Take The Price We Pay (The Path Of Temptation, #1) Executed By Auryn Hadley Expressed As E-Text

Introduction To A World Of Gods

This book was fantastic from the first page, Ive been really excited about this book from the first time we got a teaser of the first chapter on the authors Facebook Group a few months ago and the rest of the book did not disappoint, rather it exceeded my expectations.


This is a story of a small girl, Nariana, who taken to the temple on the one day of the year a child can be surrendered for service to the gods in exchange for a gold mark.
Its a day when families can save their starving children by giving one to the gods to make what they have go further and with the extra money feed the rest of the family through the winter.


Claimed by Zeal, the God of Temptation, Nariana is introduced to a world filled with his priests and priestesses.
She is educated and loved by her mentor and her guardian who form a little family inside a greater one.


This book is really about Naris education from the time she enters the temple, and the people she meets throughout that time.
The alliances and enmities she makes during her education help shape who she is and her devotion to Zeal, Her education also teaches us about the world in which the series is set, As a child, Nari is taught about the world as well as her role within it in a way that is clearly laid out for us.
At the same time as we are being entertained by the plot, we are learning about Narianas world and her place within it.


This is a complicated fantasy world, filled with gods and magic and the science and fashion of the Victorian era.
Its a decadent dive into passion, rage and the temptation of greed,

This is a reverse harem story and there is plenty of passion as the children grow into adults.
As older teens there is fooling around but no actual sex until they are aroundyears old, The sex scenes that are included are very well written, tender and still fanyourface hot, The relationships are not just about passion but about friendship, love, acceptance and a shared path,

I loved all the characters, who are wonderfully well rounded and flawed in a believable and consistent way.
There are some different points of view during the book, but it is mainly from Narianas POV, The alternate POVs are enlightening both in terms of plot and allowing us to see things in a different way.


The book doesnt finish on a cliff hanger, but a natural break, I was still gripped with a fierce desire to know what comes next because the plot is wonderfully compelling, Once you start reading this story you wont be able to stop, Thankfully the whole series is already written, I just have to wait for each book to be published on the due dates.
Its nice to have things to look forward to and know that your expecations will be met! Pretty freaking good!!!!!

This is unlike anything I've ever read.
Its a lot to take in honestly but the writer makes things pretty easy to remember and you feel like you are right there with the characters.
I was immersed in this world, the characters and I loved it! Now I do wish there was more romance and steam.
don't get me wrong though, . there is a lot of unconditional love which is beautiful in this but no romance if that makes sense, You have to read the book to understand why romance with no "cheating" is impossible in their world, You just hope for someone to truly accept you and love you as you are no matter what you do or who you do it with.
its kind of poetic. I'm excited to read the next book but apprehensive just because this type of book that has more of a polyamorous in a sense kind of feel to it isn't really my kind of romance.
I love harems don't get me wrong but I don't like it when they go outside of the harem which proves the talent of this writer because I want to keep an open mind for this one.
Its really good but a lot to swallow for me which is the reason for thestar but this writer is extremely talented.
. . I mean this was a longer book and I am on to the next book now so that is saying alot.
. . on to the next I go!!! Strongstars, Maybe more, but reserving that until I read the series, I enjoy Auryn's stories, I just know that I am signing up for pages and pages of discussion between the characters about their feelings and am prepared for that.


Her "Gamer Girls" books were some of my favorites, very creative, And yes, the Dark Orchid, And I waited to read ANY of this until the whole series was released since I am tired of investing in a series only to have the author not finish.
. .

This started off really strong for me and the whole premise is very interesting, I liked that the story starts at the beginning really, when Nari is first brought to the temple at agewhere the god Zeal fights for her and claims her.
I enjoyed the backstory of theyears of schooling and how she builds a "family" with her men, These are long involved stories where we get to know the characters whether we want to or not :

Spoiler alert!

I did NOT enjoy the "ring" part and was disappointed that Nari and Wrayth didn't get their sexy times but there is hope for that by the end of the book.


I enjoyed the "lace" aspect and I assumed we were headed to upset the apple cart with our special snowflake heroine.
But it's a fun ride even though some things are predictable, Hotness is epic, Auryn knows how to write a scorching scene I tell you! I like Wrayth the BEST so far, we will see.
Dear gods I love this author, I'm almost at the auto buy everything she writes, She's become someone that I want to emulate, Yes she is that good,

This is the start of a new series and a different world, It is very heavy on sex and relationships, but they are done with such a fine touch you become addicted.
My only complaint The entire series isn't out so I can binge read it yet, OMFG Im really hoping the rest of the series is as good as the first book Another intricate masterpiece of Auryn.
It includes a very healthy outlook on life and love, explained very naturally as part of

the story, Looking forward to learning more about the Path thesewill walk for and with their god, Wonderful

Wow, this was so much better than I expected, I have loved other books by this author but I am not usually a fan of books where the plot is focused on a sxual component.
In my experience those stories stop building the relationship once sxual intimacy is introduced and there is often a lack of tension.
I should not have doubted that this author would write a story with elements I don't prefer yet still make me love it.
I found the world fascinating and the pacing ,with the beginning skipping through her childhood then covering more time as she got older, to be perfect.
My favorite aspect though was the characters, They were all well fleshed out and felt very distinctive, Overall, this was a wonderful book, I truly had trouble putting it down, .Stars

I liked the book, I like Nariana. I like her men and I even like Zeal, What I disliked was the way the pacing was written, A ton of things were told instead of shown, I am not a fan of that writing style and Ive read a lot of Hadleys previous works, Rise of the Iliri, Demons Muse and a few others.
This does not have the same style, While the story still comes across and I still can gain insight and emotions from our characters I still felt slightly disconnected.


