Mallory lives a life of luxury and changes cars as often as his socks. He's a lover of all women--and women love him in return. Interestingly most of his interactions are one way, as he moves from event to event, providing pleasure to women in every walk of his life. In fact, most of his business includes "negotiations" that results in "satisfaction" to at least one of the parties!

But Mallory is required to take his place in his family's multi-billion energy company. When reunited with his brothers, he is both hated and admired by his three older brothers, especially by the eldest, who believes he will one day become head of the company. Mallory is startled to also reconnect with his half-brother, Matthew, who has also joined the firm, though not as a major officer. Mallory and Matthew had met in college, not knowing that they were half-brothers, and had become intimately involved. Matthew had been Mallory's one and only male lover and had been deeply hurt when Matthew had left him. Now Matthew was there, trying to rekindle the relationship.

None of his family believed that he couldn't remember anything about his past until Marek, one of his brothers does finally realize that he had no idea, and explained to him, that it was now Mallory's time to convert--to take his role as the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse, Death...

But both Mallory and Matthew had something to say about that! And so did Matthew's Father!

"His greatest love is his enemy." (p. 332)

Please readers, this is definitely "R" rated; however, because of the storyline and in light of today's world, when everything is being sexualized, this is a timely novel, highly recommended!


G. A. Bixler

Mallory Towneson Haulm is a successful, sexy and confident business man who doesn't have a problem using those attributes for what he wants. He reunites with his father and brothers after years of separation to take his place in the family business. He also reunites with one of his past lovers. Mallory finds out that his family business is a cover up and that his is the most dangerous member of the Apocalypse, Death.

Mpire will keep you engaged. I found myself constantly intrigued to read on so that I could find out what was going to happen next. It was an interesting to read the exchange that took place between the brothers.

While the book was interesting there were some things that kept me confused through the majority of the book. Things would be mentioned in the book as if it was something that the reader should have already known. Also there were parts of the story where the author gave a little information about something and then never came back to it. The main subject of the story was a word (prophelization) that I had to go to a dictionary to understand. I feel that for the word to be mentioned so many times a definition could have been incorporated.

Overall I felt the story was lengthy and a lot of questions were raised that were not answered. Assuming that these would be answered in part two the story would have flowed better if these things were omitted. I also wished that the purpose of some of the characters would have been expressed. This book would be a good read for those who enjoy sci-fi.

Reviewed by:
Angelique
www.rwabookclub.com
rwabookclub@yahoo.com

THE MPIRE is a story of one man's struggle for answers to questions from his past that have been blocked from his memory. When he slowly begins to remember his tragic past, it just may be too much for him to handle. Unfortunately, he needs to understand his past to come to grips with the future that has come to claim him.

Mallory Towneson is a financial and sexual powerhouse. Two things he lives and breathes are money and women. After being estranged from his family, he is summoned to come home to run the "family business." With this position comes demands brought upon him that seem strange and peculiar.

When an old love comes back into the picture around the same time things become even more complicated for Mallory. He gives his heart to the one that broke his heart so many years ago, but with this love comes more heartache than either one of them ever expected.

THE MPIRE by T.L. James was unlike any book I have ever read. It is truly a unique story. It is a story of love, redemption, family, religion, heartache and the story of the unknown with a hint of the supernatural. I would recommend this book to those that are fairly open-minded to reading things that most of society would consider taboo. So if you are looking for something out of the norm--this book is for you.

My final rating is 4.5 due to some minor editing issues.

