Sold by Ace Fawn Release Blitz

Sold. Collared. Owned.

MICHAEL

Michael Kreed is a wealthy man with the world in the palm of his hand, and he’s looking for a new pet. What he craves comes in the form of Hunter, a young man with a gorgeous, lean body, an attitude, and a determination not to yield. Michael wants to keep Hunter unbroken, but is it worth pursuing a relationship with his new obsession?

HUNTER

Hunter’s life changes forever when he is sold at an auction to a sophisticated, handsome billionaire named Michael. Collared and made into his pet, Hunter resists his owner and craves to have his freedom and old life back. But is the new life that Michael is offering him better than the only one he’s ever known?

Content Warnings: This book contains explicit M/M sexual content and includes kidnapping, a human auction, involuntary collaring, spanking, chipping, restraints, and the use of a Taser. Reader discretion is advised.

 

 

Book 1
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Michael moved in closer, and Hunter shut his eyes. The only two things he could focus on were Michael’s fresh cologne and the feel of the collar as Michael put it on around his neck.

Hunter opened his eyes when he sensed that Michael had moved away.

A small smile spread across Michael’s clean-shaven face as he observed Hunter with his piercing blue eyes. “That’s better. I knew a collar would look stunning on you.”

Hunter stared, horrified. Letting Michael put the collar around his neck was an act of submission. And Hunter hated it. He hated Michael for buying him and forcing him into something he didn’t want to be a part of. It was clear to Hunter by the way Michael had spoken to him that he was the type of man you didn’t say no to. The type of man that got whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

That only fueled Hunter’s anger toward him.

But he was also confused. What did a man like Michael want from him?

Questions ran rampant in Hunter’s mind. His mouth was painfully dry, and he felt a headache coming on. The silence and those eyes on him, watching him… it was all too much.

“Where are you taking me?” Hunter finally managed to ask.

“To my home. I’m sure you will come to like it.”

Why did it matter whether Hunter liked it or not? He was being taken against his will.

“I want to know where exactly. I’m still in the States, right?” Hunter asked.

Michael’s gaze wandered over Hunter’s body before settling on his face, making Hunter’s skin grow hot.

“We are still on home soil, my dear pet,” Michael said, purring the last word and making Hunter’s stomach flutter with a mix of emotions. Disgust. Fear. Anger. It all balled into one and consumed his entire being, making his body tremble.

“You have a lot to learn, but that will all have to wait until we get home,” Michael said.

Just the state he was in—sold against his will, wearing a straitjacket, and forced into a collar—made Hunter realize that he was at the mercy of a complete stranger. Michael clearly was a wealthy man, and if he had money, then he surely had power.

It all proved that Hunter had no control over what happened to him next. What would Michael do to him? What would Michael make him do? The sheer realization of his predicament sent a spike of panic through his entire being. Feeling sick to his stomach, Hunter breathed harder. He felt like he was suffocating, and no matter how much air he tried to gulp in, it still wasn’t enough.

Hunter looked away and closed his eyes. Swallowed once, twice, but saliva refused to fill his parched mouth and throat. Fuck. Was he going to throw up?

“Calm down, Hunter. Breathe,” Michael said.

All Hunter could think about was what type of freaky shit awaited him. Was Michael going to make him his personal sex slave? Was he going to force him to star in porno films?

When a hand settled on his shoulder, Hunter startled and gasped for breath. He opened his eyes and stared at the man who had stolen his life from him.

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆
3.5 stars

Sold is the first novel in the Rich Men series. Ace Fawn is a new-to-me author.

Keep in mind, this novel is set in today's time frame. It is not a dark fantasy world where those born into the darker society are mentally prepared for their fate. Hunter was taken off the street, trafficked, then sold at an auction. Michael is a wealthy man who purchased a person as a companion, more than in a moral gray area.

There was just something about the writing style that didn't hook me, where I struggled to remain interested. As someone who enjoys reading dark romance, I need deep emotions that are dictated by the human condition. While I appreciated the slow "breaking" of Hunter through psychological means, some spark was missing for me, where I found zero chemistry between them. For me, as maybe it was just a mood I was in.

There was an oddly warm and fuzzy vibe to what should be such a dark book. Michael was just too much, like he couldn't figure out why Hunter would be upset. Michael was just a great guy who wanted to love his pet.

The author was nonstop selling how amazing Michael was as a person. Since it wasn't written on the pages but played out nonstop in my head, Michael purchased a person in today's society, I had a hard time falling into the story, buying what was selling, when that is reprehensible behavior that was never once brought up in the novel itself. This created a divide for me, as I couldn't ship the romance between Michael and Hunter with such a huge gap in power. Michael showed such a deep denial in the fact that what he did was wrong. Not a single word of monologue that would explain this.

As I sit here, typing this up, I keep side-eyeing my Boston Terriers. Pet. With all the implications. The only difference, Hunter was a human being. Not a softening of the novel, as it was bizarrely warm and fuzzy, but some type of explanation as to why Michael validated his own actions. When Michael suggested freeing Hunter, he meant as to sell him to another. Offering to release someone who is a functioning human being back into society after such an autonomy-stealing traumatic event would have helped paint Michael in a better light, where Hunter had a real choice in staying with Michael. Hard to find the romance when one of the characters doesn't unabashedly see themselves as evil as his creator kept hammering how lovely Michael was.

Surface level emotions. A sentence here or there of backstory with no real foundation laid. It was hard to know the characters, hard to see why they would love each other, when they had zero personality traits and no chemistry.

While I did read Sold quickly, where I applauded some of the cerebral twisting, I won't be continuing further with this series because I needed more realistic, deeper emotions, along with realistic actions and reactions.


Angie – ☆☆☆
I have read several books with similar plots and really enjoyed them. This book fell short for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters. I felt zero chemistry between Michael and Hunter. If I ever read the word pet again, it'll be too soon, overusage on that word big time.

 

 

ACE FAWN writes sometimes dark and always steamy contemporary M/M romance featuring mafia and billionaires.

An avid reader of M/M romance, she loves books about D/s relationships, the enemies-to-lovers trope, and the forced proximity trope, and tends to involve these themes in her own writing.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Sold (Rich Men #1) by Ace Fawn to read and review.