Reviewed on Hearts On Fire... http://heartsonfirereviews.com/

The Kordeun family was once the royal family of Sebboy but now live in captivity in Uttor. The emperor Gaspar has given them a villa to live in and treats the family well. Lukacz Kordeun rules his family with an iron fist disowning any child who dares to defy him. Lukacz is planning an escape attempt and puts his handsome young son Endre in a tight spot by forcing him to act like a gay man so that he may pass messages between Lukacz and his allies. The problem is that Endre really is attracted to men and when he meets the hot Tabarian Prince Arshad, Endre must decide between family and his own happiness.
Ms Spencer did a wonderful job of world building by setting the story smack dab in an area that could have hosted Ali Baba. Uttor is a country rich in diversity, textures and beliefs from the crazily homophobic Lukacz to the relaxed and accepting Gaspar. The different temples to prophets and the various customs are what really make this book stand out a step above the rest. Endre was the conflicted but dutiful son right up to the end while Lukacz was an idiot who got better than he deserved. I admired Gaspar who tried his best to incorporate his captive royals into Uttor instead of killing them. I enjoyed Endre and Arshad and the love they shared even though their big sex scene was more like reading a manual on man on man sex 101. There was plenty of angst for those readers that love the plucked heart strings and still get their HEA. Yanni was a wonderfully funny character who helped Endre find himself even more than Arshad did. I have read a couple of Ms Spencer's books and this on is by far the best. ( )

Dangerous Beauty is the second in the A Pride of Uttor series; I haven’t read the first, an het romance involving the sister of Endre, a destitute prince, and Gaspar, the emperor who conquered their kingdom. Endre is now living as a privileged captive, more a guest than a prisoner, but nevertheless his father instilled into him the dislike for everything related to Gaspar; moreover, Endre is fighting an attraction for men, something that in his culture is punished by death and that instead in Uttor is not only accepted, but even legal, so much that man can take male consort. Instead of being a consolation for Endre, that is even a worst damnation, since he is fighting the attraction for Arshad, prince of Tabar, ally to the emperor, and for connection, his own enemy.

The novel is so explicit when concerning the sex, that if not for the uplifting ending, and more or less, the exclusivity of the main characters, this could be easily classified as erotica. Like it is, it’s for sure Erotic Romance, and I say it like a warning, because there is a lot of sex; oddly, it’s very basic, no kinky undertones, even if sometime there is the use of the words Master, submissive, slave… but they are just that, words, and mostly the two men enjoy quite ordinary, if not intensive, sex sessions.

There is also a lot of play around the concept of virgin, and Savage Romance/breeches rippers theme, but again, it’s more a play than the real thing: Arshad thinks about conquering the virgin Endre, to debauch the innocent princeling, but when it comes the time, not only it’s more Endre seducing Arshad, also Arshad will display a side of him that is almost kind, and for sure young. That is what I noticed also in another event, when Arshad needs to take the army against his enemies, realizing he has never really gone into a real fight… it was like a boy who until that moment has only posed as an adult who is suddenly asked to behave like one. After that, I had some difficult to see Arshad like a real domineering lover.

For sure Endre is a submissive, but that doesn’t mean he is not a man; Endre loves to be told to do thing, first by his father and then by Arshad. Once he admits with himself that he likes Arshad, he has no trouble at all considering him the ruler on their relationship, but I see it more like Endre admitting his submissive nature, not like renouncing to his masculinity.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BG00NOQ/?tag=elimyrevandra-20