Reviewed by: LeonaR

Mallory is a very strange cat. Green eyed, faired skinned, educated in Great Brittan, with an almost anal fashion sense (he changes cars with the seasons and he never wears a color that's not "in") it's easy to see why he has such a hard time fitting in with his brown skinned, ghetto acting, historically Black university attending older brothers. Mallory is so anal he has sex timed down to the minute, and his voracious appetite for the ladies has his brothers way more appalled than impressed. I don't know why. Talk about dysfunctional: you'll need a computer program to figure out who in this family is sleeping with whom and why. It doesn't help much that Mallory hasn't seen his brothers since he was a pre-teen. He doesn't even use the family surname Haulm; he goes by his mother's maiden name of Towneson instead.
So why is Mallory back in good ole Austin, Texas?
Well...the other three brothers are part of the "family business"...and as part of "the next generation," they "need" Mallory too. Although the reason is never adequately explained to him, Mallory is pressed into service at Haulm Industries Company, lovingly known as HIC. (Black people: all that's missing is the N) Never mind that Mallory has made his own name in the world, heading a million dollar enterprise called Towneson Financial. He's expected to give it all up,
or at the very least, fold his company into HIC.
Problem: Mallory doesn't want to.
Problem: His father hates his guts.
Problem: So does his big brother Marc, the so-called "family leader."
Big problem: This ominous black cloud is haunting Mallory's dreams.
He's convinced the cloud is trying to kill him.
That's not the only strange thing going on. The "family business" turns out to be the Apocalypse, and Mallory and his brothers: Marc, Merek and Marlon, are the Four Horseman. Mallory's memory is full of more holes than a slice of bread in a rat's nest, and everyone is angry at him because he can't remember any of this.
What is the root cause of Mallory's memory loss, and why was he sent away at the tender age of twelve? Why does his father hate him so? What in the heck is going on between Mallory and his brother Matthew? Is that even legal??? Is Mallory really the Final Horseman, and what does that mean? Will Mallory accept his role in "the family business" or will he walk away from everything?
It's a ride that will take you way past your comfort zone.
Along the way author James delves into many biblical topics, which is guaranteed to enrage more than a few readers. I personally was so disturbed by some of the premises in this book that I had to call her myself. I completely understand where, as an artist, James was coming from, but IMPO I believe she took some liberties/crossed some lines that God may not be smiling on. There are some things that, in His word God said He will not have. HOWEVER...I want to make it plain that I am not judging Trinia at all. I'm not in a position to do so and neither is anyone else. Just this week I had someone ask me if I was on some type of medication because of all the wild `ish' that goes on in my "Christian" novel, but that's the way God gave it to me. Trinia knew that and stood up for me, so if Trinia said she prayed about this book before she wrote it, I take her at her word. Nobody knows what God told her but her. And nothing: no naysayer, no Hator, no hypocritical salt thrower, can take away from the fact that this book was excellently written. It kept me turning the pages, despite some piss-poor editing and throughout my moral discomfort. I have only known two other writers whose work was so compelling that the myriad errors didn't even matter. She's also witty. As characters, War was always fighting, Famine never stopped eating, Pestilence was...just a pest, and Death?
Well, poor Mallory was afraid to die.
I don't know what's up with these Kendall Pub books but this is the second one I read where I wanted to pimp smack the editor. Believe me: Someone deserves a refund.
Matter of fact, TL James should sue for damages.
Real Talk.
Because she lost a star strictly on account of the editing. And that's a shame, too; this really is a four star work. I was so glad I already had the sequel (there's a BOGO offer on TL James' website: http:www.authortljames.com) I didn't know what to do with myself.

(Official Apex Reviews Rating: 4.5 Stars)

If given the option, would you choose Love over Death? The answer seems obvious, but not to Mallory Haulm - whose destiny in life is actually death.

There has always been a darkness hovering over Mallory, and, as he discovers more about his fate, the cloud of darkness is almost suffocating. He is a flourishing business man, but after moving back home to Texas to help out with his family's company, Haulm Industries, he finds out that there's more to it than just business...

In order for him to fulfill his destiny, he must become the fourth horseman, Death, and bring forth the apocalypse. But, when his one true love returns home, the future of the Haulm family could be destroyed forever.

The MPire: In Search Of The Lost is overflowing with passion and mystery. In it, T.L. James' characters fight for what they believe in - no matter the consequences. The reader definitely gets a good visual of each character, as they all have such unique personalities. The story holds a lot of intrigue, and T.L. James pulls all the loose ends together nicely, showing the reader that love truly has no boundaries.

A great first book in what promises to be a compelling series, and there can only be more excitement to follow.