A King Undone

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Title: A King Undone
Author: Cooper Davis
Series: Noble Pleasures 1
Hero/Heroine: King Arend Tollemach/Julian of Sapphor
Genre: MM
Length: 340 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: December 9, 2014

*I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*

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Blurb:

Sometimes You have to risk everything, to follow your heart  "Noble Pleasures, Book 1"  In a world where gentlemen openly court and marry fellow noblemen, the threat of scandal still lurks behind every velvet drape for kings and princes. Such has been the fate for King Arend Tollemach, forced to sacrifice his heart on the altar of regal duty.  Now that his wife is dead and his royal obligations are at an end, he s ready to take an unthinkable risk. King Arend seeks a concubine from Temple Sapphor, a secretive, gated world where he will finally shed his virginity as least as it pertains to making love to a man.  Julian never thought he d spend ten years on the temple shelf, passed over again and again. Just when he despairs of ever finding placement in a nobleman s bed, Arend walks into the temple. A lonely eyed, beautiful king who could easily steal his heart.  Arend discovers he has no problem opening his bed to the exquisite concubine. The problem lies in finding the key to his long-shuttered heart.  Warning: Contains a beautiful, virgin king desperate to bed another man, a concubine who fantasizes about being claimed and revered by a strong monarch, and a sea of scandal set against a sensual, palatial backdrop.
Review: I was attracted to the blurb and needed to get my hands on this book. I started excited and maybe that was the problem for me. No, not to be misunderstood. I greatly enjoyed the book contrary to the fact that my expectations were a bit let down.
Firstly what could be more interesting than a virgin king involved in a love story with his concubine? His very male concubine. Hot. Only this felt more as a setting for a future book that will resolve all the unsolved problems between them and ultimately ended having no clear end whatsoever, leaving me wondering what happens next. Which is good in a way. Let me tell you why and be patient with my contradictions. I have mixed feeling about this book and its going to show.
King Arend annoyed me to no end. He is weak, his servants do whatever they wish behind his back and he is like a puppet for  the Council  desires and  the public opinion. To his defence, it is an historical novel and these things were of importance during past times. So were beheadings and imprisoning the nobles that dared to oppose the will of a king, but thats another story and other kings. King Arend is also a virgin, an unsure and frankly stumbling man when it comes to matters of the heart. That makes him a bit lovable. More lovable when you hear  about how he lost his first love, his father having ordered him to break the engagement with prince Darien and marry a woman he detested for the purpose of producing heirs. Yes, I wanted to slap him because he permitted that love to be taken away from him. I have a love/hate relationship with this character.
Now Julian on the other hand I absolutely adored! He is sensual and eager. Honest and with a keen desire to be loved and love. His generosity astounds me, sometimes making me wonder if he is a masochist. Julian is a gentle but fierce man. He loves with passion and fights for what he wants. He is everything I expected King Arend to be. Julian is the strong one in their strange dance and he manages to work towards having his king contrary to King Arends almost bipolar changes of attitude. He gets hurt and rises again, keeps trying to wake King Arend inside and make him love again. Arend does love him although he insists that emotional entanglements have no place in their business arrangement. Luckily, Julian is more patient than me.
A King Undone is a slow courtship and a description of a historical setting. The story has very detailed descriptions of scenes and intricate emotions as well as a cleverly weaved historical feel. The characters speech is finely crafted  and with shift turns of a phrase. I liked the effort put into making this story an historical novel. I loved Jules and want to see him get his king. I even wish to see Arend man up and just fight to have what he wants. If he ever finds out how to go about it. The secondary characters were well rounded, adding to the story.

Overall Impression:

3.5 *~ I liked it
I want to rate this book higher but it registers as a solid 3.5 with me. I recommend it to those that love historical fantasy novels but dont expect things to progress much. Its slow and the same details that make it so finely crafted, sometimes damage the flow of the story. I will, though, buy the next book. I want to see Julian get his king. And Arend shows promise that hell get more kingly in some scenes. And not just in the bedroom.