Best Series of 2014: Free Men by Kate Aaron

I don't know of many, if any, authors who have released an entire series in not just a year but released all 3 of those books in one month. I also don't recall a time an entire series has captivated me in the way the Free Men series has.

It was a no brainer for me to decide what the best series I read this year was. It's really awesome it happened to also publish in one year.

Book 1: The Slave
Book 2: The Soldier
Book 3: The Master

At twenty-seven, Tamelik has been a slave more than half his life, having witnessed his family being murdered in front of him when he was just a child. Naturally submissive, although with a petulant streak, he can’t help but fall in love with the master who treats him kindly.

Tam's dreams come true when his mistress walks out, leaving her husband behind. For six glorious months, he and his master get to be together. Then Tam is ordered to purchase another slave.

He wants to hate Kai for being unruly and ungrateful. For being of the same race as the men who murdered his family. For being his eventual replacement in their master’s bed. But it’s hard to hate a man who cries himself to sleep, flinches at the slightest touch, and blushes beautifully when he’s kissed.

Seducing Kai has suddenly become more challenge than chore, and with his master’s encouragement, Tam finds himself falling for his new companion. Except... nobody can be in love with two people at once, can they?

MY REVIEW:
Kate Aaron, without a doubt, has outdone herself! The Slave is a captivating tale about a slave named Tam. A slave who has had his world turned upside down and inside out and yet finds hope and love in the life he's been given. I fell in love with this character from the beginning. As Kai and Master enter the story, the ensemble grew not just in numbers but in fabulous substance. Each bringing so much to this already fascinating story. The Slave (Book One of Free Men) starts off this series with a bar leveled so high you are eager EAGER to see where Kate will take the rest of this tale. If there's one series you should fall into IT'S THIS ONE! It will blow your mind, have your heart pounding, and every fiber of your being vibrating. I loved every second of this amazing story! Every second!

Three months. That’s all it took for Kai to forsake freedom and learn to love his new life as pleasureslave to a wealthy Thirskan Underlord.

Finding himself surrounded by his own people once more, Kai should have been happy: relieved to be rescued from slavery, and out of the clutches of a man who was the sworn enemy of his people. Yet his people are not how he remembers them. Distrustful of Kai, and disgusted by his relationship with not one man but two, they make it abundantly clear he no longer fits in.

Beaten, starved, and tortured, when the chance comes to escape, Kai is barely strong enough to make the journey. Even if he succeeds, how could anybody ever love the thing he’s become in order to survive?

MY REVIEW:
There are no words to describe this book, but I will try. This is book 2 of the Free Men Series (Book 1 is The Slave) The Soldier is written in Kai's POV. The Soldier is heartbreaking and soul cleansing. Kai is so brave, so giving. I was somewhat shocked as I meandered through his mind in this book. In the first one we are in Tam's POV so we can only guess where Kai's mind is at. Kai is sacrificial is so many things in this tale. I cried CRIED reading this. You want to protect Kai and many times throughout you feel he is forgotten. That was the hardest part for me. I was overcome by the loneliness he carries. The second book in this saga is the meat to this story. Book 1 we were swept away in the pureness, hope, and love that is Tam. In The Soldier we are left breathless by the darkness, despair, and unknown adoration of Kai. God only knows what Kate Aaron has in store for us in Book 3. EXCELLENT BOOK!  

Being rescued was only the start.

Otiz lies in ruins. As underlord of the region, Lysander knows where his responsibilities lie. He has an obligation to the survivors to rebuild their homes and their lives. But what about his home, his life?

Kai needs help. The damage inflicted on him goes beyond the marks left when he was tortured, but healing him might require more from Lysander than he’s capable of giving. Of one thing he’s certain: Tam and Kai will never be endangered again because of who he is, even if saving them means setting them free.

All Lysander wants is to be left in peace. To recover from the horrors of his experience at the hands of his enemies. But with pressure piling up from every angle, peace is the last thing he’s likely to find. Suffocated by guilt, Lysander begins to spiral. How can he hold everything together, when inside he’s falling apart?

MY REVIEW:
Free Men, Book 3 The Master ended this series perfectly. Kate Aaron, has yet again, mastered the written word. Her creation of a world and the characters in it is breathtaking. Book 1 (The Slave) we followed Tam's POV and Kate whisked us away into a world where boundaries were pushed, love truly is stronger than anything, and the impossible is challenged. In Book 2 ( The Soldier) we were sucked into Kai's world, and the darkness that consumed him. His past, as horrible as it was, had nothing on what awaited him at the hands of his own. But, again, love was a huge healer in that book. Now, The Master, book 3 to this marvelous series brings it all full circle. Finally, we hear from Lysander. FINALLY we truly understand his feelings for Tam and Kai. The purpose of Kai's purchase, and how every sacrifice he made, and makes, is selfless.

I was blown away and left breathless by this book and this entire series will go down as an all time favorite series! I applaud Kate Aaron.

Kate Aaron has all of her books, buy links, and even a place to read for free... Hmmm!!!! 
BUY LINKS FOR FREE MEN SERIES 

 
I highly encourage you to purchase this series. I'd give it a million stars if I could. It truly is one of those books you wish you could do all over again. OUTSTANDING, BREATHTAKING! 

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