I wanted to see some of the glossed over parts at least partially if we couldnt have a full scene.
Maybe gloss over after we get to be privy to the conversations, I do understand that if its to retell something to catch that character up on something that that should be glossed over but I would love to have the characters reaction there.
I just felt like a lot of things were lost for me in this style,

Still I enjoyed it all except Tishlie shes annoying, I hope she has some comeuppance soon,

Overall I still enjoyed myself and I look forward to reading further and seeing where this went, This is one of the better RH books I have read, The plot and concept of characters are intriguing and well written, The execution is a tad on the unbelievable side but that has more to do with the MFC than anything else.


The plot revolves around a young girl who will eventually become the savior of the gods, A fairly straightforward linear path but has enough nuance to be enjoyable and refreshing,

The beginning started extremely slowly but that might have had more to do with my expectations going in.
The development fromyearold to eventualat the end of booktook a lot longer than you would normally read in most RH.
For the record I abhor most “academy” style RH since it feeds into and relies on high school YA tropes.
I find it boring and repetitive and predictable, Thankfully this book holds it on while still using a lot of the similar plot points from those types of books.
It stands out because the subject matter is sexual in nature from the start but doesnt feel forced, It follows along and meshes with the character development as they transition from young child to teen and then young adult.


When Nari is first introduced, her character is young and therefor ill defined, It takes several chapters before she feels a little more fleshed outreally in my opinion until she starts actively talking to Zeal it feels like Nari is only halfway supported as a three dimensional character.


Anyway, there is a lot of excellent dialogue about the world building that happens in the early chapters and the plot sort of builds slowly over the initial few moments.
Once the school/friends/pairing up starts to happen it feels more organic and less like an info dump,

This book does a pretty good job of keeping it interesting if you came for the sex and erotic scenes while maintaining the integrity of the plot of character development.
Theres even some decent dialogue exchanges about asexuality, In fact sexual orientation is touched on so lightly because its just accepted as part of the world building, I cant quite speak to the actual representation since I am straight, but it does feel like a nonissue and just how this world works, as if people loving people are just part of the world regardless of how they chose to do it.


The main downside I would say comes any time Nari is talking or learning in the early stages.
She feels . just slightly Mary Sue. She has no female friends her age and in fact any of them who are her age go out of their way to alienate and bully her.
This leaves her in the unfortunate position I say unfortunate because its a very popular trope for the MFC to have no female friends whatsoever to be surrounded by guys.
And while I know that this is a typical part of RH, I had higher hopes for this one, I understand that her mentor is female and could be considered her friend but I was hoping for someone her age.
Maybe Ill get that in the next books,

Another part of Naris unfortunate characterization is her lack of flaws, She accepts everything equally. She understands all things without judgement, She doesnt necessarily excel at her studies but shes not bad either, She just feels . bland. She has moments of personality but it doesnt feel authentic enough to make a lasting impression,

She struggles with forgiving Anver and she stands up for herself against the female bully but it all seems like a oneofftickthatbox kind of moment.
“Oh she needs to feel like a real person make her struggle with forgiveness, Aaaaaaaand, check that box!” Overall it wouldnt be so bad if the world building was worse LOL, The story pulls you in so well that the lack of depth of characterization makes it so much more obvious.


Zeal as a god and character also feels a little off to me I cant quite put my finger on it but he just feels juvenile or perhaps irrational Inconsistent I dont know.
He could be a great character otherwise,

The male characters seem pretty fleshed out, I can distinguish between their individual personalities pretty easily, Eladehl feels just slightly off for some of the same reasons as Zeal, But mostly I never felt that much chemistry between him and Nari, The further they get in the book the better it feels to read but at the beginning, even though I knew what to expect, when they paired up with each other as partners it felt flatter than I expected.



Pros: excellent discussion about consent and not just in relation to sex, well rounded characters that dont fall into the typical male love interest tropes while still maintaining distinct personalities, strong plot and world building, antagonists/villains are well established, backstory and supporting roles are developed slowly but definitely add to the overall story very well.
Excellent discussion of sexualities and kinks/preferences,

Cons: Nari falls into the Very Special Girl Because Reasons category, She doesnt every have to do anything to be the Chosen, She gets special marks from her god that no one else has, She gets the best mentor who gives her opportunities others dont, friends who support her unconditionally, and she doesnt really struggle as a character until much later.
technically most of this could be explained away via Deus Ex Machina, i, e. , Zeal, but it feels cheap and unearned,

Overall this is a great start to what I hope to be an excellent series, Ill keep my eye on the future books and hope these characters get the development they deserve! With this world building and plot this good I hope they can live up to it!
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